IGIWS: FIRST DRAFT: Chapter 245

(Fifteen minutes early.)

Terenthiel, Zane, and Sir Darius marched through the doors to the chamber lobby of Parliament. Terenthiel was walking with a purpose after getting humiliated by the Dark Elf and Princess Hilda.

'Those damned women... How dare they embarrass me and my honor... Mark my words... You will repent for your sins!' Terenthiel thought as his anger and rage built inside him.

The younger prince and the paladin could feel his emotions and didn't say anything.

'I'll get revenge. But first, I have to calm down and gather my things. I need to report this to the Prophet and the High King... The situation is getting out of control and we might have to convert the people of Fiafyr by force... Their salvation is at risk!' Terenthiel thought as a dark cloud surrounded him.

As they were passing the entrance hall to the main lobby. A certain Prime Minister, was chasing after them.

"HAA!... Haa... Haa... Lord Marrell!... Wait!" Duval shouted.

Duval and his aids had rushed down the hall in order to catch up with Terenthiel. This put the Foreign Prince in a worse mood as man he put his faith in had failed him.

'Duval... Your incompetence has let a Dark Elf into your lands and you didn't even have the spine to arrest her,' Terenthiel thought and stopped.

Duval was panting when he caught up. 

"Y-Your Highness... Can you come to my study for a moment so we can discuss—"

"No!..." Terenthiel said.

Duval froze for a moment, "No?"

"You failed me Prime Minister. You failed the Kingdom and the Gods," Terenthiel stated.

"H-Hold on. I told you that I didn't know about The Dark Elf until a day before you arrived!... I was trying to do everything in my power to stop her but I lacked the time to act!" Duval pleaded his case.

"And you hid this from me... I lost two white knights because of your incompetence!... The Princess has been corrupted with delusions of grandeur! And my reputation has been ruined!... I demand you hand over the Dark Elf or face the consequences for your crimes," Terenthiel threatened.

"I-I... You can't expect me to hand her over after everything she's done... And even if I could, who is strong enough to stop her," Duval argued.

"What an idiotic question... It's the Divine Three that can stop her... But the influence of your false goddess has prevented the Divine Three's power from reaching my people. She's tainted the minds of the people and now even the royalty are turning their backs on their true faith of our Lords," Terenthiel ranted.

"What? False goddess? Iyomelka isn't a false goddess! And she will pick the Princess and not the Dark Elf... You'll see!" Duval said angrily.

"How can you not see her falsehood? She doesn't show herself to anyone and you think she will choose Prince Hilda?... And it would be even worse if your goddess chooses the Dark Elf because it will show us the she's a goddess that chooses evil over good," Terenthiel said and turned around, "Now if you excuse me... I'm leaving. Goodbye, Duval."

"What about the peace treaty?!" Duval asked.

"If the Princess doesn't get chosen by your countryman and the Crown Prince by the time I return... Then you better be prepared to defend yourselves... I'll pray that the Divine Three will have mercy on your souls," Terenthiel said with a cold voice.

"W-Wait... What are you saying?... Your Highness!?... Wait!" Duval called out.

"You have one month, Duval... And the Divine Three have spoken. If the princess doesn't get chosen, I'll have no choice but to purge all the sinners from your land with the Divine Three's Paladins... The Goddess Iyomelka is the one who will be judged... Now you will pay for your failure," Terenthiel stated and left the palace.

Duval stood there frozen, shocked at what Terenthiel had just said. The thought of war filled his mind and stopping it at all cost was all he could think about.

'The peace treaty is on the verge of being destroyed... All that hard work for nothing,' Duval thought and clenched his fists, 'I need to make sure that fucking idol lights up for Hilda and no one else! I need Sebastian's help with planning... And the Elf!'

"Damn that fucking Dark Elf," Duval cursed and stormed off.

"Sir!" one of the aids called out.

"I want Count Sebastian Ingham, Baron Thaddeus, and Baron Eamon Stirling in my office immediately," Duval demanded.

"A-At once, Prime Minister," the aid replied and ran off.

Terenthiel, Zane, and Darius marched his way through the palace with the guards stepping aside as they exited the foyer. It didn't take long for them to meet up with the rest of his men and they got into their carriage before heading to the Ecros Manor in the south of the city.

***

After Duval hurried off to the his office. Alaric and Leandra walked out of the House of the Major Lords and into the lobby were a bunch of aids and a few nobles were lingering for a bit before they left the palace.

When Alaric thought they were far enough away from the ears of the elves. His stoic face morphed into a smile.

"Well, dear... It seems you almost made the Dark Elf cry... It was thought to tell but you struck a cord," Alaric said in a pleased tone.

"I did?... She made me so mad that I didn't realize it... It's good to know that she isn't as strong as she looks," Leandra replied.

"Indeed... And having the Princess in the walls of the palace will be a major boon for us... I haven't been able to get servants loyal to us in decades," Alaric stated.

"True... But how are we going to communicate with her when every time we come by she's always surrounded by guards? Or worse, the elves?... How do we know that they aren't listening?" Leandra asked.

"Belial has been getting some things from our neighbor to the north... I'll explain more later when we get home... But for now... I need to talk with Duval... He needs to be picked up after that beating," Alaric said and smiled.

Leandra pouted and sighed.

"What is it, my dear?" Alaric asked.

"It is unfortunate that the day Duval finally stumbles is the day we need to help him... That vile man doesn't deserve our help," Leandra stated.

"I know how you feel... But he's important for our new plans... Now come... I'll take you to the carriage so you can have a nice lunch... While I built a new friendship with a enemy," Alaric stated.

Leandra and Alaric walked out of the palace and headed toward the carriage.

The Driver saw his lordship and opened the door for the couple.

"Good day, my Lord, and my Lady," the Driver greeted.

"Good day, Franklin... Take her ladyship home for the day and come right back here within a hour... I need to speak with the Prime Minister for a moment," Alaric stated.

"It shall be done, my lord," Franklin said.

Leandra stepped inside and sat down.

Alaric kissed his wife's hand and closed the door.

"Take care, my dear," Alaric said and the carriage took off.

Alaric turned around and walked back into the palace and headed straight for the Prime Minister's office.

As he entered the foyer of the West Wing. Viscount William came walking along side the Duke.

"My Lord... Please tell me you have an idea of how I can save my domain," William begged.

"William... If you are this worried then that means you haven't been saving your money..." Alaric stated.

"After everything I've done to save you when most of your coffers were emptied by Duval. You have the gall to talk about my savings? I have done everything to make sure you could keep the Divalo Domain afloat," William complained.

"I do appreciate you hiding my money during that time but it was still my money... And you got too greedy when Alistair agreed to dismantled his only port city on his Enclave... As of right now you need to stop gambling and second is you have to readjust your taxes until the Dark Elf is out of the picture... We are in a war of wits, William... And she's ahead of us... It's time to make sacrifices so we can live to fight another day," Alaric stated.

William knew it wasn't fair but the Duke was right... And he couldn't risk losing the Silverhaven Coast to that Dark Elf.

"You're right... I'll start planning accordingly and invest my gold into my cities' growth," William stated.

"Good man... Help offset this we need imports... There's a few island kingdoms we could trade with but they can only send us so many goods that the rest of the kingdom would want... I'll try to line up a meeting with the Merchant's Guild... You might need to kiss Witon's ass so much that crap might stick to your nose," Alaric stated.

William grimaced at the thought of kissing up to that fat ass guild master.

"Ugh... The Merchant Guild... I hate bending the knee to a fucking commoner... Just because he controls all the traders in the east doesn't mean he's better than me," William complained.

"I don't like him either but he can give us what we want... Just remember that and keep the bile in," Alaric stated.

"Alright... But when things are back to normal... I'm going to kill that fat pig," William stated.

Alaric just smiled as he reached the door to Duval's office.

"Now we need to see the Prime Minister... Let me do all the talking," Alaric stated.

"As you command," William said as he opened the door.

The pair entered the large lobby of the Prime Minister's office and found a few worried aids and a couple of guards standing by the entrance to Duval's office. They all turned and were surprised to see the Duke and the Viscount.

"My Lords... May we help you?" one of the aids asked.

Alaric smiled, "Oh... You have it all wrong, my boy... What can I do for you, is the question."

The aids looked at each other with concern.

"Lord Duval isn't taking visitors today," another aid stated.

"Is that right?... Well, I guess he wants the peace treaty to fail then... It's a shame though. I had so many good ideas to help the Prime Minister... Come, William... I think we should resign our Fate to the Dark Elf," Alaric said as he and the Viscount turned to leave.

The aids started to sweat as the pair neared the door.

"Wait!" one of the aids shouted.

Alaric right brow raised slightly and had to hide his shit eating grim before he slowly turned back to the aids.

"Yes, my boy... What is it?" Alaric asked.

"Um... Why don't you tell us what your plans are?... We can advise the Prime Minister when he is ready," the aid suggested.

"And have you take all the glory?... No, I'm sorry, my boy. I can't trust that the Prime Minister will take you seriously with my plans... It's better if he hears it from the horse's mouth," Alaric explained.

"But, Lord Duval isn't seeing any visitors today," the aid repeated.

"Is that why Lord Sebastian is in their with him?" William asked as he pointed to the closed door.

"Uh..." the aid froze.

"Well, I see the Prime Minister will talk to a Count, but not a Duke... It seems we're doomed," Alaric stated as he turned to leave again.

"Wait, my lord!" the aid called out again.

"Yes, my boy?" Alaric asked as he turned back to the aid.

"We'll let you in if you promise that you are only here to help and won't say anything that could upset the Prime Minister... He's had a long enough day with the Dark Elf and Prince Terenthiel coming down on him," the aid stated.

Alaric smiled, "Let's just say that we have a common enemy that threatens our Kingdom... That's all I'm willing to say."

The aids looked at each other and nodded.

"We can work with that," the aid said.

"Good... Lead the way," Alaric said.

"Yes, sir," the aid said as he knocked on the door.