Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 

 

            The Court of Royals assembled before the Imperator. The Imperator had been in a terrible mood as of late due to the never-ending onslaught of terrible news. Each coming day her order seemed more and more fragile along with the people whom she could trust. None of the big conflicts were being resolved and it seemed all she could do to make the people feel safe was leave them in the cloud by hiding and feeding them bullshit.

            The Imperator was an intimidating figure shrouded in night. Her body was that of mature woman in her twenties but her face was covered in a white helmet that covered her eyes and scalp. Beneath it, smooth cold black lips were exposed along with her flowing ebony hair. Her exoskeleton wrapped around her body in white with black lining like a one-piece bathing suit. Her thighs were covered with black see-through stockings and she wore skintight pitch-black heels. Her arms were covered with a shadowy mask with dark straps coming from her black pauldrons.

            The entire Court of Royals, for the exception of Virgo, stood before her throne in the chessboard floor. At both ends stood the Rooks, Arkose and Kimberlite. Beside Arkose stood the Knight Judas. In the center were Bishops Taurus and Marble. Each clad in their uniform, the Knight in his winged cape and armor, the Rooks with their crowns and massive crystal-lined capes, and Bishops in their long crystal-lined coats and scepters.

Out of the entire court the only one the Imperator trusted was Arkose, the oldest of the entire court in both age and service. His loyalty to the Ark exceeded any other person’s, perhaps even the Imperator herself. As for the rest, whether they belonged to the Red Eclipse or were the Red Moon themselves, she could not tell.

Bishop Taurus stepped forward. “Any word of the culprits behind my daughter’s murder?” he asked with his attention turned towards Arkose.

Rook Arkose stepped forward to answer. Compared to the other Royals he was a titan of a man. “Nothing, although he did mention one thing of note. He said, we’re wasting our time pointing fingers at each other. He referred to his actions as divine judgment.”

“Is he implying the Red Eclipse is not behind the murder?” asked Rook Kimberlite, the only female in the Court of Royals.

“Or implying that the Red Moon is not among the Ark’s council,” said Bishop Marble, the most dazzling man in the Ark.

“Or misleading us,” said Judas, the youngest member of the Court of Royals.

“He’s not giving us much to work with,” said Arkose. “And we can’t find any links as to why anyone would target Garnet and not someone else.”

“Aside from the Tower of Sentinels,” reminded Taurus.

Kimberlite burst out laughing. “You think a Sentinel went through such extremes to execute a motivational speaker for the poor? Her words weren’t changing anything.”

“Watch how you speak about my daughter!”

            “She’s dead. She won’t care.”

            “Save your personal disputes for someplace outside this court!” shouted Arkose.

            “I doubt a Sentinel is behind it,” said Judas. “As of now all we know is Virgo killed her. He’s been a Knight for sixteen years now. Garnet was two when he was knighted. So clearly this isn’t some ingenious plot that had years in the making. Not to mention she’s just a Pawn, that’s not shaking our order in the slightest. Whatever the reason behind her murder, it’s personal.”

            “My thoughts exactly,” agreed Arkose. “I’m guessing she must’ve known something someone didn’t want getting out.”

            “Then that just leads us back to the Red Eclipse,” said Kimberlite. “There’s no other deep-rooted organization that could get someone inside the Court of Royals. Not to mention to invest in more than sixteen years of service and achieve the heights of Virgo to then just throw it all away like that in an instant for a Pawn.”

            “I’m guessing she learned the identity of the Red Moon,” said Marble.

“I’m tired of all these speculations!” shouted the Imperator. “I want results. None of you have brought me any results in far too long. I have messiahs running rampant in my nation, a mafia that controls half my city in the shadows, and the people who should be helping me rule this nation killing and plotting against each other!”

The court went silent. Order was falling apart and they all knew it. Pretty soon the Ark would be in war with itself if things didn’t change. All the Royals gazed at the Imperator in fear. The Imperator had a reputation for taking drastic action when displeased, going as far as publicly executing her own subjects to set an example.

“As of today, I will give each of you a job,” she enlightened. “Any who fail it will find their head on display for the people to know what happens to traitors.”

“Imperator, that’s ludicrous,” warned Arkose.

“As far as I’m concerned any one of you could be the Red Moon and the bane of my existence. I can hardly trust any of you and if you can’t even produce results you’re of no use to me.”

“Imperator, please…”

            “Arkose, I want you to find the Red Moon. I will authorize you so you can do whatever you must to do so. I don’t care how many you kill or torture! I’m tired of him running my city in the shadows!” Arkose nodded but the displeasure was painted clearly on his face.

            “Kimberlite,” continued the Imperator. “I want you to take over interrogating Virgo. Find out whom he works for, what his or her motive is, and destroy any and everyone associated with them. Try to do so as discretely as possible. If it turns out not to be connected to the Red Eclipse I don’t want this exploding into another issue for the people to worry about.”

            “As you wish, Imperator,” said Kimberlite.

            “Taurus. Keep the media under control. They’ll be asking lots of question with the death of your daughter. Minimize the threats our nation is facing so that our people do not panic.”

            “It will be done,” assured Taurus.

            “Marble. Distract the people. Keep doing what you do best and keep their eyes on insignificant things. Keep giving them happiness and excitement in these dark times.”

            “Good to know I won’t need to be worried about losing my head,” said Marble with a smile.

            “And Judas,” the Imperator called out. “We’ve already spoken, I want you to put an end to this family drama of yours. Find and kill that blue haired demon! And after you’re done with him do the same with the pink one.”

            Judas nodded. “I won’t disappoint you.”

            “One more thing. You’re not the only one on the job. I ordered the West Tower to send their Reapers in as well. They will work independently from you though. Try not to bump heads with your brother. The Reaper one.”

            Judas glared at the Imperator but said nothing. She dismissed the Court of Royals with a wave of her hand and they all went their merry way. Perhaps now I will get results.

            The Imperator’s threats were simple. People performed better when they knew their life was on the line. The Bishops she didn’t fear. All she needed from them was their job, which was a job they generally did well. She simply wanted to certify they would only concentrate on the safety of the Ark instead of their successions. She didn’t suspect Taurus as a traitor, having his daughter just murdered and all, and Marble lived too high off of the Ark’s benefits to want to ruin that. Kimberlite she wasn’t so sure of. Kimberlite took too much pride in her own success and glory that the overall establishment of the Ark seemed irrelevant outside her own personal satisfaction. If she were a traitor, fear of death would cause her to expose herself or jump ships for her own safety. Arkose she was confident wasn’t a traitor so he was the only guaranteed choice in finding the Red Moon. Judas she was skeptical of. Despite his overall success as a Knight, his unresolved past was becoming a bigger thorn in her order by the day, and it was apparent at this point that the blue demon had help from inside. Her nation was infested with traitors. It was time she cleansed it with blood.