Silver Silence

Dancing Monkeys & Trained Rats

"I swear I will never ask anything of you again, just do this. The fate of the kingdom is at hand."

The Council was in session, though at the wrong time of day and minus one member. Siles picked at a splinter in the table, searching for the right words. He knew his answer, but the way he presented it could determine how much trouble he encountered in the future.

"I don't kill without reason." That was a lie. He had killed many innocent people at the Queen's request. But he had been required to follow her commands; he held no such contract with the Councilmembers.

"But there is a reason!" Anna slammed her frail fists against the table. "I mean, he can control minds. If you put that kind of person in power, there is no democracy! He'll just force us to agree with everything."

Siles doubted August would do such a thing, given his desperate friendliness at the dinner. But he hoped he would. Siles had never seen mind control in action before.

"All of you know that August is bound by contract not to use his powers against other magicians except in self-defense."

"Nobody has even seen that contract. How do we know it exists?" Anna's voice squeaked with old age and incredulity.

"The fact that you have the freedom of thought to question its existence should be proof enough," Siles responded. It was a believable enough argument that, for the first time, he began to worry that August wouldn't become the next King.

"But how do we know that he isn't biding his time? Or worse, that he's already controlling our minds and leaves us with just enough sentience to think we're in control?"

"How do you know that he didn't make you ask me to assassinate him, allowing him to fake his death and control everyone from behind the scenes so that you're especially oblivious and susceptible to his powers?" Siles paused, then laughed at their horrified expressions. Their minds were tangled in the kind of panicked frenzy that made them especially easy to mess with. "I can tell you, from an unaltered perspective, that August has never modified any of your thoughts. If you don't want him to be King, don't vote for him. It's that simple."

Finally, another member of the Council spoke. Don was almost as young as August, young enough to notice things that the others didn't. "You want him to be king, don't you? The Queen bored you, so now you want someone fun to play with. Are our lives a game to you?"

It was ironic, since the Council spent their days playing games with the lives of the commoners. Don wasn't wrong, though. Siles genuinely found August more interesting than the rest of them. He leaned forward, watching Don through the tinted glass that covered the eyes of his mask. He let the silence sit. Sweat traced Don's face.

Siles finally spoke, "I don't play games. I do my job. And my job is to protect the throne. If August becomes king, I will protect him. If he doesn't, I won't. Until then, I'm on vacation. Is that understood?"

Don swallowed and nodded. His peers had suddenly become fascinated by their surroundings, their eyes looking at anything but Siles. He took his cue to leave, kicking the door shut behind him. He had to talk to August.

~

"Don said that?" August said, after a long stretch of silence. He was more devastated by the news than Siles had expected.

Siles nodded. "But you can change his mind."

August shook his head. "It's not the same."