Betrayal
Song of the Seven Suns, Part 7.5
Taglist (ask to be added/removed!): @hellishhin @talesfromaurea @thelaughingstag
content warnings: discussion of death, plotting murder/kidnapping, betrayal, swearing
word count: 969
He should’ve known. Of course Marakos’ kid would find a way to ruin his plans, of course she would. He’d almost felt bad about sending them to their deaths, but his guilt had apparently been alleviated in the most frustrating way possible.
Horakes sighed as he stared down from the watchtower at the town below. He had told Dymea not to underestimate Jetra, of course, especially when she showed up with four more adventurers to boot.
Just like her damn father. How they attracted wayward souls to their causes he’d never understand. And now his city was celebrating her victory.
He had never wanted to work with Dymea. It was more of a necessity. She got things done, and that was what he needed. He needed the damn kid out of the picture, and Dymea was the most convenient way to do so. He hadn’t quite planned on Dymea’s unpredictability. He should have known she’d pull something but he was so focused... he was getting far too old for this. 400 years of service to the crown would be enough for anyone else, but not him. There was nothing he could do, though. He’d hoped that Jetra and her friends would weaken Dymea’s group before their inevitable deaths and he could go in and finish them off nice and tidy, but instead they destroyed the whole fucking camp and rescued his townspeople themselves.
Now he just needed to track down those that Dymea had taken. It would be easy enough with the help of the crown. For the record, it wasn’t part of his plan, but she hadn’t given him a choice. The first raid came before he even knew she had arrived, and the following ‘negotiations’ were very one-sided.
He could only hope they got to them first. The last thing he needed was even more of his citizens who were sympathetic towards Jetra and the bunch of traitors and terrorists she allied herself with. Well, allegedly. Horakes knew. He knew but they hadn’t been able to prove it yet. Every time, she’d talk her way out, and no one could ever find enough solid proof before she left for a new town, disappearing for a while before pulling another stunt. She was shaping up to be one of the biggest pains in the ass Horakes had ever had the displeasure of dealing with in his long life, and Horakes had only gotten more and more frustrated.
Horakes knew from watching some of his allies in the capitol blunder around that he could only hope to catch her if he had her trust, and he’d done his best to keep it that way, but she still never gave him anything to go on.
Well, until now, that is. She had come into his office wearing the very symbol of the Company right on her necklace, out for all to see. He couldn’t do anything about it then, not with her strange posse behind her, so he had reigned in his satisfaction for the time being.
Now, however, he could finally put his plan in motion. She had such potential, he almost hated to do it. A person with that kind of passion and drive put in the right place in the hierarchy could do a lot of good for Leinos. He cursed Marakos and his lack of vision. He could’ve been a great service to the kingdom, but instead, Horakes was being forced to deal with his misguided daughter years after he was killed by that very same lack of vision.
Now he finally had proof in hand of her treason. The amulet hadn’t been too hard to acquire once he knew about it. A clever bit of distraction, combined with the fact that she had been drinking a little too much, made it easy for one of his quieter and more loyal men to slip by and take it. A shame she was so reckless with her life. He supposed she got it from her father.
As he saddled up his horse, he clutched the amulet tight. He looked back on Koretion, and he could still hear the sounds of celebration. Things may have been going bad for him so far, but he could still do his duty, and protect Leinos, protect his kingdom. He could still eradicate the traitors, starting with her. All that he had to do was reach the capitol.
Horakes rode for a very long time to reach the capitol. When he had finally arrived, he called a council immediately with the other military leaders. He presented the amulet, and had the mages in the capitol check its magical signature. He knew enough about the laws of magic to know that every time someone used magic, they left their own unique trace on it, like a personal seal. When the traces on the amulet were found to match Jetra, he couldn’t help but smile to himself. His patience had finally paid off.
The council’s decision from then on was clear. Take out the threat to the kingdom.
•••
Eiri was told it was to be done as quietly as possible. Marakos had been widely regarded as a hero, and if news got out that his daughter was suddenly taken by the crown, especially if they knew of her... allegiances... it would be a disaster.
Luckily, quiet was Eiri’s specialty. And she wasn’t gonna fuck this one up. Her father had never looked at her the same when she had failed to bring back proof that that hero’s daughter was a traitor, but he’d appreciate her now, he’d have to.
She was younger then. Less skilled, easily fooled. Now she didn’t have to bring back any proof at all. She could just bring back the damn woman herself, and that was so much easier.
Part 7 | Part 8