Fornulus swaggered in after the Majester announced him into the Round Chamber. Everyone knelt as he made his way to his throne. This part felt good, seeing all these people worshipping him. He'd only been Doukar for a couple of months so having everybody bow and scrape was still new. His wife trailed after him and took up one of the smaller thrones designated for reigning empresses. Fornulus idly wondered if he would ever have more than one of those thrones occupied. It was the Doukar's duty to make sure the line of succession was firm. Didn't want any succession wars like old whatshisname, Doukar whatever. Although he did already have two children past the usual illnesses, it couldn't hurt to have some more spares. Speaking of children, he'd have to come up with a name for his daughter at some point. She was already some months old, wouldn't be too long until her first birthday, which would be her naming day. Well, assuming she lived until then. Vicca said this baby was strong, not like the last couple.

He was glad the Stone of Doukar was only used for the most important occasions. This throne was upholstered and felt divine on his backside, unlike that rock. It might have been a little too comfortable, as he struggled to stay awake through an endless succession of supplicants. He was sure there were more than a dozen of them, and each spouting some boring drivel he didn't care about. He tried to remember the various tips and advice Cordelian had given him before about each member of the procession, their background and what he thought Fornulus should do. Vicca had also bent his ear with a whole bunch of opinions about the lot, and he had a hard time keeping it all straight in his head. If only he could have asked them now – Vicca was right next to him, and Cordelian just a few feet away – but the Doukar needed to appear to need no one, so he couldn't.

He nodded sagely and gave out rulings. Some of them Cordelian or Vicca nodded at slightly, but others the two of them just stayed still. Fornulus guessed those were ones he'd gotten wrong. Ah well, it wasn't the end of the world. The Doukar's job was to make decisions and the Eukrates' was job to fix things, his grandmother had told him once, when she'd had the crowns, long ago. Cordy would fix whatever he got wrong, just as he always had, even when they were kids. Fornulus would lead the way, and Cordelian would mop up behind him.

Some admiral of the navy started to whine about cloth for sails. Why was he being bothered about sails? He waited to see if Cordelian would say anything, but he didn't. Eventually Fornulus just mumbled something about the Eukrates deciding. He had no idea what to do about sails, and he didn't care either. The admiral looked angry, and Fornulus took a lot of pleasure seeing the woman force herself to be polite as she said something or other about going to see the Milem. Not too long ago somebody like her would have raised her voice to him, but now she just had to take it. Ah, the pleasures of the crowns!

Finally done, he dismissed everyone and made his way back to the royal apartments as Cordelian moved in to deal with the petty problems. He could tell Vicca wanted to talk to him but wouldn't in the corridors where other people could hear them, which meant she wanted to nag him again. He sighed as she proved him right as soon as they got back. Vicca started complaining about how he'd given in to Cordelian too much and how he'd made the wrong decision about this or that.

"Honey, I'm just one man, I'm doing the best I can," he said, reasonably. Reason didn't usually work when she got all hysterical like this.

Vicca wouldn't be quiet. "Try harder my love. Don't listen to Cordelian, listen to me. I can guide you more honestly than him."

"Cordelian is the picture of honesty my love."

"Cordelian wants the crowns for himself. You need to protect yourself. I have your best interests at heart. He doesn't."

Fornulus snorted in amused disbelief. The woman was so paranoid.

"Everybody knows Cordelian wants the crowns except you, husband. Just ask Theo, his own sister. She'll tell you."

This annoyed him, the idea that people were gossiping behind his back. "Vicca, that's enough. Be nicer to Cordelian. I don't know why you’ve got it out for him. He’s always had my back. I remember one time, when I was about fifteen-".

Vicca cut him off. “I know you don't believe me. Just try to listen to my advice at least.”

He agreed to stop her from complaining anymore.

Once the slaves had finished removed his formal royal robes, he slumped onto a comfortable couch and sighed loudly in relief. He commanded one of them to bring him something to drink, and another to bring his sons to him, to avoid having to talk to his wife. He knew if he did, they would get into another fight.

Nikolonium didn't have much to do while waiting for the messenger from the Patrianous to bring him the information he'd requested. He'd been looking into the debate over constralitism, to see if he could offer any clarification. As a child of the holy bloodline of the Doukar, it was his duty to contribute religious guidance to the people. None of his siblings bothered, so it fell to him. Fornulus should have taken a clear stance on the issue of constralitism, which threatened the unity of the church, but the few times Nik had gotten in to see him, Fornulus had looked dazed when he tried to explain the debate. He didn't know what he expected, since Fornulus was barely literate (some said half-witted). Vicca was more interested, but she didn't have the authority to do anything, not being of the blood.

Frustrated and needing a break from studying theological texts, he'd gone to see Ophelion, as was his usual recourse, but she'd rushed off in a hurry to meet up with Meronion. He couldn't find Pelagius either. He'd wandered around the Trigon Palace for a while, up and down its cold stone corridors, wondering what to do with himself. Eventually he decided to walk through the gardens and see if Helastus was there.

Cordelian was known to take walks through the gardens, so Nik thought it might be a good idea to get to know his enemy and how his mind worked. He wasn’t familiar with the gardens, generally preferring the libraries. He probably wasn't going to find much insight out here, but truthfully, he had little idea how to begin cutting into Cordelian's enormous influence. He'd been lazy over the years, and while he'd been deep in his dogmatic slumber, Cordelian had ensconced himself firmly into the heart of the empire. It seemed as good a beginning point as any to try to retrace his older brother's steps, to get some insight into his mind.

Although Nik enjoyed eating what came from the gardens, cultivation had never interested him, unlike Helastus, who had a passion for it. Holophian had expressed approval of her hobby, surprising everyone; usually the man would sneer at anything he deemed suited only for noumens or weaklings. He certainly hadn't had any time for Nik's passion for theology, but then, he'd always had a soft spot for his youngest child. He'd even ordered renovations to the gardens in order to better suit Helastus.

He asked one of the workers where he could find the littlest princess, and went in the direction indicated, which was a lovely shaded walk along a white paved path under rows of fruit trees. He was beginning to see why Cordelian and Helastus enjoyed spending time out here. It had a peaceful atmosphere. He heard only the rustling of leaves, the chirps of unknown animals, and the occasional faint clink of tools from some far-off worker diligently maintaining the massive gardens. He took his time strolling in the pleasantly sunny afternoon, until he came across his youngest sister.

Helastus was wearing some of the most casual clothes he'd ever seen a member of the family wear, a simple robe with a worn leather smock over the front and rough laborer's gloves to protect her hands. Her dark, curly hair was tied roughly behind her, completing the look of a farm girl tending to her field. He stopped and took the strange sight in for a moment as she finished pruning some branches, before she turned to him with wide eyes.

"Hello Nik. We've never met here before." She seemed guilty, as if she thought he wouldn't approve. Neither of them bothered with the formal greetings.

"I had some free time, so I thought I'd look around. It's charming, I should come out here more often."

He looked at the plant she was tending to, a large, leafy shrub almost as tall as him. Growing from it were a multitude of appealing looking round, black berries. He reached out to take one, but Helastus quickly smacked his hand away.

"Those aren't for eating." Helastus was a quiet girl, but when she felt more confident about a subject, she grew more outgoing, domineering even. This was her domain, and she was the little Doukar of it.

"They look good though." He whined.

"Not everything that looks good is good, Nik."

"Like you, little Hel?"

She smiled, turning back to the plant. "Do I look good?"

"If you were a noumens I'm sure all the local boys would be queuing up to court you."

He chuckled playfully as she calmly finished pruning the bush. Once done, she carefully wrapped the branches in a thick blanket and tied them with string, not leaving a single clipping behind. Such a fastidious girl. They chatted lightly while she worked.

"It's a strange combination of hobbies you have, Hel, numbers and plants."

She shrugged, still looking down as she put her tools away. "Pel says it’s good to have a variety of interests."

"Pel told me you've met some of the leading mathematicians in the empire."

She stood up to face him, rubbing one arm. "I'm a princess, so they want to get money or patronage from me."

Helastus crossing her arms in front of her like made an interesting sight.

He smiled. "I've heard that more than once you got into a deep discussion over some nuance of the theory that nobody but you two could understand."

"My brother was bragging again, wasn’t he?" Pelagius was the only one who Helastus would refer to simply as "my brother".

"Of course! He’s always telling me and Ophelion that you're the smartest one out of all of us. That's quite the compliment coming from him, since he's thought to be the most intelligent out of all of us young royals."

Helastus was blushing lightly, but she said nothing, apparently feeling too shy to come up with a further denial. She was just looking too adorable, so Nik reached out and gently ruffled her hair.

"Smart little Hel."

She ducked away from him and started to walk off, so he let it drop and followed along after her. Unlike Pel, who liked to be the center of attention, Hel generally avoided attention, preferring to sit quietly by herself in a corner, and underplay her talents. Nik suspected those talents were considerable. One day Nik could find himself with a powerful ally on his hands.

"I need to tend to that tree." She gestured vaguely.

"I'll help you," he offered, and she put him to work pruning a fruit tree. Nik found he didn't mind gardening as much as he'd feared, although he wouldn't be making it his new hobby. Too dirty, and his arms ached by the time he was done sawing off a single branch. He groaned when Hel told him there were four more to do.