DT4 - Chapter 36

DT4 - Chapter 36

Kristoff, who clearly had no idea they had just walked through a mental energy wall, brought Garrett and Ryn to a waiting room and asked them to have a seat. Pulling Garrett up next to one of the chairs, Ryn sat down, crossing one leg over the other, as she looked around with interest. The room they were in was lavishly decorated, with crimson and gold curtains covering the large square windows that overlooked the inner courtyard. Dozens of chairs lined the walls, and a pair of impassive guards stood like statues at one end of the room, guarding a door that no doubt led to the royal throne room.

Though Garrett had never been in the waiting room, as he had spent most of his time in the palace following the young prince around, he was familiar with how this sort of thing worked. And when Ryn started to get fidgety, after they had been waiting for half an hour, Garrett patted her and told her to calm down. Even as he did, he sent her a message through the flowers that connected them.

"Do me a favor and go to the bathroom." Yoour favorite stories at novelhall.comelling a scheme, Ryn perked up and got to her feet, walking over to the guards.

"Excuse me, do you know where the bathroom is? All this waiting is making me nervous."

The guard's expression didn't so much as twitch as he raised his hand and pointed to the hall.

"Thank you," Ryn said, practically bouncing as she left the room. There was an attendant outside who was soon able to direct her to the bathroom. After admiring the beautiful decor and the gold-plated fixtures, Ryn washed her hands, waited for a few minutes, and then returned to the waiting room.

Garrett was sitting there with his eyes closed, his body relaxed, almost as if asleep. Though she didn't know why Garrett had sent her out, she knew that he was up to something. Her intuition was spot on. As soon as she had left the room, Garrett had taken control of Isabelle, who had been hiding in one of Ryn's hairpins.

Cautiously at first, just in case there was somebody or something monitoring the interior of the palace, Garrett controlled Isabelle to bounce to one of the mirrors that dotted the palace's walls, and then to a gilt frame on a painting of a long-dead king. The entire time, he kept his senses on full alert, but there didn't seem to be any danger. So he grew bolder as he began to head towards the center of the palace.

As far as Garrett could tell, the barrier that surrounded the palace had been produced by some sort of mysterious artifact. After thinking it through, he was fairly confident he knew where he would find it. As he explored the palace, continually moving lower until he reached the basement, Garrett kept half an eye on the waiting room, just in case they were called in.

As he was about to enter the first level of the basement, Garrett heard the door open in the waiting room, and had Isabelle lurk in a silver candelabra that was attached to the wall while he returned to his own body. As he opened his eyes, he saw a servant heading towards where he and Ryn sat.

"The princess is ready to see you now," the servant said.

Leaving the waiting room, they walked down a long hall that curved along the side of the palace, and passed a pair of large double doors that Garrett knew led into the throne room. At the end of the hall was a flight of stairs, and for a moment the servant paused, unsure what to do with Garrett, who was in a wheelchair. With a grin, Ryn simply lifted him up, wheelchair and all, and they proceeded up to the second floor, Ryn carrying Garrett in front of her.

"Have you been gaining weight?" she muttered when she finally put him down. "I mean, it's not like you're heavy, but you certainly seem to be heavier than before."

"I don't think so," Garrett replied, pinching the skin on his arm.

"Then maybe I need to train more," she said. "I've been doing a lot of eating and sitting around lately."

They followed the servant down another hallway, and stopped in front of a plain wooden door, which the servant knocked on.

"Come in."

The voice he heard was not the princess's, and exchanging a glance with Ryn, Garrett steeled himself for the coming encounter. The door opened, and the servant stepped aside, gesturing for Ryn and Garrett to enter.

This was the first that the princess had heard of the nighttime attacks on the inn, and it caused her eyes to widen. What Garrett didn't say, of course, was that it had only been one group of five assassins, and they had actually been there for him, not for the princess. He had spoken frankly, not faltering once, even when Duke Arkov's expression grew thunderous. And when the duke let out a hearty chuckle, he knew he had made the right decision.

"Well said. It's astounding to me that one so young could see so clearly. All of the fools who call themselves nobles in this city are blind in comparison. Their only thought is how to increase their own personal gain. Every single one of them, including those who should be the throne's most ardent supporters, like Count Gelavin and Earl Von Ketter, only pay lip service, while at the same time trying to pit me and my niece against each other. On more than one occasion, I've been tempted to grab my sword and cleanse their blight from this city."

"Thankfully, cooler heads have prevailed," Princess Eloise said, smiling cheekily as she looked at her uncle.

Rolling his eyes, the duke nodded.

"Still, I have to commend you. Thanks to your good advice, the princess is now safe. From what I understand, you're in contact with a number of the nobles who support the princess's ascension to the throne. Is that correct?"

Though Duke Arkov had lost his grim look and was now smiling, Garrett wasn't fooled for a second. He knew that he was still being evaluated. The duke was weighing his every word and action to try and determine if Garrett was a threat or not. Flashing a brief frown, Garrett nodded.

"Yes, I am. Though I must admit, your highness, I'm not particularly enchanted with them. It seems to me that they're more interested in what they can gain from the princess ascending the throne than from actually supporting her to the position. One of the most troubling things was the suggestion that the nobility have the opportunity to form a council, a sort of parliament, to vote on issues alongside the king."

Catching Princess Eloise's curious look, Garrett continued to speak. "As a means of testing the waters, I had suggested that the princess forward such a proposal when she talked to Baron Gelavin, but the excitement in his eyes when he heard it was a bit too intense for my liking. And as the conversation continued, it became apparent that this was what the nobles were angling for all along, an increased say in the governance of the city."

"Indeed," Duke Arkov said, leaning back in his chair, "they've been talking to me about something like that as well. And what do you think? Is it a good idea?"

"It could be," Garrett replied, "as it would make the ruling of the city considerably easier, taking a tremendous amount of political pressure off of the royal family. At the same time, it would create a different set of problems. And though they are better problems, they would be problems nonetheless."

"Explain."

"Simply put, the political pressure that the king feels currently is grumbling and discontent. When the nobles don't like something, they have to find ways to subvert the laws. Inevitably, this creates complications for the ruler, as punishing the nobles too harshly is dangerous, but not punishing them for breaking the law simply emboldens them. Instead, if there were to be a parliament, discontent among the nobles would be funneled into political intrigue as they tried to manipulate and guide the decisions of the parliament. Given that the royal family still would have the final deciding vote, as well as control over the military and the city guard, the nobles would have to play carefully. The result would be less effort spent in subverting the rules, and more effort spent in shaping the rules, or at least turning them to their own ends. At the same time, this creates a constant tug of war between the nobility and the royal family, as each vies for the ability to control the senate."

Duke Arkov watched Garrett expressionlessly as he explained his thoughts, and when he had finished, the duke leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk and steepling his fingers as he stared at Garrett.

"You speak as if you have a solution," the duke said, a hint of a smile on his face. "Do you?"

Choosing his words carefully, Garrett gave a half shrug.

"I wouldn't call it a solution, your highness, but I certainly know what I would do."

"Do tell."

"If I were the royal family, I would institute a council, but I wouldn't just invite the nobles. Instead, I would invite the most powerful merchants and the leaders of the other institutions in the city who wield power, whether overtly or covertly. Obviously, the nobles would have more seats than those other groups."

"Wouldn't that take much more effort to balance?" Duke Arkov asked.