Magdalene's perfect porcelain smile barely eased the tense air. Luthor took another glance at the documents at hand. His brows eased the more he got into the documents, Dame Isolde on the other hand seemed equally pleased however her taut expression barely changed.
Thargrim had an entire fight in his head, facing the clash of conflicts. 'I have to do this.' He cursed, his fists tightening beneath the table. 'It would be for the greater good of the kingdom.' The privilege offered to him were too good to pass. And with a war on the horizon, it was natural for him to be on the winning side.
Crimson however had her focus on Jarren who grew bolder with his advances. Her brows knit as a smile formed on her face. "Jarren , how about you given us some insight into what comes next." Floraison's face eased hearing this however her heart suggested otherwise. Retracting his hand, Jarren offered a daring smirk at Crimson.
"Of course." His attention shifted to the three. With Magdalene's pressing smile, they were eager to shift the focus of the conversation. "With the documents at hand, the resources from the abundance of Redfall will be distributed to you all accordingly."
His tone calm as he went on. "As for Earth, we plan on making it a new. We are sure that we could make it more than just a wasteland of death and screams." Luthor interjected, his face showing his concern. "Isn't Redfall and the demons in an accommodating rapport with each other?"
Jarren found his statement understandable. With demons mainly purging earth, they had the right to wonder what he meant with making it anew. "You are right Luthor however as of late, their dependence on Hine has gotten out of hand. Our rapport has dissolved into a lingering resentment. After all they are nothing more than damned beasts."
Isolde found it amusing for Jarren to call demons damned while his actions were just as morally lacking. "A war will be staged and with your current position as a vassal for Redfall, you will be required to remain absent, should you want a war that is." Magdalene let out a small chuckle as she took over.
"With the perilous state of Arcania, it's only fitting that we make it what it once was. Great if not perfect and with the presence of earth technology, this goal is easily within our reach." The three watched her movements, their minds concluding that she was nothing more than a puppet for the monsters that circled around her.
But the question that refused to leave their minds was, who was the one pulling the strings. "Perfection? What makes you so sure that you achieve it. Besides does your definition of perfection detail a husk of a world?" Isolde broke the silence, her words sharp of the three. "A husk as you said will be hollow, you will all have your autonomy as stated in the document."
The trip narrowed their eyes. 'Autonomy and you want to make us vassals for this damned kingdom?' Thru cursed in their minds. "With survival rare, I'm sure that daring Redfall won't be a thought in your minds, correct?" The three exchanged worried glances before looking at the blonde queen with her smile resting on her lips.
The air around her though warm and easygoing only served to make them wary of her. "Speaking about the document, a handful of personnel will be selected from your ranks and trained here. To help aid your recovery." Clomere stated flatly as she placed her clasped hands on the table. With her tone being the most icy of the five, she never left any chance for negotiation.
'You want to implant eyes and ears within our midst.' Isolde snarled, her gaze narrowing on Clomere before shifting to Jarren who wore his serpentine smile like armor. "We're open to debates Isolde so don't hesitate to speak your mind." It wasn't just her but the other two knew that his words were nothing short of empty promises.
Their notion for autonomy was constant surveillance and monitoring. Their means of perfection was to hollow a world till it forgot that it had a breathe. "Thargrim, you seem to have a lot on your mind." Crimson stated as the focus went to the monarch of the dwarves who was still lost in thought.
Noticing the attention on him, he let out a nervous laugh. "I'm ever so sorry about my lack of participation however I couldn't help but wonder about the abominations. With them roaming the lands, it will be hard to win over the hearts of the people." A deflection from what plagued him at heart however it proved serviceable to fool the monsters.
"A program has already been initiated to cull their numbers. Of course this will be canceled should you violate any terms stated in the document." Clomere spoke flatly as she brought up the document to her hands, her gaze shifting to Magdalene. "Is there anything else that you would wish to state?" The air fell silent, the silence mind numbing.
Luthor tore through the silence with hesitation. "You said that you would deal with the abominations, how exactly will you do that without causing unrest to the people?" Magdalene quick with her words gave her response, her smile persistent. "Please don't bother your mind about such matters. We'll handle it respectfully."
Her lack of elaboration irked the three of them however they knew their boundaries. 'Just what will they do?' Isolde muttered recalling the platoon that managed to gun down an entire swarm of abominations. 'It would be too shocking for them to take such a tactic, however it would be the most effective as it would cause fear among the people culling any form of unrest or resistance.'
She was sure that there would be those to protest and her mind dreaded what would become of such individuals. The council talked more about the documents before coming to a close, Isolde and Luthor pleased with the outcome while Thargrim's face remained dark for the rest of the conversation.
Luthor was the first to leave, followed by Isolde before Thargrim rose to his feet. "Thargrim, could you wait for a moment?" Jarren stated as he rose to his feet. His harem had already taken their leave. "Of course." Thargrim managed to cough up as the two began their walk down the halls. They were met with dazzling designs, a blend of the old world and Earth's architecture which filled the place with elegance.
"You don't have to be so worried about your daughter, she'll be in safe hands." Jarren's words failed to ease the king, lines of frustration plastered on his forehead. "Who is the actual ruler of this kingdom?" His question eliciting a smile from Jarren, one that didn't quite reach his ears. "That even I do not know, I merely do my task as expected of the misses."
Thargrim as much as he wanted to press on had to give up. "What do you plan on doing with her? She's after all still young with the ways of the developing world. If it's women that you desire then I could have them sent to you." His offer came off as joke he embraced. "Truly amusing Thargrim however the terms have been stated."
Jarren laughed as he went on. "She's been rather lackluster when it comes to malcore, is it not?" Hi revelation of his family something he had expected. "Well yes, despite my tries." Placing a reassuring arm over his shoulder, Jarren urged. "What we aim to do is help her embrace the ways of the new world Thargrim, something we're sure she'll love."
A knot formed in Thargrim's stomach, his gut warning of the deal he had made with the devil. 'It's one soul for and entire kingdom. A sacrifice I'm ready to make.' Bitter as it was, he knew that he had to come to their terms. "Just promise me that she'll be safe." His tone lowered into something softer as his eyes bore into Jarren's.
"I promise, and should she want to visit, she'll be permitted at any time. At your convenience that is." Still, the warning didn't subside in his gut. "I take it that I can trust your words, Jarren Velros. After all we've had a successful relationship in the past between our two kingdoms." Jarren led him to his carriage, his disarming smile only seemed to raise Thargrim's guard.
Giving another glance at the palace of monsters, he left the grounds.
...
"What do you think with the demons? Should we use the orbital cannon or..." Clomere presented over dinner, the sound of cutlery scraping over the plates filled the air. "It would be natural to use a monster to kill another monster. We could drown them in waves of abominations." Magdalene insisted ready to see the full effects of Clomere's drug.
"You're rather eager for war dear." Callista chucked as she dug into her meal. "As queen of Redfall, it is only natural for me to see my kingdom reign supreme." The air light as they went on with their meal. Lyssara barged in, barely attracting their attention as she took a seat on her dinner table. A servant made their way to her and quickly served her of the buffet laid out for her.
"As for you Floraison, it was rather unprofessional of you to engage in such deplorable activities with Jarren." Floraison paused, her lips parting. "What? It was he who took the initiative." Crimson took a bite of her stake, the taste melting in her tongue. "And you welcomed it, after all I'm sure too know how dangerous Jarren could get when he's left unchecked."
The subject of the conversation didn't bother looking up as he dug into his meal. "What do you think about a new companion to help pass the time, Lyssara?" The vampire who had taken a light sip of her wine furrowed her brows. "It's rather benevolent of you to do such a thing. I wonder if she's another game or something more."
With her guard constantly raised with Jarren in the scene, she felt suspicious of him to make such a move. "You don't want any gifts from him? How rude of you!" Callista pout her cheeks as she turned to face Jarren. "I'm not giving you any gifts Callista. We've already talked about this."
Jarren shot up before she could talk. "What?! Who said I was going to ask something from you! I just wanted to take a stroll tomorrow, it's been rather stuffy in this palace as of late." Magdalene had began her projects in Othare, making a second capital of Redfall.
A request from Clomere who didn't want to mix her daily life with work and they all agreed. "I don't mind a stroll. Besides I'm sure that Lyssara wouldn't mind either." She didn't bother protesting as she dug into her meal. "What about their leader? What to do with the demon lord?" Lyssara noted their casual talk with a powerful figure.
The demon lord that governed over the wastelands was a figure shrouded in ambiguity with little to work with. "They talk as if he's already in their palms." Lyssara muttered as she pictured the scene as she came to see the demon lord bend the knee to the council of monsters that swirled around her.
"I think making him a butler would be very fitting." Callista shot up with a giggle. "He would serve well as a test experiment. A king of such a caliber would harbor something promising." Crimson gave a chuckle as the rest went on with their meals. Lyssara watched the scene play out. Callista with her games as she would argue with Clomere.
Crimson and Jarren watching over as the queen and her mother gave giggles. 'It's hard to think that these are the cause for the fall of Arcania.' As much as she didn't want to admit it, a sense of familiarity began to creep up on her. 'Would I even dare to call these monsters family?' A thought she put aside.
'It would be foolish of me to think so. After all I'll meet my end at the end of this act.' For once she felt that death would be a form of torment from her initial perspective of it as a means of escape. 'Just what are these people doing to me to make me think this way?!'