Will of the Sun Excerpt

       In a grove hidden amongst the trees on the outskirts of Kaveh-li, a long-forgotten gazebo had once been nearly reclaimed by the nature around it. Now, however, simple wooden beams reinforced where the roof had been weakened, and much of the rot and mildew had been carefully removed. It was by no means a masterful repair job—no one who knew of this place knew any of the ins and outs of repairing a gazebo—but it was functional, shielding the space from the elements and providing a semblance of professionalism to these consistent meetings. I settled in one of the chairs we’d dragged out here in years past, placing my bag on the table as I reached up to my seaglass anchor, connecting to the energy coursing through the kalarium wire to send out a message. 

       I’m here.

       It didn’t take long for the bushes to rustle, heralding the arrival of two figures. The young man had soft pink shoulder-length hair pulled back from his face, and his waistcoat was a bright blue over his dark undershirt. The young woman beside him mirrored him, holding a small journal. Her gown was simple but elegant, made with layers in varying shades of violet and magenta, while her hair was braided and twisted into a loose bun, the exact same shade as his. Delicate silver earrings dangled above her shoulders, matched perfectly with her necklace and bracelets, and a shimmering chain decorated with moonstone circled her head. 

       Twin children to the Baronesses of the Myrikae household, Honorables Kyra and Corrin were by all technicalities beholden to my father. However, by their logic, I would be ruling Ilidia for a much larger percentage of their life than my father would be, so their ultimate loyalty went to me. I’d never really been sure how to feel about that. But, regardless of my feelings on the matter, the two of them were my best chance at making a difference.

       “Things’ve been getting worse,” I said without preamble, pulling out my notebook as the two of them settled in the chairs across the table from me. “My list is nearly two pages long. What do you two have?”

       Kyra leaned forward, laying her notebook beside mine. “Just one, but you’ve always been better at recon. Hopefully there’s some overlap.”

       “Most pressing would be Delphrey, Morilen, and Levasa,” Corrin added, pointing to their list. “First two have major food shortages, third’s been dealing with bandits.”

       “Right, I heard about Morilen and Levasa.” I quickly made small markings beside the mentioned names in my notes. “What’s the situation with Delphrey?”

       “Storms,” Kyra sighed. “Took out almost half their food storage, along with a lot of homes. They’re trying to rebuild, but that’s hard on empty stomachs.”

       I winced. “They’re going to need a lot more than we can afford to give. Will you guys have the time to help with the rebuilding?”

       “We’re going to do what we can,” Corrin sighed. “There’re a few more places me and Kyra’ll need to hit, too. I think we start with Morilen and work our way west. Where else are we needed?”

       The conversation stretched on, comparing our notes and mapping the best path for the twins to travel. We budgeted as best we could without yet knowing just how much we’d have to work with, taking every opportunity to hopefully mitigate an issue without requiring money. Thankfully, the Myrikae Baronesses gave the twins far more freedom than my father gave me, and allowed them to make consistent trips around Ilidia, where they could personally see to the major catastrophes and help however their gifts allowed.

       I was able to do more in the heart of the kingdom anyways, using my illusions to tackle more complicated problems. Such as the next one Kyra brought up.

       “The new law His Majesty’s been trying to pass.”

       I immediately groaned. In my father’s infinite wisdom—a.k.a. greed— he’d decided to impose a new tax based on how many hours people worked in a week. He said it was to encourage people to work more, thus boosting the economy or some foolishness, but the goal he put forward was simply unattainable! There had been protests against the cursed proposal for more than a month, but my father had been deaf to every concern.

       “Yeah, that’s…pretty much how we reacted,” Corrin said sympathetically. “We were hoping you had a solution?”

       And an icy dread settled in my chest. Oh no…

       “I…I did,” I whispered. 

       Kyra and Corrin exchanged a look. “But…?” he prompted.

       I groaned. “Did you two hear what happened at the Hall yesterday?”

       Kyra shrugged. “Rumors, but no specifics. Why, what happened?”

       “We were meeting to discuss the encroaching end of the Starlight Prophecy. King Evered proposed a tournament to find the Shifter and Shatterer, an idea which my father and Princess Erika eagerly embraced. But they were far more interested in the entertainment factor than actually resolving the prophecy. I…I lost control of myself. Princess Erika and I got into a shouting match, and I slapped her.”

       Corrin let out a shocked laugh, while Kyra sat frozen with a wide-eyed stare. “You slapped Princess Erika!?”

       I winced. “Yeah, it…wasn’t my finest moment. Particularly in retrospect. My father doesn’t have any good reasons to implement this tax save for his own greed; it would be child’s play to force him to denounce it if I could maneuver him into a public conversation about it. But that’s easier said than done.”

       Kyra furrowed her brow. “Why can’t you do it at the advisory next week?” Corrin looked hopeful, but I sighed.

       As the emperor of Ilidia, my father had to at least give the appearance of caring for his people, and a part of that was a monthly meeting with the nobility to discuss current events and receive their opinions on actions he planned to take. It would be the perfect opportunity to get him to denounce the tax, but there was a problem.

       “That was the plan, but after yesterday? I can’t afford to draw attention to myself. I could likely get away with it if he brought the topic up himself, but he won’t. The advisories are always heavily planned ahead of time; he has a list of topics to cover and never—”

       And there, like a spark igniting a flame, finally came an idea. And oh, it was ironic; he himself had given me the final piece of the puzzle.

       “Your Highness?” Corrin asked hopefully. A wide grin spread across my face.

       “I can do it.”