Act Two, Scene Seven
They met in family council. The private dining room was sealed from outside eyes; four chairs were set out around a rectangular table sized for six. The empty spots were at the foot and the spot to the right of the head. Catherine sat between the two empty spots; her father sat at the head of the table, her sister to his left, her brother the next step around. This is going to be terrible.
She looked around at them. The hellfire in Lizzy’s eyes was almost invisible, pushed back as far as she could. Instead she looked limp. Steelmind seemed perfectly calm, as always, as much as he ever could be. Catherine was still nervous, but her father looked as cold and intense as if he were going to a fight.
The four of them sat, and the silence grew until her father spoke abruptly.
“I intend to resign tomorrow.”
Catherine couldn’t come up with any response, and her siblings looked at least as shocked. “You will share rule over Novapest.”
Lizzy’s eyes were forced shut. Her face looked shocked, suddenly startled and worried with just a hint of expectant pride. It was a very well-designed expression. Julius looked calm, and Catherine could not keep the horror from her face.
“Elizabeth, I want you to manage the aristocracy. They fear you; use that. Remember that the threat of force is always more useful than force itself. Julius, you will wish to oversee economic and technological development. Catherine, your experience overseas should serve as preparation for foreign affairs. I will remain to serve as a consultant, but the three of you will be managing the city.”
Bloody Lizzy nodded, slowly, as though accepting a weighty responsibility against her will.
Steelmind blinked, hard, and said, “As you wish, father.”
Catherine finally opened her mouth, intending to say something diplomatic. What came out was, “Are you absolutely insane?”
There was total silence until she continued.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“You’re talking about splitting your empire into three parts among your feuding children? The empire maintained by a group of power-hungry, ambitious lunatics? And you’re putting Bloody Lizzy in charge of them? And you don’t think the three of us will be -”
“Catherine,” said the Tyrant softly.
“No, you want me to finish because if you are giving me a job you want me to know why you’re doing it, don’t you?”
“I do,” he said.
“You are seriously proposing to put something like two million people under the rule of three people between twenty-one and twenty-eight, one of whom is a serial killer and two of whom are socially inept.”
“An unfair judgement.”
“Really? When is it ever unjust of me to say this? Have you studied history, do you know how often this sort of power-splitting disaster went well? The answer is never! It always ends in civil war -” Her voice was going high -
“Catherine,” he said, voice tired, “you are making a foolish mistake. You know history, and you know my history. My greatest talent, now as ever, is and has always been my ability to judge men. If you believe that the three of you cannot accomplish the tasks I set you, you defy my judgement, my talents. I pulled Mechanos from the scrapheap and Outis from the needle, and they are among the greatest supervillains alive.”
“You’re good at scaring people and you’re good at seeing who’s competent, dad, I’m not denying it, but that’s not the same skill. We have an island of supervillains and they only do what you say because you’re you!”
“That was true once. It is not true now. Things have changed while you were in America, Catherine, and your brother and sister have not merely gained counties, but deserved them. The war has changed the nature of the family, and by my judgement -”
“You thought Ilderia would be a good Count of the Fourth.” The words could not be taken back once spoken. “If you’re neither right or wrong -”
“SILENCE!” he said in his supervillain voice, and for a moment she hesitated.
“Catherine. You are acting like a child -”
“You’re making an obvious mistake,” she said, talking over him -
“We must discuss one problem at a time -”
“Mother told me you’d do something like this -”
“She respected my judgement -”
“And she told me when you did to stop you -”
“Catherine, you are wrong -“
“She told me -”
“There’s no -”
“I’m -”
“Listen.”
“Just stop -”
“Listen!”
“And -”
“Catherine!”
She swallowed but couldn’t hold back the tears, and then there was nothing to do but run farther and farther.
There was silence in the dining room, and then Steelmind got up.
“I’d better talk to her,” he said, and vanished as quickly as possible.
Lizzy followed shortly with sweet, consoling words, and the Tyrant was alone, staring down the table. Three empty chairs, two empty places. One seat at the head, where he sat, alone.
He spoke softly. “It is the right decision, Thei. It is the only decision.”
There was, of course, no response.