The Fall of Vequera

Chapter forty-six | Nikolai

TW MENTIONS OF: NIKOLAI BEING WEIRD AS SHIT WITH BLOOD

LOCATION: ARCADIOS, VEQUERA

YEAR: 621 C.E

THE QUEEN WAS DYING.

All of the court knew of this fact but none of them dared to speculate where ears could hear and where eyes could see. Where the queen's whispers could sense them and report back to her. Nikolai let out a tired sigh as he stared at his mother's council until something caught his attention. It had been a month or two since his conversation with Zion about him being Lord of Baerston. They still hadn't gone further but it didn't seem to bother him as much as he thought it would. Something else was on his mind now. The baby. His mother was with child. He hoped the babe died with her. It would do him good if it did. Save him the time and effort of doing himself when she finally died.

He was furious when he first found out but eventually, his anger subdued, and he felt like he always did. Nothing. "...with the queen's current state, I do not think it is wise to do anything drastic." His uncle Erato sat in his mother's seat as the council session seemed to drag on. It had only been about ten minutes. Lord Isaac stared at Nikolai with a blank expression before turning to his uncle with a cooled expression. The Lords looked uncomfortable at the mention of the queen. Princess Helena and his cousins had gone back to Goldenstone, but Erato and his children stayed in Arcadios.

"A small common rebellion is not something that should be ignored, Your Grace." Said Lord Llywelyn as he picked at his fingernails, cleaning the dirt from them. "Send a dozen knights to deal with them swiftly if you have to. It shouldn't be that hard. We should squash this petty rebellion before it grows too big for us to handle." Arik spoke coolly.

Prince Erato turned to Nikolai. "What do you think? Shall we wait or should we deal with them now?" Nikolai let out a breath before responding.

"Deal with them swiftly before they grow too big." He said with a sharp tone.

Lord Arik nodded as a ghost of a smile passed his lips. He thought he won. Erato rolled his eyes before leaning back into his seat. "The queen gave me permission to deal with her affairs as she is incapable of doing so. I will have the final decision on this. Lords, the rest of your votes." The rest of them looked around cautiously before they took their votes. It was a tie, but Nikolai refused to summon his father to break the tie. He knew the damned fool would pick the weaker choice. Nikolai dug the nail of his pointer finger into his bare arm. He bled but he ignored as he dragged the finger in the blood. He could barely feel the flesh as it broke. He wondered if he could feel something if he tried to break the flesh of someone else.

Not enough to kill them but just enough to watch them drain. Maybe, then he'll feel something. His mind had been darkening in the months of his mother's pending death. Possibly, her death will help him become numb completely. His name was called but he ignored it as he dipped the nail back into the wound. "Nikolai." It was his uncle. The Lords had begun to file out of the chamber with words under their breath.

"What?" He heard himself say.

Then Erato snapped his fingers in Nikolai's face, dragging him back to the present with a stoic look. "You're bleeding..."

"I know."

"Saints. What is wrong with you?" Erato questioned. His voice dripped with an unknown emotion. Nikolai couldn't place it but neither did he try to figure it out. Then Erato looked at him sharply. "Your mother is dying and this how you act? Like a fucking...you just need to act like you care because you don't seem like it. This is a fragile time, Nikolai. Why don't you understand that?" His eyes softened as he looked at his nephew as he tried to illicit some type of emotion from him.