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It was amazing how much could change in just ten months.
Since becoming the high commander of the Imperial Navy, Admiral Knight had moved things along quickly. With Orvin as her chief of staff, and the cunning, clever, though uneducated Gorvam as her supply and procurement officer, they had streamlined naval operations and got everyone in line with regards to operational procedures.
With Rustic on the Ealantic and Olang on the Wesific, the Cromah Navy was no longer much of a threat at all. Their remaining ships were more of a nuisance now.
Olang’s acceptance of her as High Commander, she learned, was not just certain, but unquestioned. Aria learned that the long-time Wesific Ocean commander had been itching for more direct command, more action, and Admiral Knight had influenced things in such a way that he had precisely what he’d most desired.
The Huscarn Militia, under the new instructions from the emperor, had finally overrun the foothold of the Cromah in the Huscarn lands, and had they established a beachhead in a Cromah town called Nofralta on their Ealantic coast.
Reinforcements had finally gotten through to the Militia forces on the Wesific coast of the Cromah Republic, establishing a greater presence there than had been seen in almost twenty years.
Emperor Edvin had, at first, been pleased by the progress and the virtual elimination of the Cromah Armadas. He’d been excited when reports had reached him about the success on the shore of the Cromah.
But in the past month and a half, he seemed to care less, and he had not ordered more of a push. He did not seem to desire furthering his empire as he could. It appeared, to Aria, as if he was unsure what to do with a potential victory over the Cromah.
Aria bided her time at his side. Most nights, if he did not come to her, he called for her. She continued to let him believe he was taking her - though the opposite was still true, as she had him wrapped around her finger and could levy anything out of him she desired.
She was careful how she used this ability, and only Orvin and Novick knew that she had become the emperor’s lover. Gorvam likely suspected it as well, but she was not so concerned about that. Gorvam was a friend and ally.
While Emperor Edvin’s desire for more power seemed to fade, his desire for her had intensified. More than once she had let him take her during a visit to naval headquarters on an early afternoon or late morning.
She didn’t mind sleeping with the emperor whenever he desired her. Aria admitted to herself that Edvin was indeed an excellent lover. He satisfied her as much as she knew she satisfied him.
But her lust for power and position overshadowed her lust for the man. She had a choice before her, and despite her feelings for the emperor, he still represented an obstacle to Aria’s ultimate destiny.
Master Enswai, whom Aria had met in secret one morning, told her where to find what she needed.
She had carefully planned and plotted her next move. It required a delicate touch, as well as detailed specifics to go off without a hitch. Timing was everything.
Edvin had sent for her to come to him. It was perfect.
They spoke of the ongoing military gains and discussed various people among the emperor’s cabinet and command staffs. It was how things normally passed between them.
And then he could wait no longer, and they thrashed about on the emperor’s bed, the unclothed dance of the impassioned lovers.
After Emperor Edvin was sated, Aria had presented him with scrolls.
“What are these, my lover?” questioned the emperor, a deep note to his voice that spoke of his combination of satisfaction and exhaustion she had come to know so well.
“These, my liege, are relevant orders and procurement items that can only be taken care of when counter-signed by my emperor,” she told him.
“You have a quill?”
She did. He took up the quill and signed all four documents. He never questioned such things after their lovemaking.
“My gods, you are incredible,” he informed her as she casually arose. Without dressing, Aria walked away from the bed to the desk, setting down the documents carefully.
“You, my emperor, make me feel that way,” Aria informed him sweetly.
“So, Admiral Knight,” he began sleepily. Aria had expected this conversation. They usually held it after their night’s first lovemaking session. “Will you ever consider my offer and become my empress?”
<->
It had been three months ago that he had first proposed. It had been a particularly intense session, which had almost drained Aria nearly as much as the emperor. She had lain in his arms, and he had sighed a sigh of intense satisfaction and contentment.
“My gods, Aria...that was...”
“Yes, my lover, it was,” Aria had finished for him.
“I have never been with a lover such as yourself,” he had said in that same tone of sleepy satisfaction. “You are an incredible woman, in so many ways. Would you...would you consent to become my empress, Aria Knight?”
She had sat up and looked into his eyes. That moment had begun within her a deep debate.
Aria could not deny that she had deep feelings for Edvin, and he was indeed an intense and impressive lover. She was torn between her very human desire to be with someone, and her long=held deeper desire for power.
Aria had looked deeply into his eyes, seeking her way into his soul. She saw that while she may come first in his life, marriage to Edvin Huscarn meant she would always be second. Second in power, second in command, and second in time and place.
While the second most powerful figure in the empire was indeed an impressive place to be, Aria had come too far to settle for second.
Still, it tempted her.
She had smiled. “I shall have to think that over, my lover. I am not entirely certain I am ready to give up my place as high commander of your Navy. As your wife, I do not know that I could remain such.”
“I understand his. You have worked hard to get where you are today. Still, I hope you will consider my proposal, Aria. But take your time,” he had said.
She had moved her hand down to his thigh, and soon she had him distracted once more.
For three months Aria had pondered his proposal, and she debated if sharing power with the emperor as his wife and partner would suffice. She cared for him, respected him, and loved him.
But as she watched his enthusiasm for the conquest of the Cromah wane, and she gained a greater sense of the power he held. With that, she could see that his ambitions may be too limited to be joined with her own.
<->
Aria stood, naked, at the emperor’s desk. She was pouring wine into a goblet, but not before emptying the contents of the ring on her right hand into it. She turned, slowly, well aware of the impact standing before Edvin like this would have on him.
“My emperor, my lover,” Aria began, giving him a knowing grin and sending out energy that she knew would make his heart skip a beat and his loins stir again. “Mayhaps, sometime soon, I shall consent to your desire. But there is still much to be done, I am not finished with the Navy just yet.”
She sauntered to the bed, setting the goblet down at Edvin’s side, leaning over so her breasts were in his face. “And of course, my lover, I am not done with you this night, either.”
His response was spirited, and precisely what Aria had expected.
A little more than an hour later, they lay side by side, Edvin panting and sweating. Aria felt equally as satisfied.
“Am I under some sort of spell that you can arouse me so readily?” questioned Edvin.
“If my body be magic, my liege, then yes,” Aria chided.
Edvin chuckled and rose, leaning on an elbow. He took the wine goblet she’d prepare earlier and drained it.
He looked to Aria. “Oh, my lover, I should have offered you...”
Aria smiled, taking up the goblet that had been on the other side of the bed. “I have my own. I know how much you need to be replenished, my lover.”
Edvin laughed lightly, setting down the goblet and settling on the bed.
“So, my emperor,” Aria began, “your advisors, you sycophants...whom are you most wary of? Who do you trust implicitly, and whom do you keep some suspicions?”
“This is an odd question,” replied Emperor Edvin. “Why does it matter?”
Aria smiled at him. “I want to know who I should be prepared to kill for you at a moment’s notice, my lover.”
Emperor Edvin chuckled. “Ah, yes. I do forget that you are not only a brilliant tactician and strategist, but also a fine fighter.”
“I am a soldier of your empire, my lover.”
Edvin chuckled once more. “That you are, Aria, that you are. Long ago now I did away with those I could not trust. Modvin has been the finest vizier I’ve had. Uftgam has been a devoted and loyal exchequer, and Lohma has been an excellent and trustworthy senior advisor. I have not had such a capable staff as I do now.”
“What about your entourage?” questioned Aria sweetly, her hand on his thigh. It was not producing the usual affect.
“My entourage follows where I go,” he replied, sounding a little distant. “They are mostly fools, at my beck and call, and they will do as I wish them to. Easy to send away.”
“You’ve ruled a long time now, my emperor. Alone. You have had the opportunity to go further than any of your predecessors. You could have been a legend.”
Emperor Edvin dropped onto his back as though his elbows had given out. He blinked a couple of times, slowly, before answering softly, almost dreamily, “I will be, my lover...”
A look of consternation crossed his face. Aria was sitting up, leaning over him some. “Is there something the matter, my emperor?”
“I...don’t know,” Edvin replied, slowly. His voice seemed like it was far off. “I...I cannot seem to...feel my arms or my legs.”
“I know,” replied Aria. “That is because you are dying, my liege.”
“Dying?” questioned the Emperor dreamily.
“Yes, my lover,” replied Aria. “The poison you drank is untraceable and unique. It will be painless, and you will enter a sleep from which you will never arise again. Your heart will seize and stop.”
“P...poison?” he questioned, his voice soft. “Aria...are you...killing me?”
Aria smiled bittersweetly at him. “Yes, my emperor. You are all that stands in the way of my destiny, and I will not be thwarted from that. I am sorry it has to be this way...but I will never forget you.”
“Wh...wh...why?” he asked, clearly fading. His eyes were barely open and his breathing was becoming shallower.
“Because I will have the power, my lover. It will all be mine. You are the only thing that has stood in my way. Your throne will be mine. I will become the legend you did not desire to be.”
“But...but...I...l...l...love you...” He was not long for the world.
“Take some comfort, Edvin, in knowing that I love you too.”
His eyes closed, his chest rose and fell a few more times, and then, with a long sigh, Edvin Huscarn passed on.
Aria waited, then checked his pulse. He was gone.
She took his signet ring from his hand and arose. She did not put on her robes as she went to his desk.
Aria took up the scrolls she had had the emperor sign and rolled them up. She lit a candle and picked up a stick of blue wax. She burned it, then pressed the hot wax upon the scroll, sealing it. She then pressed the emperor’s signet ring into it.
She repeated the process for the rest of the scrolls. She took her time doing so. When she was done, she positioned them in the appropriate places within the emperor’s desk.
Aria returned to the bed and put the ring back upon Edvin’s finger. She got the goblet and her poisoner’s ring, and took them to the wash basin across the room.
Aria had found the right books and studied what she needed to do. Though she had never done this before, she was certain enough in her power to make it work.
She lit a match and dropped it into the bowl. As it burned beside the goblet and ring, she focused on it, concentrated on it.
“Ignis,” she said, calling upon the ancient word to bring forth sorcerous power.
The flame ignited hotter, turning blue and bright. It flashed white, sorcerer’s fire, and in an instant, it was gone. So, to, the ring and goblet were consumed and no more.
Aria returned to the bed. She would sleep the rest of the night beside her lover’s corpse, and it was not long before she was asleep, dreaming of her ultimate success.
She awoke at first light. She looked to her side and saw her lover had gone stiff and cold. She shook him to attempt to rouse him, so the bed would look properly ruffled.
“Guards! Guards!” she cried.
The door to the chamber burst open, and the guards entered. Both averted their eyes from Aria’s naked body, barely covered by the sheets she held up.
She knew the concern showed on her face. “Get the emperor’s physician. Now!”
They did not question her. They ran.
Minutes later, in his dressing gowns, the emperor’s physician arrived. Aria had arisen and put on her own gowns.
“What is it?” questioned the doctor.
“His Majesty,” Aria spoke, her voice cracking, tears - mostly genuine - coming to her eyes. “He is cold. He will not stir.”
The doctor leaned over the emperor’s body and pulled open his eyes. He pulled back the sheets and put his head to Edvin’s chest.
After only a moment, he said, “My gods...he’s dead.”
“No!” Aria broke down, allowing the sorrow she did, in fact, feel for his passing wash over her.
“Get the Imperial vizier here, now!” ordered the physician. “Tell no one you meet of this! Move, guards!”
“Yes, Doctor!” they replied.
A few minutes later they returned, the already dressed tall, regal vizier in tow.
Lord Donnan Modvin was almost seven feet tall, and he was as thin as a rail. He entered the room in the same confident way he entered every room.
“What has happened?” he questioned.
“My Lord Vizier, the emperor is dead,” spoke the Doctor, without preamble.
Lord Modvin looked at Aria, tears still streaming from her eyes. “What happened, Admiral Knight?”
“I don’t know,” Aria said, her voice barely steady. “We were together last night, and this morning...I awoke...and found him like this.”
The vizier looked at the emperor’s dead body. “Who knows?”
“My lord, apart from you, the guards, myself, and Admiral Knight, no one else,” said the physician.
“We must keep it as such,” said the vizier. He looked to Aria. “I am sorry, Admiral Knight, but until the physician can confirm his death was by natural causes, I must hold you imprisoned. I will have you escorted to ambassadorial quarters.”
“I...I understand, Lord Modvin.” Aria sighed. She sobbed as she looked at Edvin’s body.
“Guards, see to the admiral,” he said. “Then return here at once. Tell no one what has transpired.”
“Yes, Lord Modvin,” they said. “Admiral Knight?”
She took a last look at her deceased lover, the tears genuine, and departed his chamber.
It may have been necessary to advance her designs, but Aria would miss Edvin Huscarn.