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.

In my hypothetical future, I’m

you

now. He deliberated on his answer, running through what he

to the snake, though hesitated to touch her once again. “Much of my 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

her arms. “Then you’ll assume the role of king. You’ve agreed to

but I’ll need it much more after. I don’t 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.

a deep breath of surprise, and her fingers danced as she toyed with the notion. “You would

status

dangerous thing for a newly crowned king,” she warned

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

towards him. “You trust the

we’re talking about kinslaying, I’ve got the better record, here,”

even your companions?” she said, searching for more names.

skip a beat in answering, “You’re better at the

don’t think you’d actually care if I took the kingdom. That’s my

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

swallowed. “You’re completely

my favorite spice of life. But I am resolved

through her

patiently listening to their conversation. “Those are questions for her. She’s the reason I asked you to clear your schedule today—she can explain things far more

arms, and looked to grow quite uncomfortable. “…time in the world,”

Argrave asked, stepping closer to hear her

“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 position was

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

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

I can show you why I’ve got a fair bit of resolve fighting against Gerechtigkeit.” Argrave turned

the ground. “Overconfidence got Ruleo bound before me, fearing for his life. Always

say,” Argrave said, distant gaze still on the steep stairway that led to this

“Be careful. I’ll help if