War Of Men

Emilee

'The thing is, if you want influence, sometimes you've got to sacrifice. Marry a man for his title and recite love poetry to your maid at night.'

A distant rumble distracted the twins from their conversation. The girls made eye contact, then headed in the direction of the noise. Finding the source wasn't hard, but the trigger wasn't easy to spot. A crowd had gathered and even though Emilee went up on tiptoes, she couldn't catch a glimpse of what had caused the unrest. In the end, she didn't need to. The words were clue enough.

'Spirit-killers, spirit-killers, spirit-killers,' chanted the crowd.

Her eyes widened. Of course. The party from Avi had taken a great risk in coming, hence why the Enfanta hadn't risked the journey herself. She'd sent two Enfanta candidates, members of an elite group of women that would possibly succeed her, in the company of a few Ocùls, women who raised and protected the Enfanta and also doubled as seers. These guests represented everything Cines despised and here they were, heads held high in pride.

Emilee instinctively wanted to head over there but Ela grabbed her arm. 'Don't. You'll just make things worse.'

Chance had it, there would be speculation later. People would want to know why Emilee would defend one of the country's sworn enemies. However, when she saw how people were shouting at them and trying to pull the young girls away, she couldn't turn away.

'Hey, leave them alone!' Emilee was surprised by the force in her voice. Still, that had been precisely what she needed. Courtiers glanced over at her. She needed to hold their attention. 'These people are our guests. We should treat them with respect.'

'Ponyèva, they are blasphemers,' somebody growled.

'Maybe, but they're still people. I trust the king's judgement. If he invited them, then they surely have a right to be here.'

Out of nowhere, Lavia appeared at her side. 'A good Esprian shouldn't judge. They should pray for those that have lost their way, not harass them.'

Emilee was surprised when the crowd started to disband. She had expected more resistance. Perhaps her position in the court was a blessing in disguise.

'Thank you,' muttered a dark-haired Enfanta candidate. She was just a teenager, but already had the confidence of a queen.

'I apologise for that unpleasantness. I can only request that you don't judge the whole country based on the behaviour of a few.' Emilee smiled sadly.

'We understand that your country has suffered a great loss.' She paused for a moment. 'We hope that when you've recovered from your grief, you'll see sense again.'

Emilee frowned. That sounded rather like an insult, but she doubted it was to be understood that way. The girl was probably just distressed. Lavia disagreed though. The moment the party had left, she scoffed, 'That girl has some nerve, talking to an Eseterrian like that. Especially when you defended her.'

'I'm sure she didn't mean it that way. But if she did, it's no wonder after how people treated her.'

'Dear Emilee, you are simply too good for this world. Ellux blessed us all by noticing your light.' The admiration in Lavia's eyes set Emilee on edge.

Swiftly, Ela appeared at her side. 'Lovely to see you, Miss Rewns, but Emi has to attend a religious class.'

'Of course. I understand that she has religious duties.' Lavia curtsied and sank her head. 'Ponyèva.'

Following Ela's lead, the twins headed to the chapel in which Emilee had spent her first night. The class had been planned for the aedrum, but to the others' surprise, the Chèr had decided to spare them the journey though the high snow. Emilee had simply smiled and commented that they should have more faith in the Chèr.