A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"I think it to be more the case that you would not allow anyone to force you under your thumb, Oliver," Asabel said. "You're such a dangerous, terrifying, cruel creature, and I do not think the wounds that you have dealt me shall ever heal."

"…I did not mean to wound you, Asabel," Oliver said.

"Then you could have started being someone other than what you are," Asabel said. "If I could find it in myself to hate you, this would all have been so much easier… When you came to my lands, before your campaign began, I will confide I was beginning to feel lonesome. That you would speak as you did, in front of my counsel… Was it wrong of me to feel what I did?

I clung to your words, for a time… They were an antidote to my loneliness. Once, Oliver, you gave me courage, you forced me down the path of a Queen, despite knowing what I am."

"What you are is nothing to be ashamed of," Oliver said. "Whatever you think you are, I would be far worse."

"…But I can tell no one else," Asabel said. "I dare not. And I can not be cruel enough to Nila to keep you so close to me. It was only natural this would happen. I had tried to distance us in the first place, according to what my counsel told me I ought to do… I thought I might spare you… But in the end, it was me that needed to be spared."

"You do not need to be lonely, Asabel," Oliver said. "We can still write. And we can meet each other from time to time. You carry an immense burden of responsibility, and I admire you for it. Much difficulty will be coming your way now that the campaign has concluded, but your borders can grow, and your power with it. What is the future that you wish to see?"

"…I wish a future that my Uncle would be proud of," Asabel said.

"Can you not continue to aim towards that?" Oliver said.

"To replace one precious thing for another, you say?" Asabel said.

"I feel as if we are having two different conversations…" Oliver said.

"You urge me to be selfish, Oliver," Asabel said.

"I do," Oliver said. "If anyone deserves to be selflish, it is you. If it is a selfish want I can assist with, then I will give it to you. You saved what was precious to me in a time of need. If I could offer you more than my sword, I would have."

"You could have, but not anymore," Asabel said. She finally turned to him. Those perfect emerald green eyes were misty, and tears ran down her cheeks. Oliver wanted to look away. Asabel would always remain the most beautiful woman that he had ever met – and to see a woman so sad with an icy dagger to a man's heart. "To be selfish is to be cruel, Oliver," Asabel said.

"Do you counsel me to do so regardless?"

"I do," Oliver said.

"Then, will you apologize to Nila for me?" Asabel said, taking a step closer towards him. "I do not wish to lose you in one fell swoop. I had meant to be braver than this… But you have pushed me towards it, Oliver. I do not think you realize how persuasive your words can be."

"She will not mind," Oliver assured her. "She has known for the longest that you have been a friend of mine."

Asabel smiled, one of her old playful smiles, where that single imperfect tooth would appear like a fang, and it gave her beauty a different sort of edge. "Do you know how arrogant a man must be to claim to be a friend to a Queen?"

"Mighty arrogant, I'd wager. Especially if that Queen was Asabel Pendragon," Oliver said. "A friendship like that is not one I wish to readily let go."

"So incredibly greedy, Oliver Patrick," Asabel said. "Once, I would have said you were like your father… But only in ways. I think the wants you have far outweigh what he has."

Those words were like a spell, inviting Ingolsol to the surface. His eyes twinkled a faint hint of gold, and he flashed a smile of his own. "I think that to be the truth of it, my Queen. In truth, as I receive more, it is only more that I want."

"And you attempted to claim Nila with such a boldness," Asabel pointed out, before breaking into a giggle. "And then she turned you down. How terribly embarrassing that must have been."

Oliver shrugged. "Reckless acts are doomed to such consequences. It's part of their appeal."

"Reckless indeed, Ser Patrick. Marrying a woman of Nila's birth would have been most newsworthy," Asabel said. "Meeting her, however, just proves what you have already shown me to be true – that it is skill, far more than station, that one should prioritize."

"Indeed so," Oliver said.

He'd liked to have thought that their exchange ended even a little bit favourably. He didn't think it was so great an ask to suppose that the two might be friends, despite anything. He thought that, in reality, it was her ascendence to the throne that had driven them apart. He didn't think a relationship with Nila would push them any further away.

It wasn't as if he and Asabel were romantically involved, after all.

But still he'd hesitated to read Asabel's letter, for the same reason that he'd hesitated to read Skullic's. He guessed that she'd be wishing him and Nila well, and supposing that things would be proceeding swimmingly, and he hadn't had the heart to entertain such expectations when the reality was further from the truth.

In fact, he didn't think it could have gone more poorly… Perhaps, if the two were angry at each other, then… But at least they'd be fighting, and there was a chance that there would be some sort of resolution. As they had been for a while now, the resolution didn't seem to be there.

Still, he could see, at least from today, that Nila was making an effort, and yet she was afraid of him despite herself. He wondered if that could be counted as anything along the line of progress.

'I am keeping to our agreement, Ser Patrick,' Queen Asabel said, in that first line of her letter. 'A Queen must keep her promises, after all.'