King of the Castle|Darkthrone, New Morilanta

[Devon]

Now that Saul was back in Morilanta from his meeting with Anarlina, the new Emperor of Morilanta was busy with work. He had to occasionally check in on the coliseum that was being built as well as attending to any problems the people might have had. He did manage to amuse himself with a few side projects, namely having the young man he and Anarchy had found in Maelstrom, trained into a fine bodyguard. Currently the king sat on his throne having a few moments of time to himself before court started. Resting his head on his hand, he waited for Anarchy to take a seat beside him, at least then he'd have someone he actually wanted to talk to there.

[Kender Bard]

Anarchy swept into the room with grandeur; she personally enjoyed court time very much. And people seemed to enjoy it as well. Nissar had been very reclusive during his reign and it didn't allow people to complain directly to his face. Anarchy didn't mind complaints or whining or anything of the sort; she didn't really take it personally. She regarded her subjects as playthings and delighted in watching their joy and misery alike. Half the time she wasn't paying them any attention anyway.

"Good day," she greeted Saul warmly.

[Devon]

Saul sat up a bit when Anarchy entered the room. Rising to greet her, he kissed her cheek and took her hand as she sat before sitting down again himself. "Another day, another meeting with the people. I swear if I hear a complaint over a child I'll just have the thing split in two," he said with a small smirk. It was unclear if he were joking or if he really meant it. "Since we have a moment to ourselves before the cretins..citizens get here, is there anything you'd ask of the Emperor?"

[Kender Bard]

"Your presence alone is enough to fill me with delight," Anarchy murmured as she kissed him sweetly. "My only request is if you do split a child in half, you not do so here. I wouldn't want to get blood on my pretty dress."

She frowned, suddenly, as a thought occurred to her. "Actually, there is something I wished to speak with you about but it will be a lengthy conversation and we would do best to wait until after our audience is over."

[Devon]

"If there is any blood split on it, I'll just get you a new dress," he replied. "We could always just cancel the audience," Saul said with a small pout. He didn't feel like being bothered by the people today. Walking his fingers up alongside her arm, Saul teased, "That way I could attend to your needs instead."

[Kender Bard]

Anarchy grinned at his actions and waited until his fingers had reached her bicep before grasping her hand in his. "If you don't feel inclined to play with our people today, I see no reason why we must," she declared. "Go ahead and turn them away. We'll have good wine and I'll tell you of my last great ambition."

[Devon]

Saul smirked and turned his head to summon a servant. The servant who had coem running at being called bowed before the Emperor. Saul quickly gave his orders, "Important diplomatic matters have sprung up that we must take care of. Tell the people there will be no court today." Looking to Anarchy he leaned over and murmured, "Now let's get out of here."

[Kender Bard]

Anarchy giggled quietly to herself and rose, sauntering off with coy backwards glances at her husband. She had found their marriage to be more than mutually beneficial; it was every bit the ideal she'd never dared dream of. She headed to their personal suite of rooms - a bedroom, yes, but there was an attached sitting room for lounging in and pursuing other, less fleshy pleasures. She sank upon the divan and gazed out the window a bit as she pondered how to formulate her concerns.

[Devon]

Saul eagerly followed her into their personal room, having a servant bring the two a glass of wine and a tray of foods. Sending the servant away as fast as they came, Saul sat down next to his wife, handing her a glass. "So what is it you wish to discuss?"

[Kender Bard]

Anarchy accepted the glass and sipped modestly at it as she moved closer to Saul until she was able to comfortably rest against his side, her head nestled against his chest. "Ekaitz," she breathed. "Did I ever tell you why I left Ekaitz?"

[Devon]

Saul shook his and maneuvered his arm around Anarchy's side. Sipping his wine he replied, "No you never told me why you left Ekaitz. I don't know much about the land myself, never been. I just know Slaver Storms are there."

[Kender Bard]

"It's not just people who are slavers, though yes that is the bulk of the non-slave population," Anarchy explained. "Specifically, it is people who opposed Shadow's decisions and his rulings. I was happy there; I had a modest home and pleasure slaves of my own. Then I quite foolishly decided to engage in conversation with a particularly new slave I had acquired. Oh I knew he hated me, and I delighted in forcing him to behave as though he didn't, but I found his arguments intriguing. I wanted to prove him wrong, show him how worthless the gesture of kindness could be and one day offered to set him free. He could have just run off... and the damn fool sought revenge against me instead, calling out how I had been helping him to escape. I fled, because otherwise I would have likely been killed or something just as ghastly. I long to have my revenge upon the slave that betrayed me so, but such a wish is unlikely to ever be fulfilled."

She made a sound of disgust and anger. "If he's not dead he's probably long gone. I hope the former at least. But after I left Ekaitz I realized that their unchanging pride would be their downfall. After I found Morilanta, I decided that this was the better place to be. The rest..." She tilted her head towards him and stole a kiss. "Is history. But I warn you my beloved. Ekaitz is a poor ally indeed. The second they can find a way to use us, they will. If that means handing us over to our enemies in a time of need, you can believe that is exactly what they will do. The only solution is to find some way to use them first."

[Devon]

"It is something I've already considered," Saul replied once she was done. "Ekaitz hasn't proved too useful in my eyes and things that aren't useful get discarded. I just haven't figured out how to do it just yet. The slave trade idea in Maelstrom was just because I was bored at the time," he said.

Saul sighed and ran his hand through Anarchy's hair. "I have no plans to rule this entire land, but I don't want my piece of Naruta taken from me either. If Anarlina chose to, they and their allies could easily out match us. We have a need for allies, but Ekaitz is barely worth a mention in my eyes. Either we cause their downfall or we find some other more beneficial use for them. If you have any ideas, enlighten me."

[Kender Bard]

"At the moment, I have none," Anarchy sighed. "I'm quite certain that the only reason Ekaitz has remained quiet so far is because they feel precisely the same way. Unfortunately, we are more rational here. They are more likely to feel they no longer need us before we feel that way about them. If we cannot get rid of them and we cannot find a use for them, we must make them desire to be useful. But the only way to do that is to assert that we are the superior power. That requires either a show of force or to garner enough strength that we really don't need them."

There came a hesitant knock at their door.

[Devon]

Saul was about to say something but stopped when the knock came to the door. "Tsk," he muttered to himself. "Enter," he shouted, "And there better be a good reason to interrupt!"