Last King of Kings

Chapter 76: What future holds for us

The next day, Rostam came into Yazdegerd's office upon his personal invitation. He found Yazdegerd already sitting behind his table, drinking wine from a cup. On the other side of the table sat another man – Farrukhzad. They were chatting and drinking from the two jugs of wine they had on the table. After they noticed him, Farrukhzad called out to him.

"Hello there, brother. Come join us! Sit down!"

Rostam hastily accepted the invitation as he sat down and downed an entire cup of wine. Then he poured another one.

"Rostam, I need you to think rationally today so calm down, alright?" said Yazdegerd jokingly. Rostam laughed.

"Of course. Is this about yesterday?" asked Rostam, even though he pretty much knew it was.

"Naturally. I heard from Piruz that you talked with him. Good job. We need to have someone close to the border to report what is actually happening there. Also, I ordered to have garrisons of larger settlements on the eastern border bolstered, so they can defend themselves in case of an attack."

Rostam was listening to Yazdegerd intently, absorbing every word he said. Meanwhile, Farrukhzad was wine sipping from his cup.

"I think this and Piruz' arrival to the vicinity should help mitigate any possible threats. Any other suggestions you might have?" asked Yazdegerd. Rostam looked like he is deep in thought, while Farrukhzad simply continued sipping his wine. After a brief moment, Rostam spoke.

"I have thought about sending an emissary to the Chacha Empire. Let us show them that we do not wish to fight them, and perhaps negotiate a truce, instead of only bolstering our borders in silence."

Farrukhzad stopped sipping his wine, since they were entering field in which he had expertise. He held his hand up

"I would volunteer for this, my Shahanshah. I believe my brother to be correct, that we should show them our good will and arrange a negotiation. It's much better than to live in fear of war constantly."

Yazdegerd looked at both of them, then his eyes stopped at Farrukhzad.

"Farrukhzad, my friend, from the moment Rostam spoke about an emissary, I knew you would be perfect for that role. If you are so excited, you can ride with Piruz to the border, then continue with a small retinue into the Chacha territory, or however you arrange it. I will put my trust in you."

Farrukhzad simply bowed. Yazdegerd then downed his cup of wine and went onto the next topic.

"Rostam, did you find anything else about the apparent plot against our ally?" asked Yazdegerd in a tone that revealed he had something in his mind.

"No, I didn't. Nothing new at least. The thing is, they're just rumors at this point. No one sane enough would act when the victim himself knows he's the target."

"Maybe that's what he is trying to do." Said Yazdegerd as he was pouring another cup.

"What do you mean, my Shahanshah?" asked Rostam, even though he was beginning to understand what Yazdegerd means.

"Think about it. No professional would let rumors like that spread. Hell, how did they even manage to spread around like that? Would a killer planning on murdering the Roman Emperor be so incompetent as to allow these rumors spread and possibly alert Heraclius?"

"Most likely, no." answered Rostam, whose brow began to sweat.

"Exactly. This is all part of the plot, I'm afraid. Let the rumors spread. The victim will barricade himself and will use everything he can to remain safe. And you won't act. You just wait a few months, when the victim begins to think he's safe after all, and that those really were just rumors, then you strike. But this would require you having access to close proximity of the victim and the ability to gain inside info. Meaning someone close to Heraclius must be involved for the plot to work." Said Yazdegerd, downing another cup of wine.

Rostam and Farrukhzad simply sat there, flabbergasted. I all made sense. And, if the victim finds out how the plot works, you can simply decide to not do it, meaning he won't ever find out who was involved. A genius strategy.

"In this case, I believe we should warn his majesty about the possible danger." Said Rostam. I sounded like he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. Farrukhzad knew what.

"But sending a letter would be dangerous. I might get intercepted by the wrong people." Said Farrukhzad, as if finishing what Rostam wanted to say. Rostam simply nodded.

Yazdegerd kind of knew where this is headed, but he decided he would be the one to say it.

"Then let us go personally, on an official visit. After all, I have a good reason – meeting my future bride and father-in-law after few years. Arrange for a letter to be sent to Heraclius, announcing my visit. Let us depart in a week and head straight to Constantinople, the city of wonders."

--

Heraclius was sitting in his office, a pile of documents on his table. Some he read, on some he wrote with a quill and there were few that he discarded, for whatever reason. His office was full of busts, trophies and other decorations that made it look lavish and extravagant. He was tired of the constant administrative work he had to put up with. He was glad that he had at least some vacant time for himself and his daughter. After all, he won't have her forever. He looked at one simple letter in particular. It arrived a few days ago, bearing joyful news. He then decided he should do something. As he left his office, the guard at the door saluted him. He strode towards the western portion of the palace complex, deep in thought. At least seemingly. In reality, he knew exactly what he was doing and wasn't just wandering aimlessly. He walked up to a door from which he could hear muffled voices – a voice of an older man, and a voice of a young girl. After the voices calmed down, he knocked on the door.

The door was opened by an older man in simple robe and tunic. It was Adonis, the teacher hired to teach young princess the Persian language. When he realized who was knocking on the door, he straightened himself and began to speak politely.

"Your Highness, what an unexpected visit. What might you need? We are in the middle of a lesson." Said Adonis with a smile.

"I would like to speak with my daughter. Could you finish today's lesson early today?" asked Heraclius. Even though it sounded like a request, Adonis knew he can't really decline.

"Of course we can. But please, I beg of you, talk some sense into her. Lately, it's as if she is in clouds. I can't teach her when she doesn't concentrate. Don't you know what happened to her?" Said Adonis, pleading. Heraclius smiled.

"I do. She was charmed." Said Heraclius, still smiling.

He left the room together with Roxane, and they went towards his chambers, talking about this and that. When they reached their destination, they sat down and made themselves comfortable. Heraclius then smiled and patted Roxane on her head.

"What was sir Adonis talking about, my dear? What is up with you? You never had issues with concentration. What happened?" asked Heraclius. Roxane remained silent and appeared to try to hide her face.

"Did you perhaps hear rumours of a certain someone arriving here to visit us in the upcoming weeks?" asked Heraclius devilishly. Judging by her reaction, he hit a bullseye.

"Is it true then?" burst Roxane out, before realizing how embarrassing what she said was, painting her cheeks red. "Will he really come?" she continued, this time more silent and meek.

Heraclius wanted to hug her immediately, for he saw her behaviour extremely cute. But he restrained himself.

"Yes, it is true. He sent me a letter informing me of his intent. By the way, do you remember how you made me promise you that should you not like him, I would break the engagement off?" asked Heraclius with a soft smile. Roxane looked at him, embarrassed.

"Yes." She said, as quiet as she was.

"And? Now that you've seen him and had the time to think about it, do you wish to proceed with this request?" continued Heraclius.

"No." she said, this time very softly.

---

Thank you for reading! Sorry for the pause, I had to take one. I wasn't able to write and couldn't come up with ideas. Guess I still am burnt out a bit, but I am trying to write as much as I can. Sadly, it's not as easy as it used to be.