Obran had been listening intently but was still caught off guard, both by the fact he’d been invited to this meeting and worse, now being called upon for an opinion by the King himself; he quickly regained his composure.
“Your highness, first I’d like to say it is an honor to be here,” Obran said. “Your highness, many gremlins I know, myself included, expected our fighting days to be over. If Roma were threatened I’m sure we would mobilize again, but there are no gremlin sell-swords or mercenaries that I know of. However to permanently end the imminent orc threat some may volunteer to fight, perhaps enough for several centuries and that may be enough for your invasion. And it would help if they were added to the legions, as full legionnaires and not just auxiliaries, as well if some were made officers,” Obran said.
“No Roman would take orders from a gremlin,” Gaius, the young prince, said. He seemed annoyed by Obran’s presence.
“We are all Romans now my son. It is something you must get used to,” the King said
“If used well, several centuries could help significantly and some could be made officers of their own kind, of their own units,” Drusus said.
“So senators,” Collatinus said. “Do we have an understanding?”
The elder gremlin Girkus had a defeated look. What would it mean now to be a Roman citizen, Obran thought. What will they expect from us. Girkus and Vax might be sending hundreds of gremlins to their deaths so they could help Dwarves gain their mountains and for Roma to gain riches.
“I will try my best to marshal what volunteers I can,” Girkus said.
“And I’m sure Senator Vax is in agreement,” Collatinus said.
“Of course. Roma will have several centuries of gremlin soldiers,” Vax said.
“Obran, you could also join our expedition, with your record no one would object to you being promoted to a centurion and lead a gremlin century,” Drusus said.
“It would help recruitment, you being the first gremlin officer,” Girkus added.
Obran imagined he would have said no instantly but instead he hesitated.
“Uhm,” Obran said.
“We will leave that for another time. I will speak alone now with young Obran and Tori,” the King said.
There was a momentary silence.
“Yes father,” Gaius said.
“Of course father,” Drusus added.
Everyone stood and saluted the King. Drusus and Gaius and the two gremlin senators started for the door and consul Lucius and Hakar followed.
“You too, Collatinus,” the King said. “I wish for privacy so I may get to know our new citizens better.”
“Of course sire,” Collatinus rose slowly and left the room.
As Girkus walked past Obran he whispered, “Good luck, young gremlin.”
“It is an honor to meet you, senator,” Obran said.
"Hope to see you soon, gremlin warrior," Hakar whispered and chuckled as he left the room.
The guards closed the large door and the King motioned to Obran and Tori to sit next to him at the table.
“Carthagio must die,” the King said.
“I don’t understand your highness,” Obran said.
“Senator Cato has said this to me many times, as well as to the entire senate, and in the forum to the masses. Cato believes we can never live in peace as long as Carthagio exists. Not after they conquered nearly all of Italia and besieged Roma. Many people don’t know this Obran but the dark elves expected us to conquer Carthagio and help rule their lands, not just settle for a colony in Corsica. But our forces were weak and depleted and our navy non-existent but now that has changed and many want war again.”
“Your highness is that why those elves tried to abduct Tori?” Obran said.
“I’m not sure, Obran, but if anything had happened to Victoria, or if she had appeared to run away, things might have gotten unpleasant.”
Tori poured some wine for the three of them.
“Unfortunately, Collatinus has not been able to get to the bottom of this yet and Borrabus denies any involvement,” the King said.
Why is the king telling me all of this, Obran thought?
“Sire a dark elf would never do anything without orders. From what I learned in the war, Borrabus’ elves are absolutely loyal to him and I’m sure the two elves who attacked us were trained soldiers,” Obran said.
Obran felt compelled to tell the King everything he knew, especially if it helped keep Tori safe.
“I know young gremlin but the real question is does Borrabus have help here in Roma or at court and more importantly: what is his final goal?” the King said.
Obran had no idea.
“Fortunately, it won’t be something either of you would have to worry about,” the King said.
“Sire?” Tori said.
“Tori my dear, I can’t be sure of your safety here and both Collatinus and Lucius, my two consuls concur. In fact you might be in more danger inside the castle than outside with Obran in the forest. Whether it is republicans who hate the idea of nobility, or the warmongers who wish to continue the war and will use any incident to force it, or even the traditional patrician senators who are upset by the idea of your union to crown, there are too many risks here. And now these dark elves with plans of their own. My dear, I think it is best if you simply leave us.”
“Leave? But where would I go, your highness?” Tori said.
Obran didn’t know what would be worse, that Tori would marry Gaius or that she would leave Roma forever.
“I will send you home my dear. If that is what you wish,” the King said.
“Sire, is that wise?” Tori said. “I wouldn’t want to be that cause of any problems to your crown.”
“There will be some political fallout but mostly it will be seen as an old man sending a young, honorable princess home; that will become the popular story,” the King said.
“Sire but what about Gaius. He wants to get formally engaged during these celebrations, as a gift to you, and I thought our marriage would help further the peace. Isn’t that why I came here, sir, to help prevent war between our nations,” Tori said.
“I don’t know if anything can stop that now, my dear,” the King said.
“Surely you can,” Tori said.
“I won’t be long for this world, Tori, and Gaius won’t benefit by marrying you. I have underestimated the desire for war. If there is a war your safety here could not be guaranteed. Already the senate has sent me various resolutions made to weaken and isolate Carthagio. Resolutions to strip your territories in Iberia, to increase the indemnity paid, or increase the number of hostages, and it won’t stop there. Soon it will be the size of your fleet or the walls of your city, anything for an excuse to attack. As for Gaius, he is young and brash, he’ll soon fall in love again.”
“Sire, I will follow any order given. You are a wise King as always but I don’t wish to hurt Gaius,” Tori said.
“You have a kind heart my dear but this family will go on. Now you need to worry about the future of your family and your people,” the King said. “However, if you like I can arrange for you to go to the east, to Troya or to our Minoan allies.”
“I will share the same fate as my people, your highness,” Tori said.
“I never doubted it but I am hoping Obran will share your fate as well, at least for a little while,” the King said.
“What?” Obran said.248Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RlytA0Sef
