Broken Soul

Mira

Mira was watching the landscape as it went by. Everything was covered in white. She loved the winter and snow. It made everything so much more beautiful. It being the season of hardship and starvation put a damper on those feelings, but she thought it was pretty anyway.

Their journey had been smooth most of the way. Zen had invested in infrastructure upgrades toward the south to help trade and probably also weapons deliveries once the southern forges were putting out more than Michael could use.

It had gotten even smoother once they reached the borders of Praanen. Mira didn't understand much about engineering, but apparently, the engineers of the South were better at making smoother roads than those of the North, or they just had better techniques.

Not even half a year had gone by since Mira had seen Michael last, after the 'War of a Day' as some people called it, but she had missed him already. It wasn't like she wasn't used to not seeing him for months or even years, but it was still nice that it hadn't been too long this time around.

"Milady, please close the shutters. It is getting quite fresh in here," Julie, Mira's handmaiden, pleaded. Her golden hair was hidden under a hat, and the rest of her was similarly packed in clothing.

Mira smiled and did as she had requested. Julie had always been a summer person. Mira had caught her warming herself at a fire once on a summer day of twenty-eight degrees. After that, she had never doubted the woman when she said that she was cold.

"Don't worry. It should only be another hour or two, and then we can get you warm and cozy," Mira said and snuggled closer to her handmaiden to share her own body heat.

Julie had long since given up on complaining about Mira not acting like her station toward her and simply accepted the gesture.

"I am still unsure why we had to take this journey in the middle of winter, Your Highness. Wouldn't spring have done all the same?"

"Winter in the capital is boring beyond belief. Nothing is happening, everyone stays inside, and there are few visitors. Not to mention that my mother is always bearing down on me just because she has nothing better to do."

Convincing Zen to allow her to travel to Reen in the middle of winter had been surprisingly easy. She had to accept a large retinue of guards, but that was completely fine with her, even if she had acted annoyed to convince Zen that he was getting his way over hers.

Her mother, on the other hand, had been a different story. Mira and Zen had talked at length about her clinginess and fear of loss, but neither of them had any good ideas on how to handle it.

With no solution in hand, Mira had been forced into long and heated arguments that more often than not ended with her being sent to her room. In the end, Zen had to intervene and more or less ordered their mother to let Mira go. Their mother then proceeded to lock herself in her room for three days, which caused Mira's departure to be delayed while the siblings tried to get their mother to leave her room.

Mira was looking forward to a month or two away from her family and the capital after that minor disaster.

The shutters opened after a short knock, and Sir Antreos peered into the carriage.

"We are approaching Reen's outer defences, Your Highness. It seems like we have a welcome party waiting for us," the knight informed her.

Mira gave Julie an apologetic smile as the handmaiden shuddered and then leaned out of the window to see.

She immediately understood why Sir Antreos had said outer defences and not Reen, or even the gate.

Reen had grown substantially since the last time Mira had been there, and the city had long since burst out of the bounds of its wooden walls. Someone had apparently decided that that was a security risk and had started construction on an outer stone wall to encompass an even larger area than the city itself held right now.

Such a project could take decades, even on a smaller scale, but they were farther ahead than Mira would have expected, considering that this project couldn't be older than two or three years, not to mention that Michael hadn't said anything about it on his last visit.

The walls were already spanning close to a kilometer around the growing city, even if it looked bare and unfinished. She tried to guess where it would continue, but that was impossible with snow covering most of the ground.

The 'gate' that let the street through the outer wall was currently just an opening, with the wall on one side being worked on. Next to that opening waited an array of soldiers, functionaries, and a priestess of Idas in a storage area that had a primitive roof above it.

Mira smiled as she saw Sola waiting for her and waved happily from afar. She couldn't see the priestess's face, but she did wave back.

It took a few more minutes for her carriage to reach the gate. After jumping out of the vehicle, she carefully hugged Sola, making sure not to press too hard on her pronounced belly.

"Oh, don't worry. I am not that fragile," Sola told her with a smile. "I would like to sit down, though, my ankles are killing me. I hope you can forgive me for cutting this welcome short and moving it into your carriage."

"Of course. You really didn't need to come out here to greet me," Mira quickly said as she and Julie helped the visibly pregnant woman into the carriage.

"Nonsense. Everyone is treating me as if I will break apart if not handled with the utmost care. It was nice getting out of the city for a while and not having the others dotting on me," Sola replied with a good-natured tone.

Their journey continued toward the city proper while the women talked.

"I am sorry for missing your wedding. I hope my present reached you at least," Mira said.

"Don't worry about it, dear. It was on such short notice that no one could have expected royalty to drop everything and come running," Sola waved her off. "I do still enjoy those soaps you have sent me. So, thank you for those, and you must tell me who you got them from."

"I am happy that you like them. But show me your ring. I got a description from your letter, but I want to see it for real."

Sola proudly raised her hand and offered it to the princess. It was simple gold with waves that looked like sunbeams and a ring of runes running around the middle.

"Uhh, I like it. Simple elegance," Mira commented and looked more closely at the runes. "Is it magical?"

"Yes, Farrel recommended us a great goldsmith in Oranthos, who was able to work some protective enchantments into the ring while making it. I love its design," Sola explained while looking at the ring.

They continued exchanging news until they closed in on the city.

Mira understood why they thought a new wall was needed. The old one was more of a token effort by now, rather than a defensive structure. The city had grown so much that holes had to be made in the walls to allow better travel from the inner parts to the outer, and in some spaces, whole sections had been demolished to make space for larger buildings or complexes.

"Wow. It is like an entirely new place," Mira exclaimed as they started to drive into the city.

Sola laughed and nodded. "Even for me, it feels like every time I leave the house, something has changed. I am sure Michael can take you on a tour."

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Mira wasn't surprised that Michael hadn't greeted her at the outskirts. Sometimes she felt like he was even busier than her brother, even with maybe a twentieth of the land to govern. She wondered what he was doing right now.

Michael

"Stop," Michael cut off the merchant who was loudly raving about the cruel actions of the wolf-kin merchant to his left. The merchant was covered in bandages, and his arm was in a sling. Michael suspected that most of this was an overexaggeration, but it mattered not in the end.

"Let's recap. You went to this merchant trying to buy furs for cheap from him," Michael pointed from the human merchant to the wolf-kin one. "When he didn't want to go as low as you would have liked, you started threatening him with some imaginary contacts into the government, then an argument ensued in which you called him a 'dog fucker' and 'flearidden mutt'. He then proceeded to pull you over the table and beat you up for a minute or two before the city watch intervened. Is that about right?"

Michael knew that it was right. He had read the report with sufficient witness statements, and normally, this shouldn't even be discussed in front of him. Sadly, today was the day of the month when people could freely come to him with their problems, and now they were here.

"That is correct, lord," the vargr-släkt said, his teeth visible as he snarled angrily.

"This is not the whole story!" the human tried to go off on a tangent again, but Michael raised his hand with a sigh.

"Honestly, sometimes I wonder how some people got to their age alive. From what I have heard, you asked for a beating. A beating you would have gotten exactly the same if you had called a human 'Bastard' and 'poxridden', I mention this because the only reason I see that this farce even reached me is because it involves a wolf-kin. And I am not amused to have my time wasted for such a stupid reason. There is no and there will be no special treatment for different races in my lands, positively or negatively."

The human wanted to argue again, but a sharp glance from Michael managed to dissuade him from that idea.

"That said, resorting to violence because of an insult will not be tolerated. Did the watch levy a fine?" Michael asked Captain Gruger. The man had been provided as court liaison for the city watch after the new city watch commander's patience with stupid complaints had run out.

"Yes, milord. A fine of fifty Ruan has been imposed on both for causing a disturbance. Additionally, they have to pay for damages to other people's goods," the captain replied immediately.

Michael returned his gaze to the two merchants and shrugged, "Sounds appropriate to me. We are done here."

The two merchants were ushered out of the meeting hall, and the doors fell into their lock behind them.

"How many more are there?" Michael asked his chief secretary, Parcival.

"Fifty-two, milord," Parcival replied after a short peek at his list.

"Oh heavens," Michael groaned. There were so many better things he could be doing right now. "Please schedule a progress meeting about the official law book and the judicial office. I really don't want to rule on all this stuff forever."

"Certainly. You have an open appointment in two weeks. Should I mark that one down, or do you wish to combine your lunch tomorrow with this appointment?" Parcival asked, his voice was the definition of neutral, but between the lines, Michael knew that the man disapproved of his constantly changing and packed schedule.

"Exactly why I need to get rid of this duty," Michael grumbled. "Make a note that I have to look at what I can delegate again. It feels like every time I get rid of anything, two more things cram themselves into the open spot. Also, try to get rid of some appointments every day in the next few weeks. I want to spend some time with Mira if possible."

"It will be my pleasure. Your staff will prepare suggestions," Parcival replied with a slight bow. "I will send in the next petitioner."

Michael would be stuck here for the next few hours.

A few hours later, Michael was walking through the streets of his new administrative district with Erhen, Silas, and four guards dressed in black armor with red markings surrounding him. His guard had been expanded to include veterans of the guard to increase the available manpower at any given moment.

It hadn't been Michael's decision, but when he announced that they would tear down and rebuild Reen Castle and that he and all the administration would move into the city, Zeke had insisted that he needed more men to properly patrol and secure his lord's new home and place of work.

Michael had struggled with the decision of tearing down his childhood home. It would mean destroying his siblings' former rooms, his father's office, the training yard he had spent so much time in, and many more places that held dear memories for him. It was a decision they had to make, though. A wooden castle simply wasn't able to stand up to the passing of time, which a few wargames, organized by Geron and the Mage's Academy, had proven.

He had tried to lessen the blow by moving much of the furniture out of his father's office into his new office and taking many mementos to his new mansion.

As he approached his mansion, he let his gaze wander over the still foreign building. They had constructed the stone building in record time. It turned out that having people who could move rock and earth with the power of their mind was extremely effective at getting stone buildings up and running.

Their magical expertise was also supported by marvels of engineering that Ferrekxan or Waren had provided the plans for. Cranes, wagons that could carry much more, and pulley systems were only the tip of the mountain of knowledge that was flowing into the city from different sources.

The mansion was far from what Michael had envisioned when he had thought about building himself a home in the city. However, his own plans had been squarely rejected by each and every participant in the meeting where he had pitched them.

Waren had called it too boring for a ruler, Sola had told him that he needed more space for visitors, staff, and to host events, and Zeke had criticized the poor defensability of the simple house. And so Michael had been forced to compromise. A compromise that saw the modest house turn into an estate that could easily rival those that some noble families held in the capital.

He took some inspiration from the palace in Lionsgate, but also the buildings in the Dwarven capital of Oranthos, while trying to keep it modest. Something he only partially managed.

The entire estate consisted of three main buildings and a couple of smaller ones, surrounded by a high metal fence. The central building was meant for his day-to-day life, flanked by one for servant quarters and a larger hall, for private festivities. There would be a larger one for state affairs, at a later date.

All three buildings were made out of bright stone and covered in carvings and guardian gargoyles. Both the carvings and gargoyles hid an impressive array of magical detection and defence matrices that went far over Michael's head. He knew that they were good, though, because Lynx had personally appeared to guide Waren's and Rayakan's efforts in making the entire complex as secure as possible.

A part of Michael thought them paranoid, but that part was then slapped with multiple memories of people trying to assassinate him, so it remained quiet.

Something Michael had insisted on when he had realized that he wouldn't get out of building something grandiose was the gardens. The road leading toward the estate was flanked by the stone channels he had seen in Valmick's home. They would add statues and fish for the canals later. Behind the estate would be a large garden in the style of the capital with a pond, flowerbeds, and some stretches of grass. Gardening took a while, though, and it had been too late in the year to start, so that was still a work in progress, as many things in this mansion were.

Michael had run out of things to look at as he approached the front door. He knew that Mira would be waiting for him inside, and his heart was beating in anticipation.

He had had difficulties getting her out of his mind since his last visit to the capital. Michael had thrown himself into his work, which had helped him before when he didn't want to linger on things, but Mira had been persistently in his thoughts in the past couple of months anyway.

Michael wasn't stupid. He knew what was happening, but that didn't mean that it didn't concern him.

The soldiers at the door saluted with their fists to their chests before opening the doors for their count. He stepped through, leaving his guards behind, into the strangely empty entrance hall. Getting the building up had been a priority for security reasons, and making it pretty from the outside was simply a part of building it, but furnishing and decorating from the inside had been deemed less important. It would probably be done once the majority of merchants began arriving again after the winter was over.

"Welcome home, milord," Essmen, an older woman in her sixties, greeted him. She was the head of staff for the estate. She had been in Samuel's service before he renounced his titles, and Michael had gladly taken her into his service. "Her Highness, Princess Miranne Merland, is waiting for you in your library together with Sister Sola and Miss Eydis."

"Thank you, Essmen. I haven't been able to eat very much, so please could you organize some snacks?" Michael replied.

"Of course. There are light snacks already present, but I will have something more substantial brought for you immediately."

After thanking the woman again, he went up the broad central stairs to the second level and into the library.

The library was pitiful in comparison to the realm that Thomas was living in, but it was cozy and much larger than what he had had in the old house or even the castle.

Michael found the three women sitting by the fireplace with tea and cookies. They were chatting, and Michael stood silently for a moment just watching the peaceful display.

They were having fun, but Michael's eyes lingered on the black haired girl.

He didn't linger for long and stepped into the group with a smile. "Having fun?"

Mira looked up at him and grinned broadly before jumping up. She hopped toward him and into his waiting arms.

"That is not very proper for a princess," Michael commented and then blocked her from kicking him. "That isn't either."

"Just shut up and don't ruin this for me, you jerk."

She stepped back, still grinning. "I missed you. Did you miss me?"

Michael hesitated for a moment; he couldn't really tell her how much he had missed her, so he just nodded. "Of course, I did. It is just a shame that neither Zen nor Theodore seem to ever find time to visit."

"I tried, sorry."

"It's fine. Then you will get the personal and very private tour," Michael announced.

"I am so excited to see everything that has changed," Mira replied excitedly.

"I guess tomorrow will be a long day then," Michael laughed.