Arrangement [Eliana POV]

Eliana knelt on a huge cushion that was, in turn, located on a pedestal. The seat had been brought in overnight. A sign of the sultan’s favour, she had been told.

‘Whyever I would deserve this,’ she thought, suppressing her urge to shift uncomfortably in her seat. It put her on equal level, almost above, the sultan on his throne at the head of the room. He and his sultana were the hosts for Eliana’s open court, allowing it to occur right there in the palace’s throne room.

This was the third and final day of her open court. With each one that had passed, the amount of people that had come to see her had grown. She had feared hogging the attention would have displeased her hosts, but they just kept furthering the offered honours. Following the private meeting with the sultan, she had even been offered a title in the local lands. A purely ceremonial title but a title all the same.

She had refused, citing that she could not possibly be so brazen as to accept a venerable honorific from customs she did not properly understand. Nightingale had called it a masterstroke of kind rejection. Eliana was still confused about that. She was confused about everything that was happening – mostly why people kept going along with what she suggested?

Could she actually be good at this?

‘No fucking way,’ Eliana chastised herself. ‘I am just giving them excuses to do what they already want to do. Anyone could do that. I just know things because I have good support.’

The sultan’s presence was in and of itself a change. On previous days, only women had been in open attendance. Men, if they were present at all, remained in the corners of the room, playing the watchful guardian. Eliana found all of that to be unnecessarily theatrical. The Oklahoma vacation had brought back to her mind the sensibility of a lot of gender norms, but this was taking the matter about three steps too far for her liking.

Jumping through cultural hoops just to get a word to a man was just so incredibly annoying. Two years ago, Eliana knew she would have refused utterly to partake in any of this. She would have called it all unfathomably retarded, shouted what she thought into the faces of everyone involved, maybe broke someone’s arm for good measure, and stormed off.

The difference between that broken woman and her regular panic attacks was two years of constant support, trust and various healthy outlets. She still thought all of this was unfathomably retarded but she had learned to copy diplomats well enough to not let that show on her face. Dealing with much worse panic attacks had taught her to keep her breathing and expressions even, no matter how much of an imposter she was. Staring at that piece of chocolate for days at a time had drilled into her patience.

She was a good girl.

Good girls did not cuss out everyone around them because she had misgivings about their culture.

Especially since she had managed to… what was the opposite of strongarming? Weakfooting? She had managed to weakfoot the locals into obliging her ever so slightly by dressing up this final day as a delivery of weapon gifts. Women ought to hold court with other women, but arms were a man’s domain and therefore the patriarchs had to openly accompany the ladies. It was only logical!

‘Stupid ass dumbfuck logic… GAH!’ Eliana would have slapped herself if she could. She was getting better at not cussing all the time, she was even starting to need the replacement words less, but in her mind the slurs maintained a strong presence. ‘You better not pick that up, young man!’ she warned the developing boy in her belly. Not that he could have understood. He probably was no bigger than a jellybean right now.

When she focused her magic inwards, she could feel the point inside her where her circulatory system transitioned into his nutrients. It made her heart flutter with a mixture of deep pride and concern. Compared to the worries she had for her child’s development, what could this island realm of a few thousand Abyssals really present her with?

The sultan stood up, beginning a speech about duty and realism. He wove in the mottos of several of the twenty families, drawing on motifs of diligence and modesty. From her position at the side of the hall, Eliana had a good view of the collective. Most were simply receptive to the speech. A select few were raising an eyebrow, perhaps catching which way the wind was blowing.

Eliana stopped listening to the speech at some point, returning to her inward focus. It wasn’t often that she was thankful for the variety of power she had. Today, she was elated. It let her sense the tiny little heartbeat of the embryo. It was so much sweeter to listen to than the prattling of some guy.

“Empress Eliana?”

The question ripped her out of her thoughts. She blinked twice, then looked around, realizing attention had switched to her. ‘This is why you SUCK!’ she yelled at herself, clearing her throat before shooting from the hip. “I am sorry, I was dwelling on my future as a mother.”

The words were met with a mixture of approval and understanding by both men and women in the room. It confused Eliana even more. A text message opened up in front of her.

Claire: Wonderfully played into the veneration of motherhood, Lady Sanguine.

Layla: You were asked if you would like to say a few words.

Eliana wanted to whirl around and strangle Claire’s neck for the continued usage of that title. She had just needed to be called something! Why was it sticking to her now?! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

The internal screaming would continue at a later hour. “I will keep my address brief,” she said, to cover her ass for having a bimbo brain devoid of any speeches. “Short and sweet as my stay here has been. After today, my first visit as an empress will conclude. You, the Sultanate of Ternate, have shown me great hospitality. Though I lack the time to see all the wonders of your island, I have been witness to the greatest of all of them: the people. Your kindness and generosity has been noted by this little empress.”

She lowered her head. Awkward silence ensued.

‘Yeah, I knew I would fuck it u-‘

Applause erupted across the chamber. The sudden volume and genuine cheer had Eliana reel back. Shock settled on her face, her hands half-rising in an attempt to defend against the onslaught of niceness. That only seemed to make the locals clap and stomp harder.

It was horrible!

Nightingale: Excellent. You have planted the seed that unity will allow them to impress even mighty empires.

‘I DID?!’ Eliana was hit with the full force of imposter’s guilt. She felt like letting the inner voices scream for half an hour, but she had to regain control of herself swiftly. Just as she struggled with that, someone kicked open the door to the room.

“HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

A drunken man’s voice echoed through the regal hall. In stumbled an unwashed man. He wore no shirt and his pants were frayed and even dirtier than his hairy hide. He had a pot belly that was droopy from his age. Somewhere in his mid-fifties, he sported only half a head of hair. What remained wrapped around the sides of his head like a frizzy attempt at reclaiming a shadow of his youth.

The man stumbled in, stopping only to tilt a bottle of booze back. Everyone around regarded him with disgust. Not only was he an unwashed, drunk hobo, he was an unwashed, drunk hobo on an island on which the selling of alcohol was outlawed. No wonder no one liked Gapi.

“Can’t believe you didn’t invite me to thish!” the man slurred and stumbled forwards. “I am the cushtodian of the shacred mhmmountain!”

“You are a violent ape, defecating on holy ground,” the sultan shot back. “The Re-Alignment granted you power but you have no authority and will be dealt with! Guards!”

Four men armed with spears immediately beset Gapi from multiple sides. Eliana watched with a raised eyebrow as she followed people that were, to her perception, absurdly slow attack someone that was merely very slow. The spears thrust at the fat hobo were each snapped off below the blade. Gapi simply gripped them with his bare hand. The first three, he dropped. The last one, he attempted to throw into the attacking guard’s face.

A flutter of darkness, noticed only by the Harmonias, clouded the man’s vision for a brief moment. The launched spear tip bounced off the wall with a loud cling, having missed the guard’s face by a handspan. “Musht be drunker than I thought,” Gapi slurred and took another gulp of his drink. “You see how sad you make me?!” he yelled in a sudden bout of anger. “Need to drink just to function!”

“You are an embarrassment to us all!” the sultan declared.

“Then do something about it, coward!” Gapi challenged.

The sultan clenched his teeth. Eliana didn’t have the convenience of Observe, but she guessed that Gapi had the highest level around. There was no way he would have held the spiritually important site otherwise. Though the combined might of the people in the room should have been enough to neutralize him, they were probably hesitating because this was a building with a lot of history.

The crowd parted before the swaying hobo. His stench reached Eliana immediately. He reeked of layers of sweat mixed with dirt, the rather unsubtle note of urine beneath. It made her openly retch. Gapi immediately turned her way.

“What’re the whiteys doing here?”

The specific word used, ‘bule’, wasn’t inherently meant to offend. The way he slurred it made it perfectly clear what the intent was though. Not that it mattered. That cretin lacked the capacity to verbally offend Eliana.

It was his lustful gaze that irked her. As if he had any shot of having a way with either her or the three even more beautiful women behind her. “Stop at once!” the sultan shouted as Gapi wandered on over. “You’re embarrassing the island in front of our honoured guests!”

“Be assured,” Nightingale spoke up, “that we know to differentiate between the intent of the court and the actions of a lone actor.”

That put the sultan somewhat at ease, but general worry remained. Gapi still wasn’t being stopped. The guards may have been disciplined, but they weren’t about to throw their life away for no gain whatsoever. The heads of the twenty families in attendance likely were internally debating whether they wanted to help the sultan put down this drunkard. He was an offensive existence, but he was also a counterbalance.

Gapi made it to the front of Eliana’s pedestal. She was almost three heads above him. He was not a short man, but her seat was just that elevated. “Can you breathe somewhere else?” the words slipped from her mouth with all of the disgust she earnestly felt. “If I wanted to smell piss-soaked mud, I’d visit a pigsty.”

The unwashed hobo immediately turned an angry shade of red. Despite being a drunkard, it seemed he had some Islamic sensibilities left, including a disdain for pigs. What was already an insult for westerners turned into a grave one in that context.

Gapi’s fist flew forwards.

Eliana made a point of blocking it with just the pinkie of her right hand. The other she raised in a demonstrative yawn. “Arrogant bitch!” Gapi hissed blinking several times.

“Can’t even see what’s going on, can you?” Eliana mocked. “No wonder everyone hates you, you ethanol pumping mud fucker.” The words slipped out, leading to a cascade of gasps around her. Eliana looked around, once more remembering she was in court. ‘And there goes my nice girl reputation.’

Gapi’s aura suddenly ignited. He pulled his free hand back, preparing another punch, aimed squarely at her belly.

‘Upset.’

The single word appeared in her mind, rapidly growing into a spike of panic. The man’s movements were akin to someone moving through honey. There was no chance of the punch ever connecting. Despite this, the fear rose. Fear that immediately mixed with a primordial hatred slumbering always inside her.

Thwack!

A severed arm landed on the ground. The dirty limb leaked blood onto the centuries old stone floor. Gapi did not realize what was happening until his eyes wandered to where the limb used to be.

“AA-“

The scream began, only to be immediately silenced when Thana gripped the man’s face. Every last one of the pathetic humans in the room took two steps back in the presence of the failed goddess. A wolfish growl rose in her throat. “You don’t get to threaten this life,” she hissed.

Eliana narrowly managed to prevent her own hand from crushing the man’s jaw. She had already made enough of a mess. How would she feel if a guest was spreading bone shards all over her floor without permission? Annoyed, that’s what she would feel.

She slipped off the pedestal and strutted across the room. Claire and Layla hastened to her sides, lifting up her long skirt enough that it remained firmly above the blood pooling where the arm lay. Gapi struggled with his three remaining limbs. All of it impotent, he was being dragged along by his jaw, ultimately being put in front of the sultan.

“Bit late now that I already ripped his arm off,” the empress stated, “but this man has delivered a grave insult to me and aimed for my stomach.” The people behind her muttered in raw disgust. ‘Didn’t they know that already? Ah, right, they were probably too weak to see…’ “I want him dead. He’s your subject though.”

The sultan was already standing. He looked down at Gapi with nothing but utter disgust and drew the Baelementium blade he had been gifted a day earlier. As he descended the steps, purple chains surfaced from dark anchors all around the Awakened beggar. Eliana released him, letting Nightingale drag him into the position.

“Please, plea-“ Gapi only got to begin to beg, then his head was liberated from his shoulders. With the end of his soul, the innate magic resistance of the man ended as well. Eliana utilized her blood magic to prevent the final heartbeats from making too much of a mess.

“I deeply apologize for this,” the sultan said afterwards.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Eliana answered simply and returned to her seat. She expected the open court to empty now, since she had shown her true colours. She just wasn’t lady enough for this line of work. She was stupid for ever even trying…

No one left.

Indeed, as word spread, only more men and women streamed into the room.

It ended up being the busiest day of all.