the otherness came (and I knew its name)

PART 3: WHATEVER HERE THAT'S LEFT OF ME

With any luck, Rhian would not rule them.

They rode down the fields, approaching a huge set of covered seating, towering above everything else. Looking up, Sophie could see the standards of all of the kingdoms in the Kingdom Council hung from the bottom.

All except one gap in the centre.

Left open for the standard of the Camelot's victor.

Sophie swallowed her nerves. She had done all she could. Rhian was as unstable as she could make him. Nervy about his potential illegitimacy, isolated from Kei, uncertain about Tedros's plans and wildly unsure about his strategy, heavily reliant on Sophie, who would soon be gone. His dangerous brother was dead, his manipulative aunts too...

She wondered if he knew how alone he really was.

No matter.

He would.

The carriage drew to a stop, and Sophie caught sight of the two of them on the immense Spellcast screens looming before the seating-- resplendent in their gold and red, a matching couple in a snow-white carriage, the perfect vision of Good.

Too bad both of them were rotten to the core.

Sophie caught sight of the pirate guards riding beside them, an ever-present irritation, and a line came, unbidden, into her head--

Not yet eighteen, but still damn mean!

She smothered a snort as the carriage drew to a stop. Whiskey Woo? Now?
Well, she couldn't argue with it.

Rhian was going to find out exactly how mean she could be, soon enough.

She looked up at the seating, and found the Kingdom Council in the centre, all staring down at them-- some with approval, some with distaste, some with no expression to speak of. It made sense. Some kingdoms had openly declared allegiance to Tedros from the start-- Arne and Mahati were both visible, wearing black, with steely expressions turned away from Rhian. Others, like Robin and the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the Sultan of Shazabah, had rejected Rhian after he'd imprisoned the students of the School-- Sophie could see Reena beside her father, and Dot with hers. Anadil was sitting with the Bloodbrook party, next to her equally severe mother-- a Countess, who had the ear of the King. They must have come over with Mahati and Arne earlier that day.

Still, there were plenty of Rhian supporters-- despite his initial wavering, the King of Foxwood was clearly desperate for Rhian to win, clutching a Lion flag tightly and clapping furiously. So too was the Empress of Putsi, the Maharani of Mahadeva... the list went on. Queen Jacinda of Jaunt Jolie's face was completely neutral as she clutched her two young sons. To Sophie's surprise, Bettina was next to her, looking uncomfortable in a high-necked gown. Clearly Tedros had sent anyone who might have even the smallest bit of influence over the final result to the stands. Slightly morally questionable. Very Never. Sophie thought she might be rather proud of him.

But perhaps she should reserve that judgement until the winner was announced.

Actually, she thought as Rhian helped her down from the carriage, where is Tedros? The summons had not technically specified a time beyond sundown, but she had assumed they would arrive at around the same time, and the sun was almost completely gone.

Trying to keep her face neutral, she let Rhian lead her across to a dais set up for them, as the spectators filed into the remaining stands, muttering nervously. The King of Foxwood kept standing up, looking north. Several Ever leaders were whispering frantically to each other. Arne and Mahati looked calm, which suggested to Sophie this was planned...