Ben knocked on Harreinas' bedroom door.
"Yep", Harreina called from the other side.
"Madam President, the scouts are back", Ben opened the door and spoke to Harreina, laying in bed looking gaunter than she ever had.
Her cheeks were sallow, her eyes heavily lidded - "and? Was the mailboy telling the truth?".
Ben sat on the white leather chair and let out a sigh.
"Yes, Ma'am, he was... Motueka has fallen", Ben said grimly.
"All right", Harriena pulled a piece of parchment up onto the bed, "fetch me a quill, will you?".
Ben stood and crossed the room to a small dresser at the end of the bed, just below the window.
He clasped his hand around a small pottle of ink, a feather dipped in the opening.
Handing the pottle to Harreina, Ben retook his seat and watched as she began to write.
"Sirene. Motueka has been taken, you were right. Call the Soldiers, have them form a unit, and gather some intel. Go with them, or don't, that's up to you".
"Take this to Sirene, please", Harriena croaked, holding his arms outstretched.
"Yes Ma'am", Ben took the letter from Harreinas' fingers with a weak smile, "you feeling better after the meeting earlier?".
Harreina let out a cold laugh - "no, Ben, I'm really not".
"And Sirene?", Ben flicked his eyes upward, landing them on Harreinas tired face.
"If everyone else didn't agree with her, I'd be prepared to challenge her more, but I can't, so I won't".
Ben crouched next to the bed, and gave a soft whisper - "you've got my assurance - and Eldores, that Rebury will remain in the FPA, no matter what".
"Thank you, Ben", Harreina croaked, "now go, take the letter, let's help our friends".
Ben nodded slowly, climbing to his feet.
Without another word, he slunk from the room.
For a brief moment, he stood on the landing just beyond the door, giving great thought to what he was about to do.
Could he do it? He was sworn to being apolitical - but his devotion to Harreina knew no bounds.
With a swift nod to himself, he jogged down the stairs, and opened the front door, before closing it again.
Hopefully, he reasoned, Harreina would believe he'd left the house.
Softly, he tip-toed to his bedroom, and gently closed the door.
Next to his bed was a dresser, where he tore the letter Harreina wrote into tiny pieces, no longer legible.
Laying atop the dresser like snowflakes, that letter - the one that would confirm for Sirene what she already knew - was now dust. He felt preemptively guilty, but as Ben climbed into bed, his resolve strengthened.
Sirene would die. She didn't have to.
But she would, and it would be by Ben's hand.
Closing his eyes to sleep, Ben pushed the thought from his mind.
He was at peace, knowing he'd done what he could to remove her from his path, ensuring she would never occupy this home...
Outside Government House in Perk, Ben shuffled from his horse, hitching it against the fence just beyond the opulent building on the main road.
Entering the grounds, he knocked against the front door, only to be greeted from the other side with a sword to his neck.
"And you'd be?", Eion Fissure spoke through the crack of the door.
"Ben Shultz, personal physician to President Harreina Driscoll", Shultz replied, staring through the slit at the point aimed directly at him.
"Out of the way, Eion", Eldore fumbled, a puff of smoke trailing behind him.
Eion stood back, leaving room for Eldore to open the door.
"I assume you're not here so late because something good has happened", Eldore surmised.
"No, Sir. I've come to let you know that Harreina was found dead this past morning", Ben scratched at an itch above his right ear.
"Come in".
Once in Eldores office, the two sat down with a brandy, Eldore behind his desk, looking haggard, Ben looked no better.
"Was it peaceful?", Eldore asked, his lips obstructed with a fat cigar.
"Yes, Sir", Ben nodded solemnly.
"And you?", Eldore peered over his desk at Ben, "How're you coping?".
"I don't want to talk about me, I want to speak to you about something else".
"Aye?".
"Aye. I've come to let you know that I've taken the mantle, so to speak".
"Go on", Eldore nodded.
"Well, that is to say, whatever arrangement you had with Harreina, to come through and hold Rebury accountable for its actions; I should hope that will not be necessary", Ben cocked his head from side to side.
"Explain".
"I will make it my personal chore to see that Rebury elects a leader who will continue Harreinas vision for a united front".
"I'm glad to hear it", Eldore chuffed away on his cigar, a tinge of sadness staining his voice.
"So, President Greene, I need an assurance from you, that regardless of what happens next, I have the backing of the Zedeylian Defense Force", Ben put across darkly.
Eldore surveyed Ben completely. Sitting in front of Eldore was no longer the milquetoast man he'd come to know under Harreinas employ.
Ben was darker, somehow. He had a bite to him that Eldore couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Well that depends; what do you think is going to happen next?".
"There's going to be some news that'll break in Rebury later today - the news that Sirene Pireau was killed in Motueka last night. It will come out that I sent her there. The soldiers who scouted Motueka on behalf of Harreina - well, they will tell the other candidates that it was known by myself that Motueka was unsafe. They'll figure out that I sent Sirene to Motueka anyway. Soon enough, they'll realize that Sirene had this information kept from her. It will turn bloody, and violent, once they realize this all. My life will be in danger. Harreinas work will be in danger. I need to know that once this all happens, I will have your support in suppressing whatever rebellion may come to pass", Ben flitted his eyes between the ground and Eldores face as he spoke.
Eldore chuckled lightly.
"You have my support", Eldore reassured Ben, "but not today".
"Not today?".
"A good portion of the ZDF is currently south, establishing farmlands, as I'm sure you well know. So, for today, for tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future, you must keep this under wraps", Eldore flicked his cigar into the ashtray atop his desk.
"Mr. President, with all due respect, this isn't something I can personally stave off", Ben warned.
"I promised my support to Harreina under the belief that this was a week-long issue. You personally decided to hit the gas on this", Eldore raised his eyebrows.
"I had a window to remove Sirene Pireau from this equation, I took it", Ben retorted.
"And I congratulate you for removing her. But this is a matter of Zedeylias' wellbeing or Reburys, and I'm sure you understand why I'm opting to support the country who is currently providing food to the rest of the FPA", Eldore took a drag on his cigar, blowing a thick stream of smoke from his gullet.
Ben nodded. "I can understand that".
"Good", Eldore stubbed the cigar out, shattering the ember into a dozen tiny embers, "so for now, go home. Recuperate, keep the townsfolk placated, and wait".
"Yes, Sir, I will", Ben pushed himself onto his feet, drinking the last of his brandy before plonking the empty glass upon Eldores' desk.
"And Ben", Eldore stopped him as he made for the door.
"Yes, Sir?", Ben turned to face Eldore.
"Thank you".
YOU ARE READING
The Toils (Book Two)
Historical Fiction"Magnus gave a brief thought to Thatcher, somewhere in the deep south, surely over the Cold Country border by now" Thatcher has a lot on her plate. The skies have grown black, the ground is shaking, crops are dying and aquifers are drying up. Her op...
