The Will-Breaker

The doors opened and Huuh entered side-by-side with a woman who… Rudiger had to take a quick look back at Lidda to be sure. Dressed in an identical pale-blue gown, the newcomer was almost the spitting image of Lidda; the same thin face and pinched nose, the same small ears, the same thin arms. The newcomer's hair was only lightly styled and hanging straight, while Lidda's was tied up in a bun and adorned with roses, but otherwise, everything else was virtually identical.

Clapping enthusiastically, Lidda pushed back her chair, stood up, and walked around the table towards the newcomer. "Oh, marvellous! Absolutely marvellous! You've excelled yourself, Lamaën." She circled the woman, gazing over her. A quick wave of her hand dismissed Huuh.

"It was not easy finding someone so close in appearance," Lamaën said. "You have your handmaid to thank for most of what you see. It's her excellent work that has made the similarities so precise."

"It's stunning," Lidda said, coming to a stop so she was standing beside the lookalike, both of them facing towards the table. She made a circling motion with her finger. "Spin." The lookalike turned slowly around, as did Lidda.

With the two of them close together, it was possible to see that Lidda was a little taller than the other and her hair was paler, but Rudiger had to admit if he saw the newcomer alone without Lidda present, he might be fooled.

Once the two had made a full circle, Lidda said, "What do you think, my love?"

"A remarkable likeness," Malef said. "Though the hair—"

"Nothing a wig won't deal with," Lidda said.

"Who is she?" Malef asked.

"Me, of course."

"Yes, but what is her name?"

Lidda smiled and motioned to the lookalike. "Care to inform him?"

The lookalike curtsied. "I am her Ladyship Lidda Plavin, Lady of Plavin-Tyl, and soon-to-be Queen of Arnor."

Lidda's smile drooped a little and she looked to Lamaën. "Do I really sound like that?"

Lamaën stroked his moustache while he spoke. "The pitch is a little low still, and the accent isn't perfect, but we're working on it."

Lidda looked over the lookalike again for a moment. Then her smile widened once more. "With luck, she won't need to speak much anyway, and it truly is a remarkable achievement." She turned dramatically, causing her skirts to sweep across the floor, and returned to her seat at the head of the table.

"You're leaving us?" Rudiger said.

Lidda pulled her seat in, picked up her fork, and jabbed at a tuber. "Leaving them. You're coming with me." She waved at the lookalike. "You may leave us. Huuh will escort you back to your chambers."

The lookalike curtsied and turned for the doors. With no servants in the room, she had to open them herself.

"You think people will believe she's you?" Malef said.

"She won't need to do much," Lidda said. "The story will be that I have developed an illness. Not a serious one. Not life-threatening or anything. But one that will keep me sequestered most of the time. She'll show her face from time to time, maybe make a short statement, but hopefully nothing more will be needed."

"You're confident no one will notice?" Rudiger said. "She's a close likeness, but…"

Lidda shrugged. "The truth is, most people here have had very little interaction with me. They only see and hear me from a distance. The only people who know me well enough to tell the difference are already in on it."

"You hope."

She gave him a forced smile. "I know."

Truth was, she was probably right. As Rudiger had already noted, he himself might be fooled, and he had interacted with Lidda more than most people in the Palace.

"What about the day-to-day things?" Malef asked. "The running of the Palace. Disputes. Those sorts of thing."

"Lamaën will be guiding her and telling her what to do and say."

"And I suppose you want me appear with her, call her your name, and otherwise legitimise the illusion?"

With a smirk, Lidda leaned across the corner of the table and patted Malef's cheek. "Oh, my love, you are so cute. I don't need to want it. I know you'll do it." She sat back, still smirking. "You can sleep with her if you like. I won't mind. In fact, it will help sell the situation if you spend nights in her chambers, which will be my chambers. We are married, after all. And if you happen to impregnate her, all the better. I can claim the child as my own without having to go through the whole pregnancy thing myself. What do you think, my love?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Malef stuffed some pheasant in his mouth and mumbled something in reply.

"What was that, my love?"

Malef swallowed and smiled broadly at Lidda. "I will, of course, do whatever is needed to convince people she is you."

Lidda stabbed another tuber. "See? No need to want anything."

"What about her?" Rudiger said.

"What do you mean?" Lidda said.

"I mean, how can you be sure she'll do everything you want? What if she tries to take advantage of being you?"

Lidda laughed. "For someone who's been so good at hiding his plotting, you're being very transparent right now, Rudiger." She reached over and took Malef's hand. "Malef here won't try to corrupt her, will you, my love?"

Malef choked on his food a moment, then coughed. "No, of course not, my love. The very suggestion."

"Good boy."

Rudiger sighed. It had been very transparent, as she'd said, but he had a strong suspicion he wasn't going to see Malef again after this dinner.

"The young woman in question also knows the consequences for betrayal," Lamaën said. "The rewards for loyalty are much more appealing: the safety of her family and a very sizeable payment when this is all over. She will remain in line. I'll see to it."

Lidda placed her hands, palm down, on the table to either side of her plate. "That settles everything then. Lord Fonivan, we depart tomorrow. Huuh will be accompanying us, but no one else. Don't let that give you any ideas. If anything happens to me, Ezuna will know immediately. Your horse will die, as will numerous others, I'm sure. Understood?"

Rudiger nodded. "Understood." Something didn't make sense. With only Huuh along, it would be easy to get at her. He could overpower Huuh with breaking a sweat. The threat to Borisin's life was a worry, yes, but there had to be a limit to the range of her connection to the dragon. If he could just find that out, and wait until they were beyond it… Lidda had to have concerns that her threats were not enough to protect her.

Which meant there was something else going on.

She wouldn't do this unless she could be certain of her safety. Which meant he had to figure out what her additional precautions were before killing her.

"Good." Lidda leaned over and kissed Malef, then stood up. "I'll see you in my chambers later, my love, but first, finish your meal. Lord Fonivan, I'm sorry to interrupt your meal, but please escort me back to my apartments."

Rudiger finished chewing the piece of pheasant he'd just put in his mouth, and stood up. He bowed. "Of course, your Majesty."

Lidda glided around the table and to the doors. There she rapped on them and a moment later, servants on the other side opened them.

Rudiger grabbed one more bite of food and followed her.

Two Palace guards moved into place behind Lidda, but she waved them away. "General Lord Fonivan will escort me."

"I should remind you, your Majesty," Rudiger said, "that I have no weapon should you be threatened."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I doubt that will happen, and if it does, I'll trust to your superior strength."

They walked in silence after that. Rudiger watched her carefully—not so much for her protection, but to ponder what her game was.

A pair of Palace guards at the entrance to her apartments opened the doors as she approached, and she and Rudiger entered. In the entry chamber, she waved away a group of servants who flocked to her side.

When the servants had cleared the room, she faced Rudiger and looked up at him with a smirk. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together, Rudiger." She then turned away from him, and strode over to the wine table along the wall. She poured herself a goblet and took a sip. "Believe me, I dislike the idea as much as you do, but we will both need to learn to live with it. Wine?"

Rudiger shook his head. "What the fuck's really going on here, Lidda?"

She smirked again. "You'll find out tomorrow, Rudiger. I promise." She approached him again, sipping at her wine. "For now, just know that I am going to let you carry...what do you call it? Slay? Yes, Slay. I'm going to let you carry Slay. However, I need to remind you of the dangers of turning Slay against me."

Maybe she was nervous about her safety. Why else did she need to keep reminding him of the consequences? She still had to have something else up her sleeve though, even if she wasn't entirely convinced it was enough.

"Nothing to say?"

"There a point?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I suppose not. You may return to your apartments now. I'll even let you go without an escort. A show of trust."

With a shake of his head, Rudiger turned for the doors.

"Oh," Lidda said. "You'll find Slay already there when you arrive. I had it delivered while we were at dinner."

"Thanks," Rudiger said and continued to the door. He reached for the handle.

"Oh, one more thing."

He stopped and turned around.

"I've also had my lookalike delivered to your apartments. I know it's a long shot that she'll conceive in one night, but you never know. If she does, everyone will think it was Malef, I can claim the brat, and not go through the whole pregnancy shit. I'll have both the heir to the throne and the heir to Daemonslayer."

Rudiger forced a smile. "How will you know if the child is mine or Malef's? After all, you told him to sleep with her."

Lidda snorted and spat out some of her wine. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Malef won't sleep with her. He's too noble for that."

"Yeah, well, seems like he and I think similarly then."

Lidda shrugged and took another sip of wine. "A shame. But she'll be there if you change your mind. Good night, Lord Fonivan."

"Fuck you."

She laughed as he left the room.