In her study, Argath was busy putting her seal on a stack of death sentences, when there was a knock on the door.
"It's Lorenzo, Boss."
"Come in."
"Sorry to bother you, Boss" the fox said, as he entered the room. "A package came for you. Naturally, I had someone open it outside. Just in case. "
"Good. What was in the package?"
"This" Lorenzo replied and handed over the contents of the package to Argath. The Queen studied it with mild interest.
"Seems to be a journal of some kind. Who sent it?"
Lorenzo shrugged.
"No idea, there was no return address."
"Thank you, Lorenzo, that will be all."
Once she was alone, Argath went back to her work. However, every once in a while, she found herself glancing at the journal, which laid on her desk. It was as if it was calling out to her: Open me, it seemed to whisper and learn my secrets.
What the Hell, I deserve a break, Argath thought.
Her curiosity having thus won out, she reached for the journal and opened it. As she did, a piece of paper fell out and landed in her lap. Intrigued, the Queen picked it up and read the following:
Some time ago, I found this journal written by one of my ancestors and am now thinking of publishing it. Before making it available to the public, I send it to you, Your Majesty. I hope it will divert you as much as it did me and would be greatly honored if Your Majesty would grace my humble home with her presence, so that we may discuss its contents further.
Your subject, Cornelius.
PS: I believe that Your Majesty will find what's written on pages 45-47 of particular interest.
Argath repeated the name of the sender thoughtfully to herself. The Last time she had seen the former Councillor was when she had banished him from court. Naturally, she had ordered Lorenzo to discreetly keep him under surveillance, suspecting that he might have connection to the underground Sharanist movement. However, nothing had turned up. It seemed that, too all appearances, Cornelius was content in living out the rest of his days in quiet obscurity.
Until now that is. Very well, let's see if what his ancestor wrote should be shared with my subjects.
Making herself comfortable, Argath flipped to the pages indicated in the letter and began to read.
A moment later, she put the journal down and summoned a servant.
"Tell Our litter-carriers to make themselves ready", she ordered. "We are going out."
*****
Aemon was working in the garden, when he heard someone knock on the front door. At first, Aemon waited for the maid to get it, only to recall that it was her afternoon off and that she was out.
Reluctantly, the cat put down the pruning shears and went to answer. Hopefully, this would not be another door-to-door salesman.
Upon opening the door, Aemon realized that he would have preferred the peddler.
"We have come to visit Cornelius" Argath said, with ice in her voice. "We trust that he's available?"
"He's in the drawing room" Aemon began, somewhat shaken by the Queen's sudden appearance. "But, Your Majesty, he..."
He stopped mid-sentence, as Argath swept past him, leaving Aemon to feel like a skiff that had just been cut off by a battleship.
Upon entering the drawing room, Argath found Cornelius reclining on a sofa, a blanket covering his legs. Next to him stood a table, with a stack of books and a few bottles of medicine on it.
"Your Majesty must forgive me for not standing up" Cornelius said in a calm, but hoarse voice, his face showing no surprise at this sudden and unannounced Royal visit. "As you can see, I am gravely ill."
One glance at Cornelius was enough for Argath to see that he was telling the truth. The Canine seemed to have aged one, maybe even two decades, since they had last met: His fur was dull and lifeless and the gown he wore hung loosely on his limbs.
"Your Majesty, on the other hand, looks like the very picture of health" Cornelius continued. "Then again, what else is there to expect of a mother-to-be? When is the heir to the throne due? A dragon's gestation period is two years, is it not?"
"Enough! You know very well the purpose of Our visit and it was not to discuss child-birth, or your health."
"Indeed. But, a woman in your condition should not be left standing. Why don't Your Majesty have a seat and then we shall talk of serious matters."
He gestured to a large armchair, which Argath squeezed herself into.
"So, what did Your Majesty think of the gift I sent?"
Before Argath could answer, Aemon joined them. Cornelius' partner did not know what the Queen was doing here (though he did suspect that it had something to do with the package he had seen the maid carry under her arm when she left the house), nor did he relish having her under his roof. Still, she was a guest and the cat took his duties as a host seriously.
"Can we offer Your Majesty anything?" He asked, with great courtesy. "A bite to eat, perhaps? Or something to drink?"
"Thank you, no" Argath replied, her voice not thawing. "We won't stay long."
Since the Queen declined the offer, Cornelius did the same and with that, Aemon excused himself and went back out to the garden.
"So this is how you repay Our kindness?" Argath sighed, her voice like razor-blades coated in honey. "With blackmail. We are disappointed in you, Cornelius. We never thought you'd be capable of such...ingratitude."
"Your Majesty's definition of kindness differs from that of mine. I would hardly call having a person banished from court merely for speaking his mind a kindness."
"We do, We could have had you treated much harsher. It was only your age and the many years of service to Our Kingdom that stayed Our hand that day."
"I suppose I should be grateful. Though I can not help but think of the many who have criticized the government and was not granted the same mercy."
"Mercy? Argath snarled. "For traitors? Don't make Us laugh. Speaking of traitors, blackmailing your Sovereign is surely an act of high treason, wouldn't you say?"
"Indeed. However, I'd say that conspiracy to assassinate your Sovereign is even worse. Not to mention, going through with it."
Argath leaned forward and glared venomously at Cornelius. Oh, how she would have liked to wrap her fingers around his throat and squeeze until the head popped off. Alas, she knew that doing so, while momentarily satisfying, would lead to her own undoing. And so, she sank back into her chair, silently cursing Cornelius and his ancestor.
*****
The Next day, a proclamation was issued throughout all the land and this is what it said:
To All Our Subjects.
By Royal Command, We hereby declare the following:
The Censorship Bureau is hereby closed. Employees will be provided with new positions elsewhere.
Furthermore, the death penalty is hereby abolished throughout Our realm and, as a gesture of good will, We hereby grant amnesty to all those currently interned for having spoken out against the Government in the past.
Signed: Argath I, Ruler of Vinoli and its vassal-states Frigonia and Guanaca.
As expected, the announcement caused quite a stir.
"This is great!" One group of the population cheered. "It'll be just like when the old King was alive."
"The Queen must have lost her senses" grumbled another. "What good will this do?"
"This is a trick of some kind" muttered a third. "Better keep your heads down, or lose them later."
And what of the Queen herself? To answer that question, we must return to the previous day.
Argath returned to the palace with a face like a storm-cloud. Having taken out her anger on the nearest handmaiden available, she summoned Lorenzo for a private conference in her quarters.
"So, as you can see, we are in quite a bothersome situation" she said, once she had finished explaining things to the fox.
"No kidding" Lorenzo said, letting out an impressed whistle. "Still, who would have thought that this ancestor of Cornelius' suspected you of plotting against Sharan? Not that he had any proof, of course."
"No. Did you know that my fa...the old King actually received an anonymous letter, warning him that a member of his own family wished him harm? I always wondered who sent that letter and today, I finally got the answer."
"I take it that the letter in question did not mention you directly, or we wouldn't have this conversation."
"Indeed, it was a vaguely worded, no doubt the ancestor wanted to cover his back, in case his suspicions turned out to be unfounded. "You know, Sharan actually thought that the letter was about Kheros and asked me to keep an eye on him."
"The Ancestor were much more open about his suspicions towards you in his journal though" Lorenzo reminded his mistress.
"True, damn his eyes."
"I suppose that this is not the only copy?" He asked, putting one paw on the journal.
Argath confirmed the fox's supposition with a movement of her head.
"Cornelius told me that he had multiple copies made and left in the care of people he trusted. Lorenzo, I need not tell you what the consequences would be if the contents of that journal were revealed to the public."
No, you do not, Lorenzo thought.
Years after his death, the late King Sharan was still fondly remembered by the Vinolian people and why not? He had ruled them for several centuries, after all. And if there should surface a rumor that said that his own daughter had had a hand in his murder? Well, the fox and the dragon both knew that it may well light the spark of rebellion, turning even those among Argath's subjects that were now loyal against her. Especially, if said rumor came from the ancestor of a respectable person such as old Cornelius.
Reflexively, Lorenzo brought his fingers up to his neck and down again.
"What do you intend to do?" He asked.
"What can I do? I have decided to acquiesce to Cornelius' demands. For now."
And what those demands were, you already know, dear reader.
"For now?"
"Cornelius is ill" Argath explained, "Gravely. Find out which doctor he consults and see if you can learn from them how long he has left."
"Once the old dog's dead and buried things will go back to the way they should be, eh, Boss?" Lorenzo sniggered. Then, he thought of something. "But, what if one or more of the people who have the copies decide to release them after Cornelius' death?"
"That is why you must also track down those copies while Cornelius is still alive. Use any means at your disposal, but do it discreetly."
"You can count on me.I shall begin my investigations immediately."
With those words, Lorenzo rose from the chair he had occupied and, with a bow to Argath, left.
The Queen stood up as well. She picked up the journal and tossed it into the fireplace. She then bent down over it and exhaled.
As she watched her flames devour the hated object, the Queen's mood began to improve. She decided to send word to the kitchen to have some food brought up.
Just then, she felt the baby kick her. She put one hand on her stomach.
"Just wait, my child" she cooed softly. "Mommy is not going to let that mean old mutt, or anyone else get in her way. She'll destroy them all. Yes, she will."
