After court Charles passed on two baskets filled with his requested items, close to three dozen quartz the size of a marble, silver threaded gloves, a list of shops in the capital that tailored outfits. Lastly an elaborate silver mask with a long shimmering red feather on the right side and a ruby tear drop on the left under the eye.
Lucian eyed each item as they were spread out on the table that had so recently held court. He eyed the mask, Charles had explained in great detail how the mask was made along with enchantments woven into the feather and ruby. Ashton had tried the mask on so only his spring blue eyes were visible.
Duke Jaxon, Marquis Leonard, Aaron, and Bert stood off to the side as tensions continued to mount.
"Why do you need a mask? Or gloves for Our banquet?" Lucian finally asked after Devlin confirmed the only enchantments were to keep the feather looking beautiful and the ruby to keep the wearer cool with fresh air.
Ashton turned his face to Lucian, "My gifts to the reigning emperor will be... immaterial in nature." He explained as Devlin continued to inspect the unenhanced gloves.
Devlin noticed the burning gaze from Lucian and politely interested smile from Ashton, "I can't see anything, only the mask had any enchantments..." He explained placing them back in the second basket.
"Many thanks, please look forward to the show." Ashton teased as he dawned the mask, he intended to make the mask part of his daily ensemble.
Lucian glared from Charles to Ashton, "We could have provided all of this. You have a budget and you still haven't selected your guards."
"I don't dare indebt myself to the emperor or his retinue, nor have the guards been... amenable during my strolls. I could not even request them to guide me around, would I dare trust them to not tamper with my requested items?" Ashton asked tilting his head right so the feather bounced endearingly.
Bert paled as Lucian turned to him, "Your Majesty, I swear I ordered them to follow Ashton's orders as if they were my own." He explained cursing the poison David and Patrick had been spouting the other day.
Ashton tilted his head dramatically to the left, "Of course you did Master Guard Bert, a pity Lord David has been hosting quite a few... get togethers since his return. I dare say, even guard Patrick seemed to not hear me even after several hours just yesterday when I was inquiring about the banquet hall. Alas, at least the Empress agreed to have someone escort me this evening so I might understand the banquet hall for my gift." He added shaking his head as if were at his whit's end. Bert knelt without a word as Ashton finished packing up the quartz.
Jaxon stepped forward, "We will punish anyone who dares show you any disrespect, but it's not uncommon for unknown nobles to be treated as lesser without... a proper showing."
Ashton turned to Jaxon and again tilted his head just enough for the feather to bounce, "I must not understand the hierarchy as well as I thought. I was under the impression any order given by the emperor would be more than enough. Please excuse my ignorance."
Jaxon glared, "The order was not given directly by his majesty, there was a misunderstanding that will be corrected immediately."
Ashton gave a dramatic bow, "Ah, of course, I assumed, that any order given to his majesty's personal guard, could only be given by his majesty or one speaking on his majesty's behalf. Truly there is much to learn." Ashton stood back up enjoying the stifled glare from Jaxon and dramatically paled Leonard.
Bert almost collapsed; Ashton was basically accusing him of treason. Directing his majesty's personal guards without his explicate order or permission was the same as claiming to have the same authority as the emperor. If anyone dared petition to have him punished, just keeping his head would be an uphill battle let alone his position as commander.
"The oversight will be corrected, of course only his majesty's verbal order can move the imperial guards. I'm sure commander Bert has never dared overstep," Leonard explained sending a glare to Jaxon, he'd been warned plenty how sharp a tongue Ashton had. The boy was like a leopard pouncing any weakness.
"No, no, clearly I am just sensitive. Perhaps the guards merely did not hear or understand what I was asking. In the future I will do my best to remain out of their way; especially as her majesty has so graciously agreed to purchase anything I find myself lacking. Speaking of which, Lord Charles, perhaps her majesty could add rations to my list. My current rations are running low as none of the guards dared allow servants to carry outside food into the Eastern Palace."
Leonard simply closed his eyes with a deep breath. Was Lucian not paying attention to anything happening in his own house? Surely, he was aware everyone would be testing his reaction to Ashton's plights...
"We ordered a maid inform you what time We dined in the Northern palace." Lucian stated daring Ashton to claim otherwise.
Ashton slowly turned to Lucian... "Your Majesty... are you saying... you ordered the guards to prohibit food from entering the Eastern Palace... to force me to starve or dine with you?" He asked neutrally.
Lucian tensed, everyone was now staring at him... "We did not order them to keep you from food."
Ashton took a deep breath, "Then you are failing as a provider your majesty. I do believe at this particular time I would rather starve than eat at your table. Lord Charles if you could ensure the Empress is aware I will pay for the rations I would appreciate it. I am suddenly feeling indisposed so will retire to the Eastern palace."
Leonard had to force his polite smile, "Please, enjoy your day, Lord Reece." Ashton didn't bother to bow as he left, so Leonard turned to Lucian, "Your Majesty... why? Why?"
Jaxon was also staring at Lucian, his orders regarding Ashton seemed to contradict each other, now none of them were on the same page. "Your Majesty, what exactly is your end goal for Ashton? We need to be aware so we can consistently work together."
Lucian stared down both men, "We didn't order the guards not to feed him."
Leonard took a deep breath, "Your majesty, what exactly do you want from Ashton other than the truth behind Alphonse's death?" Sometimes Leonard felt like he was talking to a rebellious toddler when speaking with Lucian.
Lucian tapped his fingers on the table, he still wasn't exactly sure what he wanted. "Until We know the relationship between Alphonse and Ashton We won't know for certain."
Leonard did his best to keep his smile, "Your majesty, what is the best possible outcome? We should strive for the best possible outcome but prepare for the worst. We can always be kinder now, because making up for faults is always harder."
Lucian continued to drum his fingers on the table, "Ashton is avoiding Us."
Jaxon gave a wry smile, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold... your treatment has not exactly endeared you to the boy. If you want Ashton to stop avoiding you, we should work to at least make his stay comfortable. He is so aggrieved with his stay he is bartering with your Empress for necessities, which means he's not comfortable asking any of us. We need to build trust your Majesty, so please order everyone in the palace to treat Ashton with the utmost respect." Jaxon explained, Lucian was a great general, but his tactics did not yield desirable results elsewhere.
Leonard then leaned forward, "We also... need to publicly punish anyone who was disrespectful. Your majesty I cannot stress enough we are trying to do damage control right now. Please ask us for advice before you do anything regarding Ashton for the immediate future." Leonard stated glancing at the still pale Bert.
"Were We not supposed to be trying for benevolent?" Lucian asked sarcastically, clearly nothing he was doing was going to be right anyway.
Leonard wanted to slap Lucian upside the head, "Your Majesty, you are constantly giving everyone mixed signals, of course its not going to end well. You tell us to be good to the boy, to not upset him, then you turn around ordering all the people under us to ignore and neglect him. This isn't a situation where we use good prison guard, bad prison guard. Everyone needs to be an accommodating host. These semantics are only proving you're a childish bully." Leonard scolded meeting Lucian's glare. "You are not a child; you are our emperor. Please, for the Beast Gods above and our people, stop acting like a petulant child trying to catch a wild cat by the tail then being upset it scratches you."
Lucian wanted to retort, but the analogy was spot on. Everyone directly under him was putting out fresh fish to lure this stubborn kitten over, yet he was grabbing it by the tail. Of course it would only grow more wary. "I understand," Lucian deliberately dropped the royal We, "I'll make sure to consult at least two of you before I do anything else."
Jaxon shared a glance with Leonard, if only Lucian was always so agreeable, hopefully this would last.
Ashton deliberately ignored how tense the guards were in the afternoon, now he was the one ignoring them. For any errands he sent the attendants gifted by the empress as he prepared, though he did notice more than half of the guards had been replaced. When half a dozen guards arrived with plates of food Ashton simply glanced the guards up and down through the mask, "I don't dare accept such graciousness without proving my worth." Ashton informed then closed his door again.
Ashton spent the morning carving the inside of the mask with an enchantment to reduce his vision of the damned souls. Unfortunately, he'd never needed such an enchantment so it was far from perfect. At least now he would only see the concentrated masses, while the rest of the world would have a slight tinge of darkness. Ashton took the mask off glancing out the window of his room, dark smoky figures wandering around weeping.
With the mask on, it was more akin to a stormy day, not much light, but enough to see by, so a significant improvement. Now, to work on the sound isolation. Ashton still needed to hear the people around him, and occasionally the damned souls screaming, especially if they were targeting specific people.