Memoirs 481 - Once promised

“I need to enter His Majesty’s office. The Second Sword should have sent word ahead.”

The two Palace Guards glanced at each other. Even through their polished visors, Leon could sense their hesitation.

The guard on the left turned back to him.

“We apologise, Sir Leon. Dame Iyana’s message was received, but without a direct imperial command, we cannot allow you inside.”

Leon studied them both, then sighed.

He had hoped to avoid using this.

“I have His Majesty’s seal.”

He held up the heavy golden seal the emperor had entrusted to him. The guard lowered his gaze to the imperial crest engraved across its face, inspecting it for several moments before looking past Leon.

Towards Scarlett.

“She’s with me,” Leon said.

The guard remained silent.

Finally, he stepped aside. His companion followed suit, clearing the way to the office doors.

Leon passed between them and placed a hand against one of the heavy, lacquered wooden doors. Behind him came the quiet click of Scarlett’s heels against the floor.

Something in him tensed at the sound.

He forced it down and pushed the door open.

His Majesty’s office lay empty.

Overhead, the mechanical sun continued its slow orbit, its placid rays casting long, shifting shadows across the bronze-red walls. The clockwork sphere atop the crescent-shaped desk ticked steadily, its interlocking rings turning in smooth, synchronised motions.

But the hearth lay cold, and there was a strange stillness to the air.

Leon walked towards the centre of the chamber.

Beyond the large, sun-shaped window behind the desk, the moon hung pale above Elystead. Its light filtered through the amber panes and fell across the polished floor in fractured patterns. Farther out, the faint curve of the Empyreal Barrier surrounding Elystead shimmered against the darkness, barely visible beneath the stars.

Scarlett’s footsteps moved past him, and dark red hair crossed the edge of his vision as she approached the desk.

“I was wondering why you were leading me here,” she said without looking back. She ran one finger lightly along one of the clockwork sphere’s rotating rings. “Where did you obtain one of His Majesty’s seals?”

“He gave it to me himself.”

“Is that so? And where is he now, if he has allowed you to enter this place?”

Leon didn’t immediately answer.

Scarlett glanced back at him, then returned her attention to the sphere. She nudged one of the smaller rings. It shifted beneath her finger, turning against the motion of the others before smoothly falling back into place. Her gaze then wandered over the books and stacks of documents spread across the desk. It seemed to linger on the empty chair behind it for a moment, but whatever thought had caught her attention didn’t show.

Eventually, she turned away and crossed the room towards the hearth. Leon almost expected a low fire to suddenly light within the bronze shape of a coiled dragon, but then he remembered what Evelyne had said about Scarlett’s current condition.

Instead, he found himself frowning as a dark pouch appeared at Scarlett’s waist with the faintest ripple in the air.

She reached inside and—to his surprise—withdrew a compact folding chair. With a few practised movements, she opened it beside the hearth and sat down.

For the Empyreal Barrier’s establishment, nobles hadn’t been permitted to bring spatial artifacts into the palace without prior approval. The fact that Scarlett would use one so openly in front of him was grating.

Under normal circumstances, he might have confronted her about it. After everything that had happened, though, he couldn’t entirely fault her for keeping whatever protections she possessed close at hand.

Scarlett folded her hands in her lap and looked at him.

“So,” she said. “I presume this is where you wished to speak?”

Leon studied her without answering.

She still looked tired. There was an almost pallid cast to her skin, and the usual sharpness in her eyes wasn’t there. Even sitting upright seemed to require more effort than she wanted him to notice.

Her expression and demeanour betrayed none of it, but Leon still couldn’t help wondering whether he should have postponed this.

…Or maybe this was the best opportunity he would get.

Her own sister had said Scarlett couldn’t use magic. For once, she might not be able to disappear, force her way past him, or turn the situation to her advantage the moment she disliked where the conversation was going.

Scarlett arched one eyebrow.

“Is there a problem?” she asked.

Leon turned away from her. “No.”

It was an opportunity, yes. But not one he could take.

A short laugh rang out behind him.

Leon stopped.

The sound was quiet and slightly derisive, but Scarlett had definitely laughed.

He slowly looked back at her.

She met his gaze calmly.

“You are too predictable, Leon,” she said. “Perhaps I would have found that an admirable quality if our betrothal had held any real prospect of marriage. Since it does not, however, it is merely inconvenient. For you, specifically. You would be better served dealing with me here and now, if you truly believe I pose a threat.”

“Scarlett, we’re not playing games here.”

“I am aware. But since you appear to have reason to be so wary of me, I am offering you the chance to act on it. If you think you can.”

Leon’s jaw tightened. He held her gaze, searching for some sign of what she intended, but her expression gave him nothing. Finally, he shook his head and turned away again.

A row of portraits lined one of the nearby walls, depicting emperors and other members of the imperial line. Leon walked over to them, stopping beneath the portrait of His Majesty.

“Where were you during the attack?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the painting.

“Where was I?” Scarlett repeated.

“Yes.”

At first, Leon had assumed Scarlett had somehow avoided being pulled into that other place. If she had been there with the rest of them, he doubted he would have missed a sea of flames swallowing the horizon.

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But he had also spoken with the knights who had remained in the court, and none of them had seen Scarlett until the very end.

“I do not know precisely how to describe where I was.” Her voice came from behind him. “It would be easier if I had something to compare it to. Could you first tell me where you found yourself?”

Leon didn’t answer for a while.

He knew Scarlett liked to stall conversations and drag them out. Sidestep questions, redirect attention, and bury simple answers beneath questions of her own. It made her difficult to interrogate, especially when she always behaved as if she’d done nothing wrong.

With Scarlett, Leon could never tell whether she was being genuine. He had probably already made a mistake by showing that he wasn’t willing to exploit her weakened state to force answers from her.

A slow breath escaped him.

“I can’t properly describe where I was,” he said. “Some sort of interstitial space. It felt empty, but I wasn’t alone. The others touched by those hollow entities were there, along with random creatures from the past.”

He glanced over his shoulder at her.

“Does that sound familiar?”

Scarlett looked thoughtful for a moment. Eventually, she shook her head.

“It would seem your experience was rather different from mine. But I suppose that is no surprise.”

“Why is that?”

“My suspicion is that I was removed so that I could not interfere.” She made a small, dismissive motion with one hand. “Whatever force attacked the palace clearly recognised me as a threat. It attempted to imprison both me and Yamina within incomplete Memories.”

Leon paused.

“Yamina?”

“Senior Wizard Yamina Ward of the Rising Isle.”

“Why would she be singled out alongside you?”

“Because she is not too dissimilar to me.”

Leon turned more fully towards her. “…What does that mean?”

“That is something I am under no obligation to tell you.”

His frown returned, but he pushed the matter aside for now.

“So you don’t know what was behind the attack?”

“I have not confirmed it, at the very least.”

“Then does the name ‘Eidolon’ mean anything to you?”

This time, Scarlett was the one to pause. Her amber eyes narrowed slightly.

“And where did you hear that name?”

So she knew it. Then Leon had confirmed one thing, at least.

“We can discuss where I heard it later,” he said.

Leon glanced once more at the emperor’s portrait, then shifted his attention towards the chamber doors as he extended what he could of his exhausted aura, feeling for the two guards stationed outside.

Dawnlight Palace was still a mess of confusion as they dealt with the aftermath of the attack. He had already sent word, but he didn’t know how long it would take for them to arrive.

He looked back at Scarlett.

“Can you explain to me what happened with Vail?”

Almost everyone had witnessed Scarlett’s confrontation with her. They had all felt how dangerous Vail had become in that moment. There was still no doubt in Leon’s mind that the woman could have killed every person there.

The memory alone was terrifying.

“There is not much to explain,” Scarlett said. “You made the mistake of backing Vail into a corner. She is perhaps the single worst person you could choose to do that with. I offered her part of my name in exchange for her standing down. That is all.”

“She drove her hand into your body.”

“Believe me, I am aware. It was extremely unpleasant.”

Scarlett’s hands unfolded from her lap. One palm moved to her midriff, her fingers pressing lightly against the fabric as if she could still feel the pain beneath it.

“But all she took was a name for which I had no further use.”

Leon couldn’t keep the incredulity from his face.

“She took your name?”

Scarlett gave him a look that made him feel as if he was somehow the one being ridiculous.

“She is known as the Nametaker for a reason.”

“I realise that. I simply didn’t think it was…”

“Literal?”

“Yes.”

“Then you are evidently too naive.”

Leon thought back to Vail and the transformation he had witnessed. Even in the form she had first appeared in, she had been terrifyingly formidable. After she changed…

“Is she even human?” he muttered.

“Yes and no,” Scarlett answered. “It is difficult to say with Vail. Even I do not know for certain what she is at this point. What I can tell you is that names are power to her, and she has little interest in those that have never carried any.”

Leon considered Scarlett for several moments.

“What was the name you introduced yourself to her with? Ozgolkel?”

“No. It was Ol—”

Scarlett stopped.

Her eyebrows rose slightly, and one hand lifted towards her lips.

“Scarlett Ol—”

Again, the name cut off before she could finish it.

“Interesting,” she murmured. “I did not realise I would lose the memory of it entirely. That is…disconcerting.”

She fell silent, her brow drawing together. Her lips moved as she appeared to test different versions of the name, each attempt ending the same way.

Leon would have been lying if he claimed there wasn’t some small part of him that felt relieved to see Scarlett genuinely taken aback by something. But whatever satisfaction he might have found in it was quickly buried beneath the implications of what she had done.

“Whatever the name was,” he said, “Vail has it now? And possessing it makes her stronger?”

Scarlett refocused on him. “Indeed.”

“Where did you get it?” Leon hesitated, unsure whether the next question was as absurd as it sounded. “Can you also…take names?”

An amused scoff escaped her.

“I cannot, no. However, the name belonged to the ancient dragon I slew, and as far as Vail’s creed is concerned, killing it gave me the right to claim that name as my own.” She settled her hands back in her lap. “If you wish to negotiate with her, you must speak in terms she recognises.”

“Then did you not just hand an enemy power that could threaten the entire empire?”

Leon didn’t know what power there actually was in a name. But the Dragon of Devastation had brought ruin to the empire on a scale not seen in generations. He didn’t want to imagine what Vail—who had already displayed an almost incomprehensible degree of power—might do with that.

“Would you have preferred that I had not intervened?” Scarlett asked. “That I had allowed her to kill everyone present instead?”

Leon met her gaze, then looked away.

“No,” he replied quietly.

Scarlett had saved them all. Twice over. There was no denying that.

“It is good that you can still see reason,” she said. “Now, since I have answered your questions concerning Vail, perhaps you could answer one of mine.”

“Go ahead.”

“I remain rather confused as to how she, of all people, came to be present at precisely that moment — and in that state. From what I observed, the Hallowed Cabal was not responsible for the attack. How, then, did Vail become involved?” Scarlett tilted her head slightly. “Do you know?”

“I don’t.”

“You do not?”

For some reason, she looked skeptical.

“I…” Leon paused, reconsidering his answer. “What I know are guesses at most.”

“But you do know something.” Scarlett’s eyes stayed on him. “Can you share it? I have already been rather accommodating on this particular subject.”

“We can return to that later. I’m not the right person to discuss it with you.”

He barely understood any of it to begin with.

Leon turned his attention towards the doors again. This time, a faint but familiar presence brushed against the edge of his aura. They were on their way. This conversation would be ending soon.

He crossed his arms and looked back at Scarlett, allowing his senses to withdraw from the corridor and reach towards her instead.

Just as before, there was nothing.

To his aura, the chair beside the hearth was empty.

“How are you doing it?” he asked.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. “Doing what?”

“Hiding yourself from my aura.”

“I do not believe that I am.”

“You are. I haven’t been able to sense you since you woke up.”

The faint surprise that crossed her face actually looked genuine to Leon.

“Is that so?”

She looked down at herself, turning one hand over as if expecting to find some visible explanation written across her palm. After a few moments, she raised her gaze to Leon again.

“I am afraid I do not know what you are referring to. If you truly cannot sense me, it is not something I am doing intentionally.” Her expression tightened slightly. “If some other effect is responsible, I cannot say what it might be.”

Leon kept watching her closely, but he couldn’t find any sign that she was lying. Not that it meant much when it came to Scarlett.

He pushed the concern aside as the presences beyond the office drew closer. A moment later, the heavy doors swung open.

Scarlett turned towards the new arrivals.

Another flicker of surprise—smaller than the first, but still there—passed across her face.

“Sir Leon.”

A clear voice carried through the chamber as a young man in gold armour edged with blue and crimson entered. “I was told you had something important to discuss with me.”

The crown prince’s bright blond hair was cropped short at the sides and swept neatly back from his forehead, and he carried himself with the practised composure expected of his station. But Leon could still see the anxiety lingering at the corners of his eyes.

The sight saddened him.

Leon brought one clenched fist against the plate over his chest.

“Your Highness.”

He inclined his head towards Dame Iyana behind the prince, then Dame Leandra at her side.

The latter was in considerably worse condition. Her battered and stained armour bore little of the splendour normally associated with the Royal Guard. Even so, Leon felt nothing but respect for the woman. With the First and Fourth Swords unable to attend the prince, she had refused to step away from his side despite her injuries.

“May the brilliance of dawn—”

Scarlett tried to rise from her chair.

Her legs gave way almost immediately.

Before Leon could think, his body had already moved. He crossed the distance between them and caught her by the shoulder before she could fall.

He stared down at her. How had she managed to walk all the way here if this was her condition?

Scarlett looked up at him. A flash of irritation passed through her eyes before disappearing. She released a slow breath and braced one hand against the chair. Once she had steadied herself, Leon let go.

Scarlett turned back towards the crown prince. Rather than attempt to stand again, she lowered herself into a slow, carefully controlled curtsy from where she sat.

“May the brilliance of dawn greet the empire’s burgeoning sun. Baroness Scarlett Hartford extends her greetings to the Crown Prince.”

The prince stared at her, confusion briefly showing on his face before he brought his expression back under control.

“Baroness Hartford. The Revenant Flame.” He paused. “It is…good to see you awake. Many people, myself included, owe their lives to your actions.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

His gaze remained on Scarlett for a few seconds longer. Then it shifted to Leon, and from there to the imperial office surrounding them.

“Sir Leon,” he said. “What is this about? And what are you doing in my father’s office?” His brow rose. “I assume you didn’t force your way inside.”

“I did not, Your Highness.”

Leon looked past the crown prince and met Dame Iyana’s eyes. Then he drew a slow breath and steeled himself.

“However…” He turned his gaze back to the prince. “I am here to convey His Majesty’s final words.”