Chapter 1979: Rapid Expansion - Part 3
Verdant shrugged. "I do not believe so. But afterall, it would be a risk. And it is up to you to decide whether that’s a risk you are willing to take."
Oliver clenched his teeth, stirring, irritated, looking for any sort of solution. It was impatience that he spoke with. "If it’s an impossible thing that we must do anywhere, then why not march?"
"We have discussed this, Your Majesty—"
"Not with the intention of killing the man," Oliver said. "But to hold him prisoner."
"We dismissed that option too, did we not? Did Hod not speak to you of it, once the battle was first won, and did you not dismiss it as an impossibility?" Verdant said.
"I wished to think of no battling there, but now my hand is forced. Damn it all. It’s all the same, Verdant, the whole way through. One impossibility overcome is not enough. The Gods ask more from us. Very well, if it must be done, then we will do it the same. We can not abandon a man like Blackthorn, even if his grief and his pain has made him troublesome. Are we not all the same? Am I not the same? When I have struggled before, and recently, I have made trouble for you, Verdant, and you have not abandoned me."
"I would never consider doing so, Your Majesty," Verdant said. "You have my utmost loyalty. I have sworn it to you, as your retainer. Yet you have sworn no such thing to Blackthorn. You have no oaths between you. You do not have friendship."
"There are more important things, Verdant. It does not always need to be written in blood for you to do the honourable thing."
"Understand, Your Majesty, you put our entire cause on the line, our entire country, and your own life and title, simply for one man," Verdant said.
"Is that not the way it always must be done? My title, my life, those things are freely gambled. The title I would throw into the first wishing pool that declares it would gave my people good fortune upon a valid contribution. My life too, it belongs to my allies. How could it not, when so many have given their lives for me? Our cause, however. Our cause I risk less freely – yet there is certainty in this now, Verdant, I believe. That question we asked before, of corruption. I still know not the answer, but I do not think that the corrupt are willing to risk themselves for honour. A risk it is, but I am certain that it is a risk of the right sort."
"I only wonder, Your Majesty, is it still honourable to make your subjects bear the risk with you?"
"I wonder that too," Oliver said, plucking the crown from his head, and spinning it in his hand, as he gave the smallest of smiles. "But then, I am only a new King, and only a temporary King at that. I would ask them that they forgive my personality. Recklessness has always been the line that I operate most freely along."
"Very well, Your Majesty," Verdant said, returning his smile. "The look in your eyes is a good one. You make this decision, risk it might be, with passion enough that I find I would not be able to resist following you. Your first act as King, or at least, your first personal decision as King. That it would be something like this, it does not surprise me. What shall be done, and who might I inform?"
Ordinarily, it was a list that Verdant would already have worked through in his head, long in advance, having predicted that Oliver would ask it of him. It was with a certain degree of satisfaction that Oliver was able to see further than him for once. "We have need of King Emerson. An emissary will need to be sent to him, to convince him to return to us those troops that Prince Hendrick once led, along with the Prince himself. And to see him placated for the quick change in our plans. Verdant, you know there are none more suited to that role than you."
"I disagree," Verdant said. "But if that is where my Lord sends me, then I shall go regardless."
"I disagree with your disagreement," Oliver said. "Is it not the duty of the Minister of Information to see these diplomatic matters attended to?"
Verdant raised an eyebrow, and inclined his head. "Is that a new title that Your Majesty affords me? I am honoured."
"It is likely only temporary, given the temporary nature of my own position. But there are few I trust as much as you, and few suited better to the position of Minister than you. I would ask this of you Verdant, to hold that title, and to offer me your counsel as my Pillar. I will crumble if not for your continued support," Oliver said.
"I mislike the talk of temporariness, Your Majesty," Verdant said. "As a Pillar of yours, I will ensure that your foundations remain strong for the full extent of your life. The future will be rich, and plentiful, I am certain of it."
He knelt before Oliver, and bid him farewell. "I will depart for Emerson lands immediately, and I shall do whatever it takes to ensure their cooperation."
"Do not forget to give them my apologies. This is more last minute than I could have imagined."
"Indeed, I shall not forget," Verdant said, dipping his head once more, and then departing from Oliver’s room in Blackwell’s old mansion with the long strides of a man in a significant hurry.
Oliver allowed himself a brief glimpse of his fire, as he gathered the rest of his thoughts. A look out the window told him it was already deep into the darkness, but he had to hope that those he wished to contact would not yet be slumbering. The next person he had a duty to inform was known for his rather late nights. Oliver wasn’t even sure that he slept at all.
He feared telling him more than anyone else, given his incapacity to argue properly with him. But his heart was determined. No matter the obstacle now, he was sure of himself. This was the right course of action. They could not abandon Blackthorn, and besides, Oliver himself misliked the slowness of their approach.