“People worry often about what awaits them at the end of their road. Which is silly. We reach the end of our roads all the time. Over and over. For every journey that we take, we will eventually reach it’s end. It’s tempting to imagine that there is one great ‘Last Journey’ that we take, but little reason to believe that’s true, unless we imagine that our flesh is the sum total of our existence.

Should we concede that there is more to us than the meat construct which serves as our first and most useful tool for experiencing the world, we are forced to conclude that laying down our bodies, merely sets us on a new journey, as like crossing the great sea to lands those we leave behind will see only when they too follow us.

If I must entertain one fantasy, I’m afraid the belief that we end at our bodies’ cessation is simply too childish to give credence too. Instead I’ll choose to imagine that we are at least granted a measure of rest before whatever new nonsense we must deal with falls upon us.”

– Xindir Harshek Doxle of the First Flame at the memorial service for his fifth husband.

Dawn is a miserable idea and should be banned. I came to that conclusion as I struggled to get dress in “the proper regalia for a Head of House”. 

I hadn’t slept well, but that wasn’t a surprise to anyone. I was on trial for not just my life but the lives of everyone in my House. 

Mellina probably knew me better than that, but didn’t make any comments while she helped me into the multi-layer device which served as the House Riverbond ceremonial robes.

“We’re still the only ones on the High Council’s docket today, aren’t we?” I asked, not bothering to hide my unhappiness at that prospect.

“We are. When we actually show up though, they’ll probably delay the proceedings for an hour or two.”

“They really expect the assassins to stop us after all of the ones we’ve taken from them already?” I asked. That the Great Houses would be that stubborn and stupid wasn’t surprising in the sense of being out of character with their previously established modes of behavior. I still couldn’t fathom how a system built on such willful idiocy had managed to survive as long as it had.

Except I knew the answer to that question too.

The Great Houses were cruel and stupid because they didn’t believe they were dealing with anything more than a particularly annoying insect. To them, we were a foolish little group of children who couldn’t really threaten them beyond possibly creating some unfortunate precedents if we were allowed to continue existing.

“They’ve stopped sending assassins,” Mellina said. “Instead they’ve got a platoon of soldiers from House Pathmaker waiting to ‘escort’ us to the High Council chamber.”

“A platoon?” I said, impressed that they’d managed to understand the danger we posed at least to that extent. “And House Pathmaker is…”

“A ‘neutral house’,” Mellina said. “Who just so happens to be one of Lightstone’s biggest financial supporters.”

“So completely and obviously unbiased, which will guarantee us both safe passage and fair handling at the trial.”

“That is the official line, yes.”

“And we’ve lodged an objection to this already?” I asked.

“Of course not,” Mellina said. “We’ve made no formal reply at all. That will come roughly a minute before we’re ready to leave.”

“Narla will deliver it, or Idrina?”

“Both. Enika said, she’d put in a word too.”

That sounded like overkill, but then overkill was likely what we needed to get the point across, and dissuade House Pathmaker from sending another platoon or three to ‘help’ us (assuming they had that sort of manpower readily available).

“Is there anything else that will delay the formal hearing from beginning?” I asked, wondering if we could arrange a trial-by-combat or something equally foolish that might buy is a bit more time.

“I imagine that once we arrive, the High Council will want to move onto deliberations as quickly as possible,” Mellina said, pinning the last bit of my robes in place. “The general consensus is that this is an annoying embarrassment, and should be concluded as soon as possible before any of the other lesser Houses start getting ideas.”

Amusingly, we didn’t want that either. Destabilizing the Empire but leaving the existing power structure mostly in place would lead to nothing more than the most power hungry of the current ‘elites’ snapping up even more control than they already had. A revolt by the ‘Lesser Houses’ would bring about change, but it would be bought with rivers of blood and still be predominantly beneficial to those who already held power. 

I sighed, and slumped in my robes.

I was bone weary despite having ‘turned in early’.

“Idrina kept watch in your room last night?” Mellina asked, not accusing or necessarily digging for much beyond confirmation.

“She did.” It didn’t make sense to lie about that. Everyone probably saw her leave shortly after Seafoam called that my bath was ready.

“I’m glad,” Mellina said, without specifying what, exactly, she was glad of, or what she thought had happened between us.

“We had some things to talk about,” I said, feeling oddly chatty. I didn’t like talking about myself. The more I said, the more people might see through the lie I was living. 

Except that wasn’t true anymore.

Mellina knew who and what I was. I didn’t have to lie to her.

But being silent wasn’t a lie, was it?

Yeah.

Of course it was. Or could be. 

In this case though, I think I just didn’t want to give a false impression both for Idrina’s sake and so that Mellina would know where we really stood.

“I know. I wasn’t sure either of you would be up for that,” she said and started guided me out the door. “I was afraid you might want to ‘wait till after everything was wrapped up’.”

“That had been what I’d been considering,” I admitted.

“It’s a tempting argument to make, but it can turn into an an endless excuse too.” She guided me down a couple of flights of steps I knew I hadn’t seen before and into a long hallway which seemed to lead to the front door.

“It might have,” I said. “But I think she was too brave to settle for ‘maybe someday’.”

“That makes two of you then.”

That wasn’t a compliment I could easily accept. I felt anything but brave as we walked down the hallway and I saw my housemates waiting for me.

So much was riding on the next few hours, and our plans still needed more time.

I could bite someone I supposed.

Except that might end the trial right then and there.

So I filed that idea away under ‘Counterproductive, but Potentially Satisfying’.

“Can I give the signal?” Ilyan asked as we drew close.

“Final checks first,” Mellina said.

“The Distribution network is ready to receive,” Ilyan said,

“Your sister sent word that they are not ready yet,” Yarrin said. “She wouldn’t say what was happening, just that they needed more time to get their end worked out.”

I was not surprised at all by that. Terrified that getting them more time was potentially an impossible task under the circumstances, but not surprised that we needed to.

“The last declaration of war on House Riverbond arrived this morning,” Enika said. “As expected the voting majority has declared against us, with the abstaining Houses as ones wholly under the thumb of Lightstone, Ironbriar, or Grayfall.”

“They really think that will make anyone believe the hearings were fair?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter what the public’s impression is, they had little to no voice in the matter, and all their information about it will come from the ones who are in power tomorrow,” Enika said.

“Oh, yes, on that note, The Empress bids me wish you afternoon and morrow, and invites you to tea at your earliest convenience,” Doxle said. 

“That is most kind of her,” Mellina said.

“No, no, ‘most kind’ would have been if she’d invited me,” Doxle said.

“However this turns out, you aren’t likely to be sober for the next fortnight,” Enika said.

“All the more reason I could use a cup or two of tea,” Doxle sad. “Always import to stay hydrated.”

“It sounds like we’re ready then,” I said, knowing that we were very definitely as far from ready as we could be.

Ilyan smiled and snapped his fingers, releasing a small pop of light which zipped out the door.

The screaming started about three seconds after that. It didn’t continue for long, but my imagination made those seconds last for hours. When silence finally fell once again, Doxle offered his arm to me.

“Since your primary guards are out chasing the rest of the troublemakers away, may I offer you my services in their stead?” he asked.

I took his arm, which was slightly easier given the platform shoes I was walking in and we marched out as a formal procession towards the High Council’s office.

The scene outside our door looked like something out of a war zone. Bodies – groaning and crying bodies I should note – were laying everything. Most were still completely intact, though a few had taken the sort of grievous-yet-non-life-threatening wounds which would require a fair amount of care from skilled healer. Given that they’d been sent here to make certain we were all brutally murdered, I wasn’t able to scrounge up much sympathy for them, though I did hope they received some care soon. If nothing else they were a bit challenging to walk through with the ceremonial robes in place.

“Think this was the Great Houses last effort to stop us?” I asked.

“Not at all,” Doxle said. “I’ve dispatched three, no, make that four assassins since we left the house.”

“Dispatched?” I asked.

“They’re still breathing, though they likely wish that wasn’t the case,” Doxle said. “I’m having them taken back to the infirmary. We can break the Loyalty Marks later, if they should have them.”

Given that he hadn’t left my side, I wasn’t clear what Doxle was doing to keep us safe, but I couldn’t argue with its effectiveness. The rest of the trip to the High Council was as uneventful as any mundane stroll down the road might be.

When we arrived at the door, the guards who were stationed there at first didn’t notice or recognize us. It wasn’t until we tried to walk in that they stepped together to bar our path.

“The High Council is in session today, visitors aren’t allowed,” one of them said.

“The High Council is in session for us,” I said. “Part now, or we will take your actions as an insult against House Riverbond.”

Whatever the guards had been expecting to hear, that wasn’t it.

Between my ceremonial robes and the fact that I was being escorted by an Imperial Advisor, the guards wisely did not ask for any confirmation of my words and shot back to their positions at full attention.

That was a wise enough action that I had to wonder if they were Imperial citizens or had been drafted from some other, more sensible land.

The guards at the door to the High Council’s chambers were similarly intelligent, or perhaps just better informed, and parted for us as we arrived, one of them stepping in to announce “Lady Riverbond of House Riverbond and those of her estate”.

Which was lovely.

Everything else about the day had my nerves on fire, but that moment was still a joy.

Silence shocked through the High Council’s chamber and everyone turned to look at us in disbelief. I waited patiently, knowing someone would say or do something stupid and the High Council did not disappoint.

“You said she’d be dead already?” one of the Councilors asked the head of House Ironbriar, more or less proving our case for us.

If only that was going to matter at all.