War of the Throne [Keiri]

Dante

Stretching after the brief conversation about how they met Dante looked over at her laying down, his hand twitching slightly as he resisted an impulse at first but quickly gave into the potential bad idea as he walked over to her and laid down beside her, his head resting on his arm as he closed his eyes as he lay face to face with her for the moment. There was nothing else he could think to say to her for the moment so he wanted to soak it all up while he can, there was no telling what times he would have free once he joined the military but since he would be training he should be getting days off to recover so they could spend time together then and when they could make the time for it.

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I, Lelouch Vi Brittannia, commands you, all of you, to acknowledge me.

The day passed in peace between them. She dismounted at the gate as the sun was setting and they parted ways. With a promise to meet again in two, which was said with a giggle, because it seemed to be a way they will always do things at this rate. Sayori returned home and saw to the horses her-self and the washed and changed into a typical outfit for her and left her room, long locks loose an flaring out behind her with her brisk step as she headed for her destination.

The princess had decided she would confront the high lord Lucifer when she returned and she would not back down from this one. There had to be an understanding here. After she made it clear Dante was to be left alone he placed a claim on him. She wanted to know why and for what reason. Sayori stopped outside his study and looked at the door and rapped her knuckles briskly on the door and opened it before he answered, knocking was just a courtesy really, one she wasn’t in the mood to follow through all the way.

Sayori stepped into the room and closed the door. Her arms crossed as she stood three stride from him. “So how do you plan on explaining what you are doing sending that solider this morning. Please explain because I’m not sure if your painfully stupid or you actually are doing good at this point”, she snapped, her voice cool and warning. He needed to tread carefully or she would explode truly on him. She was mad, and it was reasonable to be so. She had said leave him alone, and he defied her. True Sayori is just a woman, but she still had far more power than he did as the princess. Her whims could sway the country should she desire it. However she was far more clear headed and wouldn’t do such petty things. She simply wanted answers.

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Meanwhile left at the Inn was a package brought by a young boy who waited the whole afternoon for Dante to come. When he did the child handed over the heavy slender brown oil cloth wrapped package and the small wooden box with a letter secured by black string. When opened Dante would find a carefully crafted long hunting knife in a fine black leather sheath with his initials on it. The handle was ebony and inlaid pearl. The hilt wrapped with a silver wire in the newest fashion. In the box was a single rose, a true rose, frozen in a cube that would not melt. The letter simply said, ‘You may find it handy to have in the future as a solider’ and no signature no seal, just slanted elegant spidery handwriting. A trinket simply., One the boy gave over and ran off quickly.

Lucifer

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, his agents that have been sent out to keep watch for any potential contacts had turned up with nothing for the moment, the soldier had managed to deliver his message and the people following the princess had heard as well. Dante would no doubt decide to accept the offer that was proposed to him soon and successfully allow him to claim the man as his own, giving him a hold over the princess. A hostage to use against her should she turn to him, if war broke out he could easily send him out to die and he doubted that the others who held power would be enthusiastic about losing one of their best generals and the person who held sway over the soldiers that have all served under him. But that also didn’t mean that if she proved that it was to force her to submit to him that he wouldn’t be vulnerable to be crushed under her own power. All those things were simply minor in his eyes however; all only to be used as a last resort when he felt nothing else would work.

The true objective was to prevent Lord Gabriel from getting his hands around someone close to her and using him against her, with Dante under his command and in his army he was the only one that would be able to punish him. He would be within a camp loyal to him and make allies that would watch his back for him, if all went well he would have successfully burned the bridge linking his rival to the man with no hopes of rebuilding it once he placed his barrier around him. Even an assassination attempt on Dante would allow Lucifer to focus his resources on finding the cause of it without drawing to much suspicion to himself about it. Dante he could deal with in less extreme measures if he got to close to destroying his seemingly one chance at gaining the power he wished and bringing the county into a new era of prosperity and growth, one that would in turn do the same with him as his power extended and he gained more and more of his desires.

He was drawn out of his mulling; his eyes were torn away from the chess board when the knock sounded. The board seemed to be in the middle of being played even though no one was across from him, with a queen in the center of the board and three white pawns representing his moves already advancing while the black one only had one advancing at the moment; Gabriel’s move that he could tell for the moment with a few hidden ones likely beneath the surface. The princess had just strode into his study without even bothering to wait for an answer, which had to have meant one thing. She hasn’t read the letter meant for her yet, he was depending on it to make her aware of what was going on when he recruited Dante by specifically mentioning Gabriel in it, so in her eyes he had directly opposed her and now she was mad.

When she spoke the flames in the fire place nearby rose slightly along with the candles as he naturally began to get angry with being insulted by her before he could quench it and letting the flames return to normal; allowing his temper to take control of him while speaking with her was one thing he shouldn’t do and calming her down at least a little bit was more important. His voice was patient and careful as he spoke to her, his eyes scanning her as he watched for any signs that he was dragging himself into more trouble. “I believe that a matter such as this should be done in a calmer and more…. Open atmosphere. As such, I shall make you a deal.” Reaching for the chess board he began to place the pieces back in order and settled back in his chair, his blue eyes looking over at her as he proceeded speaking. “If you can beat me at a game of chess, I will answer your question honestly with no lies. This I don’t swear as a noble or high lord, I swear it as a soldier bound by his word and honor. Do we have a deal?”

He would drag the game out for awhile, testing her and seeing how capable she was while waiting for her to calm down more. If he could keep her here for awhile then she would have calmed down, he could explain himself to her just as he promised since he would simply forfeit once he felt the time was right and achieve in stalling her long enough to hopefully make Gabriel sweat some. If the letter wasn’t enough to point her in the right direction about his intentions then once the day was over then he would surely be in more favor with her, his chances of making himself more capable and a better king increasing as well if he could keep Gabriel from cornering her then the throne was as good as his in his mind. If, Dante was able to be kept in check through passive means; a commoner would never be able to rule a country and none of the nobles would stand for it even the majority of those who followed the princess.

Dante

As Dante walked into the King's Chamber with a pleased smile he paused suddenly as a boy stood up and handed him a cloth bundle, blinking in suprise he sat down at a nearby table and unwrapped it un aware of a dark haired woman glancing over at him as he did so. Opening the chest he pulled out a note and read it with a puzzled frown, the hand writing wasnt like Lucifer's orderly one so it couldnt have been from him. MEanwhile the same woman walked out of the inn and proceeded to report to Lucifer about what happened.

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I, Lelouch Vi Brittannia, commands you, all of you, to acknowledge me.