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.

my hypothetical future, I’m alive. Everyone I care

you

nodded, understanding her question now. He deliberated on his answer, running

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

assume the role of king. You’ve agreed to

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. Consequently, my intent was

deep breath of surprise, and her fingers danced as she toyed

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

is a dangerous thing for a

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

the sister who tried

“And you didn’t do 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 know, just

not Duke Enrico? Nikoletta, or… or even your companions?” she said, searching for more names. “Why in the name of the gods would

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

to be king?” Elenore questioned, catching on to something. “I don’t think you’d actually care if I took the kingdom. That’s my impression of you based off what I… what we experienced with

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,

swallowed. “You’re

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

away, running her fingers through her hair. “Why is

the gargantuan golden snake that seemed to be 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 succinctly and in much more believable terms than I can ever hope to. We have all

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

Argrave asked, stepping closer to hear her

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 greatly weakened, but whoever this leak is connected to…

suspiciously like you’re saying some people are

to… well, never mind. No, I have to say. It’s important I be honest,” she said, debating with herself. “I wanted to test how strong your party really was and get 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

can show

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

sweet thing to say,” Argrave said, distant gaze still on the steep

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