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Ultimatum

Luce storming out put me in a sour mood. I gave the orders to let Vito handle the riot and retired to my chambers where Galip was waiting.

The wolf was kneeling on the floor with his nose to the ground. His ear twitched and his tail wagged as I approached him and stroked his head.

"Slave, go fetch Folu, I have a taste for hyena and it has been far too long," I grinned.

Galip silently raised himself with his head still bowed and padded over to the doorway.

Sighing, I collapsed in a brown suede armchair beside the open glass doors leading to the balcony. It was dark out, far too late even for a celebratory evening, but torchlights danced through the islands making up Vulpezzia.

Along with the occasional scream.

Kicking off my boots, I hooked one of my footclaws around the handles of an end-table's doors and pulled it open. I reached in and pinched the rim of a glass with my toes and brought it to my lap before grabbing it with my paw.

"Getting some flexibility back," I muttered as I reached into my pocket and retrieved a small bottle of opium mixed with distilled spirits. Uncorking the bottle, I poured it into the glass. The brown liquid swirled around in the crystal and made the fox-tail etchings shimmer in the candlelight.

An auspicious sign, Sofia would no doubt say.

A bit of anxiety brewed in my stomach along with a tinge of pain from my wounds. I sipped the opium brew and instantly felt my muscles relax and all aches vanish.

Why did I ever quit this stuff?

I spent a good hour in that chair dozing off. Galip was taking his sweet time and I vowed to give him a friendly little punishment when he arrived, no doubt the wolf would enjoy that.

Finally, a knocking rang out at my door and I called for Galip to enter. However, when the door creaked open I heard more footsteps than the wolf's soft pads creep into my chambers.

"I'm sorry, Alpha..." Galip whispered.

Betrayal flashed in my brain. I leaped up from my chair and drew my saber, swinging around and stopping just short of Galip's neck.

Galip's eyes were wide, too terrified to even tuck his leg between his legs. Behind him was Vito, Luce, and Sofia, all looking on with horror.

"I'm sorry..." Galip quivered, "...Folu returned home to Africa."

Panting, I lowered my sword and sheathed it.

"Why the hell did he leave!?" I snarled and spun my chair around to face the visitors.

"Because his hostage term ended," Luce rolled her eyes. "Did you forget that you didn't own him?"

"Mind your tongue," I grumbled and flopped down in my seat. I swirled my glass and took a sip. "What is the meaning of this visit?"

Vito stepped forward and brought his fist to his breastplate, "Gundulf has been killed and Laurent was wounded while trying to protect him."

"One less wolf," I shrugged, "or at least half of one."

Vito blinked, "Sir, Laurent likely won't last the night."

I licked my lips. My inner circle was shrinking by the minute, "I will visit him, whe-"

"Two Senators were also mortally wounded in the chaos that you caused," Luce interjected. "Order has been restored but we are still far from taking tally of the damage."

"I did not mean for this to happen," I gritted my teeth. "Must you always rub salt in my wounds?"

"Fine, Marco, you didn't mean for this to happen. I believe you."

There was more venom then ever in her voice. I was not reassured.

"All that means is that you can't control yourself from doing and saying stupid things that cause a shitshow like this!" Luce pointed out the window towards the city. "Are you capable of even throwing a party without making an ass of yourself!? As humiliating as your first triumph was, at least no one was killed!"

"Sometimes you have to break a few eggs..." I trailed off.

"Brother," Sofia stepped forward, wringing her paws. She looked and smelled anxious, something I thought she had fought off since marrying Goliath, "I have two wolven merchants I'm friends with, Iberians. They always supported you, they hated the Alphate just as much as any fox..."

Sofia covered her face, "They're dead."

What could I say to that? Had Vito and Luce brought my sister to wring some emotions out of me? Were they expecting me to yowl and sob like a kit?

I said nothing. I did want to comfort my sister but there were more important things at hand.

"I'm going to go see Lau-"

"Not yet," Vito cut me off this time. "The rioters and observers are clamoring for a second war against the Alphate. They have concocted some theory that the wolves in the Republic stabbed us in the back."

"Oh," I could not suppress my smile, "well, that will be useful, won't it?"

"You will not do anything of the sort."

I blinked. Was I imagining this? Was Vito giving me an order?

"You speak out of turn, General," I kept my emotions cool and stared at the brown fox without expression. "I will ignore it this time but-"

"You will ignore nothing, Marco," Vito stepped forward and nodded at Luce. "We have demands to make and you will accept."

Luce took out a scroll and unfurled it, "No more wars, unless attacked. Vito will be declared Marshal and given total autonomy over all military matters to ensure this."

"Outrageous!"

"You will not give any order to the military unless Vito approves it. Any breaking of this promise will be seen as breaking our agreement."

I opened my mouth to object again but Vito cut me off.

"Furthermore, all civil matters will be handled by Chancellor Luce," Vito nodded at my wife. "You are not to even comment on the price of meat in public."

"In fact," Luce squinted and passed the scroll to me, "don't say anything in public unless it's part of your script."

"You would have me be nothing more than a figurehead!"

"Yes," Luce nodded, "that sounds about right."

"I refuse."

"Marco," Vito narrowed his eyes, "you are, admittedly, popular among the citizens after your victory. They would follow you into whatever folly you plot. You had the devil's luck with this last campaign, despite countless mistakes along the way, but we won't get this lucky again. As such, we want you to support our new policies to the people and in return, you can continue to rule as Dictator until the end of your life."

"Until the emergency is over," I corrected.

Luce rolled her eyes, "Who are you trying to fool?"

I curled up my lips and snarled at Vito, "If I refuse, the army will-"

"There is not a single officer still in the army who objected to my plan that I talked with and since you reek of surprise, I can guess that they didn't leak it to you."

Vito crossed his arms and sighed, "Livio grew to hate you but he couldn't bring himself to betray you, so he retired. Guy also refused and I suspect his suicide was his way of escaping from choosing to betray you or fail protecting you."

"They were the most loyal to you out of anyone we talked with," Luce spoke, "and they knew that your playtime was coming to an end."

"You see, Marco," Vito loomed over me, "the army will not support you. I will do anything to prevent you from bringing us to ruin, even if that means giving an ultimatum."

"I won't sign it," I tossed the scroll onto the floor. "You have no right to make such a demand!"

"You don't have to sign it," Vito picked up the scroll and passed it to Luce. "All you have to do is abide by the terms and keep your head down and we won't have a problem with you. But if you cause any trouble..."

Luce put her paw on Sofia's shoulder, "Sofia, you should step out for a-"

"No!" Sofia swiped Luce's paw away and stormed forward, snarling. "Agree to the damned terms, brother!"

"You too, Sofia?" I frowned.

"I've burnt the herbs ten times and this path is the only one that will-"

"I don't care about your damned herbs!" I slammed the glass onto the ground, shattering it with a crash. Opium and spirits began to fill the air.

Sofia pinched her nose, "That's what your future smells like if you accept, Marco. But it's better than the alternative."

"Out! Out!" I barked. "Leave me be!"

"Lets go," Vito nodded. "Just remember Marco, abide by the terms and there won't be any trouble."

"Leave! Now!"

They all filed out, even Galip. I didn't have the strength to order my slave back and part of me felt guilty that I almost killed him.

But not a single part of me accepted this coup as righteous.

I raised that bastard Vito from soldier to General. This is how he repays me!?

My nose twitched as it caught the smell of opium from the floorboards. My skin began to itch and I pulled out the bottle from my pocket and downed the entire thing at once.

Bastards, bastards the whole lot of them!

Is this a way to treat someone wounded and suffering!?

I should have never married Luce and hung Vito. I'm sure he did something at some point that would have justified it, would just have to do some digging...

Laurent...might know something...

Laurent had been brought to his room in the palace, for there was no safe place for him to be tended to in the city proper. When I turned around the hall corner before it, I was surprised to find a vixen slave standing by the door dressed in the white robes of a nurse. Fresh bloodstains across her smock revealed themselves as she turned to me and bowed.

"Master."

"Speak," I bade her to lift her head. I hadn't even realized my manor had medical slaves on duty.

"Laurent ordered me to let him die in peace," she explained. "He requested no visitors."

"I see."

Ignoring that request, I slipped past the slave and pushed the door open.

Death whispered through the air, my nose could smell it and I didn't have to be a doctor to tell.

Laurent was laying still in his bed, the covers thrown off. His paw clutched at a towel covering up a massive gash running from his upper abdomen down to just before his groin. It was no wonder I was told he would not survive the night, even if he had there was absolutely no chance that his body would not catch sepsis by the morrow.

I may not be a doctor but I've seen good foxes die like this before in the wars.

No more wars.

What a horrible thought. Damn you, Vito.

Slowly, I crept in, fearful that Laurent had already passed away. As I took my first step, the red fox twitched and slowly rolled his face to the side. His nose was bone dry and his skin was pale enough to be seen through his coat of fur.

"Oh..." he sighed.

"Why are you alone?" I asked, abandoning caution and striding up to his bed. I grabbed a stool and sat beside him. "Do you want me to call for your wife?"

"She left..." Laurent swallowed, "...long ago..."

I recalled when I eavesdropped on them back in Pest, how Laurent failed to please her. I did not speak of this, it was far too cruel to do to a dying man, but I certainly thought about it.

"I'm sorry."

"No..."

"We sure went through a lot, didn't we?" I put on a smile for the dying fox. "Africa, that was one wild ride, huh?"

"No..."

"Come on!" I very gently touched him on the shoulder. "Escaping the prison, exotic food, riding across the desert, ah...don't forget the vixens!"

Laurent shrugged, pushing my paw away.

"Look," I frowned, "I'm sorry I brought her up, but-"

"No!" Laurent roared suddenly. My hackles raised and I almost jumped out of my stool. "You're not sorry! You're not...!"

Springing up in bed, Laurent yowled as a fresh pool of blood welled up against the towel covering his wound.

"I'll call the n-"

"No! Don't!" Laurent suddenly relaxed and laid back in bed. "Don't...don't bother..."

We sat there in silence. I didn't know what to say to him, he was clearly fever-struck, too delusional to be rational in his last moments.

Or so I thought.

I was about to get up and bid him farewell when Laurent suddenly whispered.

"I was the informant."

His voice lacked the fury and anguish from before. He was speaking with much control and lucidity.

If he was lying, he was lying well enough for him to believe it.

I should have been shocked, but I was at a point where this was such a surprise that I could not even process it normally.

"Alphate spy ring..." Laurent snorted, "...where do you think I got them from? I'm an actor turned soldier from Carpathia..."

"Actors make natural spies," I argued, trying desperately to refute what Laurent was saying.

"The wolves made me a deal, I was in contact with them the whole time. The ambushes in Transylvania, the offensive on Lupercal..." Laurent swallowed, "...we worked together on those the whole time."

Laurent closed his eyes and exhaled, "Didn't expect Lycanlong though..."

Unable to deny it any more, I finally asked directly, "Why, Laurent? Why would you betray me?"

"You betrayed me!" Laurent snapped with shocking vigor for a dying fox. "You raped me, you pimped me out, you...!"

Laurent gritted his teeth in pain before continuing, "My cock doesn't even work, not after what you did to me!"

"There's no shame in being taken ad-"

"You should be ashamed! You!" Laurent pointed a claw at me. "But all of that, I could have forgiven all of it if you had kept even one of your promises! Where was my Senate seat, Marco? You could have given it to me at any time and I would have forgotten all of it, but you decided to keep me close, reminding me every fucking day that you ruined my life!"

Sighing, Laurent grinned.

"But it was all worth it in the end," Laurent chuckled, sniffing with his dried out nose. "You reek of anguish, I bet Vito paid you a visit, didn't he?"

I went still, "We had a good conversation."

"No you didn't, he finally made his move? I figured it out when he started making private meetings with everyone but me," Laurent chuckled again. "Guess I was a decent spy after all..."

Coughing between fits of laughter, Laurent continued, "Course, I think he figured out what I did too! Recognized the fucker who got me, seen him in Vito's unit before..."

"What..." I licked my dry lips, "...what did you hope to gain from this?"

"To watch you fail," Laurent snarled. "To watch everything you fought for crumble to dust. By Canis, you didn't make it easy! You should have been killed ages before, but it all worked out! You're powerless, held hostage by forces you don't even understand!"

"Vito and Luce..." I inhaled, trying to keep calm, "...I can work around them."

"Do you think they're the only ones who control you?" Laurent closed his eyes. "You don't even know how many masters you have, do you?"

"I am Dictator."

"Well then!" Laurent waved me away. "Go sit on your throne, King! Bid your subjects to obey your edicts! Go on, give it a try and see what happens! But don't bother coming to me to tell me I was right..."

"...Now get the fuck out of here and let me die in peace."

I stood up quietly and bowed.

"You've served me well, Laurent."

Laurent did not respond and I said nothing more, turning around and walking away.

My legs felt numb. This felt like a dream, it couldn't be real.

But no, it was. Laurent had conspired against me, ruined my war, and got me locked in a gilded cage.

All for his own petty idea of revenge.

But he was wrong. This was not the only trap I had been caught in, I could find a way around it.

I would show him.

"Thank you for coming today, Dictator," a scrawny fox with silver spectacles balanced on his snout bowed towards me as I entered the council chamber. "I am Alfonso, Council Speaker."

I looked around the square table where me and I inner circle had met with hundreds of times before the war. It was the same table, dark wood with etchings of battles both legendary and historical running along the rim of it; but aside from Luce and Vito, I recognized no one from my council.

"I don't recall making your appointment," I confessed.

Alfonso's eye twitched over to Luce. No surprise here.

"It was during the war," Alfonso laughed. "I'm sure you were quite preoccupied with more important matters than one so lowly as myself! Please, have a seat!"

There was a new, high-backed chair for me at the head of the table. Purple velvet cushions were attached to it, much-needed comfort as I sat down.

"First on the agenda," Alfonso rolled out a scroll. "The emergency fund for the riots has been approved. I would like to personally thank Steward Carla for scrounging up the gold required!"

A vixen in a scarlet silk dress stood up and bowed politely without saying so much as a word. The whole table applauded.

"We couldn't have done it without you! We can always count on you, lets not forget the Flax Incident!"

The room burst out into laughter. To my surprise, even Luce surrendered to mirth and was holding her belly, unable to constrain herself. Vito clapped politely while I stared blankly, feeling like an unwanted guest.

Who are these people?

"Seriously though, great work! We'll get the funds moving as soon as we're done here today!" Alfonso adjusted his spectacles. "Next-"

I raised my paw and cleared my throat.

Alfonso blinked, "Yes? Do you have something to say?"

What the hell was I thinking? Did I feel the need to mark my scent over the room and make it clear I was the boss?

But short of vetoing the decree, there really was no way for me to do that, and really, it was a sensible fund.

"Good job, Carla," I said hoarsely.

Carla bowed her head towards me.

Slumping down in my chair, Alfonso continued.

"Chief Izil has requested troops to deal with a potential incursion by the hyenas. Marshal Vito has expressed no objection to sending over a detachment from the Sicilian Army and-"

"Hold on!" I interrupted, finally finding some vigor. "We promised Izil autonomy and part of that promise was that he could handle his own shit!"

I could feel Vito's cold gaze against my skin, but it was not him who spoke up.

It was silent Carla.

"Sir," she nodded. "The fennecs are currently our biggest suppliers of medicine and they have implied that if we don't assist with this, that the supply will be cut off one way or another."

"Medicine? I'm sure we can get that from someone else! What kind of medicine?"

"Opiates."

Gloom fell over me. Every stare at the table felt like a dagger aimed at my throat. They all knew, didn't they? That I was a slave to the poppy?

"There..." my mouth felt dry, "...are other sources?"

I knew the answer to that. I was told as such when I quit it the first time before the way. Still, I thought if the fennecs could have taken up poppy cultivation, perhaps someone else might have.

"The Alphate has a strict embargo on opium to the Republic," Luce spoke up. "The next closest producer are the Tigris, significantly further away and they would have to pass through the Suez."

"Speaking of the Suez," Alfonso cleared his throat. "The Suez has been overrun by lions and the Shah is also requesting reinforcements. Vito has given his approval for a detachment to be sent there along with a naval blockade."

"And if we refuse?" I asked.

The table once again stared at me.

They all knew about that wretched rumor.

The Shah hadn't even lived up to his end of the promise. Every wolf and fox from here to Lupercal had heard about the lies. Why should we keep on entertaining him?

Because he would double down, wouldn't he? He would make up something even more outrageous, something that I never did, and the fools would believe it! They would do anything to betray me!

"If there's no objections," Vito spoke. "I think we can move on."

I said nothing.

How I wanted to though...

"Alright now...Transylvania, one of our newest acquisitions!" Alfonso smiled and nodded towards me. "Thanks to our blessed Dictator!"

Smiling, I stood and nodded. Finally, a little respect!

"Now then," Alfonso continued as I sat down, "Alphate wolves have re-colonized the area in great numbers and are refusing to pay taxes."

Send in the army. Show them who's in charge.

Vito was staring at me, waiting for me to speak, waiting for me to break the terms of our agreement.

Which I never agreed to, but I didn't have to, did I? He just wanted me to sit and be nice and quiet, be compliant.

Fuck me, I complied.

Sensing my surrender, Vito spoke, "Reinforce the garrison with troops and extra supplies. The wolves may be subjects of the Alpha, we can't harm them, but the Alphate can't send bureaucrats there when things go sideways. If they have a famine, a drought, a plague, we'll be waiting to support them and they'll have to pay up then."

I blinked, "We're going to let them just get away with not paying taxes?"

"My Ministry has done the math, Dictator," Carla smoothed the sleeve of her dress. "Transylvania is operating at a minimal deficit right now, one that we can safely ignore in favor of the surplus elsewhere. Were we to commit to any action plan more proactive than what the Marshal has proposed it would turn their minimal deficit into a significantly higher one due to the upkeep of additional soldiers and maintenance, not to mention repairs once the soldiers are done their work. Lets not even get started on what would happen if the Alphate decided to object!"

I was overwhelmed for a good minute while the council chattered away with a far longer list of objections. Vito had clearly anticipated this and briefed these people on what I would say, how else would they have such a rebuttal prepared in advance?

"Economics..." I coughed, "...is one thing. But if we don't do something more, the population will continue to resist our rule."

Vito spoke, "They can pretend they're part of the Alphate as much as they like, as long as the borders don't change on paper. They are not worth concerning ourselves with right now, aside from what I've proposed."

"I think we need to do something more."

Leaning forward on the table, Vito stared at me with a blank face, "You are free to veto the plan if you wish, Dictator."

You'd like that, wouldn't you?

That damned traitor! Rubbing salt in my wounds! He knew that I was right! He knew! But he just had to play the contrary role, just to see if I would veto it and trigger his wrath.

I ought to do that, walk up to him and slap him in the face and fire him. We'd see just how many people are really on his side!

But here, in the council...

Who were these people?

I had not a single friend here, not even my wife, certainly not my former protege.

I was alone. Four ropes were tied to my arms and legs, drawn by horses. Those horses were named Vito, Luce, Shah Levanti, Chief Izil.

Anger or spook any one of them and the whole herd would quarter me.

I was a prisoner awaiting my execution. All I could do is stay quiet and keep the herd calm.

"No," I finally spoke, "you may execute your plan."

Satisfied, the council moved on, not so much as heeding my attention for an opinion on any matter. I was not truly needed here, but I had to attend to keep up appearances. Every day of council, an extended reminder that I had been castrated and put on display.

My life is over.

I have not done anything of worth since, nothing except raising Cosimo.

There is no point in writing anymore.

I am not Dictator, not Marshal, nor General.

I am nothing.