The Butterfly Effect

Casper, even from the paintings when he was younger, was always a gruff man. He had the brawn of a soldier, the brains of a strategist, and the kind of commanding presence of a man in charge. There was a lot to be admired about him, and save for a beard he would probably perfectly resemble the Saint-King.

“I see you decided to show up this time,” the king teased as he passed his son to sit down. “Was Harriet calling to you or were you calling to her? I might forgive the horse if she made you late.” For someone who looked like he could fight anyone and win, he hardly took himself too seriously. He was stern when he needed to be, of course, but among this group of family and might-as-well-be-family, he didn’t really bother with any of that stuff at all.

Imre didn’t respond.

“You’ve been riding bareback a lot recently, haven’t you? How come I never see you out there?”

Again, Casper’s attempts at conversation went unanswered.

“Don’t be rude,” Minne warned from across the table. “I know I raised you better than that. You can at least answer one of the questions.”

“I didn’t bring Harriet. She was asleep by then.” Imre didn’t look up at either of his parents. He assumed they would be disappointed, as he always imagined them; he didn’t let himself believe much different. After all, what worth was there in a placeholder at best who couldn’t even do the simplest of tasks right? “And I don’t ride near the barracks. There’s never enough room there, so I go to the forest.”

Casper sighed. “Well, I suppose the time for pleasantries has passed. The five of you are getting your very own mission. Count Quennell has requested our aid with a bit of a border dispute. I’d go myself, but there’s other things I need to take care of.”

“A border dispute can be solved between the houses in question,” Imre pointed out quietly. “They shouldn’t need outside intervention unless things have turned bloody. Even then, Lady Yamura should be in charge of taking care of it. Is it really big enough of a problem that her men couldn’t handle it?”

Casper hesitated. The fact that he thought the thinly-veiled lie would fool all of them was surprising, though it showed he’d rather say that than bring up the true reason.

Even Minne didn’t try to pretend to believe it. “I thought you said we’d be honest, dear—“

“You said that it’s better for them to see it themselves,” Casper mumbled back. He seemed to realize that was a bit too suspicious and went back to addressing all of them. “It’s an urgent matter, so you should all make sure you’re ready to go first thing tomorrow morning. Count Quennell’s messenger will guide you to the estate. I’ve been assured that the paths you’ll be taking will always bring you by some kind of establishment before nightfall.”

Kiah uttered a string of words only Dimas would be able to translate. She was not interested in what was being implied. “Do you really want us to go out there with all the crap that’s going on?”

“You can handle it, between you and Samone,” Casper decided. “You can defend yourself and the others in a fight; I gave you the position you have for a reason. You’ll all have your weapons of choice with you. Whatever you can’t do can be done with Samone’s magic. Then you can round it off with Dimas’s defensive magic, and just about no serious harm can be done.”

“People are getting slaughtered! A couple of kids aren’t going to cut it!” Kiah wasn’t one to stop arguing just because the other side was being persistent in their stand as well. It was a wonder she wasn’t completely going off on him, aside from the fact that they weren’t alone.

“I understand that. You’re going to have to be careful, but someone has to go. I trust that you’ll all be fine.” That seemed to be the last thing Casper was going to say on the subject. He got up and started to leave. “Please prepare everything you need and get a good night’s rest. You’ll need it.”

Minne was left to fill in for everything else. “Kiah, I know you’re worried, but you don’t have to be. I promise you’re not going to be the only one responsible for keeping everyone safe. You know I don’t make promises that can’t be kept.”

“Can’t do anything but take your word for it,” Kiah grumbled before leaving.

“Kesem’s already heard of this,” Minne continued, bringing her attention to Samone. “Try not to use too much magic, alright?”

“Only when I need to,” Samone promised. “Just as long as Lydia remembers to actually pack everything this time. For her ‘mad packing skills,’ she certainly forgets a lot of things. Imre’s in charge of checking everything this time.” She flicked her hand as she left.

“Just because I’m great at packing doesn’t mean I remember everything!” Lydia called after her. “You’re the one who’s going to be bringing all the useless stuff with you!” She stood up, glancing at Minne. “I’ve gotta go prove my point. She’s probably going to leave all the packing to the rest of us anyway.” Then she darted out.

“Dimas, make sure you write to your sister in case it takes a little longer than expected.” Now the only three in the room, all of Minne’s attention rested on the boys. “It’s probably going to take the whole month, between getting there, doing what you need to do, and getting back. I don’t know how long you plan on staying, but at the very least, it’ll give an explanation if your letters get a little slower while you’re traveling.”

Dimas nodded and left.

Imre was about ready to do the same himself when he felt his mother’s hand touch his.

“Don’t leave just yet,” she whispered to him. “I’ve got something I want to give you.” She pulled a small letter out from under the table and handed it to him.

“What’s this for..?”

She kept him from opening it, shaking her head slowly. “Not yet. It’s not going to make sense if you read it now. Just keep it with you until you get there, alright?”

“What are you hiding?” He didn’t look up at her and moved the letter to his lap so he wouldn’t look at it, either. “I’m smarter than to believe whatever that split-second explanation was. Quennell territory is surrounded by neutral territory all around it. The nearby nobles aren’t interested in gaining more ground; they can hardly defend what they already have. There’s nothing to dispute over.”

“If I could explain it all to you, I would,” Minne sighed. “I would want nothing more but for us to talk about it until you understand everything… but he’s not letting that be an option. All I can do at this point is hope you don’t run into a question that can’t be answered…”

“It’ll be a lot more reassuring if you could actually make sense,” he remarked. “What are you allowed to tell me?” He needed something—anything. Only if it was just a simple mention of what they were truly supposed to do there or details on how they were supposed to do it. He’d be fine with whatever it was as long as he was able to walk away with something.

“Count Quennell the younger—Mathieu, I believe—will be hosting a party soon. He wanted all of you to be in attendance.” His heart dropped at hearing what she decided to share. They both knew it had nothing to do with the real reason they were going, and it probably wasn’t even a part of the original plan at all. It was just whatever she could think of in order to tell him something. She was hoping that, by giving that small piece of additional information, that he would be fulfilled with that and stop asking questions. It was getting hard for her to conceal the truth of the matter while she tried not to give any of it away in her lies.

There was no point in fighting it. He wasn’t going to get anywhere at this rate, and his time could be better spent packing. “I’ll be sure to tell them all to bring some nice clothes,” he said coldly. With the letter in hand, he got up and started walking out. “Samone will enjoy the chance to socialize, at least.”

He tried to ignore what he heard as he left. “Be careful, my little phoenix prince. You’re a bit too young for the waters to reclaim you.”

Imre didn’t stop to check on the others on the way to his room. He figured they’d all be fine, and whatever they were doing wouldn’t gain anything by having him there. He’d see how far they’d come along before he went to bed. The worst that could happen was that he’d stay up all night gathering everything… not like he saw himself sleeping tonight anyway.

As he sat things aside that he would need, he also took the time to look through the books in his room. He usually brought back books from the library—if he didn’t read them there—but never got around to bringing them back. On the bright side, most of them were historical texts that he was probably the only one interested in; while all of the library was open to the general public, such documents were scarcely sought after. Since he knew there were some he’d finished, though, he figured he could return them tonight while he was already sorting through them.

One of the books caught his attention as he looked through them: Compilation of Myths in Qizarn Culture. It was, admittedly, something Dimas had suggested for him to read and usually something he wouldn’t even consider. But it also wouldn’t be a lie that he couldn’t help but admire what the original inhabitants of Qizar had created, understanding why so many people looked up to and believed in the figures mentioned in it.

It was open to the page of a myth he found eerily familiar. The first paragraph of it pretty much summed it all up:

‘A once-mighty king was turned into a Minotaur for his self-righteousness. The master craftsman, Peiros—the father of the ill-fated Ekambar—was hired to build a place to hold the beast. The Minotaur’s daughter was trapped alongside him, forced to watch as her father feasted on mortal flesh. She eventually betrayed him in favor of a hero who then went on to kill the Minotaur. It is said that its spirit still haunts the caverns it was trapped in, trying to sate its never-ending hunger.’

There was still more information on it, but he didn’t have the time nor the mindset to sit and read it. He closed it up and put it among the pile that he still hadn’t finished reading yet.