Work Text:
Loyal Evil: A blunt conversation
“Can we talk about something … a touch awkward, cousin?” Prince Jonathan of Conté stood at the entrance to Duke Roger’s rooms.
“A touch awkward? I hope I haven’t done anything to upset you.” Roger beckoned his younger cousin in. “Tea?”
“Perhaps in a bit.” Jon paused. He took a breath. “I know you’re powerful enough to grab the throne if you wanted to. Why aren’t you?” He took another breath, but not quite enough time for Roger to reply. “And — I know you can — and have — stopped young mages who could have become your rivals. Were you responsible for any of Alanna’s mishaps? Did you stop? Why?”
Roger paused. “Brave and stupid, cousin. If I’d been making a play for the throne that you hadn’t caught on to, that would have gone very badly for you.”
Jon flinched.
Roger continued. “Yes, I considered taking the throne at one point, as a last resort if you proved as unfit for rule as I find your father. But why should I take the throne to address concerns I fully expect you to solve when you inherit?”
Jon groaned. “That is … both reassuring and not reassuring.”
Roger shrugged — an action he would never have made in public, but this wasn’t public. “You’re suspicious. You have reason to be. My options at this point are to try to manipulate you or to clear the air with the bare truth. You have nothing to fear from me, but you are unusual in that respect. And as for the Trebonds? Your most unnatural former squire and her twin brother join you in that small circle because of their role in protecting you.”
Jon spluttered. “Unnatural?”
“Yes, unnatural. You know what my skills are with mental magic — no, I didn’t use them to send you to the Black City, by the way, I heard that thought. She deceived me about her gender. Successfully. Of course she’s unnatural,” Roger said. “But then, so am I. It’s a question of which unnatural things bother you.” He smiled. “So, tea?”
Jonathan took the tea. He even drank it.