Without Words

Chapter 37

Giddy was really the only word to describe what Gisella was feeling. She knew she may regret gloating to the girl later, but for now she was too happy to care. She could barely suppress the grin on her face. Finally it was all coming together.

She had contacted her spy in the palace earlier, and had discovered the king had at last declared war on Pommern. It had taken him long enough; she hadn’t counted on him being so reluctant. But now everything was going just as it should. Lucerne would attack Pommern, and then the real fun would begin. While Ivan and his mercenaries had taken longer than she had expected, they had done a good job.

Now, however, the rest was up to her. It had taken her a long time to get to where she was, and she wasn’t going to allow herself to mess it up. That’s why she had to calm herself before advancing her plans. Patience was a virtue, after all, or so she had been told. But her patience was running low. After so much time planning, she was eager to jump into action. Unfortunately, she needed Pommern to jump first. And Pommern wouldn’t jump until Lucerne had. And, she had to admit, Lucerne was a slow jumper.

How long had their daughter been missing now? And they were only just beginning to move on Pommern? She shook her head; a true ruler would have made their move much sooner. Her own father would have made his move already, and he had been far too mild a king in her own opinion.

He had been a soft king. As Gisella had grown and learned, she had realized this. Sometimes a ruler had to be swift in their judgement. They couldn’t afford to sit around and deliberate. That was why she had dismissed most of her advisors once she had taken the throne following her father’s demise.

It had been an unfortunate period of her life. She had still been rather young when her father had died, leaving her the throne. She had been required to grow up fast. Becoming queen while still in the grieving process had been hard on her. But it had helped to make her into the ruler she was. A firm one. One who would do whatever it took to aid her kingdom. And if that required a war, then so be it.

She knew it was never a route her father would have taken. He wouldn’t have had the heart to tax the people so heavily, or to kidnap a princess. But it had to be done. Omsk was falling, slowly but surely, and she had to save it. War was her only option.

It had taken her a long time to come up with the plan. Omsk itself didn’t have the military force to attack one of the neighboring kingdoms and succeed. She would need help, she knew that, much as she hated to admit it. But finally, she formulated a plan. It had taken a lot of work, placing a spy in the Lucerne palace, hiring Ivan and his men, and somehow managing to run the kingdom. But once the spy was in place and well integrated, the plan had started to work. And she couldn’t help it if she was becoming excited at the prospect of it finally reaching fruition.

After all, while Omsk didn’t have the military force to take on any of it’s neighbors, she knew Pommern had been peaceful too long as well. Lucerne had always had the superior military of the two. Peaceful king or no, that hadn’t changed. Once Lucerne made it’s move, Pommern would flounder quickly. And then they would be begging for her help. She would step in, their savior, and together they would beat back Lucerne.

She sat there for a moment, basking in the imaginary glory. Of course, Pommern’s ruler would need to be taken care of, but that was an accident easily arranged. And once he was gone, Omsk would be returned to all it’s former glory, and more. Her father would have been proud, she thought, to see his little girl saving the kingdom. While he may not have approved of her methods, no one could deny they were effective. Not even him.

Soon she would have the war she had been planning and preparing for. All she had to do was make sure everything continued in the proper fashion. She already had the princess. And that was all she really needed. She had been counting on Mirabel being a daddy’s girl. It seemed that gamble had paid off.

Gisella reached out and rang a small bell beside her. Speaking of the princess, someone ought to bring her something to eat. Prisoner or no, she was best kept alive. Perhaps she would even have her dine with her. She smiled; that sounded fun. A little company at dinner always went a long way. If she could convince Mirabel to stay here of her own accord, Gisella’s entire job would be made that much easier.

Another thought danced teasingly across her mind. She should contact Ivan soon. Find out what he had done with his comrades. If he hadn’t yet, she would make sure he got rid of them. They were a loose end. And loose ends couldn’t be left lying around. She needed Ivan, and only Ivan. She didn’t trust the others, especially that Boris. He wasn’t as dumb as he looked.

The hand mirror lay beside her where she had been using it to fix her hair earlier. She was still trying to master doing it without the aid of her magic. Her hand inched towards the mirror and lifted it. It would still be at least an hour until dinner was ready. She had plenty of time to contact him now.

Without giving the matter a second thought, she activated the mirror. She smiled as the metal grew warm between her hands. Fortunately, Ivan answered far quicker than he had the last time.

“Good evening, your majesty.”

She smiled. It appeared he had found his misplaced manners. “Good evening. Have you disposed of the others yet?”

Ivan grimaced. “Not yet, I’m afraid. There were… complications after we left.”

Gisella raised an eyebrow. “What sort of complications?”

“Boris.” Ivan’s face looked troubled. “After we left, he started making trouble, asking for his share of the money. When I refused, he got angry. Took a swing at me.” He reached up and touched his cut lip. “After that, he stormed off. I don’t know where he is now, but I would keep an eye out if I were you.”

“And why is that? What does his anger have to do with me?”

“He may be coming to get his share of the money from you. When he stormed off, we were barely a quarter of a mile out from the castle. Just… keep an eye out. We don’t need him causing any more trouble than he already has.”

Gisella frowned. “Fine. Though I doubt he could get past the guards either way. You just make sure you get rid of those other two. I need you, Ivan. Not some tag-along bumbling idiots.”

“Of course, your majesty.” Gisella suppressed a smirk. If this was what getting punched did to him, maybe she should try it sometime. “Although… I’m not so sure about Viktor. He’s been immensely helpful. I think he may prove useful in the future.”

“No,” she said quickly, then amended herself. “I don’t trust him. He’s too quiet. You never know what a man like that is hiding.”

Ivan looked displeased, but he nodded. “Of course,” he said again. “I’ll get rid of them both by tomorrow.”

“Good,” Gisella said with a smile. He really was being surprisingly docile today. It was almost enough to make her suspicious. He hadn’t been this nice to her since… well, she couldn’t even remember when. Their first meeting, perhaps?

“Oh, and Ivan?” she continued. “Don’t even think about doing anything stupid. When I say I want my loose ends tied up, I mean tied up. Not let loose to unravel. Do you understand me?”

Ivan’s face was unreadable as he answered. “Perfectly, your majesty.”

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A/N Sorry this is late - I've been kind of stuck lately. I think I'm having troubles letting go of this story >.< There's still quite a few chapters left to go, but I can feel the end getting closer, and letting go of this story is going to be hard. I put a lot into it, and it's coming to an end. Ouch. *hugs the story like it's my baby*

But anyway, here's the next chapter. In which I have finally laid out Gisella's plan - took me long enough, eh? What do you think? Did you enjoy it? Let me know down below, and don't forget to leave a vote before you go :3 Thanks! Love you guysss xx