Well, needless to say, I wasn't particularly happy with all of that. It did mean that Kathyrine wasn't behind it, and that I wasn't going to get knifed in the back if I stayed around her. Having said all of that, I really wanted to get out of that mess and over to the Crystal Empire. If Kathyrine was so safe in Saddle Arabia, why couldn't I just drop her off? Why did Aepnet want me to stay with her until the assassin was caught? Did he seriously not think that an army of Saddle Arabian troops guarding royalty wasn't going to be effective against an assassin if he really wanted to kill Kathyrine? Of course, there was the fact that the assassin came after me first, so let's not forget that. I doubt that they'd be able to find me if I went to the Crystal Empire. Heck if the Crystal Empire didn't work, I'd have to go back to Pony...
...
Anyway, it wasn't more than about six hours before Aepnet showed up. To make matters worse, the other three nobles showed up too. None of them brought more than a token guard force, as Sultan Mesud assured me that a troop movement into Saddle Arabia that was that large would be seen as an act of war. So, they only brought about six guards between them. Not each, total.
Well, like when Kathyrine and I arrived, Aepnet and the nobility were greeted by fanfare and a direct line to Sultan Mesud. I saw them come up the stairs to the palace, and I don't think that Aepnet missed the glare that I gave him. I don't think that any of the other nobles missed it either. Heck, once they were close enough, Oswald spread his wings and hissed at them, something that irked Aepnet, but he didn't comment on it.
Aepnet and Mesud exchanged bows, and we all waited for Mesud to speak.
"I would extend to you a warm welcome, but TD has informed me that the assassin is either one of you, or one of you ordered the assassination." Mesud snorted. "I am not in the habit of welcoming assassins into my lands with open forelegs."
Aepnet bowed again, but it was a little more noticeable than the last time. "Er... dear Sultan Mesud, we are here because we feel that it is dangerous for the Griffonian government to be in Griffonia until the assassin is found. If any more griffins find their way into Saddle Arabia, you will have your assassin."
Mesud silently studied Aepnet for a brief moment before giving Aepnet a glare that rivaled my own. "The moment griffin blood is spilled in my kingdom, all of you will leave. The only one whose company I enjoy is TD."
I gave Mesud a smirk. "You know, you're not too bad either. Definitely a step up from some of the minotaur clan leaders." I turned my attention to the Griffonian leaders. "I imagine that I don't need to tell you for you to know that I hate all of you." I jerked my head towards Oswald. "He hates you too, so it's not just me."
"I understand that our interactions have not always been positive, but you must understand our position, TD!" Aepnet snarled. "An assassin has struck in my kingdom under my very beak. You are clearly not the only being that was targeted."
"I don't care if every griffin ever was attacked," I snapped. "I do not appreciate death attempts. I repeat, the last guy who tried to kill me is now dead, and his clan is banished from the central trading hub in the minotaur lands." I snorted and crossed my arms. "With my track record, I'm going to topple your entire empire if these assassination attempts keep up."
"Do not be flippant with me, boy!" Aepnet snarled. "You--"
Aepnet was cut off when the sound of something slamming on the ground rang through the air. Everybody in the room turned to see Sultan Mesud glaring at everybody, having just slammed the end of a spear into the ground. Now, normally the guy seemed rather even-tempered, but I kinda got the feeling that the last thing that he wanted was to deal with this assassination nonsense. This wasn't Griffonia, it was Saddle Arabia, and he wanted to keep out of their nonsense.
Well, that made two of us. It was late, and I just wanted to freaking go to bed. Once the griffin ambassadors left, I was going to talk to Mesud about getting me out of here and away from all of this. I had a hard time believing that he'd be adverse to the idea. If I'm out of Saddle Arabia, none of the griffins had any reason to be there either.
Anyway, Mesud got mad not long after I did. He was not going to tolerate this nonsense anymore.
"I am not going to tolerate this nonsense anymore!" He snapped. He hooked the spear in his foreleg and pointed it at Aepnet. "YOU brought intolerance, strife, and general unpleasantness to my nation, and potentially an assassin!" He pointed the spear at the three dukes. "YOU, YOU, and YOU are no better than he! He did not say that I would be entertaining the entire Griffonian government!" With one more snarl, he pointed the spear at me and Kathyrine in succession. "YOU and YOU..." His glare faded, and he put the spear down with a pleasant smile, "are delightful guests. You are welcome anytime."
I have to admit, despite the situation, that got a single chuckle out of me. It helped ease a little bit of the tension between us; something I imagined that he planned. He subtly returned my small smirk before turning back to the Griffonian leaders.
"I agreed to take Kathyrine in to keep her safe from the strife plaguing your government. I would have denied the request had I known that you would bring the strife here." Mesud glared at each of the leaders in turn once again. He glared at their bodyguards as well for good measure. "It is late, and I am nothing if not a hospitable sultan. The four of you and your bodyguards may rest here for the night. At eight o'clock tomorrow morning, the usual train between our nations arrives. I suggest that you get on it before it departs, or I will imprison you all for the crime of breaking the peace."
"Doing so would break the peace treaty between our nations, Mesud," Aepnet growled. He fluttered his wings slightly as if to flare them out, but I imagine that he figured that it would be a very dumb idea with Mesud as mad as he was and with Mesud's soldiers all around him. He settled for a small glare of his own. "We will be on that train, but I request that Kathyrine remain under your protection."
"Something that I had agreed to in the first place!" Mesud pointed his spear at Aepnet again. "A letter or messenger between us would have been sufficient to communicate to you that your daughter was alive and well. She will remain so under our care until you have figured out what in the name of the stars is wrong with your backwards country!"
It wasn't until later that Mesud explained to me that a war between Saddle Arabia and Griffonia would have ended in nothing less than Griffonia's utter surrender. Their military had gotten contracts with Las Pegasus arms and armor smiths quite some time back, and the Griffons couldn't compete, even with air superiority. Mesud assured me that the Saddle Arabian army had weapons, tactics, and fortifications that would have made air assaults a bad idea, but he didn't tell me because, and I quote, 'a wise leader doesn't tell his entire military strategy to somebody he just met.'
Fair enough.
Long story short, if Saddle Arabia wanted Griffonia to become Saddle Arabia 2.0: Now with Fewer Griffins Because We Wiped Out Your Military, they could. That is why Mesud felt comfortable saying that kind of thing to Aepnet. Aepnet wasn't in a position to do a single thing about it.
Aepnet cleared his throat and exchanged a few glances with his Dukes. "It seems I have no choice in the matter. You are quite right, Sultan Mesud. Investigating our potential assassin is a Griffonian internal affair."
"Yes. I know." Mesud motioned to a few of his servants. "Your rooms will be made up momentarily. Get to bed, wake up, get out of my country." Mesud turned his back on the griffons, his nose in the air. "We have nothing more to discuss."
I smirked at Mesud and followed one of the servants to the room I know had already been made up for me. I was just as anxious to get to bed as Mesud was to get the griffins out of his country. It was my plan to leave Saddle Arabia once Aepnet was on his way back to Griffonia. I'd take a train to one of their outlying towns, then head on out to the Crystal Empire. I would have taken the train there too, but when Mesud and I had talked between the note arriving and Aepnet arriving, he explained that giving the terrain between Saddle Arabia and the Crystal Empire, building railroads was difficult and expensive. Only a few supply lines had been established, with little thought to passenger lines at that time. I'd have to go it on foot.
Gee, that would be a switch.
I took off my shirt and crawled into the comfortable bed. Oswald perched on one of the bed posts, and put his head underneath his wing to fall asleep himself. I scratched his head feathers before stretching my arms and sinking into the pillow.
* * * *
Every now and again, you have a single trait that can be both a blessing and a curse. Mine was the fact that I slept really lightly. It really helped avoid pranks that people would have played on me when I was at summer camp, or something like that.
The noise that woke me up was Oswald starting to make some sort of squawk, but he made some sort of choking noise instead. The thing that really caused my stomach to clench up was the fact that I heard him burst into flames right afterwards.
I was not alone in that room.
I rolled out of bed onto the floor seconds before a knife hit the pillow right where my neck had been. I shot to my feet and saw a griffin dressed entirely in black, wielding a gleaming knife that would really do some damage. One of mine, actually, and that didn't make me very happy. That was my knife, and he tried to kill me with it! Oh, it was on now.
I moved so that the bed wasn't in the way, and ran towards him. As winged creatures are wont to do, he, or she, took to the air so that my kick missed completely. The assassin was quite silent, never saying a word. Heck, he didn't even make a sound when he flew into the air. He was a tricky one, that assassin.
He swiped down with the knife, and I dodged in time that he hit nothing but air. The strike threw him off balance, and I slammed my fist as hard as I could right in the area where his wing connected to his body. That got some noise out of him. He grunted in pain, and so did I because that punch kind of hurt, and he had to take a moment to recover. The blow was hard enough that I could tell that he was in pain. He growled quietly, and swung the knife at me again. I leaped back, and quickly readjusted so that I was able to jump into the air and latch onto him. In hindsight I should have called for help as Mesud probably had guards patrolling the halls, but I was thinking more about how I was going to beat this guy.
Well, given that I had grabbed onto him, he didn't have enough strength to stay in the air, and he tumbled to the floor. I got on top of him and slammed my fist into the side of his head. He grunted, definitely a male based on the noise he made, and his head snapped to the left. I grabbed the top of his head, right where his mask was, and pulled as hard as I could. If I couldn't beat him, I could at least try to get out of here and tell everybody who he was.
Honestly, I wasn't very surprised.
No, it wasn't one of the dukes, but it was definitely the bodyguard of one of the dukes. I had seen him a couple of times. He never left his employer's side, after all. He seemed like a higher-up. It made sense, of course. Send someone competent to perform an assassination, then leave before the Saddle Arabians got even angrier than they already were. I scoffed and grabbed the bodyguard by the throat.
"Duke Fromme isn't a very subtle guy, is he? He could have tried to be more discreet than thi..."
My words were cut off when I felt a sharp pain right in my back. I had forgotten the most important rule that Tycho had taught me: be prepared for anything. Especially be prepared to disarm your opponent before he stabs you in the back. I fell to the floor, twitching in pain and breathing heavily. It wasn't a flesh wound, I can tell you that.
The bodyguard stood up and chuckled. "And here I was thinking that this was going to be at least a little difficult." I gasped in pain when he took the knife out of my back. "All that training and swagger just to die on the floor like a dog."
Even though my back hurt like... well, the last time I had gotten stabbed, I tried to do a little thinking. He might not try to stab me again if he thought that I was already dead. Overkill didn't really seem like the kind of thing that Duke Fromme was going to go for. I deeply exhaled as if giving the impression that the last breath had left my body. I then held my breath and tried to go as limp as I could. I could only hope that he didn't stay there to make sure that I was really dead.
After a few seconds, the guard scoffed and tossed the knife down on the ground next to me. He walked out of my room and closed the door, presumably to go tell Fromme that one of his obstacles to the throne was out of the way. Well, I wasn't going to let that happen, now was I?
I made sure that he was gone, then sharply inhaled and did my best to sit up. I had just managed to lean the part of my back that didn't have a gaping hole in it against the bed when Oswald resurrected. He let out a loud squawk and flew onto my shoulder. Yeah, he wasn't any happier than he was the last time somebody had tried to kill me, and now that I knew who that was, I wasn't going to let them try again. I gingerly reached towards my backpack and took the bottle with the last of the phoenix tears out. I opened it and poured the last few drops onto my back. I flinched in pain as my skin and muscle mended itself, but I was content that I wasn't going to die. The wound would probably still need a few days to heal completely.
Oswald whimpered and nuzzled the top of my head as I stood up. I was going to tell Mesud about this, and he probably wouldn't be any happier than I was.
I picked up my discarded knife and wiped the blood off of it before putting it back in my knife belt and putting said belt on and grabbing Reginald. I opened the door and walked out towards the throne room. I wasn't sure if Mesud's room was around there, but there would probably be somebody around there who did know. Heck, if the assassin hadn't gotten away yet, I could go for round two with the element of surprise on my side.
However, when I reached the throne room, I heard something quite... interesting.
"The human is dead!" cried a voice that I instantly recognized. "I heard struggling coming from his room when I walked by on a walk to clear my head, and I heard struggling coming from inside! I went to go check, but the door to his chambers burst open, and a griffin clad in pure black pushed past me."
I had to hand it to Aepnet; it was quite the stroke of genius to hire the bodyguard of another duke to knock me off. I reached the throne room and saw Mesud, Aepnet, the three dukes and all of their bodyguards, and Kathyrine all standing around. Mesud looked absolutely furious, as if he wanted to order the deaths of all of them right then and there.
Again, remember what I said about Saddle Arabia being a more powerful nation. Doing so would decapitate their government, leaving a disorganized mess of a country.
Well, my would-be assassin was standing next to Duke Fromme, and I could tell that he was still in a little pain. One of his wings wasn't quite as folded as the other. Given that all of them had their backs to me, save for Mesud, they never saw me coming.
"It is most unfortunate, and I'm sorry," said Aepnet with a low bow. "We will leave Saddle Arabia at once. I apologize for bringing our troubles with us, and it saddens me that TD is no more."
Well, Mesud noticed me approach, and he raised an eyebrow when he saw me raise Reginald into the air right behind my attacker. Before he could say anything, I swung Reginald as hard as I could. The resounding crack that echoed throughout the hall was quite impressive, and he fell to the floor without a sound. The griffins wheeled around and gasped at the sight of me smirking while standing over the fallen bodyguard.
"What Aepnet meant to say, gentlemen, was that he hired the bodyguard of Duke Fromme here to attack me so that he could pin it on Duke Fromme once an investigation revealed who had killed me in my sleep. See, when I was lying on the ground with a knife wound in my back, I didn’t hear anybody else open the door, meaning that the only people who knew I had been attacked were the assassin, and the person he had reported back to."
Busted.
* * * *
Well, Mesud had his guards surround all of the Griffonian leaders, Kathyrine included as a precaution, and take them to jail. Aepnet, being the coward that he was, confessed to the whole thing when Mesud casually mentioned that his laws allowed him to remove Aepnet's wings. It was a lie, of course, but it worked.
So it went like this.
Aepnet realized that the other dukes were becoming powerful. They were gaining more influence, more weapons, and more clan members, and Aepnet feared that his lineage and position was in danger. So, he sent out his butler to drug Kathyrine during a hunt and kill her friends. Then he'd have some poor sucker find her, thus enabling him to use the law that he had only recently created. Boom. New prince.
Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for Aepnet, I found Kathyrine, so Aepnet didn't have to kill any of his subjects. His plan was to kill the recently appointed prince, and pin the crime on Duke Fromme. The other two clans would have gone with him, both to remove a rival and gain more power, while also giving Aepnet a chance to assimilate Fromme's wealth and have one less potential usurper to deal with.
Obviously, he didn't plan on Oswald, but few people do.
After that he sent us to Saddle Arabia to shift any suspicion off of him. He bribed Fromme's bodyguard to kill William to tie up that loose end, then came to Saddle Arabia to "make sure his daughter was safe," while demanding that the other three clans come along so that they didn't try any funny business. From there he goes through with his plan to kill me, and he gets to blame Fromme again, thus setting his real plan in motion once he left Saddle Arabia.
Mesud and I were not amused.
Given that Aepnet had confessed, the other three dukes, their soldiers, and Kathyrine had been set free. Now it was just Mesud, Aepnet, Kathyrine, and I in a small room guarded by Mesud's bodyguards.
"You are quite despicable, do you know that?" Mesud slammed his hoof on the table, causing Aepnet to flinch back. "Not only did you try to murder an innocent being, but you had four of your own subjects killed, and you attempted to wipe out a significant power in your nation just to consolidate your own fading power?!"
Aepnet tried his best to put on a brave face. "W-what I do in my own kingdom is no business of yours!"
"It is when you bring your pettiness into my country, Aepnet." Mesud leaned in close until he was nose-to-beak with Aepnet. "Were it not for the fact that your country is innocent in your evil deeds, I would invade Griffonia and take it for my own!"
Aepnet literally whimpered at that. I could tell by the way he tried to not go into a fetal position that he was trying to salvage whatever scraps of dignity he could. It wasn't working. He turned his head to his daughter. "Kathyrine, I--"
"No." I looked over at Kathyrine myself, and was surprised by her expression. Normally she was sarcastic and spunky. Not the type to really take crap from anybody. She had a perpetual smirk on her face. Not now, though. Now she just had a look of cold betrayal on her face. There was nothing but pure contempt in her eyes. "You had me drugged, my friends killed, all to keep your power."
Aepnet chuckled nervously and raised a claw. "K-Kathyrine, I was going to make sure that you were ruler of Griffonia. I was trying to make sure that it happened. I think you will make a wonderful empress."
Kathyrine scoffed and looked away from her father. "Empress. I'm not going to be an empress." She locked eyes with Aepnet, her cold contempt had turned to utter fury. "I forgo my rights as princess of Griffonia! I accept the role of a commoner, and disassociate myself from your line!"
Aepnet gasped and took a step backwards. "K-Kathyrine! Y-you can't do that! Our line will die out completely if you don't take the throne!"
"Good," Kathyrine snapped. "That'll be your reward for what you did to me. I'm either going to stay here or move to Equestria. I'm never going to take even one step into Griffonia again."
"You are, of course, welcome here, Kathyrine." Mesud walked over to Kathyrine and put a hoof on her shoulder. "You are always welcome here."
Kathyrine subtly nodded, but I could see her arms shaking. She shrugged Mesud's hoof off of her, and with a scream, she tackled her father and slashed him across the face with her claws. Aepnet wailed in pain and clutched at the deep cuts his daughter had made, while Mesud motioned to one of his bodyguards.
"Get him out of here. Heal his wounds and send him back to Griffonia at once. Let the dukes know that he is at their mercy now."
The guard saluted and nodded to one of his fellows. The two dragged Aepnet out of the room, still bleeding and wailing. The door slammed shut behind them, and his screams faded away. I turned my attention back to Kathyrine, who was shaking where she stood. Her father's blood still stained her claws. She let out what sounded like an elongated whimper before collapsing on the floor. her screaming sobs echoed throughout the room, and I almost had to cover up my ears. Mesud quickly scooped her into a hug, and she leaned against his shoulder and cried.
Mesud rubbed her back with his hoof, and gently nuzzled her. "There, there, child. He's gone now. You are safe from his scheming."
"I wish he was dead!" Kathyrine screamed. "He used me like I was some bucking chess piece!" Kathyrine whimpered and looked up at me with wide, watery eyes. "A-and he tried to kill you. I know that we kind of butted heads a little, but I'm sorry that he did that to you."
I gave her a weak smile and a shrug. "Well, it's not the first time that somebody has tried to kill me." My smile faded. "Unfortunately," I grumbled under my breath.
Kathyrine wiped her eyes and leaned into Mesud's shoulder again. "I'm going to stay here for a while until I figure out what I'm going to do next. I... I don't ever want to see my dad again." A snarl crossed her face, and her claws tightened into fists. "If I do, I'll give him more than a scar. I'm going to kill him. That's a promise."
"Well, I can't say that I blame you," I muttered. I took a deep breath and stroked Oswald's back. "I'm kinda with you there." I turned my attention back to Mesud. "I mean no offense to you, but I think that I'm going to go back to bed then head out towards the Crystal Empire. It's nothing against you personally, it's just that I'd rather get out of here before I get entangled in the inevitable power struggle that the griffins are going to have."
Mesud nodded and began stroking Kathyrine's back. "I understand completely, TD. You may return to your room, and I will have my guards posted in front of it. You will also be escorted to our borders tomorrow."
I nodded and thanked him before going back to my room. He needed some alone time with Kathyrine anyway, and I was freaking tired.
* * * *
I woke up at around eleven the next morning and immediately got all of my stuff together. I walked out of my room and nodded at the guards, who followed me to the throne room where Mesud was talking with his wife. He smiled at me when he saw me come in. "Ah, you're awake. Are you feeling well-rested?"
I nodded. "Well enough to get going. If not, I'll sleep on the train if I need to."
"That seems like a sound plan." Mesud beckoned me onwards, and I followed him after giving Naida a small bow, which she returned. We walked out of the palace and towards a carriage that had been prepared for me. "I know that it is not your wish, but should you find yourself staying on our planet, you are always welcome to come back here, TD."
I smirked and loaded my backpack into the carriage. "If I stay here, I'll definitely be sure to come back for a visit."
Well, there wasn't much more to be said besides that. Mesud and I exchanged a bow, and I was on my way. The carriage ride to the train station was fast enough, and it wasn't too much longer before our train departed. From there it was a five hour ride to a border town, which I did actually use to catch up on some sleep. When the train arrived, the guards escorted me to the edge of the town and directed me towards the Crystal Empire.
I thanked them and was off.