Sexy Steampunk Babes: Chapter Twenty Six (Patreon)
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Yelena watched the doorway through which the young Ashfield scion had just left for a few moments more as she pondered over the meeting theyâd just had.
Precocious indeed, she thought with a smile.
A smile that only grew as her gaze flitted over to her childhood friendâs⊠complicated expression.
It seemed young Williamâs decision had come as much a surprise to his instructor as it had come to Yelena herself.
âHe said no,â Joana said after a few moments.
Yelena nodded slowly as she reclined into her friendâs surprisingly comfortable chair. Given what she knew of Griffith, the Queen had half expected the thing to be harder than mithril when she first sat down - but it was surprisingly plush.
âNot without good reason,â Yelena said as she shifted about.
âGood reason?â Joana scoffed. âYou offered him your daughterâs hand.â Her eyes narrowed slightly. âYou offered all of your daughterâs hands.â
Yelena rolled her eyes at her friendâs tone. âAnd if heâd accepted I would have considered it a bargain.â
A minor scandal and the loss of a number of future marriage alliances was ultimately nothing compared to the ability to raid Kraken nests. And that was ignoring that a hypothetical means to slay kraken in deep water would undoubtedly have other applications.
Applications that would be incredibly useful in the months to come.
Though, perhaps, if young Williamâs plans came to fruition that coming storm could be delayed by a few years.
ââŠAre things truly that desperate?â Joana asked quietly.
âTheyâre not great,â Yelena admitted, massaging the bridge of her nose. âThe Blackstones⊠I knew theyâd resist the reforms, but to threaten open rebellion?â
Sheâd not expected that. Not even in her wildest dreams. Lindholmâs only human ducal house had ever been wilful, and their antipathy towards the Orcs who dwelled in the Sunlands was well documented, but surely even they could see why Yelena was doing what she was.
Regardless of what her critics said, her decision to end the slave trade in Lindholm was most assuredly not the result of âuseless sentimentâ.
Far from it.
Oh certainly, Yelena had no love for the institution of slavery, for reasons both moral and financial, but that wasnât why sheâd created the abolitionist movement.
With each passing year, the Homelandâs view of Lindholm grew ever more covetous. More and more the Sun Empress and Desert Khanâs rhetoric centred less on their ongoing deadlock with each other and more on the idea of ârecovering wayward territoriesâ.
Certainly, that could have been a reference to Old Growth as much as Lindholm, but Yelena doubted it.
Lindholm might have scared the Solites and Lunites into retreating by choosing to engage them over deep water, but ultimately those victories were borne of a lack of conviction on the part of her foes.
Had the two disparate fleets been willing to risk the permanent loss of a small portion of their mithril cores in order to achieve victory and push towards the mainland, they may well have been able to flip the allegiances of a number of Lindholmian houses.
Oh, certainly, the high elves and dark elves of Lindholm might have prided themselves on maintaining the strictures of equality that defined the Old Empire â but with either Solite or Lunite airships hovering over their family castles, she couldnât help but wonder if some might reconsider their stances on their fellow elves.
No, while an invasion of Lindholm would certainly be costly, it was entirely within the realm of reason.
An invasion of the Old Growth however?
There was a reason the Wood Elves â as they named themselves â had managed to remain independent of both the other two, much larger, nations despite sharing land borders with both of them.
Their strange magics might have been muted and weak beyond the borders of their home, but within their territory they were nigh invincible.
No, if there was to be any âreclamationâ of any territory belonging to the old Aelven Imperium, it was likely to come from Lindholm.
To that end, the kingdom could ill afford to keep feeding people and iron into the meatgrinder that was the Sunlands. Could ill afford to keep orcs that might otherwise be valuable mages laboring in the fields under the eyes of watchful taskmasters.
Lindholm needed every mage-knight it could get â regardless of the color of their skin or the shape of their ears.
Yet after year and years of negotiations and attempts to shift public opinion on the matter, the North still remained willfully ignorant of that truth.
âSurely they know that even if they win, any kind of division between us will just see the Homeland sweep over them?â Joana said.
Yelena shrugged. âI have a feeling that Duchess Blackstoneâs victories over both the Lunites and Solites has left her confident of repeating the fact should it come to that.â
Foolhardy, in her eyes, but no one had ever accused the Blackstones of being meek. Nor being incapable of backing up their sometimes insane claims. What other House could lay claim to an ancestry that had once beaten back the Old Imperium at the height of its power?
Where other human nobles had been sworn into the Old Imperium on their knees with their battered armies scattered to the winds, the Blackstones managed to resist long and hard enough that the Imperial Legions had been forced to come to the negotiating table.
Ultimately, the Blackstones had still been absorbed into the Empire, but theyâd done so on their terms with their heads unbowed.
âŠThough it was somewhat ironic that nearly a thousand years on, it was now those same humans in the position of the old Imperial Legion while it was the free orcs who now utilized the same strategies as the old Blackstone tribes â right down to the Wyvern riders.
âI could imagine that,â Joana muttered.
âIs it strange that I think she might pull it off?â Yelena said â though only because she was sure that no one beyond her friend and silent guards was listening.
âPart of me wants to argue that, but⊠do you think itâs a human thing?â
Yelena thought about the Blackstones and the young man whoâd just turned down a chance to be king one day.
âPerhaps,â she admitted.
Personally she thought it was because humans didnât live as long â and there was more of them. When your life could be measured in but a single century, perhaps you were a bit more inclined towards taking risks that might make an elf balk?
âŠRisks like trying to take your first year team up against a third year team in the name of trying to avoid a war.
Or at least delay it.
âI still canât believe he said no to your offer,â Joana said, something⊠complicated in her friendâs expression.
Yelena grinned at the sight, though she wrestled down the urge to ask a number of probing questions of her normally straight laced friend, who seemed to have a childish crush on a young man nearly ten years her junior â and her student beside.
Normally sheâd be all over a scandal that delicious.
Alas, right now was work time. âI can. He gave me his reasons and they were solid.â
Well, solid enough. If you squinted a bit. And tried to think âhumanâ.
Rather than all-but guarantee a war by having the Crown break off his betrothal, he intended to do it himself.
Loudly and publicly.
And if he won â and that was a big if â heâd all but destroy any kind of excuse the Blackstones might have to declare war in response. Indeed, by being âshamedâ in such a public manner theyâd need to spend a few years at least regathering lost support.
After all, who would want to follow a house into a civil war just after their heir was publicly humiliated by a team of cadets two years her junior?
Academy fights werenât just schoolyard squabbles. They were civil conflicts writ small. A microcosm of the constant jostling and jockeying of Lindholmâs houses.
In other words, they held weight.
If Willaim could beat his fiancĂ©e, Yelena knew sheâd owe him more than she could ever truly repay. A few more years of preparation would turn an almost guaranteed defeat into something much more even.
Especially if she could scoop up who knows how many mithril cores that were otherwise just littering the ocean. Ninety percent of them would be of limited use immediately, but a few years would give her time to construct at least a few more airship hulls to house the devices.
All that was required was for William to win.
âSolid,â Joana scoffed. âHis plan is to go up against a group of third years with a team of firsties.â
Yelena tried to keep the intensity she was feeling out of her tone as she leaned forward. âYou donât think he can do it?â
Joana opened her mouth before hesitating. âI⊠normally Iâd say no. Talented as they are, the gap in experience is just too wide.â
âButâŠâ
The dark elf rolled her silver eyes behind her glasses. âBut, with Williamâs newest inventionâŠâ The woman paused. âSon of a bitch.â
For just a moment Yelena was treated to the rare sight of her friend laughing. âI canât believe I thought he âjust wanted to use it in a schoolyard fightâ,â the Instructor said.
âWell, he sort of is, in a way.â Yelena shrugged. âIt just so happens to be a very important schoolyard fight.â
Joana laughed. âI suppose it is.â
âStill, do you think he can win?â
Joana straightened up. âI genuinely donât know. With his new invention he might be able to catch her off guard. If he can skew the numbers in his favor at the start, they might have a chance.â
Yelena frowned. Not exactly the ringing endorsement she wanted to hear, but that was part of why she valued Joanaâs friendship.
Always had really, even when the girl had first come to court at the age of ten as a potential playmate for Yelenaâs daughters and told her that her dress made her look like some kind of tropical bird.
Something Yelena realized upon closer inspection was true.
Ever since, the Queen had made a point of checking in with the girl from time to time, if only for the occasional shot of unvarnished truth.
It was a strange âfriendshipâ from the outside looking in, but one that got less so as time went by and the age gap became less stark.
âWell, letâs hope the human capacity for the nigh impossible isnât relegated entirely to the Blackstones,â Yelena muttered.
Because if it wasnât, the boy would either have to marry one of Yelenaâs daughters or die.
She could not afford the knowledge in his head to reach the Blackstones. To that end, heâd either accept her offer â rolling the dice on the onset of war and all that might come with it â or heâd suffer an accident.
As much as it pained the royal sovereignâs heart to see such a bright and enterprising soul be snuffed out before its time.
Being forced to make such decisions was simply the price of wearing the crown.
âStill,â Joana said, and Yelena was grateful for the distraction as she looked up. âWill you actually leave him alone if he pulls this off?â
Yelena scoffed.
âOf course not. If anything Iâll up my offer.â She shrugged. âIâll give him you, myself and half my court if it means getting my hands on whatâs in his head.â
It was actually a little amusing how Joana flushed at her words, even as she shook her head.
âYes, that sounds a lot more like you.â
Yelena nodded. Damn right it did.
Though as she did, a thought occurred to her. âHey Joana?â
âYes?â
âIn your reports to me, didnât you mention the Ashfield boy having some kind of nickname.â
The dark elf pondered the words for a moment before stiffening. âHmm, he does actually. A rather apt one considering. Apt enough that Iâm wondering if whatever he used to kill AlâHundra is related.â
âWell, donât keep me in suspense. What is it?â
Joana leaned back, her head craned upwards, as if seeking strength from above.
âKraken Slayer.â
Yelena laughed. She couldnât help it.
âOf course it is.â
----------------
âYou killed AlâHundra.â
William was still reeling a little from the conversation heâd just had, so he was actually a little caught off guard by a finger being shoved into his face the moment he stepped back into his teams quarters.
Ah, he thought. I promised answers.
Though it seemed that in his absence his team had managed to figure out some of those answers without him.
Glancing past Olzenyaâs outstretched arm, he saw Marline shaking her head â as if to vehemently deny sheâd told them anything.
She neednât have bothered, her geass precluded it as an option. Hell, even once everyone found out it would preclude it as an option.
Which was for the best for the moment because now he wasnât so much trying to hide what heâd done as how heâd done it. Admittedly, Marline didnât know anything beyond the broadest details, but she knew enough to know that it was some kind of enchantment combined with alchemy.
Now it was possible the forces working against him â or rather simply to profit off him â had already figured that out and heâd hear the alchemy lab exploded any moment now, but heâd sooner put it off for as long as he could.
To that end, he turned to Olzenya â though not before politely lowering her pointing arm.
Something that, to her credit, the high elf allowed â actually looking a little embarrassed by her outburst and thus rudeness.
âHonestly, I was expecting something like that to come from Bonnlyn, not you,â he said to the slightly flushed high elf.
As he glanced over toward where the dwarf was sitting, she shrugged. âI realize I may not be the most classically polite individual around, but Iâve been a merchant long enough to recognize when someoneâs got a trade secret they want to keep close to their chests.â
If anything, Olzenya flushed harder, as while she might not have been familiar with trade secrets, she was most definitely familiar with the notion of house spells that needed to be kept secret.
âI also thought ambushing him at the door was a little rude,â Verity murmured from the back of the room.
Olzenya coughed, before backing up. âOf course, I apologize for that William.â
More bemused than anything else, especially as the elf curtsied, he waved a hand dismissively. âItâs fine. Or, understandable, I guess.â
âGood,â Ozlenya smiled, glad for his acceptance⊠before she shouted again. âBecause you lied to us.â
âI did?â
âHe didnât,â Marline said. âHe said he had something to bet against Tala.â
Indeed he had, something heâd kept hidden under a sheet. After all, heâd not wanted his big surprise to be spoiled by the rumors of his coming beating him to the cafeteria.
And they would.
Rumors in the academy somehow managed to move at light speed.
âHe implied it was gold,â Olzenya shot back.
âAnd you said Tala wouldnât go for it, but you came with us anyway,â Bonnlyn said.
Indeed, he had implied it was gold. Or âsomething valuable enough to catch her interestâ.
âTo comfort him after she shot him down,â Olzenya said. âInstead I damn near tripped over my own feet in front of everyone when he pulled an honest to goddess mithril core out of his ass.â
William was actually a little thrown off â and amused â by the sudden display of crassness from the noble girl.
âBut he didnât lie.â It was actually a little surprising â and heartwarming â to hear Verity speaking so forcefully.
And that Olzenya didnât immediately snap at her for doing so. The team really had come a long way in just a few months.
Ah, the joys of shared suffering, William thought as he watched the girls bicker amongst themselves.
âAs Iâm sure youâve all guessed, I have indeed been less than open about a few things,â he said, silencing all of them â except Marline whoâd yet to speak in the first place. âWith that said, Iâve never once lied to you about my end goal.â
âBreaking off your betrothal,â Marline said finally.
âBreaking off my betrothal without starting a war,â he said. âIf it were that easy, the Queen would have done it for me just now.â
âYou met the Queen?â Olzenya sounded a little faint.
âI did.â
Oh, how he did.
âOh ancestors, please donât tell me you hit on the queen!?â This time Marline sounded a little faint.
And he actually felt a little offended. âWhat!? Why would you think that.â
âYouâre doing the same thing you do when we talk about Instructor Griffith,â Bonnlyn said with studiously neutral voice. âOr Instructor Morline. Or Instructor Flen. Or some of the guards.â
âOr that one cafeteria lady,â Verity chimed in, a little red in the face.
âOr the-â
âI do not!â Heâd finally had enough of these aspersion on his character.
Across the room, a number of sighs rang out, even from the elves.
âAt least now I knew why he never checked me out,â Bonnlyn said. âHeâs got mommy issues. And Iâm not old enough to tickle them.â
âStill, the Queen?â Olzenya hissed.
âI mean, have you seen her?â Marline muttered back. âI mean, I donât agree with him⊠but I get it.â
âI didnât âpervâ on the Queen.â Some part of him died on using such childish language. âWe had a meeting about my plans and⊠what occurred with AlâHundra. Needless to say, the fact that Iâm here means sheâs agreed to go ahead with them and Iâm also to keep quiet about anything I may or may not have had to do with any Kraken going missing. Or their cores.â
He deliberately left out the royal marriage offer.
Still, with those words the room went silent. After all, if the Queen had told him to say nothing, he was expected to say nothing. Just because the North in general didnât have much respect for royal authority didnât mean the rest of the kingdom did.
Quite the opposite.
âWell, if the Queen has commanded you to remain silent, I suppose thereâs nothing to be done,â Olzenya muttered. âThough I would like answers some day.â
âHell, Iâd like to know why you brought Marline in on your plans,â Bonnlyn said, glancing at the Dark Elf. âYou know, and not the rest of us.â
There was no missing the hint of hurt there â which he understood.
âI can promise you it was purely a matter of convenient circumstance,â he said. âAnd I can promise you, I didnât confide in Marline for free.â
All the girls glanced up as the dark elf nodded slowly. âHeâs not lying â though I canât say anymore. Literally. Itâs a price I paid willingly, but one I doubt any of you would be interested in.â
Almost as one, he could see the lightbulbs turn on in everyoneâs brain simultaneously â except for Verity, who took a few seconds.
âGeass,â thought none of them said it.
This time though, when the girls looked between him and Marline, there was a definite sense of wariness to it.
âWell, I suppose thereâs nothing else to say then,â Bonnyln said. âI guess we shouldâŠâ
ââŠGo to bed,â Olzenya nodded warily.
William grinned. âGood idea. Big day tomorrow and all that.â
That was an understatement, and he could tell everyone was thinking it as they made their way over to their rooms.
Still, it was true all the same.
Theyâd need their rest if they wanted to stand a chance tomorrow.
Indeed, theyâd need every advantage they could get.
To that end, William could only hope heâd stacked the deck in their favor enough to matter.
âŠIt took him a long time to get to sleep.
When he did awake, in the early hours of the morning, it was to the sound of an explosion.
In the direction of the old alchemy labs if Iâm not wrong, he thought with a grim smile.
It seemed someone had decided to investigate his storage room even sooner than heâd anticipated.
Annoying, but it hardly mattered at this point in time.
All that really mattered was going back to sleep.
He had a big day ahead of him, after all.