Canon Notes
All notes related to her Empire, the crusnik...or something else.
--------
In the Imperial capital, there were shops that sold general goods and such, but there were things missing among them that existed in the Outer. For example, there were no shops selling alcoholic beverages, nor were there any tobacconists. The reason was because there were luxury goods, which had a danger of harming Terran health, were considered contraband in the Empire, and their sale was strictly prohibited. The capital was full of public baths and tea houses instead of bars.
"Alcohol? Yeah. But there are others. For example, this building behind us." said Ion.
"Eh? This?" asked Esther. She looked suspiciously at the building. There was no way to see if there were any lights on in it, but it had a clean and tiny facade. The faint smell of alcohol wafted from it.
"A hospital?" asked Esther.
"Close, but wrong. This building is a blood extraction office. It's a place to collect blood, which is the raw material for the Aqua Vitae we dose ourselves with." Said Ion.
"Blood?" said Eesher with a slight tremor. She must have known that the Auq Vitae she'd seen Ion and the other Methuselah's frequently drinking was to surpress chronic anemia, and that it was made from Terrans' blood. But she was probably surprised to hear that they drain the blood from TErrans. Somewhat apprehensive, she stood up hurriedly.
"It goes without saying we don't extract the blood by force," said Ion. Cognitzed of her, he added in rather hurriedly, "Blood extraction is always the Terrans free will. However, because we exchange a consider amount of money for it, it's a valuable source of revenue for low-income slaves. To put it in your words, it's a 'welfare policy'. That way the Imperial government can support the lives of poor slaves."
----
If the blood loss continued, the frail Terran would certainly die.
At his wits' end, Ion looked up towards the Heaven. What should I do?
"You look like you're in a fix. If it's all right, can I help?" asked SEth. "Sister, you're badly hurt. If I leave you here, you'll surely die. May I at least check you?"
"You?" asked Ion. He had no idea when the tea seller had reappeared. And why was she here?
Ion bared his fangs and shouted angrily, "Get out girl! This is none of your business!"
"Hey are you really in the position to say that kind of things? If you don't hurry that girl-oh no! Shock is setting in!"
It almost sounded as if Seth was bluffing, but what she said was correct/ Esther's body was starting to shake in Ion's arms. The blood loss was causing shock.
"Esther!"
"This is no time to dawdle. Let's stop the blood loss immediately. Boy, you press here. Don't let go until I tell you. All right?"
It was rare for a slave girl to say things in this manner. Seth's tone took no account of the boy's nobility.
The girl's delicate hands held a bandage she had hidden on her person.
"What are you?" asked Ion, staring at the girl. He was astounded by her efficient first aid skills. "Who are you?"
"Hmmm, me?" asked SEth. Her hands continued wrapping the bandage with surpsing dexterity. Winking one eye mischeviously she said, "Didin't I tell you before? I'm Seth. Just a pretty girl."
-----------
Beyond the large crystal window was a huge forest, which occupied eight precent of the Inner Coutry. Myraid rare animals been set loose in it, forming a rich ecosystem. At the edge of the trees, on the opposing shore, between the Celestial Imperial Palace and the Halic Golden Horn, shone the city lights of the Methuselah district. The beauty of the illusory light amid the head of the darkness was indescribable. The Empress frequently gazed upon the strange harmony they created.
-----
"Favorable progress. It's good to be young. The damage to the blood vessels has already closed up and the swelling of the neighboring capillaries has already begun. You should be able to move in two or three days." said Seth.
"Um, Miss Seth"
"Just Seth is fine, Esther. All of my brothers and friends call me that."
"W-well, Miss Seth. You look a lot younger then I do. How old are you really?"
"Me? I'll be thirteen this year. So?"
"Th-Thirteen...?" Esther repeated. Four years younger then I am, she thought. "It's amazing doing this kind of thing at that age. Or are all people in the Empire like you?"
"Work is in accordance with indivdual character and effort. Everybody has his and her own field of work, right? Not all Terrans can accept high-class education and become citizens." said Seth, shrugging.
After reapplying the gauze, Seth appeared as thought she were lost in thought. "At least we're given equal opportunity. Our chance to get an education is not limited by birth or finances, like the Outer. If you work hard enough and pass the exams, anybody can become a citizen, no matter how old. Qualification to take the exams is not limited. This isn't necessarily limited to education, either. It's the Empire's style to value Terrans' hard work and what the individual can do so that the Methuselahs and Terrans can co-exist peacefully."
"Empire's style? Co-exist?" asked Esther, perplexed.
According to what ESther heard in the Outer, Terrans in the Empire were treated no differently then slaves. Humans were ruled by vampires and lived like a bunch of fearful animals. But if that were so, what about the girl standing before her? Weren't all Terrans milling about the city full of life? This person, and everything about the nation that Esther had witnessd since entering the Empire, were very different from what she'd heard.
"The Terrans are the Methuselahs' slaves, right?" Asked Esther. Slowly she moves her shoulder to ascertain the condition of her wound. "No matter how favorable treated, Terrans have to work for the Methuselahs. Can that be called coexistance?"
"Esther look at this." said Seth, who has pushed up the window by the bed.
Outside, sunset was approaching and the blue-black viel of night was falling. The white lights of the city blinked as they shonewith the channel. The sight, somehow fantastical, was like a dream within a dream.
Seth pointed to the south of the Methuselah district - the location of a dense, green forest, and a hude group of towering buildings. "Esther, you're wrong about one thing. The Terrans' master is not the Methuselah."
Not a trace of the girl's previous frivolity remained as she pointed to the Celestial Imperial Palace, the residence castle of the one who ruled in the past, ruled in the present and would rule in the future.
"The Terran's only master is the Empress of the New Human Empire. They are legally the Empress's property and to harm them is the same as harming the Empress. The Methuselah are also absolute subjects of the Empress, so in the eyes of the Empress, Terrans and Methuselah are equal. Can't that be called a kind of racial coexistance."
-----
The wind whipped up as the two giants, hefting their battleaxes, stomped the ground.
“Esther, run!” Seth shouted as she watched the axes prepare to descend. A loud metallic clank shook the air as Seth nimbly deflected the battleaxes with the short knife she’d unsheathed. “I’ll manage here somehow. Let the Marquise of Kiev know about this!”
“Who is this girl?” asked the man. For the first time, he revealed signs of uneasiness. The battleaxes, which could shatter rock, had been deflected by a tiny knife held by the most slender hand. “Impossible. Is this girl a boyar, too?”
As the man spoke, the dainty knife gouged into the necks of the giants. Under the moonlight, two heads flew up into the night sky, trailing red sinews.
“As you can see, I’m fine, Esther. Go now!”
“I will!” Said Esther. She was shocked by the girls fighting strength, but came to when she was urged by Seth to move on. Nodding like a puppet, she quickly turned on her hell.
The man in blue glared at the nun’s back as she ran down the mountain path. Clicking his tongue sharply, he also began to run, but a small shadow stood before him, blocking the way.
“I won’t let you go!”
The man skillfully avoided the white flash that swooped before his eyes by bending the upper half of his body. The knife thrashed two more, seemingly at the speed of sound, but the man avoided his demise by jumping backward. But he landed on the ground about sixty-five feet away, he noticed the chest area of his blue clothing torn open. A thin red trail of blood trick down his exposed chest.
- - - - - - -
“Even if I explain, a young person like you wouldn’t understand, princess.” Said Suleyman. There was a bitter tinge to his voice. His face suddenly appeared aged beyond his years, which numbered in the thirties at most if he were a Terran. “I’ve lived in this Empire for close to three hundred years beside Her Majesty, the great Empress. But there’s no way you could understand how that was every day. She is too great, too mighty. She sees everything.”
“Great? We respect her because she is great! What harm is there in that?” asked Astharoshe.
Suleyman offered a sour smile. “Yes, it’s good she is great. But there is a problem, she is too great. And I found out. . .” his voice sounded pained as grasped in the air, “ . . . She . . .she is not a person who belongs in this world.”
- - - - - - -
Her veil was turned towards the Second Privy Counselor, who stood there silently, possessing a certain air of inviolability. < Because I appointed the Duchess of Moldova to be Kagemusha in the Inner Court, and placed automaton in the mansion. Count of Memphis is also aware of what happened after that. It caused the Count trouble, but it was my intention to smoke out the malcontents nesting in the Imperial capital. Forgive me. Well, Duke of Tigris. >
The Empress’s tone suddenly changed. It was unusually near impossible to guess her emotions because of her masked voice, however, something electric could now be detected.
< I never thought you would take charge of a plot like this. Of all my many children, I expected great things from you. >
“You say so, Your Majesty, but. . .” said Suleyman, trailing off. He was trying to answer the Empress’s accusation calming but he couldn’t keep his voice from getting hoarse. “. . . I still don’t have an answer to my previous question. How can you so easily accept the accusations of Count of Memphis and the others that tried to murder Your Majesty with a bomb? Although the Duchess of Moldova’s murder had nothing to do with the Count of Memphis, is there some relationship between that and my rebellion?”
< I never once said you tried to kill me with a bomb. > Slender fingers lifted the veil. The Empress’s voice was laden with sarcasm, but it also contained deep sadness. “But you certainly tried to kill me on the Island of Beloved Children, Suleyman. Do you not recognized this face?”
When the veil was fully lifted, the sight of Empress Vradica silenced every last Methuselah and Terran in the meeting hall. Underneath a curtain of unkept black hair was a girl’s face, not very old, with shining jade green eyes and a slightly pointed chin. She was rather too young to be called the mother of all Methuselahs, but somehow, her white face appeared oddly dignified.
The assembled nobles said nothing to their mother, whom they were seeing for the first time. Some others were taken aback for entirely different reasons.
“S-S-Seth?” Esther exclaimed.
“Crazy! Why is that girl-” Ion could barely contain himself.
Esther and Ion, who’d been watching the entire situation without saying a word, were clearly startled. That was a person they knew well - the peculiar girl they’d met in the Terran district and seen again on the Island of Beloved Children. But how did she get in the hall?
There was one more person who shared their shock. “Y-You’re from that time. . . “ The voice of Suleyman, Duke of Tigris, shook violently enough to make one question his supposed greatness.
“When you turned the Ring of Solomon on me, I did indeed falter, Suleyman.” Said Seth, or rather Vradica. She jutted her chin towards the mastermind. “But now your plot has been revealed. Is there anything you want to say? If so, I’ll listen.”
“There is.” Said Suleyman. There wasn’t much color to his face but the vigor was rapidly returning to his voice. Bowing his head, he said, “Earlier, Your Majesty said you had expected great things from me.”
“I did. And I’m sorry that it’s come to this.”
“Sorry?” Asked Suleyman. He showed no signs of fear. Instead his lips twisted up as if rejoicing that his real intentions had finally been understood. “Sorry? HAH! You tell such transparent lies, our Great Mother. You don’t tell anything to anyone. There is not one noble of whom you trust!”
If she had trusted anyone, who would anyone ever turn traitor? Who would have turned a sword to their beloved mother?
“NO!”
As Suleyman lifted his right hand, the majority of those assembled reacted immediately. Some gripped their swords, others kicked over their chairs to restrain the man, and a few others even entered haste mode. But the second the Ring of Solomon glimmering on the traitor’s middle finger shot out a burst of compressed air, only Asthe, who was already holding her spear, attacked.
“Suleyman!”Astheroshe roared. The invisible flash released from her spear as she swung it down battered the great man’s hand, resulting in a shriek mixed with the sound of boiling plasma. Blood sprayed from Suleyman’s lips as his tall body made the shape of a bow and fell, facing prone towards the throne. His heart, evaporated by the plasma spear, was already beginning to spasm slightly. No Methuselah could survive such a blow, but there was no sign of pain on the traitor’s face. There was even a seemingly satisfied smile in his eyes as he stared into space.
The shot from the Ring of Solomon has carved a deep claw marks into the throne at the top of the stairs. The stone chair had been smashed until nearly nothing remained of it’s shape.
“Your Majesty?”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing.” Said Seth. There wasn’t one scratch on the Empress’s face as she answered the courtier who inquired her. As she glided down the stairs, her onlookers gasped. Descending to the floor she knelt beside the blood-smeared traitor. “Why didn’t you kill me, Suleyman?” Seth lifted the traitor, who was barely breathing, with the gentleness of a mother holding a baby. “You missed deliberately. Why?”
On the brink of death, the Methuselah seemed to faintly smile bitterly. “Is there a child who doesn’t love his parent, our Great Mother?” asked Suleyman. His life’s blood was draining from his body, yet he desperately continued to speak as if he was afraid he would leave something unsaid. “I hate you. Having served under you for three hundred years, I still couldn’t understand you at all. Where did you come from and where are you going? And where are you leading us? You never tell us anything.”
Suleyman’s body arched back. His words came out so faintly he sounded more dead then alive. “You Majesty. . . Please tell me. . .”
“Ask me anything.” Said Seth.
The man seemed to crack a weak smile at the kind voice in his ear that sounded like a lullaby. “Who are you? No, we . . .” his lips, still open, stopped moving and didin’t say another word. His eyelids closed and his faze frozen in eternal silence.
Gently stroking Suleyman’s blood-smeared hair, the Empress offered a sorrowful answer. “It would be easy for me to answer that but. . .” her eyes remained downcast for a while, just as she was mourning the death of a beloved child.
--------
In the Imperial capital, there were shops that sold general goods and such, but there were things missing among them that existed in the Outer. For example, there were no shops selling alcoholic beverages, nor were there any tobacconists. The reason was because there were luxury goods, which had a danger of harming Terran health, were considered contraband in the Empire, and their sale was strictly prohibited. The capital was full of public baths and tea houses instead of bars.
"Alcohol? Yeah. But there are others. For example, this building behind us." said Ion.
"Eh? This?" asked Esther. She looked suspiciously at the building. There was no way to see if there were any lights on in it, but it had a clean and tiny facade. The faint smell of alcohol wafted from it.
"A hospital?" asked Esther.
"Close, but wrong. This building is a blood extraction office. It's a place to collect blood, which is the raw material for the Aqua Vitae we dose ourselves with." Said Ion.
"Blood?" said Eesher with a slight tremor. She must have known that the Auq Vitae she'd seen Ion and the other Methuselah's frequently drinking was to surpress chronic anemia, and that it was made from Terrans' blood. But she was probably surprised to hear that they drain the blood from TErrans. Somewhat apprehensive, she stood up hurriedly.
"It goes without saying we don't extract the blood by force," said Ion. Cognitzed of her, he added in rather hurriedly, "Blood extraction is always the Terrans free will. However, because we exchange a consider amount of money for it, it's a valuable source of revenue for low-income slaves. To put it in your words, it's a 'welfare policy'. That way the Imperial government can support the lives of poor slaves."
----
If the blood loss continued, the frail Terran would certainly die.
At his wits' end, Ion looked up towards the Heaven. What should I do?
"You look like you're in a fix. If it's all right, can I help?" asked SEth. "Sister, you're badly hurt. If I leave you here, you'll surely die. May I at least check you?"
"You?" asked Ion. He had no idea when the tea seller had reappeared. And why was she here?
Ion bared his fangs and shouted angrily, "Get out girl! This is none of your business!"
"Hey are you really in the position to say that kind of things? If you don't hurry that girl-oh no! Shock is setting in!"
It almost sounded as if Seth was bluffing, but what she said was correct/ Esther's body was starting to shake in Ion's arms. The blood loss was causing shock.
"Esther!"
"This is no time to dawdle. Let's stop the blood loss immediately. Boy, you press here. Don't let go until I tell you. All right?"
It was rare for a slave girl to say things in this manner. Seth's tone took no account of the boy's nobility.
The girl's delicate hands held a bandage she had hidden on her person.
"What are you?" asked Ion, staring at the girl. He was astounded by her efficient first aid skills. "Who are you?"
"Hmmm, me?" asked SEth. Her hands continued wrapping the bandage with surpsing dexterity. Winking one eye mischeviously she said, "Didin't I tell you before? I'm Seth. Just a pretty girl."
-----------
Beyond the large crystal window was a huge forest, which occupied eight precent of the Inner Coutry. Myraid rare animals been set loose in it, forming a rich ecosystem. At the edge of the trees, on the opposing shore, between the Celestial Imperial Palace and the Halic Golden Horn, shone the city lights of the Methuselah district. The beauty of the illusory light amid the head of the darkness was indescribable. The Empress frequently gazed upon the strange harmony they created.
-----
"Favorable progress. It's good to be young. The damage to the blood vessels has already closed up and the swelling of the neighboring capillaries has already begun. You should be able to move in two or three days." said Seth.
"Um, Miss Seth"
"Just Seth is fine, Esther. All of my brothers and friends call me that."
"W-well, Miss Seth. You look a lot younger then I do. How old are you really?"
"Me? I'll be thirteen this year. So?"
"Th-Thirteen...?" Esther repeated. Four years younger then I am, she thought. "It's amazing doing this kind of thing at that age. Or are all people in the Empire like you?"
"Work is in accordance with indivdual character and effort. Everybody has his and her own field of work, right? Not all Terrans can accept high-class education and become citizens." said Seth, shrugging.
After reapplying the gauze, Seth appeared as thought she were lost in thought. "At least we're given equal opportunity. Our chance to get an education is not limited by birth or finances, like the Outer. If you work hard enough and pass the exams, anybody can become a citizen, no matter how old. Qualification to take the exams is not limited. This isn't necessarily limited to education, either. It's the Empire's style to value Terrans' hard work and what the individual can do so that the Methuselahs and Terrans can co-exist peacefully."
"Empire's style? Co-exist?" asked Esther, perplexed.
According to what ESther heard in the Outer, Terrans in the Empire were treated no differently then slaves. Humans were ruled by vampires and lived like a bunch of fearful animals. But if that were so, what about the girl standing before her? Weren't all Terrans milling about the city full of life? This person, and everything about the nation that Esther had witnessd since entering the Empire, were very different from what she'd heard.
"The Terrans are the Methuselahs' slaves, right?" Asked Esther. Slowly she moves her shoulder to ascertain the condition of her wound. "No matter how favorable treated, Terrans have to work for the Methuselahs. Can that be called coexistance?"
"Esther look at this." said Seth, who has pushed up the window by the bed.
Outside, sunset was approaching and the blue-black viel of night was falling. The white lights of the city blinked as they shonewith the channel. The sight, somehow fantastical, was like a dream within a dream.
Seth pointed to the south of the Methuselah district - the location of a dense, green forest, and a hude group of towering buildings. "Esther, you're wrong about one thing. The Terrans' master is not the Methuselah."
Not a trace of the girl's previous frivolity remained as she pointed to the Celestial Imperial Palace, the residence castle of the one who ruled in the past, ruled in the present and would rule in the future.
"The Terran's only master is the Empress of the New Human Empire. They are legally the Empress's property and to harm them is the same as harming the Empress. The Methuselah are also absolute subjects of the Empress, so in the eyes of the Empress, Terrans and Methuselah are equal. Can't that be called a kind of racial coexistance."
-----
The wind whipped up as the two giants, hefting their battleaxes, stomped the ground.
“Esther, run!” Seth shouted as she watched the axes prepare to descend. A loud metallic clank shook the air as Seth nimbly deflected the battleaxes with the short knife she’d unsheathed. “I’ll manage here somehow. Let the Marquise of Kiev know about this!”
“Who is this girl?” asked the man. For the first time, he revealed signs of uneasiness. The battleaxes, which could shatter rock, had been deflected by a tiny knife held by the most slender hand. “Impossible. Is this girl a boyar, too?”
As the man spoke, the dainty knife gouged into the necks of the giants. Under the moonlight, two heads flew up into the night sky, trailing red sinews.
“As you can see, I’m fine, Esther. Go now!”
“I will!” Said Esther. She was shocked by the girls fighting strength, but came to when she was urged by Seth to move on. Nodding like a puppet, she quickly turned on her hell.
The man in blue glared at the nun’s back as she ran down the mountain path. Clicking his tongue sharply, he also began to run, but a small shadow stood before him, blocking the way.
“I won’t let you go!”
The man skillfully avoided the white flash that swooped before his eyes by bending the upper half of his body. The knife thrashed two more, seemingly at the speed of sound, but the man avoided his demise by jumping backward. But he landed on the ground about sixty-five feet away, he noticed the chest area of his blue clothing torn open. A thin red trail of blood trick down his exposed chest.
- - - - - - -
“Even if I explain, a young person like you wouldn’t understand, princess.” Said Suleyman. There was a bitter tinge to his voice. His face suddenly appeared aged beyond his years, which numbered in the thirties at most if he were a Terran. “I’ve lived in this Empire for close to three hundred years beside Her Majesty, the great Empress. But there’s no way you could understand how that was every day. She is too great, too mighty. She sees everything.”
“Great? We respect her because she is great! What harm is there in that?” asked Astharoshe.
Suleyman offered a sour smile. “Yes, it’s good she is great. But there is a problem, she is too great. And I found out. . .” his voice sounded pained as grasped in the air, “ . . . She . . .she is not a person who belongs in this world.”
- - - - - - -
Her veil was turned towards the Second Privy Counselor, who stood there silently, possessing a certain air of inviolability. < Because I appointed the Duchess of Moldova to be Kagemusha in the Inner Court, and placed automaton in the mansion. Count of Memphis is also aware of what happened after that. It caused the Count trouble, but it was my intention to smoke out the malcontents nesting in the Imperial capital. Forgive me. Well, Duke of Tigris. >
The Empress’s tone suddenly changed. It was unusually near impossible to guess her emotions because of her masked voice, however, something electric could now be detected.
< I never thought you would take charge of a plot like this. Of all my many children, I expected great things from you. >
“You say so, Your Majesty, but. . .” said Suleyman, trailing off. He was trying to answer the Empress’s accusation calming but he couldn’t keep his voice from getting hoarse. “. . . I still don’t have an answer to my previous question. How can you so easily accept the accusations of Count of Memphis and the others that tried to murder Your Majesty with a bomb? Although the Duchess of Moldova’s murder had nothing to do with the Count of Memphis, is there some relationship between that and my rebellion?”
< I never once said you tried to kill me with a bomb. > Slender fingers lifted the veil. The Empress’s voice was laden with sarcasm, but it also contained deep sadness. “But you certainly tried to kill me on the Island of Beloved Children, Suleyman. Do you not recognized this face?”
When the veil was fully lifted, the sight of Empress Vradica silenced every last Methuselah and Terran in the meeting hall. Underneath a curtain of unkept black hair was a girl’s face, not very old, with shining jade green eyes and a slightly pointed chin. She was rather too young to be called the mother of all Methuselahs, but somehow, her white face appeared oddly dignified.
The assembled nobles said nothing to their mother, whom they were seeing for the first time. Some others were taken aback for entirely different reasons.
“S-S-Seth?” Esther exclaimed.
“Crazy! Why is that girl-” Ion could barely contain himself.
Esther and Ion, who’d been watching the entire situation without saying a word, were clearly startled. That was a person they knew well - the peculiar girl they’d met in the Terran district and seen again on the Island of Beloved Children. But how did she get in the hall?
There was one more person who shared their shock. “Y-You’re from that time. . . “ The voice of Suleyman, Duke of Tigris, shook violently enough to make one question his supposed greatness.
“When you turned the Ring of Solomon on me, I did indeed falter, Suleyman.” Said Seth, or rather Vradica. She jutted her chin towards the mastermind. “But now your plot has been revealed. Is there anything you want to say? If so, I’ll listen.”
“There is.” Said Suleyman. There wasn’t much color to his face but the vigor was rapidly returning to his voice. Bowing his head, he said, “Earlier, Your Majesty said you had expected great things from me.”
“I did. And I’m sorry that it’s come to this.”
“Sorry?” Asked Suleyman. He showed no signs of fear. Instead his lips twisted up as if rejoicing that his real intentions had finally been understood. “Sorry? HAH! You tell such transparent lies, our Great Mother. You don’t tell anything to anyone. There is not one noble of whom you trust!”
If she had trusted anyone, who would anyone ever turn traitor? Who would have turned a sword to their beloved mother?
“NO!”
As Suleyman lifted his right hand, the majority of those assembled reacted immediately. Some gripped their swords, others kicked over their chairs to restrain the man, and a few others even entered haste mode. But the second the Ring of Solomon glimmering on the traitor’s middle finger shot out a burst of compressed air, only Asthe, who was already holding her spear, attacked.
“Suleyman!”Astheroshe roared. The invisible flash released from her spear as she swung it down battered the great man’s hand, resulting in a shriek mixed with the sound of boiling plasma. Blood sprayed from Suleyman’s lips as his tall body made the shape of a bow and fell, facing prone towards the throne. His heart, evaporated by the plasma spear, was already beginning to spasm slightly. No Methuselah could survive such a blow, but there was no sign of pain on the traitor’s face. There was even a seemingly satisfied smile in his eyes as he stared into space.
The shot from the Ring of Solomon has carved a deep claw marks into the throne at the top of the stairs. The stone chair had been smashed until nearly nothing remained of it’s shape.
“Your Majesty?”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing.” Said Seth. There wasn’t one scratch on the Empress’s face as she answered the courtier who inquired her. As she glided down the stairs, her onlookers gasped. Descending to the floor she knelt beside the blood-smeared traitor. “Why didn’t you kill me, Suleyman?” Seth lifted the traitor, who was barely breathing, with the gentleness of a mother holding a baby. “You missed deliberately. Why?”
On the brink of death, the Methuselah seemed to faintly smile bitterly. “Is there a child who doesn’t love his parent, our Great Mother?” asked Suleyman. His life’s blood was draining from his body, yet he desperately continued to speak as if he was afraid he would leave something unsaid. “I hate you. Having served under you for three hundred years, I still couldn’t understand you at all. Where did you come from and where are you going? And where are you leading us? You never tell us anything.”
Suleyman’s body arched back. His words came out so faintly he sounded more dead then alive. “You Majesty. . . Please tell me. . .”
“Ask me anything.” Said Seth.
The man seemed to crack a weak smile at the kind voice in his ear that sounded like a lullaby. “Who are you? No, we . . .” his lips, still open, stopped moving and didin’t say another word. His eyelids closed and his faze frozen in eternal silence.
Gently stroking Suleyman’s blood-smeared hair, the Empress offered a sorrowful answer. “It would be easy for me to answer that but. . .” her eyes remained downcast for a while, just as she was mourning the death of a beloved child.