The Red Hand

Chapter 350.5 – Mirror Mirror on the Wall.

Rebeckah had watched helplessly as chaos unfolded across Enoris these past weeks and months. Akagi's clan members had attacked, killed, tortured and disappeared Imperial Nobles, merchants, and other members of the upper class. But more than that, her brazen daylight attack on Riftwood and assassination of the King and Crown Prince had sent shock waves around the continent, their deaths cutting deep within the political class. Naturally, Rebeckah known some of the dead, and while they weren't exactly people she liked, finding out that high-ranking members of the Imperial Court had suddenly died was none too pleasant.

{This is my fault... I... I'm the reason that monster was invited to our world... I just wanted... I wanted to help... And as a result...} Rebeckah thought as her hair was brushed by a maid. She'd started to believe that she'd made the wrong choice, and that she should've just let the world die.

"I suppose there's no reason to dwell on the past..." Rebeckah sighed. She'd been tormented with the guilt of having brought a Demon Lord to Enoris, though she was well aware that even without Akagi's appearance, the world was doomed anyway. "That's enough, I'll finish the rest." She said to the maid, who was slightly confused by her request to leave.

"Your Highness?" The maid hadn't expected to be told to stop since she wasn't quite done. It wasn't rare for Rebeckah want to do things herself, but it was still unexpectedly sudden.

"I'm more than capable of dressing and cleaning myself up, Ulma" Rebeckah's words were stilted and monotone, but the maid knew better than to argue with the Princess.

"Of course. Please call me again if you need anything, My Lady." Ulma placed the brush on the table before bowing and leaving the room.

It was quiet in Rebeckah's room, and little more than the rustling of the wind hitting against the window could be heard until the Princess broke the silence. "I don't know if I should be concerned or impressed that you consistently manage to get into the Imperial Palace without others knowing." Rebeckah said as she looked into the mirror in front of her, the figure of Hikari appearing behind her even though in reality there was no one else in the room.

"I mean, this wouldn't be the first Imperial Palace that I've infiltrated, and you wouldn't be the first Imperial Princess that I've spoken to." Hikari giggled as she kicked her feet off the edge of the bed. She was Akagi's best infiltrator and the special magic she was currently using enabled her to, more or less, appear within reflections and was excellent at getting into places undetected. "Though I'll give you props for noticing my arrival. That's not something the average person could do, so congrats!" She clapped, half-mocking and half-praising her.

{I swear ALL of Akagi's people are like this...} (Rebeckah)

"I've been trained for as long as I can remember to notice things out of the ordinary, and while you left no magical signature I saw the mirror briefly distort for a moment." Rebeckah answered as she picked up the brush and continued fixing her hair. "I'd imagine that was when you leaped into the reflection."

"Oh! Nice!" Hikari clapped again as she sat on the bed's reflection. "You're probably only the third or fourth person who caught that part!"

"Out of curiosity, what would happen if I smashed the mirror with you in it?" Rebeckah asked, partially serious.

"You'd probably get seven years of bad luck!" Hikari laughed. "But in all seriousness, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but simply breaking the mirror won't harm me. I'll just hope someplace else or pop out if all else fails."She wouldn't be destroyed like the stories Rebeckah had read, largely because she wasn't really within the mirror.

"So why have you come here? Has your Master come to make a similar demand to the one she gave Amdamell?" Rebeckah's eyes locked with Hikari's as she stopped brushing her hair, wanting to get to the point.

"Nah." Hikari waived her off. "Lady Akagi has already given you a proposal to think over, and making that kind of demand to you would go against her grand design." She snickered, not so subtly referencing what had just happened in Amdamell.

{I figured as much, she has far grander plans and my cooperation is highly desirable. Not like it really matters if I didn't though...} (Rebeckah)

"As interesting as her proposal is, I can tell you that it won't be something I can do peacefully." Rebeckah said as she went over to a closet and began sifting through dresses. "My Father will never hand over power to someone else while he still lives, least of all a Vampire who claims to be the true heir to the throne." Akagi's deal had been, more or less, what the Demon had promised to Silfana. The Vampire would be made Empress and unite the entirety of Enoris under her rule, transferring a portion of the population to Omara where she'd rule over them as a vassal of Akagi.

{Its an interesting idea, one that has no basis in fact, but interesting nonetheless. To use the name of the great unifier himself and declare the rebirth of the Empire... Perhaps it wouldn't be that displeasurable of a thought had it not come with several strings attached.} (Rebeckah)

It was a stomach-churning proposal and would require Rebeckah to essentially turn traitor against her own people, endorsing the Vampire's claim and forming a faction to replace her Father. The Imperial Princess was shrewd, she had to be to keep her title, but she knew that actually pulling such a plan off would be next to impossible without bloodshed. Not to mention that Akagi had made clear that there would be an inevitable culling of the population.

{As much as I hate it... That plan will save some of my people, but would also mean turning against everyone in the Empire and condemning so many to death. But I have no choice. To ensure that this is not our end I'd forsake my family, my friends, and my duty... All to make sure that... That there IS a future for us... I have to...} (Rebeckah)

"I wouldn't worry too much about the specifics." Hikari said as she flopped backward onto the bed. "All that matters is that you back Silfana's claim to the throne. She'll handle the rest herself."

"Perhaps, but my Father isn't called the Lion Emperor for nothing." Rebeckah said as she pulled out a purple and white dress. "She'd need to kill him in single combat to have any chance of pulling this off, and my Father has seldom lost a duel. I hope this Vampire of yours is truly up to such a task."

{I can't recall a time that he ever lost during my life, and his inability to catch the Demon Lord when she killed Lady Tahena was probably the first time I'd seen him thwarted.} (Rebeckah)

"Meh, we've gauged his power, and our observations show him to be well within range for Silfana to defeat." Hikari said.

{She was already well beyond him before Lady Akagi took her under her wing, but now...} (Hikari)

"I'd advise you not to underestimate him. My Father is probably one of the few non-Demi-Gods alive that can pose a threat to those from Dumetor who are not Akagi herself." Rebeckah's eyes snapped to the mirror. "For example, he'd easily crush you if he found you within the Palace."

"Maybe, maybe not." Hikari shrugged, neither confirming nor denying the claim. "But I suppose we shall have to see if the Vampire can best him. So does this mean you are in?" She asked.

"It's not like I have a choice, do I?" Rebeckah answered as she flicked her hair to get it out from the back of her dress. "My duty is to protect my people, and if... If that requires me to side with you... Then I'll do it, but I expect your master to uphold her end of the bargain."

"Lady Akagi never goes against her word." Hikari's jovial attitude disappeared in a flash as she sat up. "And I'd kindly ask that you don't impune her character like that again." She said before getting up and vanishing through the open bedroom door within the mirror.

"I still don't understand the point of all this..." Rebeckah sighed as Hikari left.

{Why go through all this? Why make complex power plays and install puppet governments in such a backward way when she can simply use brute force to do so? Akagi would easily crush my Father into dust if she so chose, so why send a proxy and place her on the throne?!? Is there something I'm missing here?!? I've met her once but she... She strikes me as someone who is cold and calculating despite her childish attitude. So why go through something like this?!?} (Rebeckah)

"But then again..." Rebeckah said as she zipped up the back of her dress. "Perhaps it's foolish for a mere Human to try and understand the mind of a Demon Lord."

_____________________________________________________________________________

After getting dressed, and shaking off the tension caused by Hikari's unexpected appearance, Rebeckah started her day with a meeting with her father, Emperor Hadrus, in his office.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Enter." Hadrus' voice boomed from inside as Rebeckah entered.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Rebeckah curtseyed to him. Even though he was her Father she always showed him proper respect as Emperor and wouldn't dream of addressing him in any other way. "I know that you've been busy lately, but I hope that you had time to get ample rest last night." He'd been working nonstop, the death of Tahena and his interaction with Akagi still fresh in his mind.

"I got as much as I could, given the circumstances." Hadrus said as he read through a series of reports. “I'll be fine, you know that a bit of lost sleep won't slow me down.”

"I know that you are powerful, but even the best of us need our rest.” Rebeckah said as she walked around the side of his desk. “Are those about some of the assassinations and disappearances?" She figured her father was being bombarded with information on Noble's being bumped off.

{Those red hand prints have been particularly disturbing, they turn up at so many of the murder scenes.} (Rebeckah)

"Some of it is, yes." Hadrus nodded. "The Demon Lord's minions have stepped up attacks across the Empire in the last few weeks, particularly in the East." He said noting that the former Beast Kingdom territories were awash with riots, unrest, and assassinations of Imperial officials. “We've lost quite a bit of our leadership there, not to mention its caused unease within the population.”

"I suppose it makes sense that she would target that place, most of her servants seem to be Beastkin, and the people there already don't like our rule to begin with." Rebeckah said, noting that it was possible they were recruiting the locals into a resistance movement.

"I'm less worried about some kind of uprsiing and more concerned with this...” Hadrus said as he pulled out a large binder that he handed to the Princess. “I've received word that the Demons are marching to fight this Demon Lord in the Simoea Plains. It looks like they intend to confront her directly."

"Over seventy-five thousand combat troops?" Rebeckah had to hold back her surprise at the large size of the army. "That's a substantial force, one that would even cause concern for us."

{ARE THEY MAD?!? THEY CAN'T FIGHT A DEMON LORD LIKE THIS!} (Rebeckah)

"But not one large enough to actually get the job done." Hadrus shook his head, understanding some of the Princess' unspoken thoughts. "I'm not sure why Ariel is marching those men to their deaths. It reeks of desperation and foolishness."

{Perhaps she has no choice. It's unlikely that the Elector Kings would stand by as these hostile forces mass in their land, and I'd probably be forced to make a similar decision if they were in the Empire, but still... Ariel is smarter than this, and she must realize what's about to happen.} (Hadrus)

"Perhaps they've found some kind of weakness to exploit?" Rebeckah asked, knowing that this wasn't the case. “Is it possible they have some kind of weapon or techinque to destroy the Demon Lord?”

"Unlikely." Hadrus dismissed her words without even giving it a moment's thought. "Barring the Gods themselves coming down here and accompanying that army, I cannot imagine that they have some way of defeating a proper Demon Lord with conventional forces. I clashed with her, and it was painfully obvious that she didn't even take me as a threat." He gave a derisive laugh. “So I can safely say that the Demons don't either.”

{Perhaps Lockheed could put up a good fight, but even then...} (Hadrus)

"Then, what are our plans?" Rebeckah asked about what he wanted the Empire's position to be. "Submission or..."

"I'd sooner perish and take the Empire with me than to allow it to fall into that woman's hands." Hadrus glared at her, thinking her question stupid. "No, I've already begun working on something to deal with the Demon Lord. It will require a bit more time to finish, and it will result in many more deaths, but I believe that like our ancestors four thousand years ago, we can win this if we work together."

{Father, I'm sorry but it won't work... You're being set up to fail. Akagi... You're playing into her hands no matter which path you take... So forgive my treachery. I've sold out our world and I shall atone by doing whatever I can to save what will remain of our people.} (Rebeckah)