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It was a relief to be back in Ruval Palace again, and Ashura felt a tingling invigoration run through his veins as he strode through the palace corridors, despite the fact that he'd gone days without a full night's sleep and wasn't likely to get any tonight either. Conquering a country tended to land one with a lapful of administrative details under the very best of circumstances. But he was now the Prince of Valeria as well as Ceres, and some things needed to be seen to.
"Any uninhabited lands will be held by the Crown, of course," he instructed his seneschel. "In addition to any lands owned by the Valerian sovereign, or common lands that fell under freeholds. However, individual landowners in the villages may retain posession of their own lands and fields, provided they swear the fealty oath of Valeria."
"Yes, my lord," the seneschal replied, making a note on the scroll he carried. "Are you certain of that? Surely only the King has the authority to distribute seized lands."
Ashura grimaced. "You may run the particulars by my father if you are uncertain," he said sharply. "However, I doubt he will take much interest in the proceedings." In truth, the old King of Ceres was doddering, very nearly gone in senility; he'd barely taken any interest in the Valeria affair at all, apart from noncholantly ordering his son to 'sort it out.'
And that was exactly what the crown prince intended to do. "In addition, once they have taken the oath, they will be granted the same rights and protections as subjects of Ceres," Ashura continued. "Any crimes outstanding against them under Valerian law will be pardoned, and they will be subject to Ceres law going forward."
The seneschal looked dubious, but made another note. "Surely that is too lenient, Prince Ashura?" he protested. "We need to show them our full strength in order to maintain control over a conquered territory! If we're perceived as weak, then we'll surely have people plotting to rebel!"
Ashura halted by one of the corridor windows, and stared through the glass. This was an eastern-facing window, the direction in which Valeria lay, although it wasn't quite possible to see that stricken valley from here.
"Rebels do not concern me," Ashura said quietly. "There will always be dissent, and always a foolhardy few who think to foment rebellion no matter how harsh the consequence. We will deal with such rebellions simply by isolating them, and announcing to the populace that they were seeking to restore the king's rule to the country. No man of Valeria will support them against me then."
"But surely it would be better for them to have a healthy fear of you, their new Prince?" the Seneschal persisted. "After all, we are their conquerers!"
"Yes. And that is all the proof of our superior force that we need," Ashura replied calmly. "The late King of Valeria showed us, if nothing else, the folly of relying on violence and brutality alone to exert your will. Perhaps, if you are willing to spend enough blood, you will eventually crush all resistance - but in the end, you will rule over nothing but a wasteland."
Memories flitted across the glass pane, silent as snowfall; the deserted, dismal villages they'd ridden through, the crying of a single despairing voice from one empty house. The fields lay fallow, the tumbledown buildings, the ruined roads - and the palace, and what they had found there...
"We will extend every reasonable kindness to the people of Valeria, at least at first," Ashura said, turning away from the window. "They are a cowed and broken people already, and will respond more readily to kindness than to threats. And if all our efforts to court them as suitors fails - then we may send in as many troops and spill as much blood as need be.
"It is always better to rule by love, if possible, than by fear. If a man fears you, there will always be some secret corner of his mind plotting to overthrow you, or at least escape you. You will need to be forever on guard, forever expending effort to chase down that rebel part of him and suppress it."
He turned to his seneschal, who looked confused and intimidated by this lordly monologue, and smiled. "But if they love you - ah! Then you may control them with virtually no effort at all, for they will turn themselves out in an effort to serve and please you. Because you will rule not only their bodies, but their hearts and their souls, as well."
The man clutched his scroll and bowed, mumbled some courtesy, and left. Ashura let him go, turning once more to study the shape of the distant mountains.
"Your Highness?" A serving-woman had appeared out of a side corridor. She wore the pale gray clothes of the senior palace servants; not particularly high in rank, but established enough to be a fixture at the palace. And senior enough to request his attention if he was not otherwise occupied, and be granted an audience.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked, turning to her; a moment's study placed her pale, narrow face and blond hair as Karen, one of the serving-women he'd left to take charge of the boy. "Is there a problem?"
She bowed, hands clasped tightly in front of her. Senior or not, it could be considered shockingly presumptuous for a servant to intrude on the crown prince's time, and she radiated nervousness. "Yes, Your Highness. I'm so terribly sorry to disturb you, but we simply didn't know what else to do..."
She broke off when Ashura nodded acceptance, and smiled in relief. Straightening from the bow, she hurried off down the corridor she'd come from, and Ashura changed direction to follow her. He'd meant to check on the young prince anyway, once he'd been cared for, so this was no particular burden to him; but he'd been hoping for a little more time to decide what to do with the boy.
The boy. Ashura turned the problem over in his mind as they walked, now that he had the attention to spare for it. What could they do with him? It was clear enough that he could never be returned to Valeria; either they'd use him as the figurehead for some revolt against Ceres rule, or they'd take the opportunity to abuse and damage him even further. Neither outcome was acceptable. Besides, if Guru Clef was right, the boy had the potential to be a powerful magician one day, and that was not a resource to be lightly squandered.
Once again, he cursed the fortune of bad timing. Damn the old king for his madness, anyway! If only they'd gotten to Valeria two weeks, or even one week sooner, they might have saved both of the princes and not just one. As identical twins, they could have doubled the magical power that could be some day added to Ceres' arsenal. And they could have saved Prince Yuui what was no doubt a painful bereavement.
They arrived in the chambers set aside for the young prince, and the first thing that surprised Ashura was how dim the light was inside. All of the lamps had been turned down to their nighttime illuminations, and most of the light came from the fire that was roaring on the hearth. Even in the summertime, a faint chill always lingered in the stone of the palace walls and floors, but this room was padded with enough carpets and tapestries that it was quite warm inside.
Half a dozen serving-women flitted about, fussing; it took a moment for his eyes to adjust, to pick out the small figure in the center of the chaos. For a moment Ashura just stood and watched, as the servants hadn't yet noticed his presence.
He'd ordered that the prince be cleaned up, and he was satisfied to see that his orders had been carried out with alacrity. The boy barely resembled the filthy, wretched figure that had clung monkey-like to the armsman who'd carried him out of the castle. He'd been bathed, scrubbed, and dressed in warm garments in the style of Ceres. His skin and hair, once clean, nearly glowed in the soft light of the chamber; one of the maids was in the process of cutting away the mats of overgrown hair to a more reasonable length.
"What's the problem?" Ashura said quietly to Karen. "You've carried out my orders well enough; the boy looks adequately cared for."
"We're doing all we can for him, Your Highness, but..." Karen bit her lip and wrung her hands. "He won't eat, no matter what we offer him. We try to get him to hold the spoon, but he just lets it fall."
That was a serious problem, indeed. Ashura frowned as he studied the prince through narrow eyes. Although superficially he looked much better, there was still a terrible gauntness in his cheeks, the bones of his hands and face pressed sharply against his skin. Almost more disturbing than the skeleton gauntness, though, was the hollow emptiness of his eyes. Despite all the activity around him, the boy stared listlessly at the carpet, unresistingly allowing the attendants to move him this way and that.
Unexpectedly, a surge of pity welled up in Ashura's heart, usually crowded by the practicalities. No child should ever have eyes like those.
Ashura had never been particularly touched by paternal feelings before, although he knew that some day it would be an expected part of his duties that he would father an heir to the throne of Ceres. But in that moment he made an impulsive decision; he would take personal responsibility of the little prince, and raise him as a son. If nothing else, the boy would serve as a reminder and a warning: the consequences of what could happen if he failed as a king.
He strode forward into the room, and a startled ripple went through the attendants as they noticed him at last. In a moment they were bowing to him, and he ignored them as he went over to Prince Yuui.
The blue eyes flickered upwards momentarily, registering his presence, but the boy only lowered his head and stared more fixedly at the carpet. "Prince Yuui," Ashura said, and he never would have thought himself capable of so gentle a tone. "What is the matter?"
No answer. He frowned and glared around at the women. "Why is it so dark in here?" he demanded. "Has he not had enough of darkness?"
A nervous tremble ran through the maids, but no one answered him. A decanter of water stood on a nearby table, and a bowl of something gently steaming. He took a step over and lifted the spoon from the gruel, and his expression darkened as he looked up at the maids.
"When I asked that he be cared for and fed," he said in a chilly voice, "It was not my intention that he be given food suitable for prisoners or pigs!"
One of the servants stepped forward and after a cursory bow, met his eye challengingly. "With all due respect, Your Highness," she said with a snap to her tone, "We turned the lamps down because bright lights hurt his eyes. And I ordered porridge for him because he's been on the edge of starvation for too long. Food that is too rich will only make him sick, and he's too weak to waste strength vomiting. Milk and porridge is all we can safely give him until he's gained some strength back."
"Oh?" Ashura regarded her narrowly, but she kept her spine stiff and glared back at him through glass lenses. She was tiny, and there was no gray in her dark hair, but she spoke with the voice of authority. "And you are?"
"Satsuki, Highness. I was called to attend him in the capacity of a healer. I've had experience with neglected children before."
"I see," Ashura sighed; tragically, there was no lack of starvation among the poorer classes of Ceres during the winter, and children were always hit especially hard. "I'll accept your judgement, then."
He turned back to the little prince, who had barely moved during this whole exchange, although he could still see the apprehensive flickers of blue eyes in his direction. "As you can see, we aren't trying to harm you," he addressed him. "Won't you eat?"
Finally that got a response; a single, spastic shake of the head. The child hunched, drawing his limbs even further into himself, although it was quite warm in the chamber.
Ashura frowned. "Aren't you hungry?" he tried.
A weak shrug of skinny shoulders was all the answer he got. Ashura's frown deepened, and he added iron to his voice. "Do not lie to me, Prince Yuui. I asked you: are you hungry?"
A tense moment, then finally, a tiny nod.
"If you're hungry, then why won't you eat?"
No response. Ashura glanced at the sharp-tongued healer for help, but she seemed to be as much at a loss as he was. Time to try another tactic.
"Prince Yuui," he said. "My name is Ashura; I was the one who found you in the dungeon in Valeria. Do you remember me?"
An emphatic nod.
He tried making his voice stern. "I am Prince of this country. You're going to live here from now on, so you must be one of my subjects and obey my commands. I am ordering you to eat, so you must eat!"
Headshake.
Ashura sighed in exasperation and folded his arms, glaring down at that slight figure. This was a puzzle. He had trained in politics and statescraft since he had learned to walk; he knew a dozen different ways to bribe, persuade, trick, or intimidate men into carrying out his will when simple command would not suffice. But he was at a loss when it came to this stone wall of a six-year-old child.
And how was he supposed to care for the prince's welfare and upbringing, if he could not get him to do such a basic thing? The child did not seem to care for his own self at all...
A thought occurred to him, and he crouched down, bringing his face closer to the level of the child's. The boy glanced at him, the quickly away, as though fearful of what would happen if he met his eyes. "Prince Yuui," he said, making his voice as gentle as he could. "It was I who rescued you from the dungeon in Valeria. It was I who brought you here and commanded that you be taken care of. Aren't you grateful to me for that?"
A hesitation, then a nod.
"If you are grateful to me, then why do you vex me so?" Ashura continued, infusing sorrow into his voice. "I would like it if you would eat, Yuui. Your refusal to do so makes me very unhappy. Surely you don't want to make me sad?"
The young prince's head came up, and Ashura caught the expression of dismay that flashed over his face as he shook his head. He had to suppress a triumphant smile.
"It would make me very happy if you eat, Yuui. Very happy. Such a simple thing you can do, to repay me for all I've done for you. If you love me, won't you do this simple thing?"
A long, breathless silence filled the room, broken by the tiny sound of the young prince swallowing, then nodding his head. The raspy sound of his indrawn breath sounded very loud in the hushed room. "Can..." the prince stuttered, in a voice that was barely a whisper. "Can you bring... enough for... for Fai, too?"
Fai. The prince's dead brother, the one they hadn't been in time to save. Struck by a sudden pain in his heart, Ashura only said quietly, "Of course."
He sent a servant running to the kitchens, who soon returned with a second, identical bowl of porridge. The little prince seemed to draw some strength from the sight of that second bowl, and he finally consented to let the spoon be put into his hands. With his glance repeatedly flickering to that second bowl, as if to reassure himself constantly of its existence, he began to eat.
Ashura stayed crouched by his side for the whole time.