The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 114

#114 The Quiet Apartments
The Prince glared at them, annoyed. He kept shaking his head, already sulking.
“You’re really one hell of a little pest!” He hissed. “Oh, fine! I never liked that dumb ass anyway…”
Missandra gave a triumphant smile to her sister, but it was way too early to rejoice, in Cassandra’s opinion. Could they really trust this Prince? So far, Opheus hadn’t been the most cooperative, and Missandra was basically forcing him to help them now. However, the sisters were short in options. Moreover, the threat of the War God’s wrath was probably their best weapon at the moment…
The fourth Prince rolled his eyes over, ignoring Missandra to turn to Cassandra with a frown, his fingers twiddling with his long earring.
“Can you really heal Father?”
“I hope so,” said Cassandra with a little nod. “I can’t say before I’ve actually seen him, though… Do you know where he is?”
“Well, Vrehan wasn’t extraordinarily discreet about it. Father was moved to his Chambers, under the pretense of guarding him against any more assassins…”
“They let him do that?”
“Sweetie, in case you haven’t been following, there is no one left to oppose that douche here. Sephir died, Kairen is gone to play with his toys on some faraway battlefield. Who else do you think will show up to tell him what he can and cannot do? He’s the second Prince!”
“You could have stopped him,” noticed Missandra, upset. “You could have saved your own damn Father if you had said something.”
Opheus sighed.
“Just you try growing up in a family where everyone happily serves each other poison for breakfast while the adults watch, darling. I have nothing against my father, but I’m far from being his favorite son, if he remembers me at all, and I have a long list of siblings who’d only be too happy to feed my ass with a sword if they remembered I exist. So sorry about daddy, but I value my life a tad more.”
Though Missandra made a disgusted face, Cassandra couldn’t really say she didn’t understand his point of view, for she had witnessed it herself many times. All the siblings were in danger since even before their birth, especially the Princes. Some had to grow with strong personalities, while some like Anour and Opheus, remained quiet and unnoticed. It was one way like any other to try and survive in such an environment.
Cassandra stepped forward to address Opheus, speaking softly.
“I understand your position, and I know that what we are asking is putting you in danger, too. But you can’t ignore that Vrehan will not stop there. He won’t have enough of killing his father and only one or two of his brothers.”
Opheus shrugged after a hesitation.
“Why should I care? It’s not like I’m a threat to him, I have no children and no will to have any!”
“Do you have no one you care about in this Palace at all?” Retorted Cassandra.
This time, her words silenced him. He looked baffled for a few seconds and lost in his thoughts. Opheus had grown in this Palace. There was no way there was no one here that he didn’t hold dear. Maybe he had younger sisters, or lovers that Vrehan could potentially harm. Moreover, heirs or not, his own safety wouldn’t be guaranteed either. He couldn’t ignore what usually happened to the New Emperor’s siblings….
After a long while, he sighed.
“Oh, fuck it, we are all going to die anyway…”
The Prince walked past them, shaking his head, and actually walked towards the window his dragon was peeping at them from. He scratched his dragon’s chin, making the white beast growl softly, and turned to them.
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride. Unless you want to walk out into the two idiots my brother has planted there…”
Cassandra and Missandra exchanged a quick concerned look. They weren’t exactly fond of the idea of hopping onto a Dragon they didn’t know and had never seen behave at all before, but it was still better than climbing their way back or risking it in front of the guards. Moreover, the white Dragon hadn’t been very menacing since the two of them had seen him. He hadn’t even growled once at them, only peeking on their every move without showing animosity. (2
Cassandra walked his way first, and to her surprise, Opheus actually held out his hand to help her get on his dragon’s back. She took it after a hesitation, and exchanging a glance with him. Somehow, she hadn’t noticed before, but he had some features in common with Kairen, though his face was leaner and his forehead more prominent. It was strange to meet all of Kairen’s brothers, and all she was concerned about was which ones did not want her dead…
Somehow, Opheus decided not to extend the courtesy to Missandra, and got on his Dragon’s back right after her, leaving the younger sister to climb on however she could. His white dragon was smaller than Krai, but his build was about the same, and he was among the biggest of those Cassandra had seen, roughly about the same size as Vrehan’s dragon. He seemed of a quiet nature, as he took off quietly as soon as all three of them were seated. 2
It felt strange for Cassandra to fly again after such a long time, and on a different dragon’s back. She had never flown on any other Dragon than Krai. The white dragon didn’t need any directions. He quietly circled the large Imperial Palace, leaving the girls to see what was going on on all the roofs. Catapults, giant crossbows, iron nets extended over some of the gardens… The Imperial Palace was clearly preparing for an attack coming from the sky. Opheus, too, had his eyes on there and shook his head. 2
“What a moron,” he sighed. “Come on, Phe, let’s get away.”
His Dragon growled softly in response, but his big blue eyes were also riveted on all the weapons below. He took them down to one of the aisles of the Imperial Palace, one Cassandra had never been to before. She had no idea where they were, but Phe, the white dragon, landed quietly in a large garden filled with purple flowers. It was extremely quiet around.
Opheus jumped down and, once again, helped Cassandra get off his dragon. Whether he hadn’t liked Missandra’s attitude earlier or was just acting petty, the younger sister had to get down herself.
“Where are we? Asked Cassandra.
“My chambers. Luckily for you, I happen to be living not far from Vrehan’s apartments. I don’t know where exactly our father was taken, but at least from here, you shouldn’t have any trouble accessing his place. If you can get past all the guards, that is…”
Cassandra’s throat tightened a little. It would have been stupid to think the second Prince would have left his father completely unguarded. Not only the Imperial Soldiers, but it was very likely that his own militia would be keeping the Emperor locked in there. She sighed. They had found where the Emperor was and got closer to his position, but the hardest part was still to come.
Opheus walked back inside, and the girls naturally followed, as they were completely lost on their position within the Palace. After walking past a few rooms, Cassandra couldn’t help but notice a strange detail.
“It’s very… quiet in here,” she said. “You don’t have any Imperial servants in here?”
“No. I hate noise and noisy people. I don’t trust any of those little rats either, they are all working for someone in there… I’d rather take care of myself.”
Cassandra was impressed. Besides his excessive attitude they had witnessed earlier, he actually seemed like quite
a sensible being. Everything inside the rooms and corridors they walked across actually seemed strangely bare. Actually, it reminded Cassandra of her first days in Kairen’s apartments in the Imperial Palace. Just like his older brother, Opheus didn’t seem to spend much in decorations or filling his apartments with luxurious items. The bit of furniture they saw was in pastel colors, adding to the quiet atmosphere around. Cassandra spotted a couple of instruments, too, meaning he probably liked music more than noise….
“Opheus? What’s going on?”
Two women suddenly emerged from a room on their left. Both looked around their thirties, and were very pretty. The first had short brown hair, almond eyes, and thin lips, and was wearing a long purple dress. Behind her was a younger girl, in purple too, who was almost hiding behind her.
Opheus frowned.
“We have guests,” he sighed.
“Guests? Are you kidding? Aside from your crazy mother, you never…”
She stopped talking, frowning at Cassandra.
“I know you. Aren’t you the Third Prince’s Favorite? The White Lily. Why do you look like that…”
Cassandra wasn’t sure what to say. Should she confirm her words, was there a danger in unveiling her identity to that woman? It seemed a bit late, though, she had clearly recognized her. As she hesitated, Opheus sighed.
“Relax, darling. This is my wife, Mariana, and my younger sister hiding behind her. They won’t talk. Yes, Mari, that’s Kairen’s woman.”
Cassandra was a bit surprised to hear Opheus actually had a wife. He was probably the only one among the Princes, and she had never even heard that one of the actual princes had a wife at all. Was it recent? Before she could wonder more, that woman, Mariana, glared at her husband, looking shocked.
“Are you kidding, Ophe? Didn’t you say we should lay low? With the Emperor being sick and all? And now you bring that woman here? Are you crazy!”
To Cassandra’s surprise, before the fourth Prince could even answer, Mariana turned to her.
“No offense to you, really, but the situation is freaking tense here, and that idiot said it himself!”
Opheus rolled his eyes.
“I know what I said, but I found those two in Father’s apartments! Also, the little one basically threatened me into helping them, mind you!”
Mariana glanced towards Missandra, and put her hands on her hips.
“Awesome, so now you get bullied around by teenagers? Really, Opheus? I already have to handle your crazy bitch mother, give me some slack!”
“We are not staying,” declared Cassandra, stepping up. “His Highness just helped us not get caught, but we only want to get the Emperor. We won’t bother you any longer, we don’t want to put you in danger.”
Hearing her actually speak seemed to calm that woman a bit. After one more glare at her husband, Mariana turned to Cassandra, crossing her arms.
“Sorry for the yelling, I have nothing against you, Lady Cassandra. I’m just worried about that crazy Vrehan. He’s fucking lost it and killed Prince Sephir, no one here is blind enough to think you’re guilty. I remember seeing you with the other concubines, I thought you were a smart but harmless woman. We also heard about the Lady of the Mountain, all the concubines talk.
Cassandra was somewhat touched to hear that most people didn’t believe in her being an assassin. That woman,
Mariana, seemed to have a lot of common sense and nothing in common with the other Concubines Cassandra had met. After scratching her head, Mariana turned towards the Prince again.
“So, what was the idea there?”
“They get out of here and try to find and help my dad, that’s it! Nothing I’m going to concern myself with… hey!”
Before he could end his sentence, Mariana had slapped his shoulder with an angry look.
“Stop being such a baby! You can’t let them get in there alone, are you crazy?”
“You’re the one who said you were fine with us laying low!” He protested, rubbing his painful shoulder.
“That was before I knew there was someone in that crazy Imperial Palace capable of helping the old man! Stop being a coward, or are you going to let your father die? And your brother’s woman, too? What do you think the War God will do to your skinny ass once he finds out!”
Once again, Opheus let out a long groan of exasperation. Behind Cassandra, Missandra had a hard time not laughing. However, Mariana was not done with him.
“I’m so fed up with you! Do you want Vrehan to get on the throne, perhaps? Because I know I don’t! He’s just going to have us all lined up and make a fucking slaughter!”
“Fine, fine! Stop hitting me you crazy woman, I get it!”
If the situation hadn’t been so dramatic in itself, it would have been quite funny to witness the Prince being bossed around by his wife… Mariana stopped, though she did threaten me into another slap, making Opheus take one step away from her. She then turned to Cassandra, taking back a serious and gentle expression scaringly fast.
“Sorry about that. Anyway. Of course, we will help you, especially if there’s a chance you can help the Emperor; We don’t know much, though, except for the fact that he’s in Vrehan’s apartments. No one opposed it when they moved them, so I guess he already has most of the people in the Palace working for him… There are guards, too. Don’t worry, though, we can find a way.”
“Are you serious?” Whispered Opheus, though everyone there could hear him.
Mariana nodded and smiled at him.
“They just need to be able to get in, right? All we need is a distraction. Looks like your crazy mother is going to be useful for once…”