8: Well kept secrets

                                    

                                          




Alexander watches as his cousin rides into the capital, followed by hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers in heavy armour.
They carry banners with her family blue and the symbol of a white serpent, out into the streets where the people crowd around her. Nobody dares to come too close, though, in fear of being trampled to death by the array of horses parading in. Once she has gotten far enough into the capital, he rushes down from the balcony of his room that overlooks the city, and moves down to the main courtyard.
There are already hundreds of people standing around, awaiting Ensi's return. Most of them are noble, knights and members of the court, as well as their family members. The servant's stand in the back, but only the highest of ranking ones. Alexander Etos is given space as he rushes down the steps of the palace front doors, out onto the cobblestone serpent's entrance of the large palace. He reaches the very edge of the audience, and stops next to the dowager Empress and her son, prince Eleazer, who can hardly stand still at his young age.
"Her Majesty, Empress Ensi of Ophion, ruler of the greatest Empire in the world!"
The Dowager Empress gives him a side-glance, hatred quite clear in her expression. Alexander smiles back, and stares into her eyes until she forces a smile onto her face, too. He looks away, toward the front gates where the Empress comes riding into the palace to the sound of trumpets. Soon the Dowager won't bother forcing a smile. When all their hatred is exposed to the open, there will be nothing left but war.
And Alexander Etos is planning to win.
The Empress gets off her horse. She, and a few of the more higher ranking members of the military walk up toward the palace steps. The rest of the army who had been travelling with the Empress get busy with cleanup. There is a lot to unpack and a lot to deal with after so many weeks on the road. The Empress lets the members of Court bow to her, and then walks up to the Dowager Empress and her half-brother the prince, giving them a small nod with her face stone cold.
She only brightens up to a hint of a smile when she finally gets to her cousin, Alexander Etos. He smiles back, in a much brighter fashion, as is his usual approach. "Welcome back, Your Majesty."
Ensi gives him an approving nod, and puts her hand on his shoulder. He immediately moves toward the palace, and she walks right by him. They are followed by her personal guard, but everyone else is left standing on the courtyard. Her Majesty hadn't even graced them with a single word. It is only when the doors close behind them that she finally speaks, giving the Court and the dowager the disappointment of her obvious disapproval.
"I am glad to still hold the throne after my long absence."
Alexander scoffs. "I have come to the conclusion that they wouldn't dare to steal it while you were away, waiting to strike for it back with your large army." He glances at the Empress as they walk, fast paced and powerful through the large and wide main corridor of the palace. Their footsteps echo in the empty halls, but quiet down once they reach a different hallway with blue, carpeted floors. The cling and clang of the Empress's heavy and glorious armour is the only thing heard past her sour gaze.
"They wish to strike now that I am vulnerable in the capital." Alexander sees the rage in her eyes, and how it mirrors the way she walks into the inner palace like how one would walk right into war. "Serpents? I should be calling them pigs. Greedy pigs, mad now that they can't milk the peasants of the border for any more money, or the citizens any more tax."
"Ending the war was a wise choice, Your Majesty."
The Empress stops, right in front of a large staircase. She glances at him, taking a look at his expression as if to analyse his sincerity. "But you wish I hadn't, correct? Making so many enemies in the capital risks your succession." Alexander meets her eyes by letting his honest feelings shine through, knowing that Ensi is able to smell through any lie he might try to muster anyway. "Perhaps If you had done this ten years later I would've had my doubts. But with your dear brother being at the... young age that he is, I cannot say I particularly fear the challenge of a child."