Fairy Tale: Winter's Bite

Chapter 10: Proposition

Canis Major was awake early practicing for his Fencing, Masters Level, Practical Exam—a test he planned to ace—when an unexpected knock interrupted his concentration.

He whipped open his suite door and was visually accosted by the detestable Crux Chevalier and three of his Royal Air Brigade cronies. "I'm busy. Come back another time."

As Canis swung the door shut, Crux shoved his foot in the crack and muscled himself into the room. "Your mother is waiting for you in Pyxis."

"I won't be a pawn in her vendetta. I have better uses for my time. You may see yourselves out."

Canis had found out late the night prior that his mother had finally captured some of the Unworthy topping her Extermination List. He had nodded with dignified affirmation when word had reached him, but Canis rarely, if ever, agreed with his mother's policy choices.

Following her whims, she had been squandering his inheritance. But Canis could do nothing but wait until Andromeda stepped down or died. Then, at last, he would be king! He planned to model his regime after that of the great Canis Major V, his grandfather, and hoped to bring prosperity, perhaps even another golden age, to Pyxis.

"This isn't a request. It's an order," Crux expressed, his teeth clenched. Crux didn't dare pull a weapon and it was clearly torturous for him to "negotiate" without one.

"I don't abide by her orders." Canis turned his back on his unwelcome visitors. He resumed the practice of his most advanced maneuvers with his artfully crafted sword, worth a small fortune. The majestic rubies and diamonds glinted with every slash and thrust.

"I can sympathize with your position," Crux stated, though clearly "sympathy" was not a word he could stomach, either. "However, those slippery Bottom-Dwellers have escaped, and General Gustave was held responsible. The queen expects you to lead the operation to recapture the MacRaes. Her anger is unprecedented, so now is not the time to question her authority."

Canis considered which option would be most self-serving. "I'm a semester away from graduating with the highest honors. And I'd rather not be affiliated with her regime's failures."

"If you turn this failure into a success, you will be well on your way to greatness," Crux cajoled, and with that they found some common ground. "You know you only have one option. The academy will let you finish your studies once the Unworthy are executed and order is restored."

Canis had to accept that Crux was speaking the truth. If he could turn this situation around, his subjects would love and respect him well after his death.

He would be a Pyxian legend.

"Fine, but from this moment forward, I make the decisions. Understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Crux replied.

The lieutenant-general played the role of a loyal servant deceivingly well, but Canis was not fooled. Crux was not to be trusted. The whole Chevalier family—a pit of serpents—and that was a coming from a Sauvageau, a longstanding "ally," a family who reveled in machinations of their own.