Crossing through the threshold in to the Baron’s space, Thea was greeted by the light of a single glowglobe, casting the space in a shade of dull green-sepia.
The shredded carcass of some roasted creature were to his left, and a brass tray with a scatterng of white dust and a rare diamond knife were to his left. Thea suspected Ecstasium powder. A closer inspection would be needed to confirm.
The Baron was reading intently, his greasy fingers leaving oily stains on the pages. The age of the book and his crude treatment of such an artefact bothered her. Drawing nearer, she could see it was of old Earth style, definitely a pre-butlerian facsimile.
She took a seat opposite him. The cover read The Tetrology of the Henriad.
“My dear, do you know why Henry IV was a better father than Henry II?”
The Baron didn’t look up when he asked it.
She doesn’t know.
He lifted his petruchian eyes to hers, “because he prepared his sons to rule. On the battlefield and in the control room.”
He pressed a greasy finger to the page for emphasis.
“You did not grow up in a martial society, unlike your mother. That was an aspect of your education that was overlooked.”
He leaned back, leather wheezing under his mass. Thea felt his slick stare rove over her
“And you can’t fight. You are like me in that regard. There is still time to train you though, hmm but I reckon hours in a day is a limiting factor.”
She kept her hands clasped tightly on her lap.
“To Mary’s credit; she did well to let you come to certain conclusions yourself.”
He invoked her mother’s name with surprising…esteem.
“But you know why you are valuable.” Gestures crudely.
He made a distinct, crude gesture towards her. His gleeful smile at her discomfort intentionally stripping a layer of dignity away from her frozen form.
In an uncannily smooth recoiling he again fixed her with his deliberate gaze.
A drop of doom ran like a mean whip down her spine.
“Dear girl. Do you know why I brought you here today? “
She felt her pulse glow against the frozen shell she tried to refreeze in the face of open exhaustion, bordering on apathy.
It failed. She was tired. She had no more time for principals.
“Just say it.” She whispered, voice brittle.
A gleeful smile split his face; his tone conversational, as if gossiping.
“You and your planet are now a fief of mine.”
A mixture of inquisition and indignation arose in her. “You must know how that will disrupt the market, anger the Imperium.”
“Perhaps…but I think you are clever
Chapter 2: A Mother's Cruel Lessons
Thea watched a single drop of water trace a path through the frost on the wall, a dark vein against the pale, peeling wallpaper. Her mother’s voice was a low hum, like a faulty wire buried in the house’s bones. "He wants to see you break because he knows you’re her daughter. My daughter." Thea’s breath plumed in the air, a ghost of the panic she refused to show the Baron. "He’s a pig." Mary’s laugh was a short, sharp crack. "Pigs get slaughtered. He’s the butcher. There’s a difference." Another drop fell, then another, the ice retreating as the room grew warmer. Thea could feel the Baron’s gaze on her like a physical weight, greasy and possessive. "He said the annexation was a formality." Mary moved closer, her form shimmering in the thawing air. "Formalities are for people who still have options. You have one." The walls began to sweat, the frost dissolving into rivulets. Thea’s heart hammered against her ribs, a trapped bird. "I won’t kneel to him." Her mother’s smile was a thin, cruel line. "Then you’ll burn. But you’ll be warm, darling. Isn’t that what you want?" The dream dissolved into a suffocating heat, the melted ice pooling on the floorboards, rising fast. It wasn't water. It was oil.