Chapter 79: Raze

Roland was shocked at Titania's declaration. Obliterate Klain? Wipe it from the face of the earth?

He imagined the war was to gain arable land, maybe redraw some borders, or at the most, overthrow the city and rule it. But Titania seemed to be planning genocide.

"Is there... no other way?" Roland asked as diplomatically as he could. He had yet to face the queen's direct ire, and wanted to tread carefully. Although she was planning to kill everyone he knew and loved, having her treat him as an ally was invaluable for now.

She trained a sorrowful gaze upon him, "This is the only way to reclaim what is ours and free our people. How noble of you that you want to save us the difficulty and sacrifice of such a war! We are used to such sacrifices and are preparing well, but a ruler's burden is to do what is best for the people. Truly you are an inspiration for them! Did I tell you I am planning a feast tomorrow to celebrate your return?"

He marveled at her ability to continually assert his loyalty to Klain. Anyone else would have jumped to the conclusion that he didn't want the city where he was raised to be burned to the ground with everyone in it, but she made it sound as if his only objection to such a deed would be that it would be difficult for Rhone!

"A feast?" He let her change the subject. He didn't want to linger on the coming destruction of his home. For now, it was easiest to continue to let Titania keep the reins of all their interactions. He wasn't sure how things would go if he tried to take them, anyway.

He wouldn't do anyone any good if he were killed, tortured, or thrown back into the Darkness... though the last option held some allure now that he had a clue as to how to get out. He hadn't dared to try opening a door from this side for fear of getting caught.

"It will be wonderful! The whole camp is coming, and I have sent messengers to gather representatives from the other outposts. I have the cooks preparing fine dishes, and we will have dancing to celebrate your return!"

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Rhone dancing... or any dancing." Roland didn't want to embarrass himself in from of the dignitaries. It was a prime opportunity to gauge the Rhone's true numbers by the number of outposts represented.

"Oh, we shall remedy that! There are several manners of dance, but I will have someone teach you today so that you know the steps. There's nothing in the world like a Rhone dance. Each one tells a part of our history, and the children learn them from an early age. You should begin soon if you are to know them in time!"

She clapped twice, and a young girl appeared to take the breakfast remnants away on a tray. Roland fleetingly wondered why Titania seemed to have children serve her, as he had seen some do so far. Their eyes weren't black like the Rhone, but a mild sort of brown.

Titania never thanked these children, and they never smiled in return. Roland found it unnerving but followed Titania's example. He had tried smiling at them at first, but was met with expressionless stares that chilled him. Continually walking a fine line of curiosity and fact-finding with avoiding asking the wrong questions, he decided the children would make a relatively innocuous topic of conversation before his dance lesson.

"The children who serve you are so well-mannered," He began as the little girl left. "Where do they come from?" As their eyes did not match the Rhone, he worried that they were captives stolen from families of other attacked villages.

"What children?" Titania looked at him, perplexed for a moment until he gestured to the tent door where the girl had just departed.

She burst into peals of delighted laughter. "Oh, my dear! Thank you, I haven't laughed so hard in ages." She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at him as her mirth finally abated.

"I'm confused," Roland said hesitantly.

"That 'child' who just left is almost as old as your father! She's served me since long before you were born! She ought to be well mannered by now." Titania took a deep breath on the tail of her laughing fit, deeply amused.

"I'm even more confused," Roland admitted.

"She's a halfling! I told you before how our people enslaved them long ago in revenge for putting the curse upon our people. They have been mediocre servants, (they have so little strength!) but as spies they have their uses. I have generously promised their freedom once the curse is lifted." Titania demurred at the mention of her extreme benevolence.

Roland blinked slowly, feeling as if his brain was moving at a snail's pace. The children serving the Rhone were fully grown adult halflings? Not one of them appeared to be older than twelve. Using them... as spies? Children would be able to overhear all sorts of things. It was ingenious.

There was nothing he could do with that news right now, however fascinating it might be. He mentally set the information aside for later and refocused on the conversation.

"That is very kind of you," He complimented, "To give them their freedom once they help us achieve ours." It always pleased Titania when he included himself while talking about the Rhone.

"Oh, I think so. Prince Duncan protested, but the halflings have been slaves so long. They must have hope of something better if they are to endure. Hope is a powerful tool of control, you know." She smiled knowingly at Roland.

"How do you mean?" He asked with a sinking feeling.

"Power, my child, is only possessed and kept in a few ways," She confided. "Fear works well enough for a time, but eventually, most people, or non-people, run low on fear. Exhaustion or pride or resentment drive it out of them. It becomes a huge effort to maintain and expand the fear. At that time, you may turn to love, hope, or one of the other methods. Going from fear to love is too great a leap for a people to make, but hope can be useful even in the smallest measure."

"Is that how you rule Rhone so well?" Roland thought the question might be sycophantic or taken as sarcastic, but she nodded slowly at him.

"Our forebears ruled by fear and survival the Darkness. There was not the smallest hope, and fear was what kept the Rhone loyal. When we began to find our way back to the world, a spark of hope ignited. Perhaps freedom would become possible. I have fanned that spark slowly into a flame during my years. Prince Duncan almost lost hope," She sighed, "But that was long ago. Once our freedom is achieved, the hope will turn to love for the one who gained their freedom...

"When that love fades, the cycle will begin again with fear." She concluded ominously. He could follow her logic but that didn't make it less disturbing. He knew she was manipulative and merciless, but this was beyond what he had reasoned out.

He could understand hatred for Klain after the intense, ancient war. He could even see how years in hopeless Darkness would ferment that hatred into something more intense, compounded with the fact that the cure apparently lay underneath the rubble of Klain. He hadn't expected her to so readily admit that all of this, apparently, was within her design to maintain and expand her rule through all methods at her disposal.

He wondered what her endgame was in bringing him into all of her secrets. She was not such a fool as to actually believe in his total loyalty. If his allegiance was so quickly switched, he would be untrustworthy as an heir. If he was readily willing to accept her path of treachery, there could be no doubt that he would be willing to betray her if the opportunity arose.

Perhaps she was going to hold him up as a paragon of suffering to rally the Rhone into a frenzy for the coming war. The return of a stolen heir from an enemy was cause for celebration, and now they thought they had confirmation that Klain had always been the culprit for his abduction. On the other hand, celebration rarely gave way to bloodthirsty enthusiasm for war.

Exposing him as a traitor after he was brought close would not achieve much at this point. Since his father had not accepted him, his betrayal would not mean much for the immediate royal line. It might even be a blow to morale.

He narrowed his eyes. The best way to whip the Rhone into a frenzy, and prevent him from being able to betray Titania, would be to raise him to glory and then make him a martyr.