Dynasty: The Glorious Strategist (Dynasty Saga Book 3) (31 page)

“And who exactly would they be spying on?” Lei asked. She did not seemed opposed to the idea if anything she seemed genuinely curious on how it would work.

“Anyone who we think would know something that we would need to know,” Lymee shrugged. “Our greatest disadvantage at this point is we don’t even know who we are facing or what Kingdom we are up against.”

“You think one of the Kingdoms themselves is directly responsible?” Lei asked.

“I don’t know,” Lymee admitted with a shrug of her shoulder. “But if it were me and I was trying to conquer the Seven Kingdoms, I would first create a powerbase for myself. Then from there I would gain power and influence in the kingdom I was currently in. Then I would dispatch my agents into the other kingdoms to help destabilized them. When things got to their worse I would swoop in as a person simply trying to help. I would be hailed as a savior and the lords and commoners alike would welcome me as their new benevolent dictator.”

“Like becoming the lord of a small rebellious province. Then forging it into a dynasty and from there taking the title of Empress?’ Lei asked raising her eyebrows at Lymee.

“Your mother asked me to become Empress,” Lymee said pointing at the woman. “Repeatedly.” Lymee let her hand drop. “Not that you are wrong,” she admitted. “And I do need to be careful how my actions may appear to others. Would hate to think that people think me the same as the people actually lusting for power.”

“Our Empress has other things she would rather lust after,” Yoni said.

“You are just terrible today,” Lymee said jabbing a finger at the woman. “Not that you’re wrong either,” she winked at Yoni dropping her hand.

Yoni smiled smugly as she stood there beside Lymee.

“Anything else?” Lymee asked looking at Lei.

“That was all, my Empress,” Lie stated.

“Then you can return to your duties,” Lymee said scooping up Kitsune and resting the fox across her chest, her chin resting on Lymee’s shoulder. Lei bowed her head deeply before turning and walking out of the office.

“What do you guys think of Lei?” Lymee asked once she was gone.

“She is very intelligent and likeable,” Keo stated. “She has already endeared herself to many around the Palace.”

“She is also pretty,” Yoni added biting her lower lip as she peered at the door.

“I noticed,” Lymee nodded more than likely having the same images flash through her mind that Yoni was having.

“But her motives are not as clear as her mother’s,” Keo continued. “While Lord Niimu is rather straightforward and I believe genuine in her support of you, Lord Lei seems to have her own agenda.”

“I thought much the same thing,” Lymee stated running her hand down Kitsune’s back. “It makes her hard to trust. But you are right about her being likeable.” Lymee rested her cheek on top of Kitsune’s head and let out a sigh. “I try to make it a rule not to like people whom I can’t trust, but she makes it very difficult.”

“I agree,” Keo admitted. “Would you like for me to have someone keep an eye on her?”

“I volunteer,” Yoni said energetically her posture becoming ridged. “I would love to keep my eyes on her. Preferably when she is naked.”

“Actually,” Lymee smiled touching her hand to her chin. “That might not be a bad idea. She will instinctively want to get close to you because you are close to me. The closer you are to her the easier it will be for us to keep an eye on her movements.”

“It will also be easier for her to watch Yoni as well,” Keo pointed out.

“But then we know where her attention is focused,” Lymee pointed out. “Making it all the easier to misdirect her attention,” she looked up at Yoni with a playful smile. “Being as distracting that you are.” Yoni returned the smile if not a bit smugly. “Just be careful not to fall in love with her.”

“She’s not that pretty,” Yoni assured.

*** 

Lymee could not help but smile as she looked at the plants that surrounded her. There was all manner of vibrant greens and other colors emanating from the hanging vines. Despite being in the coldest part of the winter the garden was still somehow quite humid and warm. At first Lymee thought it some kind of greenhouse effect but when she looked up there was no roof over the stone walls that surrounded her.

“It’s beautiful is it not?”

Lymee turned around and saw Shu waking up behind her. She was dressed comfortably in a purple and red military uniform though she was lacking any armor or sword.

“It is,” Lymee nodded returning her gaze to the nearby flowers. Kitsune lifted her head up from Lymee’s shoulder and peered at the General as she neared. After a long moment she set her head back down and flicked her tail across Lymee’s face.

“I do not think he likes me,” Shu stated looking down at the fox.

“She is like that with everyone at first,” Lymee stated reaching up and stroking the fox’s back. Kitsune had actually been checking to see if Shu had any kind of alterations done to her by spirit magic. As they still had no clue as to who might be a spy Kitsune was checking everyone Lymee came into contact with. The flick of her tail signaled that Shu was in no way altered.

“I will take your word for it,” Shu said still looking at the fox a bit apprehensively. “I am glad you could make time to come here. A place such as this should be enjoyed,” Shu stated taking a deep breath through the nose. “By the Empress most of all.”

“It certainly should,” Lymee nodded. “And this certainly has nothing to do with me getting lost and just kinda winding up here. That’s for sure,” she chuckled nervously. Kitsune actually rolled her eyes as she flicked her tail.

“Would the Empress do me the honor of allowing me to join her for a while?” Shu asked seemingly oblivious to Lymee’s comment.

“I would be horned General,” Lymee smiled as she started to walk, Shu keeping step beside her.

“General,” Shu shook her head. “I was convinced that I had reached my height at Sub Commander. To now be called a General seems unreal.”

“You think you got it bad,” Lymee snorted with a smile. Lymee had not spent much time with Shu since Shu rejoined the military but the woman had seemed to warm up to Lymee, if only a bit. “This place must take a small army to maintain,” Lymee stated looking around. “Not to mention the amount of water that it must take to keep so many plants alive.”

“You should see it during the summer season,” Shu stated. “It makes this look bland and colorless by comparison.”

“Really?” Lymee was not sure how that was even possible. Every corner of the garden seemed covered in flowers or trees. She could not imagine it being more colorful. And she would think that the pollen must be killer. Lymee was glad she was never one to have allergies. “To make a garden of this size must have taken years to grow.”

“Try centuries,” Shu corrected.

“Centuries?” Lymee frowned. “You mean this place was still being watered even during the Long Drought?” Lymee abhorred the thought that while crops withered and died and people wasted away, hundreds of gallons of water were being poured on flowers.

Shu pursed her lips together and gave a solitary nod. “I think it safe to say that for many, life in the Palace was not much different during the Long Drought,” she stated. “It was even possible not to know that a drought was going on unless you were to look out at the dried up lake.”

“You speak as if from experience,” Lymee noted.

“I was fourteen and had just joined the Imperial Army at the time,” she admitted. Putting her in her mid to late thirties, Lymee thought. “Every imperial soldier is expected to guard the Palace before they can be assigned anywhere else. It is so they can become familiar not only with the Palace layout but also learn the faces of the nobles who live there.”

“A good rule,” Lymee nodded. “One we should probably keep.” Lymee glanced over at Shu. “What were the nobles here like?” Lymee asked. “To hear people tell it they were all evil devils hoarding all the food for themselves while the people starved around them.”

“They were not so evil,” Shu stated. “In fact, I found most of them to be quite pleasant to be around. There were a few of course who were of the sadistic nature but they were easily avoided. The Empress at the time did not so much as hoard food and water as much as she simply believed that as the Empress she deserved to live at a certain standard of living? She only took as much as was required for that.”

“You sound as if you agree with that line of thinking,” Lymee said.

“Is it really so surprising that I do?” Shu raised her eyebrows at Lymee.

“You must be a noble yourself then,” Lymee stated crossing her arms.

“Yes, because only a noble would ever think that the nobles are actually entitled to more than the rest of us,” she glanced over at Lymee. “That there is no way that a commoner would ever believe that they are actually inferior to nobles.”

“Well sort of, yeah,” Lymee nodded finding that rather obvious.

“It might come as to some surprise that I am in fact a commoner,” Shu stated. “As were both my parents. And they were not particularly well off either. My father was a low ranking officer in the Imperial Army and he used what little influence he had to help me enlist but we were not living in luxury during the drought by any means.”

“And you have never once thought it unfair that nobles got grow fat while other people starved?” Lymee asked. She was actually surprisingly calm. Maybe she was simply too tired to get angry about all of this.

“I think it more than fair,” Shu stated. “They are nobles after all. Nobles do far more and have more responsibility than I do. Why should they not live better than me? Sure I have complained about how nobles do things, but that does not mean that I hate them. Nor does it mean that I wish to take their place. We complain because complaining is in our nature and we will always find something to complain about. In winter we complain about the cold and in summer it’s the heat. But neither of these things make us hate seasons and wish them gone. Nor do any of these things inherently make the seasons bad.”

“But nobles hoarded food and water while other people starved,” Lymee reminded. “People died so that they could be comfortable.”

“You make it sound as if the commoners would have been any different,” Shu laughed. “As if by giving the power to the people who are suffering they would in turn use it more responsibly than those already in power.”

Lymee actually blinked in surprise from the comment.

“Those people did not care about the suffering of others,” Shu continued. “They only cared about their own suffering. The only difference being was that there were others that they could wallow in misery with. If any one of those starving thirsty people had been granted access to large sums of food and water they would not have distributed it evenly among the rest. They would have kept it for themselves and only helped their friends and family if even that.”

“You have such a pessimistic view of people,” Lymee stated.

“And you have a pessimistic view of nobles,” Shu retorted. “It was the nobles not the commoners who opened up their stores to people during the drought. It was the nobles not the commoners that made sure to ration water to make sure there was enough to water the crops. Take this very city for example. People every day were taking water from the lake and it was quickly drying up because of it. Only the fields were irrigated with the lake water. The people ignored the Empress’ decree about rationing water and continued to draw water from the lake anyway despite the Empress telling them that if they did so then there would be no food come winter. So the Empress posted soldiers along the bank and killed anyone who tried to draw water from it. Sure the people yelled and screamed but come harvest time there was actually food to be had.”

Shu stopped walking and turned so she was facing Lymee. “The Empress with her harsh actions saved thousands if not tens of thousands of people from starving to death. Is it so hard to understand why she would think herself better than the rest of us and deserving of some extra food and water?”

“People rarely need a reason to think themselves better than others,” Lymee pointed out. “Nor does it do them much good to have people agree with them about their superiority. I do not want to create an empire where anyone thinks they are entitled to wealth. Money and power should be earned through actions and deeds.”

“And I would argue that is already how it is,” Shu shrugged looking over at Lymee. “So then what kind of Empire
does
my Empress wish to make then?”

Lymee paused as she thought about it. “Honestly I am not quite sure. Right now I am focusing on bringing peace to the kingdom and with as little blood as possible. I haven’t thought of what really comes after.”

“And how do you plan on achieving this peace?” Shu inquired.

“I would like to reform the military,” Lymee stated. “That should be a good first step in helping stability.”

“Oh?” Shu tilted her head showing her interest.

“Too many times in history soldiers become loyal to their general and not to the land or even the lord they are supposed to be serving, and in turn generals are not always loyal to their lords,” Lymee stated. “I understand why that is but I don’t want that. Soldiers are to be protecting the idea not the person.”

“And how would you go about changing that?” Shu asked.