Chapter 71: Congratulations

So here it is. The long awaited, by my publisher at least, account of the coronation of Her Majesty, Cirilla Elen Fiona Riannon, Empress of the Greater Nilfgaardian Empire, Queen of Cintra, Princess of Brugge and Duchess of Sodden. Heiress to Inis Ard Skellig and Inis An Skellig, and Suzeraine of Attre and Abb Yarra.

It was an incredible time an amazing time and so much happened there in that fairytale duchy of Toussaint, but even as I sit here now, in a road-side tavern a weeks hard riding to the north. I can't think where to begin.

It was the site of my greatest triumph and also the place of my greatest failure. People tell me now that both of those events will pale in comparison to those events that will come afterwards but right now?....

Right now I don't know where to begin.

As I have mentioned previously I was waiting on the production of a couple of items before I headed south and truth be told I was chafing at the delays. But I couldn't do without either item so I spent my time making notes on the trials of the Witcher schools as well as tidying up some of my more academic work and sending it all off to be compiled, edited and bound by the university.

The rest of my family had departed for the south some weeks earlier, Emma to go and represent the Mercantile interests of the Coulthard family. She had also been invited to come along to help represent the Redanian treasury in the coming negotiations as the chancellor of Redania had been summoned to give account of the Kingdom before the new Empress. I don't know who was at the root of this invite but it strikes me as unlikely that the Chancellor himself will have sent that word as he is an older man. Very old money and equally as set in his ways.

Mark was there as both the Baron von Coulthard and Arch-Bishop of Tretogor. It seems silly to me now but I still didn't know how I felt about Brother Mark back before I set off to come south.

Sam was there as being the Lord Kalayn. His title had not yet been set. He was hoping to be named as Count Kalayn but our families political enemies were kicking up a fuss that our family was beginning to become owners of quite a bit of land in Redania and they saw that as our being power hungry. Sam was playing it cool and continuously playing up to the fact that he was still actively serving as part of the military rather than just looking after his own power and wealth. He was doing quite well at it too but the fact that the Kalayn name was being said in the same breath as their being declared as heretics, as in “Those Heretic Kalayns,” was counting against him.

The other problem that we were having was my role in the freeing of the Princess Dorn. Her suddenly coming back to life and the freeing of that country from under the yoke of...whatever it was formerly under the yoke of had resulted in quite a bit of resentment from the Southern Nilfgaardian lords. The country's status and the status of the Princess herself was still a little up in the air but a large contingent of the standing Nilfgaardian army had been sent to her nation. I wondered at the time if this was some kind of gesture. They were on their way but hadn't got there yet meaning that they could turn aside at any time but they were also still marching through the neighbouring states which, by obscene coincidence, were also the states that were complaining the loudest.

My absence was being seen as being cowardly, despite the often repeated line that my duties were keeping me in the north, but I was looking forward on heading south and seeing if any of those accusations would be said to my face.

Then there was the fact that Francesca was going to be there and I couldn't wait. We had already been told by letter which had been confirmed by other people that wherever the Empress goes, Francesca was sure to follow and I was desperate to see my little sister. It has been said by many that my parents had kept trying with their children until they finally got it right and when they did get it right, in producing Francesca, they got it so right that they didn't bother having another go. I had last seen her when she was fourteen, she had gone south to court when she was sixteen in an effort to join the then heir to the throne's entourage. It had been considered a long shot by many, including me, but it seemed to have paid off as nothing could stop my sister when she was in a full on charm offensive and somehow, she and the Empress had managed to become friends. Another thing that made our enemies nervous.

So all in all I was resentful with the affairs that kept me in the north.

In the end though Emma had put her foot down and declared that I was going to come south the day before the Empresses coronation. That deadline was passed on to the contractors that were constructing those special items for me and the dwarf and gnome in charge of the construction of those items nodded, counted the truly ridiculous amount of money that I gave them and told me that the things would be ready in time.

I did have one thing in my favour. Where Emma goes, now too goes Laurelen. One of the benefits of having a Sorcerer as an all-but-sister-in-law, means that the use of a transport gate is much more feasible.

That and I had to go and deliver my Thesis to the faculty of Oxenfurt university.

It was awful. Possibly the most terrifying experience of my life.

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Yes, including all the monsters that I've had to face. Because then I had some kind of outlet, I could hit them back, scream shout or otherwise carry on. I even had the potential of Kerrass along as back up.

But this time I was on my own before half a dozen old, grumpy men. At least one of who's work I had systematically destroyed in the writing of my thesis proving that not all monsters were natural and that indeed some monsters would go out of their way to hunt and sleep in areas that the old man in question had declared was quite impossible.

He hadn't taken it well but it seems that he had been brought to the panel in an effort to get under my skin on the grounds that, to properly exhibit some academic work then it needs to be challenged by other people and I needed challenging.

He called me a hack and a drunken wastrel who expected to get by on the money that my family had sent me during the many misspent hours on the road with a fraud.

I called him a dried up old stick who wouldn't know a genuine monster if it jumped up out of the primordial sludge that the Pontar had become and bit him in half. I argued that he would still be complaining that the monster in question couldn't possibly exist while he was still disappearing down the thing's gullet.

He didn't take it well.

But at the same time I passed. I had a briefly and excruciatingly nerve-racking period while I waited outside the office for my results. My tutor had made his own opinion on the matter and had come out to keep me company.

“How do you think you did?” he asked me, smiling.

“Flame but how can you ask me that?” For reference I was standing facing the wall and leaning on it using only my forehead.

“You must have some idea.” He teased. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“I really really don't. I will say this though. If I don't pass because of that shrivelled turd of a Professor then I'm going to take this opportunity to kill him on the grounds that he shouldn't be allowed to pollute the minds of perfectly innocent students with his assumptions, prejudices and ignorance.”

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinions Frederick,”

“Which is precisely what his are, opinions. If he had actually faced down a charging basilisk like my source has then I might hold those same “opinions” in higher regard but I'm fairly confident that he hasn't lifted his arse up from the arm chair in which he formed those opinions for two decades.”

Fortunately for both of us the door opened then and we were invited back in where the six of them told me that I had passed unanimously.

“Hang on,” I said glaring at my enemy who was grinning at me from behind the desk. “You hate me. I've spent most of my academic career telling everyone who'll listen how utterly wrong you are. But you voted for me to qualify?”

“Why yes,” said the old man straightening and taking a glass from the tray of port that was being passed around. “I haven't had this much fun in years. Your theories on the mutation of the species are most enlightening of course.”

“Bastard,” I said into his twinkling eyes.

So that's my other piece of news. I am now a fully credited Proffessor of Anthropology of the university of Oxenfurt. They did ask me whether I wanted to be referred to as Professor or Doctor. I told them to call me Professor as I wasn't sure that I would be able to look Shani in the eye if they called me Doctor. We spent some time discussing my subjects, lecture availability and areas of expertise when a couple of things were made clear to me. The first was that the University was proud of my wanderings and the work that I had done to bring to light various things and to raise the public profile and opinion of what the university was capable of. They told me that they hoped that I would continue in that regard and looked forward to reading future chapters. I was told that it had been defined and codified that the thing that I would be known for would be the introduction of the tome “On Witchers,” by me. The first volumes of which would be collected from the previous articles that I had written as well as some of the more academic texts that I had provided.

It should also be mentioned that I needed to add a couple of chapters on the history of the Witchers as to where they came from and such. I haven't really gone into them here as the explanation is rather dry and I haven't found anything concrete enough to set to paper.

Kerrass has no understanding of who the first Witchers were or the specifics of how they were created either so I wouldn't suggest that it would be a good idea to ask him.

They asked me about my immediate plans for the future and I told them that that was a little up in the air as I wasn't sure how free Kerrass was and even if he would want to carry on our journeys together. I told them all that I would be seeing him at the coronation and would be able to talk to him then. I promised that if we were going to set off on the road straight away then I would at least let them know, otherwise they had a series of lectures that they wanted me to give as well as a book that needed compiling and proof reading.

I was also told that the Arch chancellor of the university was heading south for the coronation himself and as such my graduation was going to happen there so that my family could see it happen. I accused them of the viva just being there to satisfy their own sick senses of humour as they already knew that I was going to pass.

I also commented that they hadn't bothered to deny it.

But I rode back in good spirits, stopping off at the Dwarven smiths who presented me with the items that I had ordered with a certain air of royalty deigning to allow me to touch the crown jewels.

He had done me proud and all of my frustration at the amount of time it had taken to make and the cost of the items vanished as I accepted a demonstration of the one piece and held the other up to the light.

I rode up to the castle and through the gates to find Captain Froggart of the family guard practically hopping from one foot to the other in frustration.

“You're required at the castle sir.”

“So? Who by and what for?”

“Sir,” The Captain glared at me, his head cocked slightly to one side.

“No seriously Captain who requires me?”

“I do,” came a voice from the horse trough.

“What?” I stamped over to the water and looked in to see Emma and Laurelen looking out of the water at me.

“Why are the two of you in a horse trough?” In my defence it was the first thing that came to mind. Not my wittiest moment of repartee but there you go.

“Because it was the first chance we had of knowing where you were.” Emma was being snippy. Never a good sign.

“Okay?”

Emma sighed. “Captain Froggart?”

“Yes ma'am.” I had that much warning before I was liberally soaked in ice cold water.

“Wake up Freddie, it's time for you to come south. The Empress is asking for you.”

“Why's the Empress asking for me?”

“She won't tell us. She keeps saying a single line over and over again which is “The interesting thing about being Empress is that you don't have to explain yourself to anyone,”.”

“But she's not empress yet.”

“Do you think that matters to the legion of Imperial Guard that follow her around, practically vibrating with the desire to do violence to anyone that might annoy her,”

“Fair point,”

“So get yourself changed and be in the castle entrance in twenty minutes when there'll be a gate waiting for you.”

“But...”

“No time for that.”

“But I...”

“No time for that either, off you go.”

The image vanished from the water. I spent some time staring down into the trough debating whether or not it would be needlessly petty to piss into the water, or spit or something.

Probably needlessly cruel to the horses though.

“Sir,” Captain Froggart prompted.

“I'm surprised at you Captain I thought we were friends.”

“With respect sir, I am under orders to physically drag you up to the keep where there is a bath waiting that I am to throw you into whether you are dressed or not. If you are not ready for transport when the gate is established I have been told in certain terms that I will be turned into a cow, a female one, and made pregnant, before being milked every day for the rest of my life.”

“Yikes.”

“I think my response was a little more...forceful than that sir, so if I might suggest that we...” He gestured up the hill towards the keep and I allowed myself to be led.

There was indeed a bath. I managed to shave and get into some fresh clothes in time for the gate to be established. I already knew that my sister had arranged for more appropriate attire for the courtly proceedings of Toussaint and that those garments would be ready by the time that I arrived. So the only thing that I needed to take were my weapons and armour, my deliveries from the dwarf and myself.

Why did I take my weapons? Because Kerrass was going to be there. As well as doing a lot of writing I had been training hard while we had been separated and I absolutely expected for him to demand a match or three.

That and I also had some hopes that I might run into Sir Robart de Radford who I'm told was going to be there. As it turns out, he wasn't but I still packed my spear and knife. Joking aside I didn't really think about it. My weapons went everywhere with me now and rightly so. Kerrass had drilled these habits into me and he was correct to do so. Even during my trips to and from Oxenfurt I still wore my leathers and had the spear strapped to the saddle next to me. Maybe that makes me one of these “street toughs” that people preach against in pulpits up and down the country, I can't answer for that but I was enough of a believer in luck that the one time that I didn't strap my spear to my side when going for a walk would be the one time that I got attacked by someone.

But I was waiting there in the entrance hall, my hair might still have been wet and the skin on my face was still burning from how quick the shave had had to be but I was ready.

If you've never had to travel by gate it's the strangest thing to watch. I'm not going to recommend it or warn you against using gate travel but just be aware that it comes with it's own challenges. The first is that it makes a mess which is why a lot of magic users prefer to create the gates outside where there is less random debris to be caught up and thrown around by the gates in question.

It looks like water spiralling down a hole. Only the water is inky black and there is runic writing on the outside of the hole. I had travelled once before and I thought that I was prepared for this journey. That was a lie. It still looked so odd, so unearthly as you look at this hole that has just been ripped into existence that I stood staring at it for a solid thirty seconds trying to properly see it and take it in. Until Laurelen's voice came from a mirror that was nearby.

“Step through the damn gate. We haven't got all day.”

As though kicked, and feeling much younger than I actually am I picked up my boxes and bags and jumped through the gate.

Touissant greeted me with warmth, lots of noise and the perfume of many different kinds of flowers all at once. It was an assault on my senses, bright colours clashed in my eyes, scents arrived in my nostrils and the sounds of people cheering as well as the distant sounds of hoof beats and combat.

“Come on, step off the platform.” A man in ludicrously coloured Red and Yellow tabard with a frilly ruffed collar and a beret yelled at me. “You're the Coulthard gate aren't you?”

“What?”

I would have laughed then if I hadn't been left disoriented by the gate and the arrival in Toussaint. He had a pair of lenses wedged on top of his nose and a wooden board in his hand that held a set of notes. There was a table nearby with an egg timer on it. He also had a ludicrously oversized moustache which he blew out in exasperation.

“Clear the portal, damn your eyes. Do you think you're the only transport coming in today?”

Startled and feeling a little silly, I sheepishly picked up my packages and moved off the platform.

The man harrumphed as I did so making himself an even greater figure of comedy.

It turns out I was standing on a smallish wooden platform with steps up to it and so I carried my bags off it and down to the bottom where I found Laurelen waiting for me. I hadn't seen her for a couple of months and we embraced warmly.

“It's good to see you,” I said, “despite your ordering of Captain Froggart to tip a bucket of cold water over me.”

“That was your sister,” she said grinning, “although I will admit that it was funny to see. Here let me look at you,” She frowned at my face and adjusted my clothing a little. “We need to get you off to get changed.”

“But I'm wearing my best...”

“They might have stood you in good stead in the North but down here it's a whole other thing. Just give your things to...”

A servant appeared wearing Coulthard livery. I had never seen him before in my life but he whisked my bags and packages out of my hands and set off at a run to the palace.

The platform turned out to have been set up in the gardens of Toussaint palace. The palace itself really is like every fairy tale castle that you've ever seen. Soaring towers of white stone topped by red tiles and huge windows. Flowers under every window and flags rising high over every tower. From where we stood we could see down into the capital city, a sprawling mass of red roofs and painted walls, further down was the harbour and I could see many ships anchored off out in the wide river. The port pilots being ferried around at what looked like a frantic pace as more and more ships arrived and deposited their loads on the docks below.

Toussaint is a wonderful place and I would recommend that, if you can, you go to visit at least once. But I'm not sure that I would want to live there.

There was a stark contrast as well between Toussaint as a whole and the black armoured Nilfgaardians that lined the walk ways and paths in comparison to the gaudily dressed and armoured “Knights Errant,” that strode up and down the walkways. If you do find yourself in Toussaint and you see one of these huge men walking towards you. I advise you to get out of the way. It's not that they're being rude or anything but, due to the armour as well as being too busy looking around for any wrong that they might be able to correct whether wanted to or not, they simply haven't seen you. Also, if you decide to take offence at this, I would just warn you that they are phenomenally good with their weapons and regularly attack hordes of bandits, single handedly and are expected to win.

Which they do.

Do not be taken in by their gaudy armour, over the top manners and ridiculous morals . These men are absolutely justified in their arrogance.

But as the Empress was currently in residence, there was a sharp contrast between these gaudily dressed men and the black armoured, faceless and anonymous soldiers of the Imperial guard who stood, motionless in armour that must have been baking hot. As you walked past them you could see their eyes flitting around. Making notes of everyone and seeing everything.

The contrast between the two was jarring.

I have spoken with a number of residents of Toussaint in the mean time and they tell me that I have not necessarily seen Toussaint at it's best. Toussaint is, apparently, best experienced when it is quieter and not at the centre of a vast international gathering. It was as though the entire place had gone over the top in insisting that we see Toussaint in all it's glory and as a result it lacked some of the subtlety that I'm told exists in the quieter times of year.

In short, Toussaint was everything that I had been led to believe, all of that and more.

“What's that all about?” I asked Laurelen, gesturing over my shoulder at the platform.

“The Lodge put their foot down,” She took my arm possessively and pulled me close. A move that she had copied from Emma. “As there were so many people transporting in from various places there was a concern that the gates would interfere with each other and mishaps would occur.”

“I wish someone had told me that before I walked into one.”

“Oh the danger is long past. But the Lodge decided that there needed to be one person using a gate at a time and always from the same place in an effort to mitigate any problems. Of course the Lodge was ignored at first but After Philippa was done with the offending parties, people soon learned to do what they were told. The Duchess was expansive in her desire to be accommodating and had this platform constructed for the purpose, upsetting the head gardener as his prize rose bush was under there or so I'm told.”

“It's all fun and games,”

“Until someone gets chopped in half by an errant gate it is anyway. I suggested that they could achieve the same effect by having the location be in a cellar but Phillipa wanted it to be somewhere public so that people could see the magic users coming and going.”

“Ahh, politics.”

Laurelen was looking well. She had let her hair grow out since she had been “outed” with our family problems and to all intents and purposes had become my sister's wife. Instead of having a Lord and Lady of the castle we had a Lady and Lady of the castle. The vast majority of the servants didn't care enough to quit over the gender of the person that was giving them orders and the guards of our castle soon weeded out those men who didn't like it who then left to go and pursue other employment opportunities elsewhere. The only problems that had come up was that we had begun to get a bit of a reputation as being a “fighting” castle as anyone who mocked or insulted the “Ladies of Castle Coulthard” could expect to be punched by a listening man or harangued by a listening woman. My sister's stance on the matter was that the old guard hated us anyway for being wealthy and powerful despite being from new money so why not embrace our eccentric reputation and use it for progressiveness. I was all for it despite being a bit concerned that it might alienate some of the older guard.

But yes, Laurelen was looking well. She had put on a little weight since I had seen her last, which suited her as she had been far too thin when pretending to be a servant, and was wearing a beautiful golden dress with Emerald ear-rings and another Emerald stone set in a pendant. She was smiling easily and nodded and waved little greetings to people that she knew and recognised as well as acknowledging those knights who saluted her in passing. I got more than one envious look from those self same knights which I found endlessly amusing in both directions.

“How are they taking it down here?”

“Taking what?”

“You and Emma.”

“Oh,” she laughed, “They find it oddly heroic. Romantic love rather than courtly love was all but invented down here and as a result they seem quite relaxed about it, helped by the fact that the Duchess is a formidable woman in her own right. They do occasionally seem to get confused when someone offers us a slight of some kind as they are used to one of us turning to the man on our arm to “deal with the ruffian” but then we turn to each other and laugh in the idiot's face.”

I laughed with her. “I would like to see that,”

“Oh you will get the chance.”

“How are things going with the Lodge of Sorceresses as a whole?”

I was surprised as Laurelen snorted a kind of laughter.

“Sorry,” she said, “It's kind of funny. Personally speaking I think it would be a good idea if they all just gave it up as a bad idea and tried again. It's almost comical with how badly it all works out.”

“Ariadne did suggest that in her last letter,”

“Yes well. They're all here but for how long I'm not quite sure. Here's how it goes. Phillipa Eilhart thinks and acts like she's in charge but isn't really. She feels out her seniority a bit as she was the one who came up with the idea in the first place. But the truth is that she was kicked out of her position in Redania and humiliated which meant that she was out of “the game” when everyone else was rising to prominence.

“The Empress is a member and the rest of the lodge would do what they were told if the Empress ordered them to but at the end of the day, she is young and is far too busy making sure that the world doesn't tear itself apart so she's hardly ever in attendance. I'm getting most of this second hand you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Madame Yennefer of Vengerberg is a member but declares frequently and often that she is retired from the world of politics. She likes to spend time with her Witcher on a vineyard, near here actually, and generally doesn't care enough to take part. She fell out with the Lodge and Phillipa in particular during the second Nilfgaardian war as Yennefer was “seen” to betray the lodge in an effort to find the young girl who is now the Empress. But, it turned out that the girl turned out to be Empress and listens to madame Yennefer's advice on many things.”

“Is the lady Yennefer taking advantage of that situation?”

“It would seem not. But who can tell what's going on in private. She sits in council meetings and reads her book, much to the annoyance of the Empress' other courtiers. The Lodge wants her to exert her influence over the Empress but daren't press the matter as the Empress is another member and if they piss off Madame Yennefer...”

“Who is so well known for her gentle and tolerant disposition.”

Laurelen giggled, “Quite. If they piss her off then they can kiss goodbye to any influence that they might have with the Empress.

“Triss Merigold is the really powerful one in terms of support from other mages as she's still in charge of the contingent that went north. She doesn't throw her weight around but all that does is give everyone else nightmares about what would happen if she did throw her weight around.

“Keria Metz has picked up a Witcher of her own and has a lot of influence in scholarly circles,”

“Yes I've heard about that. Hasn't she discovered a cure to the plague?”

“Apparently so. It has yet to be proven in the real world but it's cured some reasonable lab specimens. Margarita doesn't care for politics and keeps insisting that the important thing is to build a new magical academy after Aretuza on Thanedd was burned to the ground by fanatics.

“Lady Fringilla Vigo is keeping herself to herself and hardly stirs herself. When I asked Triss about it yesterday it would seem that Lady Vigo is... troubled and doesn't quite know what to do with herself. Legitimacy after the last war has come.... hard for her. Too long hiding and acting undercover maybe.”

“What about the elves?”

“Francesca Findabair and Ida Emean aep Sivney. They are both staying quiet. I suspect that they are waiting to see what the new Empress is going to say about the Elves and other Elder races before they decide what to for themselves.”

“So let me get this straight. Phillipa Eilhart wants to be in charge but if Ms Merigold, Madame Yennefer, The Empress, or Ms Metz actually put their foot down then Ms Eilhart would discover that she's standing on sand. Only Ms Metz and this Margarita person are looking to the future and the whole thing therefore renders the Lodge of Sorceresses a bit redundant.”

“Pretty much.”

“They've won. The world's most powerful monarch is both a woman and a Sorceress in her own right,”

“And from what I've been told, is more powerful than the rest of them put together.”

“Heh,”

“Also, with your Ariadne...”

“She's not my anything,”

“And her friend, Maleficent the dragon Sorceress stepping into the fold as well...”

“How are they settling in?”

“Well, I understand overtures are being made towards both of them. Ariadne tells me that she's wary. She's very aware that people tolerate her at best and that if she suddenly seems to have more power than she should then that could turn the countryside and the male magic users against the lodge,”

We looked at each other, “Again,” we said in Unison.

“So she's being very cautious,” Laurelen went on. “Maleficent has also been approached but not actually invited yet. I understand that she laughed aloud and responded with “You understand that I'm a dragon right? How long is it going to be before I get bored and just fly off?””

I snorted in laughter. “I can see that,”

“Plus it turns out that the two of them know Francesca and Ida from times gone by. It would seem that the dragon and the vampire didn't get on with the Elves but in the intervening times, the dragon and the vampire have gotten over it. You know that old thing about, the enemy I've known for longest is a closer friend than some friends I have?”

“Yes, Ariadne and Maleficent said something similar about each other.”

“So if the two of them join under the original terms of the lodge which is that each member has an equal vote then suddenly there's an “ancient creature” bloc of votes that people would need to take into account.”

“What about you?”

“Do you know, since my relationship with your sister came out, my stock has inexplicably risen with the others?”

“Has it now,”

“Yes. It would seem that I am suddenly in vogue. Truth be told I'm trying to avoid it. They want me to use my influence with your sister to further the Lodge's agenda. Which I'm not willing to do or even think about.”

I found that I was letting out a breath that I had been holding. “Would you take it badly if I told you that I was glad about that?”

She hugged my arm in response. I had become fond of Laurelen since finding out about her and Emma's relationship. The fact that she made Emma so happy was an undeniable part of that and when the two of them were together they were sickeningly cute.

“How's Brother Mark dealing with the two of you?”

A shadow passed over her face but I was too late to decipher what it actually was.

“Best he tells you himself.”

“That bad?”

She shook her head. “There are some things that you should find out from the original source Freddie.”

“Ok. Anything else I should know about before I leap into the monsters den?”

“No I don't think so. Congratulations by the way.”

“Thank you very much. Is Kerrass here yet?”

“He's here. He said to say hello if I saw you before he did. He and the rest of the Witcher contingent are staying at a vineyard close to here. I'm told it's a few hours ride from the town, place called Corvo Bianco. The Empress wanted them housed at the palace but Madame Yennefer made one of her few comments towards governing and told the Empress not to be foolish. Personally I think it would have been rather entertaining to let the Witchers descend en masse into the courtly population of the continent but the Empress saw Lady Yennefer's point and they were put up out at the vineyard.”

“How many of them are there?”

“I think there's around a dozen in attendance. Mostly Cats and Wolves but a couple of Viper's have arrived from wherever they were hiding and I understand that a Witcher from the bear school has come down from the far north.”

“That should be interesting.”

“Maybe. They're currently acting as guards to the Empress' person. A task for which they're ridiculously over qualified but also a little redundant.”

We moved on over to the palace before walking down the hill and over the bridge into the town itself. All the while Laurelen brought me up to speed with all of the little pieces of gossip and courtier politics that wasn't really important but might come up in the near future.

The Coulthards turned out to have been put up in one of the smaller villa's overlooking the outdoor market. As we descended the hill that overlooked the town we could see a vast sea of tents off to where I knew that the tournament ground was. I knew that Sam was out there somewhere along with many of the other competitors in the Empress' coronation games. Apparently they had already been going for a week and would likely be going for several weeks of a month afterwards before a final champion would be crowned. Mark was housed with the Church of the Eternal fire contingent. Again, not because we wanted to throw him out but it meant that there was more room otherwise. As a result I ended up sharing a tiny little villa with my Sister and her Lover.

I assumed, correctly, that Francesca was staying up at the palace.

It was a quaint little square building with a veranda which was covered with plotted plants that were in full bloom. Those flowers chosen because of the strong scents that they generated in an effort to disguise the fact that the already large city had tripled in size due to all the extra visitors as well as all of the merchants and tradespeople that such gatherings attract. It was a nice little villa, the walls were painted to show the story of some knight or another chasing off some kind of monster before returning to the happy embrace of the lady that he rescued. I slept on a pallet in the main room with the single bedroom being used by the women. It seemed that privacy was a luxury that would belong to other people. The downstairs was taken up by three servants that had been provided for us by the Duchess. One to cook, small meals and breakfasts mostly, one to clean and one to “see to” any other needs that might arise. All three were women and I wondered what needs they had been ordered to take care of.

I was grateful for their cooking though. They had obviously been well briefed. Generally, Toussaint cooking mainly involves wine. This isn't really that much of a surprise given the fact that wine is their major source of income, but after you've eaten a few different meals made from the stuff it soon begins to become a bit rich all the time. Over the time that we stayed there though they provided many simple meals such as steak or sausages or varieties of other cooked meats and breads and cheeses without all of the over rich sauces that made me need to visit the outhouses at all hours of the day or night.

As I walked through the doors, just behind the servants who were dropping off my bags and packages I was met by a ballistic big sister to the face who threw her arms round me.

“Congratulations,” she cried giving me a huge sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks,” I said trying, vainly to lever myself off in an effort to do important things like breathing and keeping my ribs from being cracked again. In the end I decided that it was wiser to just accept my fate of being suffocated with affection and hugged her back.

“It's about fucking time,” Emma eventually pulled back and tried to pretend she wasn't wiping tears from her eyes. “I'm so proud of you.”

“Thanks mum,”

“Now now you two,” Laurelen walked past us dragging my bags with her so that they were well out of the way and less likely to get trodden underfoot.

“How are you doing big sister of mine?”

“Better now that you're finally here. The Empress has been getting into a right state wanting to meet you.”

“Oh holy fire, has she?”

“Yep.” Emma was inspecting me critically. “Did you bother shaving before coming down?”

“Emma, I love you but you gave me twenty minutes warning and I was at the bottom of the castle. You're lucky I'm here at all.”

Emma sighed theatrically. “Sweetie?”

“What is it?” Laurelen was leafing through some papers that were on a nearby table.

“Be a dear,”

The Sorceress sighed, came over and gripped me by the chin. “Don't move,” she said.

“Ow,” I managed after it felt as though my entire body was on fire for just a split second. All of me was sore. Including my hair. “What the fuck was that?”

“Hey,” both women shouted. “Language in front of your sister,” Laurelen smiled.

“She taught me what the word meant in the first place.

“She would,”

“Oh it's so good to see you.” Emma hugged me again for a long time.

It really was good to see her.

“Are these the latest edicts?” Laurelen asked from the nearby table.

“Yes, Our new Empress is putting the cats amongst a whole flock of pigeons.”

“What's that?” I asked as I inspected some nearby jugs for which ones were wine and which ones were water. It's much hotter in Toussaint and I was already feeling the need for a drink.

“The Empress is publishing her opening Imperial orders to be enacted from when the crown is placed on her head.” Emma explained taking the cup out of my hands. “ You can have a drink when you get changed.”

“What's wrong with what I'm wearing?”

“You'll bake in that. You think it's hot now? Wait until you're in one of their giant ball rooms with their chandeliers and people milling around.”

“And you've had a few more glasses of wine,” Added Laurelen scanning the papers. “Oooh that's going to piss off the church.”

“Which ones that?” Emma asked her pushing me towards the bit that would, presumably, end up serving as my bed. I could see that there was a new suit laid out there. Coulthard colours but brighter and more to stand out. My sister had that look that said that she wasn't going to be distracted from what she was doing so I started getting changed.

“This one about Imperial justice being the final line of defence.”

“Yes, I thought you might like that one.”

“She's going to find it hard to enforce.”

“Yes, but still.”

I cleared my throat noisily. “Could you translate what you're talking about for the guy that's just turned up.”

“Well,” Emma traded some amused glances with Laurelen. “You know that the Empress is getting crowned tomorrow right?”

I glared at her before she burst out laughing. “Oh put your male pride away Freddie.”

I told her to do something obscene.

“Maybe later,” she said firmly. “But she's trotting out what her first orders are going to be. The idea is that she gets crowned with all the pomp and ceremony that Toussaint can muster but when that's done she's not going to any of the many many balls that are being thrown in her honour. Instead she's going to a private study with a few people that she trusts and she's going to spend a good few hours signing bits of paper. This is going to ratify various treaties, trade agreements and put new laws into place.”

“Doesn't sound like the worst idea I've ever heard.”

“No. The other thing that she's doing is to tell everyone in advance what those orders are so that people can start getting into the swing of things in advance. So they're being published. That's what's causing the vast majority of the gate traffic by the way,” This last bit was said as an aside to Laurelen.

“I was wondering. I had thought that most people who were going to come here were already here.”

“They are.”