‘I have received assurances and there is no other way. We are surrounded. There is no hope. The Venetian navy will help us to get out of the city.’
‘If you and your family had acted earlier instead of being consumed by your petty squabbles and rivalries, we would not be in this desperate situation we find ourselves now.’
I knew I was really pushing the boundaries of the Emperor’s reverence and patience and was aware that I could be condemned in an instant for being offensive to the face of the Emperor, but it had to be said. There was too much at stake.
I had a very strong hunch that all was not right with the Emperor. My suspicions were growing. This smelled very very wrong. I had to get further reaction to confirm my suspicions. I decided to reveal the other main reason that had brought me there.
‘Your Majesty, there is something else that brings me here. We’re on the trail of one of the two missing Likureian icons. Word has reached us that the icon is being touted around for sale. We are trying to pinpoint its exact location. I would like to pay a visit to the Royal Workshops and speak to the craftsmen. I need information about the icon’s construction to verify its authenticity once it comes into our possession. I would be grateful if you could arrange this visit for later today.’
The Emperor knew that the icon had been taken together with the child twenty-five days earlier, but decided against revealing the fact and playing along with the charade.
The Emperor’s brows rose and his eyes opened wide for the briefest moment, but I saw them. I saw the greed, the ‘ducat’ signs. I saw that I had piqued his interest and had his full attention.
‘That can be easily arranged. Now, tell me more about the information you already have. How did you find out? And where is it? Not in the city, surely?’
‘Yes, we believe the icon may already be here in the city’.
The Emperor’s eyes were changing colours like a chameleon.
‘Here? How can you be sure of that? My dear Michael, we must go and find it at once.’
‘Your Majesty, before I go on… let me say something. Recovering those icons would not be enough. There is something that may be of interest to you. Wouldn’t you want to be remembered as the hero who liberated our people from the catastrophes that befell them throughout at least part of their history? You yourself have always said that “we have an obligation to our people, not only in the present, but for our future generations”, have you not? Well, this is your chance. You have to stay and fight. Be our people’s hero. Let history judge you on that. There is no greater honour, no greater glory. Think of your place in history, your legacy. If you flee now, you will go down as a coward.’
‘Michael, the icon… where is it?’
‘The icon when not properly handled causes unfortunate consequences and even mayhem. We have information of unexplained phenomena occurring in quick succession, which seems too much like the icon’s signature to be a coincidence. We have narrowed the relevant area to…’
There was a commotion outside. Have we been discovered? Or has something serious occurred and the Emperor’s presence was called for? The Emperor looked nervous and worried.
‘Only one person knew I would be here with instructions to interrupt me in an emergency.’
Valerian, the Emperor’s most trusted adviser appeared as if out of thin air.
Your Majesty, the Ottoman army is on the move.’
‘My dear Michael, there is no future here for us anymore, as you so eloquently said so yourself, but we do have time to make a life elsewhere and salvage all that we can. I suggest you be on your way now.’ Another man materialised next to us. ‘Vlassis here will take you to the palace. You’ll find food and drink in the kitchens. We will continue this conversation in the morning. This meeting is over.’
The palace backed onto the Western Walls and the target of the Ottoman assault. He wants me killed, I thought.
And with an almost imperceptible wave of the Emperor’s arm, Vlassis came forward and beckoned me to follow him.
It was pointless to insist in trying to convince him of the error of his ways and to further criticise his miscalculated course of action. That boat sailed early on in this conversation. And I would not dare to tell him to give careful thought to what I said. He appeared in no mood to change his position.
Any further attempt to get through to him was doomed and might even rile him so much as to cost me my life. I had no doubt that I had achieved that fatal accolade, judging by his sending me to the most vulnerable location of the city slap bang next to the Western Walls. And to ensure that I would not be deviating from the course he set for me and escaping my fate, he assigned me an escort no less.
What an honour. What merciful act to send me on my way to my final destination. Another clue that something was not quite right with the Emperor. Fat chance, though. He should have known me better than believing he could dispose of me so easily. If he thought I would simply roll away and die, he was very much mistaken.
I only wished that I could say that I would be leaving confident that the correct measures were being taken. What a shame. The Emperor had shown he was in no giving mood, but there was something else I had to try to obtain before I left. The window was closing for the last chance to achieve it and I had the thankless task to request it as the currently appointed ambassador of the Order.
That was why I could not leave like this, not yet. I owed as much to the Order. I did not make any attempt to move. The Emperor, who was already on his way out, sensed my unwillingness to leave and, mildly annoyed, turned to stare at me.
‘Why are you still here? Whatever it is you want to say, say it quickly and be gone.’
I was still silent wondering how to bring up what was on my mind.
‘Well?’ The Emperor was losing his patience.
‘Your Majesty, I will not ask for an explanation for the treatment that the Order has suffered in the hands of the Court over many centuries, even though all we ever wanted was to protect you, the Imperial family, and never craved your power for ourselves. We don’t want it. We are not power hungry. However, we have against all odds and the Court’s resistance managed to save members of your family many a time. In these dark hours, and you know as well as I do that you don’t stand a chance against the Ottomans, there is a last act that you should perform.
‘You owe it to the Order to issue a decree legalising it. With the City about to be lost, it would really not matter very much in practice. However, it would be a symbolic gesture. What would you have to lose? In fact you will only gain blind loyalty and love in the truest sense, not just service as a result of self-inflicted duty. Make your last act of government count and give satisfaction to a group of people who deserve it and who have been shamefully treated for so long. I beg you, your Majesty, this is the moment to show some degree of contrition which would be much admired. The fact that you did this… in the face of such adversity… Just think, your Majesty, the honour. And, do not forget that with the Empire practically non-existent, what have you got left? The City and a few acres around it. No… ignore that… the few acres around it are being treaded on by the Ottomans. So that only leaves the City. How long do you think you can hold it for? Once the City is gone and you are dead, you will not care, but think of your legacy. Mend the bridges with the Order. You may not agree, but you would not want to go to your grave with that weighing on your conscience and, if you survive the siege, you will need the Order before long and more than ever.’
‘No, I will not. They will give their lives for the Imperial line anyway.’
‘But it would make their job easier. Reward their loyalty with this act. They deserve it. And let me assure you that the Order would not continue to pander to your petty jealousies and irrational fear. They are not your slaves. The patience of its members is wearing thin. The Order is not your enemy here. It never has been a threat to this throne nor has it ever done anything or shown any signs that it had set its sights on your power, that its intentions were anything other than honourable and altruistic.’
‘They will do it anyway. They have taken the oath of the Order and they could not break it. Why should I bother to do anything about it then? Now leave.’
‘But…’ I stopped and bowed my head to a man that did not deserve it. I only did it, though, out of respect for what he represented, not just an institution and an empire; his was the last face of a thousand-year old glorious history. Yet I was eaten inside by the injustice of it all and by doubt, by the suspicion that this man before me was not be the Emperor, was not the person I thought I knew.
