4.14 In Which the Dark Lord Feels a Chill Run Down His Spine

4.14 In Which the Dark Lord Feels a Chill Run Down His Spine

Theres an idea, where I am from, I began, positioning myself with my back to the fence and subtly adjusting my stance and body language to take on a lecturing demeanor. The belief thatlets see, how did they put it All men are created equal. The notion that everyone has certain, for lack of a better term, human rights. Every person entitled to basic dignity and equal protection under the law, no one able to abuse or impose upon anyone else.

Wow, it only took a few sentences of that for them to begin to turn on me. But that was fine; anger I could deal with, it was only apathy that would mess up my game here. I was going somewhere with this, it just called for a bit of crowd work to pick up my momentum.

I gather you have not had the opportunity to study Fflyr history or jurisprudence, Lord Seiji, said an older man whose blond hair was starting to shift toward gray. He appeared too dignified to scowl or mutter the way many of his fellow nobles now were, simply lifting his chin to give me a severe stare. Those we now call lowborn are the descendants of a truly despicable race. Their position in modern society is their just punishment by the Goddess, and we Her divinely appointed custodians of their recompense. You tread, my lord, upon the dictates of law, faith, and celestial providence itself.

I cant wait to watch the lot of you burn.

Interesting, I said aloud, not having to fake a tone. It was interesting, and no less so for being horrible and stupid; I hadnt bothered to acquaint myself with a highborn perspective on the matter. Ill have to dig up a book on that at the first opportunity. But no, rest assured I wasnt finished. What we all know without having to be told is that there is not and has never been, anywhere, a place where thats how it works. Im aware of distant countries in which such egalitarianism is the law of the land, and even there, in practice its a bad joke. There are always the shepherds and the sheep, yes? Nah, dont mistake me. I grinned amiably, keeping my posture relaxed as the stirrings of antagonism around me began to relax into mere suspicion. I was raising the moral argument preemptively, so as to dismiss it. Otherwise, I fear some of you might wrongly conclude I was approaching the topic from that direction.

That extremely obvious, minimally ethical direction. All around me the gathered highborn had calmed down just as quickly as theyd grown angry, reassured I wasnt about to suggest that they should try not to be sociopaths.

I wouldnt want anybody walking away with the idea that Im somehow better than you, I added with my most disarming grin. No one who knows me would entertain that idea for even a second. Right, Aster?

Amid the wave of chuckles at my little joke, Asters shoulders shifted minutely in a barely-suppressed sigh and she gave me an utterly deadpan stare that was as close to an Aster Look as she dared in front of this particular crowd.

Indeed, my lord is famously astute in his social observations.

Man, that lowborn sarcasm was a trip once you knew how to spot it. I could see how they got away with it; youd come across like a pathetically insecure jackass if you reacted harshly to such an oblique prod.

But anyway, we werent talking about me! I gestured grandly toward Highlord Lhadron, who was still watching me warily, though he had also relaxed and even laughed. Grasping at poise however he could, or unaware of the situation I was putting him in? Not that it mattered; if he hadnt been smart enough to avoid being in this trap, he was still fish in a barrel. Rather than morality, its a question oflets see, whats the word I want Ah, yes. Insecurity.

I beg your pardon? he exclaimed.

My people eat well, I said, affecting an idle, insouciant tone. Theyre dressed warmly enough for the season, and they have enough time off from work to relax. A productive employee is a comfortably fed, well-rested, properly socialized employee. I make sure they are provided these things because I want to get the best benefit out of them, and because

I paused, letting my smile extend subtly on one side, becoming an unmistakable smirk. A moment to let the tension build, to verify that the audience was still clinging to my every word despite how Id momentarily antagonized them just now. Because of course they still were; Im a master of my craft.

Because, I finally continued, holding Lhadrons increasingly angered stare, when I see a peasant bent over in a field scything wheator a donkey grazing in the next pasture overthere is no insidious little voice in the back of my head whispering, there but for the grace of the Goddess go I.

He actually placed one hand on his rapier, probably goaded by the several indrawn breaths from the onlookers.. Just what do you mean by that?!

I glanced at the sword, just long enough to let him know I was dismissing the idea of it being a threat. In truth, I had no idea how skilled he might be; a rapier seemed to be an essential part of fashion for male highborn, but Nazralind claimed that only a relative handful actually studied fencing.

What would you think, I drawled, if a jockey who lost a race vented his frustration by whipping his horse bloody, then shoved it in a stall without food or water? Aside from I am going to eviscerate that worthless bastard, of course, that goes without saying. What does it say about a man, that he abuses a helpless animal?

Lhadrons grip tightened on the handle of his sword, though he was still not drawing it. You cannot begin to compare

It says, I projected right over his voice, which was easy because nobody had ever trained him in public speaking, that he has a desperate need to feel bigger and better than somebody, and is too pitiful to actually earn that pride in comparison to any real peer of his. It is the action of a sad, silly, insecure little man whose every waking moment is defined by his desperate need to make some living creature fear himand his inability to impose his will on anyone or anything whose respect would actually be worth something.

Your ignorance has escalated into insult, Lord Seiji, Lhadron barked. You know nothing of this land, or these people. The lowborn must be kept

in their place, I finished in unison with him. Subordinate and ruled over by their betters. Correct? But thats just the point. That, I pointed behind me at Thunder, who obligingly whinnied, is a creature who could kick you from here into the core, and I dont see him being starved and frozen. He certainly has issues recognizing who is master hereand yet, there he is, in his paddock, under control. Control which is exercised gently but firmly, because that is how one maintains control. Deprivation and violence are not useful in keeping the lowborn down, Lhadron; if anything, nonsense like that is why Dlemathlys suffers regular lowborn uprisings. Ah, yes, I forgot to mention I am not entirely ignorant of your history, after all. The easiest way to prevent the lowborn from rebelling is to deprive them of any reason to. To actually live by your own rhetoric: regard them as less valuable than the horses. Tend your animals well. Its plain that you know how. And yet, you dont.

I took one step toward him, bringing myself uncomfortably close and not even glancing at the hand that was still clutching his rapier so hard it trembled. Instead, I held his gaze, my own stare relentless, but mocking.

The good shepherd tends his flock. Its a sad, pitiable little boy who beats and starves them for the sake of his own ego. After all, what sort of pathetic loser feels gratified by exercising power over sheep?

That, he whispered, is a step too far.

I raised an eyebrow. All around were whispers and mutters, a susurration of uncertainty. For a moment, I wondered if Id misstepped. I knew the dynamic here, or thought I did; the fact that most of these fuckers were guilty of the same shouldnt stop them from reveling in Lhadrons humiliation and piling more on top of it. Or so I had assumed. Were they going to take it personally instead? If things went in that directionThis chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

That reminds me, my lord, an unexpectedly familiar voice said from the nearby crowd. You did make the rounds of our village and ensure the lowborn are properly set up for the winter?

My dear, I could very nearly take offense, Highlord Adver Yviredh replied, turning to his wife with a raised eyebrow of his own. Surely you dont mean to suggest that I am so lacking as a man that the suffering of our serfs would bring me some satisfaction?

They shifted aside to give me an exit from the crowd as well. Off I strode, my heavily-armed shadow trailing me as the gathered highborn began drifting away even as they devolved into happily malicious gossip. Hopefully theyd have the sense to put some distance between themselves and the horses before getting too loud. I gave that a coin tosss odds, at best.

From behind, Thunder let out a long whinny with a distinctly plaintive quality. I admit, it made me hesitate, but I kept moving without looking back. He was fine now, and I couldnt afford to get emotionally attached to every creature which crossed my path.

That was an interesting ploy, Aster murmured as soon as wed put enough distance between us and the highborn to permit a passably discreet conversation. Seemed risky, if you ask me.

Did I?

Its just that I could very easily see that going in the other direction entirely. If the Yviredhs hadnt happened to be there and picked up what you were laying down and decided to chime in and help Well, just seems like that whole thing was salvaged by a lot of sheer luck, thats all.

Nothings a sure thing, I admitted, but that outcome was by far the likeliest. Its just bullying, Asterboth the way they all treat the lowborn and the way they treat each other. Its the only way those fuckers know how to treat anyone, I suspect. The point is never any particular thing being picked at, but the dynamic. The sheer enjoyment of exercising power over someone else, of hurting them because you can and because they cant stop you. It doesnt matter who or why. I just had to make him the target, and they jumped on the chance to show him up by having their peasants be better off than his. I cant say how much theyll follow through, butitll be something.

You have this way of sounding so authoritative when you talk about human behavior, she commented. I can never be sure how much of it youre pulling out of your ass, though Ive picked up by now that the answer is never none.

Yeah, well, trust me, this dynamic is extremely familiar to me. Im basically an anthropologist of cliques. There isa bullying problem in Japanese schools. To put it mildly.

From the corner of my eye I saw her glance at me, then sigh and shake her head.

Yeah. Somehow the revelation that you were bullied as a child makes way too much sense.

I stared ahead at where I was going, refusing to look in her direction. I wasnt.

There was a moment of silence before she answered.

Hah. You know what, that actually makes even more sense.

Hey, dont judge me, I snapped. I was the musical kid with mediocre grades and a foreign-born mother. You dont get to opt out of those social dynamics; the first thing I realized in high school was that the only choice on the table was which end of it to be on. Kids get driven to suicide by this shitregularly. Well, not at my school, Ill have you know. Some feelings were hurt, some indoor shoes hidden and a few fake love letters sent, and that was as far as it went. The teachers wont do anything and parents never know whats going on, but I can tell you that what does keep a lid on the worst of it is when the ringleader turns the cruelty of the whole group on anyone who tries to take things too far.

Our feet crunched in the snow; we were skirting the outside of the village, heading straight back toward Rhydions camp on the outskirts rather than going back through the muddy streets.

You know, Aster finally said, breaking the silence, every once in a while, you just randomly open your mouth and spit up something that suddenly makes me understand exactly why Virya picked you, of all people on your whole world, to be the Dark Lord.

What the hell is that supposed to

I was completely unprepared. The impact struck me right on the back of my neck, causing me to stumble forward. What was that?! I very nearly cast Heal out of reflex, barely managing to restrain myself lest I give away the whole game; we were far enough from any crowds for private conversation but in plain view of the whole village and outlying camps. How bad was it? The nape of my neck stung, numbed by the blow, preventing me assessing the damage. Okay, it couldnt be too bad, though, I wasnt paralyzed or anything and I still wore my hidden amulet that would protect me from any lethal hits.

Aster had instantly spun and whipped out her sword, and during the next three seconds we both took stock. Finding no immediate threat, she straightened from her battle-ready combat stanceand it occurred to me that Biribo was still silently hidden in his nest in her coat pocket, which he wouldnt have been had anything actually dangerous been headed my way. Okay, then I must be fine.

Youre fine, Aster said, echoing my conclusion. Turning to me, she brushed at the back of my shoulders. Not even a rock hidden in it.

Hidden in No.

Yeah, its just snow.

It was. I could feel it running down my back, now, where it had slipped under my collar. Snow, immediately melted by my body heat and turning into an utterly miserable sensation as ice water trickled under my clothes in this frigid air.

A snowball. Some absolute motherfucker had hit me with a snowball. In the back.

Instant fury cleared away the uncertainty and worry, banishing even the chill.

From the vivid coloration of the South American tree frog, to the spread-winged threat display of the Canada goose, to the eponymous warning of the rattlesnake, nature is filled with countless ways of conveying the all-important message, the most important signal that can be transmitted up and down the food chain: Do not fuck with me.

I had my own methods.

Aaaaalllll right, I drawled, pulling out my sword in a slow, deliberate motion. Showtime it is, then.