Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave had always been an only child. Well, not ‘Argrave,’ but rather Vincenzo. From the beginning, he hadn’t been quite sure how to treat Elenore. He hadn’t dealt with either sisters or brothers before. On the other hand, he had at least eighty cousins, and their parents had insisted on numerous occasions wherein he was forced to interact with his ridiculously large extended family. Those occasions were probably the reasons he turned out the way he had.

Thus far, he had been treating Elenore much like his cousins. Though he was never rude or unkind, they had always been strangers who happened to be closely related. As far as he was concerned, that was where it ended. Books—and later in life, games—had always been infinitely more interesting and convenient to him than people. Much less likely to disappoint, too. That isn’t to say he didn’t want a reliable friend. The key word there, though, was ‘reliable.’ People are fickle.

Argrave’s hand hovered just above Elenore’s back as she hugged him. He was happy that things had gone as he wanted them to—Elenore didn’t sever things irreparably and seemed more than amenable to close association in the future. He merely hadn’t expecting things to go quite this well. He was expecting some significant buildup before things came to this point.

“You… seem to like it there,” Argrave noted, a little unsure of what to do.

“I tried to kill you,” Elenore said, her voice muffled in his duster.

Argrave raised a brow. “You said that already, I hope you know.”

“Why don’t you care?” Elenore pushed him away and lifted her head until her eyeless sockets seemed to gaze upon him.

“Anneliese and I put things together on that front from the beginning,” Argrave scratched his arm, and then put a hand on her shoulder. She was quite bony, he found. “And Induen… well, he wasn’t exactly subtle when we talked. He’d suspected the same, tried to use that fact to win me to his side.”

“Induen… hah, of course,” she lowered her head, biting her lip. After an uncomfortable silence she lifted her head again, fire in her features. “Then why in the world do you trust me so much?” she questioned, voice quiet and tremulous. “Why do you hinge everything on me? Do you expect a different result? Why don’t you care?” she repeated.

I’m the last person to deride others for fratricide, Argrave wanted to say, but he knew most didn’t like those kinds of jokes and felt it was inappropriate given the situation.

Hiding a smile, Argrave said, “Because I know you can still be good. To me, to the world, to whoever the hell,” Argrave shook his head.

“Good,” she scoffed, turning her head.

Argrave shook her shoulder a little to draw her attention back, then said, “You might think it’s a joke, but yeah, you can do good. If there was ever a line in the sand between good and evil, I think ‘fell calamity that endeavors to destroy everything’ is quite obviously on the evil side. Thwarting that is good. Not a particularly complicated equation. I can’t afford to hold grudges. I know you’ve done some pretty cruel things, but now you can do something to outweigh that completely.”

Elenore looked like she found it difficult to wrap her head around that. She stepped away, and Argrave spared a glance to Anneliese—she confirmed things were going as well as he thought they were with a thumbs up.

“What is the future you want?” she asked Argrave, back facing him.

hypothetical future, I’m alive. Everyone I care

“I mean, what is it you hope

his answer, running through what he

aims are in preparation for these coming events. I’ll give you the brief version of things: my priority presently is putting an end to this civil war—a decisive victory that minimizes loss of life. Vasquer is a part of that plan. If I can secure her help, she is an undisputed signal of legitimacy that will wipe away almost any stain on my name—bastardry, kinslaying, you name it,” Argrave said, keeping his eye on the snake. “She can fight no longer, but then I don’t need her

you’ll assume the role of

know what you’ve seen of Gerechtigkeit, what Vasquer has actually shown you… but thousands of problems of his making brew in all of Berendar, like blisters pushing against the skin. There are things that I have to confront in-person for any hope of success. Consequently, my intent was to have you serve as my regent

her fingers danced as she toyed

“You’re hyper-competent. You have the status for the

dangerous thing for a newly

regent could ostensibly take control of the kingdom,” Argrave nodded. “But the stakes are too high to risk disunity. I

him. “You trust the sister who tried to kill

the best job at it. If we’re talking about kinslaying, I’ve got the better record, here,” he said with a smile, then added awkwardly, “That’s not a threat, I hope you

or… or even your companions?” she said, searching for more names. “Why in the name of the gods would

didn’t skip a beat in answering, “You’re better at the job than they

you’d actually care if I took the kingdom. That’s my impression of you based off what I… what we experienced

impressed nod. “I’m a selfish man. I want to live wealthily and do so with those lovely people behind me every step of the way. Out of most jobs, ‘king’ doesn’t sound bad… but it’s still a job. Do it poorly, relax a little bit

“You’re

spice of life. But I am resolved to fight until I die. If I don’t fight,

her fingers through her

to clear your schedule today—she can explain things far more succinctly and in much more believable terms than I can ever hope to. We have all of

to grow quite uncomfortable.

closer to hear her

have all the time in the world,” she said a bit louder. “I… what you told me, about a traitor near me. I managed to isolate one leak, managed to draw some information out. Coming here, personally, was intended to spur them into action so that I might get more information. Induen’s death led some to believe that my

his hands together. “That sounds suspiciously like you’re saying some people

information of my foes in one fell swoop. It was also a probe of your loyalty… seems pointless now,” Elenore crossed her arms and shook her head. “The forces I have are abundant. You can stay back, let me subdue them. I’m eager to get to the bottom of things, even if this is most likely to be a dead end.” Elenore sighed. “Still, we’ll have to wait and see if I’m right about this

to show you something, bolster your confidence in me. I can show you why I’ve got a fair bit of resolve fighting

foot against the ground. “Overconfidence got Ruleo bound before me, fearing

gaze still on the steep stairway

Elenore grew flustered. “Be careful. I’ll help if you