Enlightened Empire

Chapter 284

Atau's own pulsing headache woke his tired mind. With a groan, he tried to raise his body, but his eyes were pressed closed from pain and his arms felt weak. After a second of struggle, he sank back down into his bed and stretched out his limbs.

Wait, this isn't my bed.

Although it had been years since he last slept in his Saniya home, the feel of one's own bed wasn't something that anyone would forget so easily.

This one was much softer than his own, lined with smooth, expensive cloth. Even more, there was a fresh scent to the sheets, as if they were frequently cleaned. This wouldn't be the case with his own, which hadn't been used in years. The only thing he recognized from his own bed was the faint stench of sex that had settled above everything.

Confused, Atau fought back his headache and forced his eyes open. Promptly, he was even more confused.

As he stood up, his head began to pulse in pain again, and the room began to spin like his ship at high seas. At least in this regard, he had ample experience, so he managed to stay on his feet. At the same time, once he removed the blanket he realized that he was naked, and there were no clothes anywhere in sight. With no better options, he inspected the unfamiliar room he had woken up in.

This place was strange, set up like a normal bedroom, with a bed, a nightstand and a single table and chair as well as several filled book cases. In the corner stood a small shrine, though he didn't know what or who it was dedicated to. The expensive tapestry along the walls was kept in soft colors, and the motifs were largely of herbivores. This was much unlike a warrior's room, and looked more like the home of a noble lady. Yet despite its inviting appearance, the room had no windows.

Even so, there was still plenty of light. Half a dozen oil lamps were hung up all around the room and illuminated it brightly. Next to the bed, Atau found a bowl filled with small, white pellets. When he licked one, he realized that it was sugar.

Now he was even more confused. Who was the master of this strange room and why was he here? All he could remember from the previous night was that he had been drinking. What had happened? Did he play too hard yesterday and forgot? If so, why was he alone, where was the young noble lady he expected to wake up next to him? Did he get abducted? Maybe by Mayu, or someone else?

His bad hunch intensified when he looked at the only door in the room. This wasn't a sliding door like what would be usual for a medalan bedroom. Instead, it was a solid wooden gate with hinges of heavy iron. With trepidation, Atau tried the door handle, but against his imaginations, the door opened smoothly and without a sound.

Since he was naked, he only leaned his upper body out of the door, but the view didn't reveal anything new to him. Out in the hallway, the style of luxury and whimsy continued, with a soft carpet and more expensive tapestry.

However, Atau didn't have time to care. He still wasn't wearing any clothes, and he still didn't know where he was. Even out here, he couldn't find a single window. He didn't even know what time of day it was, let alone his location. He strained his ears to follow the sound of human activity, but the entire building seemed eerily quiet, like a dead forest.

All of a sudden, a noise from behind made him jump. He turned and charged back into the bedroom, but came up empty again. Once more, he found no person, not even a shadow. But this time, something was different: He saw his own clothes folded up on a chair.

That's what I was wearing yesterday.

As he held up his undershirt, he fell into deep contemplation. The shirt was clean, but it was stretched out and almost ripped at the neck, as if someone had tried to drag him away by force.

What happened?

Still groggy from his hangover, Atau didn't have the capacity to think too deeply, even though he had repeated the same question many times. So instead, he thanked his stars that they had provided him with something to cover his shame and wore his old clothes. At least he would just be lost, hung over, and confused now, and no longer naked.

Once again, he left the room, this time for good. He followed the long corridor and checked out the decorations on the walls in more detail. Some of them were the same as the ones in the bedroom, fancy tapestries from a fancy household, which reinforced his view that this was the home of a woman. However, every couple steps, in between the tapestries, a firearm was hung up on the walls as decoration. From simple matchlock rifles to fancy pistols, the weapons came in all shapes and sizes. Some of them, Atau couldn't even identify.

These should be custom-made, right?

Either way, the appearance of so many weapons made him even more suspicious. Were these weapons hung up by the same person who owned the bedroom? Or by another member of the household? Had he slept with the daughter of some noble lord who also owned a collection of firearms? What sort of mess had he gotten himself into this time?

I'll never drink again, he swore, as he always did when he woke up in an unknown bed.

As the cobwebs in his head cleared, Atau also became more and more alert. So he took one of the longer rifles on the wall off its hinges and weighed it in his hands. Although there was no powder or ammo around, he could still use this one as a half-decent staff. It wouldn't do much good if the owner of all those weapons showed up with a loaded one, but at least this way, he wouldn't feel quite so helpless.

Thus armed with some confidence, Atau sneaked along the corridor and rounded a corner, when he finally saw the light. In the distance before him, past another windowless corridor, he found a large door, which stood open just enough to show it wasn't locked. Through the slit, the door let in the sunlight from the outside world.

Finally.

His steps sped up to escape this nightmare and return back to the outside world. At least then, he could start to answer some basic questions like where or when he was. His fingers clasped the rifle's barrel as he got closer and closer to the opening. Tensions rose, and he was ready to make a dash for the door before something unexpected happened. Just as he gathered strength in his legs, a voice from the left surprised him.

“Good morning, admiral.”

Atau's heart jumped, and so did his feet. On instinct, he stepped away from the voice with his left leg, turning in the direction of the danger at the same time. In the process, he brought his improvised club between himself and the new arrival in less than a second. It was the movement of a skilled warrior, but it was pointless. Only after his instinctual reaction did he realize that the owner of the voice posed no danger to him, since the owner was a woman.

“Did you rest well, Admiral Atau?” Before him, half hidden inside a small corridor, stood Tamaya di Pluritac, as calm and elegant as always, with the usual cold smile on her face. Today however, there was a dangerous energy around the spymaster he had never felt before. Atau had never understood Tamaya's reputation as 'witch' and 'sinister woman', but today he felt like he had caught a glimpse of her true nature. Her narrowed eyes looked at him with a cold glint. He felt like prey trapped in a net, being stared at by a spider. Still, he wouldn't be intimidated by some little girl.

“What is this place?” he asked, rather than answer her question. Even though he had now met someone he knew in this strange place, the dangerous feeling around Tamaya still prevented him from relaxing.

“This is my home, of course,” she said, and her cold smile grew wider. “I see you have already taken a liking to my collection of firearms. What do you think about this newest model? I had it specially made by one of the arcavian masters and helped with the design myself.”

At this point, Atau realized that the girl was also holding a gun of her own. But unlike Atau who held his like a club, she held hers the way it was intended. The weapon looked loaded too, and primed towards his chest. This one was a triple-barreled weapon, which would make it good for three shots. From this close of a distance, not even an amateur would miss him, and he didn't think he was lucky enough to expect three separate misfires. The distance between them wasn't conducive to defensive actions either. Tamaya stood just far enough away that he couldn't hope to surprise her.

Too far to rush, too close to gamble.

To increase his chances, Atau took a step forward, but the cold woman retreated back into the corridor she had sneaked out from and retained their distance. A frustrated Atau could only stop and give up on his immediate safety. Once again,he would have to try something he wasn't good at: diplomacy.

“What are you trying to do? Do you want to kill me?” he asked and motioned to the weapon Tamaya had still trained towards his chest. Despite his accusations, the woman just wouldn't stop smiling.

“Husband, please do tell me you remember what you did last night.”

“Husband? What-”

All of a sudden, as he watched Tamaya's shallow smile that looked equal parts bitter and cold, as well as her strange way of address, something in his head clicked. With the reminder, Atau fought through the numb pain in his head and drove away the fog. His mind was flooded with wild memories in an instant.

The time they spent together at the banquet, how they had driven away Mayu and then continued to drink their sorrows away. How he had brought her home since she could barely walk anymore. How she had dragged him into her room when they had arrived, and how he hadn't resisted. How she had ripped at his shirt when she tried to take it off. And he also remembered the scent of her skin, the very same he had smelled on the bed when he woke up earlier.

As his memories flooded back, his face drained of all color. He had done some stupid things in his time, but this one may just be the dumbest of them all.

“Wait a moment, that was just-”

“Just what, husband?” she interrupted before he could finish, and her glare intensified. “Would you like to explain yourself?”

However, Atau had seen all kinds of scenes in his life, so he wasn't easily shaken. In fact, the scene he was most familiar with was a jealous lover, so he calmed down and began to explain rationally.

“You know that what happened between us yesterday was a mistake. Neither forced the other, and neither really meant it. We were both drunk, and in a bad mood, eager to vent somewhere.”

“Yes. Yes, we were.”

Now that Tamaya had responded positively, Atau became eager.

“In that case, I think we should just forget what happened yesterday. I don't think we're compatible, I'm sure you agree with that. And I don't think it would be good for either of us if we continued some kind of relationship. I know you like someone else, and I'm not a good man anyways, so it's no loss for you.”

Just as he was about to feel good about his argument, he saw Tamaya's smile turn into a sneer, before she raised her gun just the tiniest bit.

“Is that how you usually trick your girls into giving up on you, husband? You think those excuses will work on me?”

“Uhm...” Confronted with the naked truth, Atau had no idea how to respond.

“Do you think I can just forget yesterday and act as if nothing happened?” Tama asked. “Maybe you did not lose anything last night, but I most certainly did. How will I explain my lack of innocence in the future? How will I find a husband like this?”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

Confronted with her accusations, he was annoyed. While he knew that she was right, he couldn't just return her virginity to her, could he? However, there was a bad hunch that crawled up from his stomach. As it moved higher up, it spread to his face and widened his eyes.

“Husband, you should already have the answer in your heart. What else is there to do when an unruly boy seduces a virtuous girl? I believe we should get married.”

“That's...”

Without an answer, his eyes hovered back over to the open door. This time, he really felt like running off. But when he glanced back, he could already see Tamaya raise her gun again. There was no way to run, all he could do was face the consequences of his actions.

“What, you thought you could ruin me for a quick night of fun and then run away?” she asked, still in the same indifferent tone. “Since Corco is both of our master, he has the right to decide over our marriage. If I tell him about what happened here, I believe he will approve our marriage without question.”

“Then why even talk to me in the first place?” an annoyed Atau asked. “Why wouldn't you just go to Corco, rather than holding a gun to my head?”

“Well, dear husband, I do need to guarantee that you are honest, don't I?” Her laughter was bright and frank for the first time today, but to Atau it sounded like the clanging of chains. “And I needed to show you that you cannot play with me like you do with your previous women. For now, we will establish some ground rules, and this way I know you will listen. I understand you quite well, husband. And I understand your nature. Whatever floozy you are inclined to play with overseas, I cannot manage. After all, I cannot control what you do halfway across the world. However, do believe that there is nothing in this country I cannot see. So while you are in Medala, you best restrain your crotch and remain faithful, husband. Or face the consequences.”

Although his fists tightened at such an obvious threat, there was nothing he could do or say. He knew that the woman had the ability to make good on her words, and she was still holding that gun.

“That was all I had to say. You may leave now.”

As soon as Tamaya lowered her weapon, Atau rushed for the exit, scared both for his life, and for his carefree future.