MAN OF WAR

17

Jade sighed, contently breathing in the fresh morning scent of grass and flowers. She smiled and cuddled closer to Titus’ warm solid body. His arms closed tighter around her, and she opened her eyes, tilting her face upward to look at him. He was still sleepy, but he smiled warmly back at her and kissed her softly. “Good morning,” she whispered happily.

            “‘Tis a glorious morning,” he said, watching her as contently as she was. “I had not slept so well in over two months.”

            Jade laughed. “You are jesting,” she scolded. “Your bunk is far more comfortable than the ground.”

            “Anyplace is heaven so long as you are there with me,” Titus smiled. She felt her heart soar at his words. She had to admit she felt the same. These past weeks without Titus had been so terrible. She had tossed and turned. Sleep rarely found her, yet last night, once they were spent and sated, she had slept like a babe. Titus laced his fingers with hers and held her hand as he idly stroked her hair with the other. “I am a Fleet Admiral now,” he said quietly.

            “I heard,” he did not sound pleased.

            “I am in command of an entire fleet,” he sighed. “Not long ago, I would have been excited about this. It is quite an honour for a man of my age.”

            “I understand you have earned it,” she said. Jade might not approve of how he had earned it, but she could understand from his side of this war that he had paid his dues and earned his commission.

            “Perhaps, but it will take me away more so then it does now,” he said. “I will spend much of my time at sea,” Jade felt her heart sinking as she realized what he was telling her. He would not be around to be with her. “I am no longer your master, but I would like to still see you when I make port,” he said, capturing her chin between his fingers and tilting her face back up to his. “The choice is yours.”

            He was offering her a position as his mistress. “You are in the market for a mistress?” Jade said bitterly as she sat up. She got up on her knees and gathered up her dress. If he truly cared for her, he would not offer her such a degrading role.

            Titus sat up and watched her gather her things and begin to dress. “Jade, please, why must we fight?”

            “We are not fighting,” she snapped, pulling her dress on.

            Titus reached for his britches and began to dress. “Yes, we are.”

            “I am better than that,” she hissed at him. Jade had already suffered the indignity of being made a slave. She would not spend her life as the mistress to the man she loved, watching him coming and going as he pleased, watching him marry another woman and raising a family with her while stealing kisses in the night. She would not suffer any further humiliations.

            “What do you want from me?” Titus growled, watching her lace-up her bodice. “Do you want me to ask for your hand?” Jade froze for a moment, looking at him, wondering for a moment if he would. “Well, I will not,” Titus snapped. “I cannot. You are a slave, Jade. I cannot marry a slave. It is not done. You may forget, but despite the pleasant touch and the sweet words, at the core, we are still enemies.”

            His words hurt, but he was right. When all was said and done, the truth remained, they were on opposite sides of this war. Jade stepped back into her slippers and took one last look at Titus; her heart was breaking, tears beginning to fill her eyes. Titus pulled his tunic over his head and saw the tears in her eyes. The hard expression on this face faded to one of remorse, and he reached out for her. “Jade…”

            She recoiled from his touch and rushed off through the maze. Enough had been said between them. She quickly found her way out of the maze and ran into the palace using the servants’ passages. Jade knew she was running late for assisting Gaia this morning, but she was sure the Empress would understand. Jade wiped away the tears that threatened to fall as she found her way up to the private quarters. She walked down the wide corridor and spotted the short tubby servant woman from the kitchen staff bringing up the Empress morning meal.

            Jade rushed to catch up to her. “I will take that,” she offered, reaching for the tray.

            “You will not, you lazy cow,” the woman snarled. “You were nowhere to be found this morning to do your job. I intend to be sure the Empress knows you were derelict in your duties,” she said, pulling the tray away from Jade and continuing to the Empress’ bed chambers, lecturing her about her slacking off this morning. She was so loud. She could have woken the entire palace the old bat.

            Jade followed the servant woman. She had a great desire to shove her down a flight of stairs. The nasty woman rapped on the Empress’ door to announce them, and Jade stood up, ramrod straight. A quiver at her very core shuddered through her. Miya was close by, very close by. She looked around and saw no one. The servant began to open the door, and Jade realized her brother was on the other side of the solid oak.

            She held her breath, hoping for the best as the door opened, and the servant entered the chambers. Jade came in behind her quickly, ready to attack the older woman if necessary to defend her brother. She looked around the room to find Gaia standing near her vanity in her nightclothes, looking somewhat nervous. Her eyes drifted to the bed, where Jade saw the Emperor seated on the edge of the bed. Naked from the waist up and the sheet wrapped around his hips. He stared at the servant with narrowed amber eyes.

            The servant bowed quickly at the sight of him. “I am sorry, Your Majesty. I was unaware you…” She stammered and moved quickly to the small table in the room where she placed the tray down. “Sorry for the intrusion, Your Majesty,” she apologized profusely. “Would Your Majesty like his meal to be brought up to the Empress’ chambers as well?”

            “Get out,” he growled. “I am busy. I want no further interruptions, or I shall have someone’s head.”

            The servant woman swallowed hard and rubbed her throat. “Yes, Your Majesty,” she said, bowing and opening the door as she began to back out. She grabbed Jade’s arm and tried to force her to leave as well. “Come, you stupid girl.”

            Miya raised his hand to halt the woman’s attempt to drag Jade from the room. He smiled the same sleazy smile the Emperor himself had as he fixed his eyes on the women at the door. “Leave the girl. I am sure I can make good use of her.”

            The servant woman looked at him and then back at Jade. She did not dare question him. She left the room and shut the door behind her. Miya’s eyes began to glow, and he changed back into himself. Jade smiled and ran across the room, throwing her arms around her brother’s neck. His arms closed around her and squeezed her tightly. “I have missed you so,” she said, kissing his cheek. “You look well.”

            “I have something for you, little sister,” he said happily as he released her. Miya took from around his neck her crystal. She could not believe he had found it. Jade was filled with glee as she accepted it. She placed it around her neck, tucking it into her blouse.

            “How did you find it?”

            “The foolish Emperor must not have known what it was. He gave it to his mistress as a trinket. I took it back,” he said. “Be a dear and pass me my britches,” he asked, pointing to his clothes laying in a heap on the floor. Jade did as he bid and passed Miya his clothes. He pulled his britches on under the sheet and tossed the blanket back as he stood up.

            “What are you doing here? I told you not to come back,” she said, watching him find the rest of his clothes while he dressed in haste.

            “And I told you I would come back for you,” Miya said, pulling his tunic down over his head. “It is my duty to protect you. Besides, I volunteered for a mission to seek out information. I was not about to leave without you twice,” he said, pulling his boots on one by one.

            Jade looked at Gaia standing in her nightgown, her golden hair tossed, and her face flushed, looking as if she had just been ravaged. “I see, and what is this?” Jade asked. Gaia blushed and cast her eyes to the floor, embarrassed to have been caught in such a compromising position.

            Miya rose to his feet once more and placed his arm around Gaia’s waist. “This is gratitude,” he smiled, kissing her softly. “Without the Empress, I would have never escaped, nor would I have had a comfortable place to hide last night,” he teased, causing Gaia to blush red.

            Jade could not believe her ears. Gaia was the spy the entire palace had been searching for. She had released Miya from the dungeon. Apparently, he had seduced her. Jade did not understand, but she was hardly in the place to judge. She had lost her heart to an enemy officer. “You should go before someone else finds you here,” Gaia said, caressing his cheek.

            “Remember what I told you. If word gets out, you say what I told you to say. It will protect you,” Miya said, staring into Gaia’s eyes. “Promise me, you will say it.”

            “Yes, I will say it,” Gaia promised.

            Suddenly a loud horn sounded, and Jade felt her blood run cold. She remembered that sound from when Miya had escaped. A call to arms, Titus had called it. “They know you are here,” Jade said. “It is time for us to go,” she urged.

***

            Titus watched as Jade ran off, and he cursed his rotten luck. Why did she always have to be so difficult about everything? Why could she not just accept the way things were? Things could be so good. He would be with her every time he made port. He wanted no other woman. He would have her at his side if it could be done, but that was simply not the way the world worked. She had to accept this. He knew his place in the world, and it was about time she learnt hers.

            Titus finished redressing, and he reluctantly wandered out of the maze. He had woken in a good mood, but the glorious morning had taken a rather nasty turn, and quite quickly at that. Why were women so volatile? He would never understand them if he lived to be a hundred. He headed back toward the stables to retrieve his horse when he crossed Logan’s path.

            “There you are,” he laughed. “Did you even leave last night?” Logan asked. “Come on. The Emperor is waiting in the war room for us.”

            “Why did no one tell me of this?” Titus complained. He hated being left out of the loop.

            Logan looked at him as if he were daft. “What on earth are you talking about, man? You were told last night in the hall. The Emperor told you himself. I was right there.”

            Titus was confused. He had not spoken to the Emperor outside his promotion last night. He had not stayed that long. “No, he did not. I was not in the hall last night. I was in the maze with a woman all evening,” Titus informed his friend.

            Logan looked at him as confused as Titus. “No, I saw you personally. You were standing right there with us as we were discussing possible strategies for taking on the rebels. The Emperor wants to move the Naval fighting men to the Army, and he wants you to lead them. He told you this, and you had agreed.”

            No, it was not possible, Titus would remember such a conversation. He knew full well that he was not the one who had it. “Whoever he was speaking to, it was not me,” he stressed.

            “Then who was it?” Logan asked, the answer coming to them both. There was a shifter spy inside the city walls. Both men broke into a run headed for the war room to inform the Emperor of the spy. They cut through the servants’ passage to save time, and Logan knocked over a short tubby servant woman. Titus stopped to help her to her feet. “Leave her. We must reach the Emperor,” Logan stressed.

            “The Emperor is not to be disturbed,” the woman informed them as she dusted off her skirt.

            “Are you daft, woman?” Logan snarled. “The Emperor is expecting us in the war room.”

            “No, he is with the Empress, in her bed chambers. He gave an order not to be disturbed,” she said.

            Titus fixed her to where she stood with a hard glare. “Are you certain of this?”

            “Yes. I left him there, not moments ago,” she said, nodding her head.

            Titus drew his sword. “Logan, fetch the men and inform the Emperor. I am going after the spy in the Empress’ chambers.”

            “We shall be right behind you,” Logan said, rushing off to the war room to get reinforcements. Titus ran up another staircase taking the steps two at a time. He ran through the corridors and up to the private quarters. Logan must have reached the war room; for seconds later, the horn blew, alerting the troops to the intruder.

            Titus held his sword at the ready as he approached the Empress’ bed chambers. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He threw himself against the door over and over, slamming his shoulder into it, trying to bust the wooden lock. Titus backed up and kicked it hard. Once… twice… three times and the lock splintered giving way, and the door flew open wide.    

            The Empress screamed and ducked for cover behind her vanity as Titus charged into the room. He caught a glimpse of a person slipping out onto the balcony. He looked at the Empress first. “Are you alright, Your Majesty?” She nodded, and he quickly moved out onto the balcony to catch the intruder. Outside, his heart almost stopped as he saw his rival standing perilously on the stone banister of the balcony. He was holding Jade’s hand, coaxing her up on the banister with him. They both looked back at Titus when he stepped out on the balcony.

            Titus could not breathe. The sight of Jade’s hand in Miya’s was like a knife to his heart. He held his sword up to stop them, but his emotions were in turmoil. Do not go; he wished to scream. His gaze held hers for a long moment — his heartbreaking. “Jade,” Miya said, drawing her attention away from Titus. Jade stepped up on the rail, and Titus rushed forward to grab them both, but they leapt off.

            “Jade!” Titus screamed with fear as he leaned over the banister, trying to catch her before she fell to her death. Much to his relief, he watched as they both transformed into huge eagles soaring high into the sky and flew away. She had left him. The pain was such agony he wished he could carve his very heart out to end the pain. Titus could hear the men enter the chambers behind him. Logan came out on the balcony and over to the banister. He looked out over the city. “Where is the spy?”

“They flew away,” Titus said, turning around and going back inside.

            The Emperor stormed into the room. “What is the meaning of this?” He demanded, his face red with rage as he looked at his wife, pulling a robe on over her nightgown. “You w***e,” he snarled, grabbing her arm and shaking her violently. “You bed down with my enemy. I will have your head.”

            Titus came to her defence. “Your Majesty, in the Empress’ defence, the man was a shifter. Able to take the form of anyone he pleases. He posed as me last night as well and fooled even you. When he came to her as you, she could not very well turn him away. As far as she knew, he was her husband, and she was to do as he bid. It is not her fault he posed as you. He even fooled the servant that arrived this morning. This is not her betrayal,” he argued.

            The Emperor shoved Gaia hard, causing her to stumble and fall onto her bed. “Fine, this time, she is forgiven,” He growled then turned his angry gaze back to Gaia. “But should it happen again, no man will be able to save your pretty neck,” he hissed. Victor turned to face his men. “This is a grave insult. To infiltrate my home. To bed, my wife. I want this man found, and I want him killed. I want him slaughtered. I want his head on a pike,” he looked at Titus. “Call in every sailor and outfit them with armour and a horse. They are all now soldiers under your command until further notice.” He looked at his other men. “Rally the men. It is time to march on the rebels and put an end to this war,” he snarled, storming out of the room.

            The men followed, and Titus lingered behind, leaving slowly. Gaia came to her feet and rushed to his side. She grabbed his arm, and he panicked. It was inappropriate for her to touch him, especially after her husband’s rage. She could likely get them both killed. Titus pulled away from her.

            “Titus, you cannot let him do this,” she said desperately.

            “The war must end,” he said. On that point, he and the Emperor did agree, and frankly, he too would like to see that particular shifter’s head on a pike. With any luck, he would be the one to put it there.

            “It is the manner in which he means to end it,” she whispered. “It is g******e. He means to kill everyone. Even children. Babes that have not lived long enough to have sinned against him. He intends to destroy everyone and everything, and he means to use you to do it,” Gaia whispered.

            “That is absurd,” Titus said. He did not like the man, but he did not believe him to be so heartless as to murder infants.

            Gaia stood up straight. “Where do your loyalties lay?” She asked.

            Titus was offended. How could she even ask him such a thing? “I am loyal to the Empire.”

            “And if the Empire should fall?” She whispered.

            He could not believe the words coming from her mouth. He did not know what had happened the night before to cause such treasonous words to come from her lips. Because of their friendship, he would not report her, but he could not allow this to continue. She could get herself into some serious trouble. Titus took Gaia by the arm and dragged her forcefully to her dressing room. He shut the door behind them so they would not be overheard.

             Titus pointed a warning finger at her. “What I say now, I say as a friend. I do not know what happened between you and that man last night. I do not know if you truly believed him to be your husband or not. Frankly, I do not believe you did, but I do not care. Your husband is swine. Yet, swine or not, he is Emperor, and if you keep talking like this, that swine will have you executed. Do not ask me to endure the sight of you walking to the gallows. The people need you, Gaia. Without you, all we have is him. You are what the people love. You are what gives the people hope.”

            “But you fight for him,” Gaia said.

            “We may take his orders, but we do not all fight for him. I do not fight for that pompous fool. We fight for what we believe in. We fight for the Empire. The rebels believe the Empire is lost and must be ended. We believe it is flawed, but that it is worth saving. I have dedicated my life to the Empire. My father died fighting for the Empire. I will not let it fall,” Titus said, taking Gaia’s hands in his. “You are the one thing that still gives the men hope. That proves to them that there is still something good and righteous worth fighting for. Do not let that talking pig take that from us.”

            Gaia sighed and nodded. He hoped he had gotten through to her. Now he had to leave her, Titus had orders to carry out and a meeting to get to. Titus left the Empress’ chambers and spent the rest of the day sending out messengers to all the ports. Every ship was to be called into port. Every sailor was to be called to arms. Any man that could hold a sword was now a soldier.

            Titus spent a few hours collaborating with three of the other Fleet Admirals. Organizing the incoming fleets trying to establish a functional command structure while in the field. They divided up the men, the command, and the workload. Each man satisfied with what they were responsible for. They then saw to it that a designated section outside the city walls was set up for the incoming sailors to make camp and be outfitted with armour and weaponry.

            As the sun went down, every commanding officer was summoned to the war room for tactical discussions. The Emperor made it very clear at that point what he wished the outcome to be. “Everyone must die,” he said. “By any means necessary. Not one soldier returns until absolutely every man, woman, and child that opposes me is dead. I do not even want to hear the phrase prisoner of war. Is that understood?” Victor said, looking at the face of every man at the table. Dear God, Gaia had been right. The man was evil. Titus felt his stomach churn at the thought of killing a child, of slaughtering an unarmed woman sheltering her children. The very idea made him feel ill. “Fleet Admiral, do we have an accord?” The Emperor asked, fixing Titus with a hard stare.

            Titus shook his head. “Yes, Your Majesty. I understand your orders completely,” he understood them, but he did not like them.

            “Very good. Field Marshal Dustan is the head of my army in my stead. You will all report to him while in the field,” the Emperor said, looking at the Field Marshal. “Do not fail me.”