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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Fearadhach on 2023-12-11 08:09:38.
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Enibal stared at the list of crimes on the document before him, then scrolled to the top and skimmed, hard, through the opening pages. Not like Henry, not like the Humans, to put this sort of unnecessary text. Henry, no. Please, no. There has to be another way. He found no name in the opening. It didn’t name the accused. He hit the button to skip to the end of the document, but found that he couldn’t. It, instead, skipped to a charge about ‘illegally altering the controls of Council document viewing software.’
Enibal blinked in shock and realized that Henry had stopped enumerating charges at the one before this. He hit the end of document button again, but found he could only scroll manually. He noticed the board lighting up with a tally of votes to convict, and started to sweat. He looked down at Kaz to see a mystified look on the man’s face. He knows something is up, that Henry is pulling some sort of trick, but he hasn’t guessed what. Oh, Henry… no!
He continued to scroll, but the charges themselves told the tale. No! I won’t! I will not let him do this to himself! I will not allow this to be his legacy, to see him… to see this... NO! He recoiled slightly, almost surprised that he’d managed not to shout the word out loud.
He snapped his spine straight and let all of his bottled fury from the last two years come to the fore. We will find another way, brother. I am sorry, but I will…
A small(ish) feminine hand grabbed his wrist as he moved to open his microphone. His fury paused as he recognizied his Aunt’s hand and, somehow, suddenly felt the moutning tension in the room. The board showed every Ambassador, every nation, but one had voted in favor. Every vote had been cast... except his. I can still stop this. The votes can be unlocked in if I object! He pushed his hand forward, but his Aunt held firm.
Then words appeared in his vision. "Leira: Stop my love. This is the only way. I talked with your Aunt for some time last night, and we studied Human history. They are better, now, than they ever were… but they are not there yet either. Henry knows this, and he knows it is his only way out. Let him go."
Only the words of his fiancé stood a chance of cracking the armor of his fury... a chance, but not enough. No. I will not!
He pushed again, and more words appeared. "Leira: I love you. I will love you whatever you do here today. But, before you do. Look At Him. Look at your friend. See WHY he does this."
Enibal suppressed a snarl as his eyes – almost against his own will – turned to look at Henry. His brother stood there and stared at him, waited with a blank expression for him to make eye contact. He let his own fury show in his gaze, in the purple of his hands, but tried to convey his apology as well… his apology that he couldn’t allow…
Henry’s eyes softened, and Enibal saw something he never thought he’d see. Hoped to never see again. Pleading. Henry’s eyes begged… BEGGED… him to let it go. That… that look. To see his brother – the strongest sapient he’d ever known – No, the strongest sapient he’d ever even imagined reduced to…
He felt the fight, the fury, the rage fall out of him as though doused with freezing water. His legs jellied beneath him and he sat heavily. The holo-display of his controls followed him, and he stared numbly at the buttons. ‘Yes’, ‘No’. A choice. One or the other. And, I betray my brother – and my own heart – either way.
An uncomfortable shuffling began to work its way through the chamber, and Enbial knew he had no time. If he didn’t act soon, someone would reach the end of the document and the decision would be made for him. I can’t do this to him. Either of these. Neither vote will. No… He felt a giggle rise in his throat, but pushed it down hard. If he started now, he might not ever stop… and how would it look if he tried to giggle his way through being wed to the royal heir? That thought sent another giggle up which he suppressed even harder as a phrase he’d heard so many times – from Henry and Kaz – rang in his ears. ‘Never give in to binary thinking, look for options.’
He reached up, with a hand which felt like a lead weight, and stabbed the ‘Abstain’ button. The board lit up, the votes locked in, and a cheer went through the gathered sound. Enibal felt glad of the cheers. It covered his weeping.
Two arms crossed his shoulders, one from either side. Yoro sat there with him, so did Eldia. The cheering continued, and he leaned into the strength they pushed at him as he tried to compose himself. Kaz looked up at them, confused, took one look at his face… and he watched The Duke’s face change. The realization seemed to come on the man in stages, and each stage brought a new look of horror. After several transformations, Kaz turned disbelieving eyes to Henry. Henry, who just stood there, a beatific smile on his face, arms to his sides, shoulders straight, and… Enibal could swear it looked like the man had started to giggle.
Henry finally noticed Kaz’s stare, looked over at him, and just gave him a small shrug. Enibal then felt a wave of complex emotions he felt sure he’d be months of therapy sorting out as Henry looked up to him and ran fingers across controls in a blur. The words ‘I’m sorry. Thank you.’ Appeared on his screen for an instant, then faded away.
Somehow those words brought a feeling of peace to him, and he finally wiped away his tears. There will be hell to pay for this, I swear it. The Human politicians who forced him to this point… the crown prince may not have any real power, but I will have the Empress’s ear. There will be a cost.
Eldia squeezed his hand and leaned over to whisper. “Whatever you are thinking, whatever you are planning, push it aside. Henry needs you strong, here, now.”
He nodded to her, and put on his best diplomatic face. He then looked around and realized that mere seconds had passed since he hit that fateful button, though he felt like he’d aged a thousand years.
The cheering began to subside, and Henry’s giggles rose into full laughter as the man turned his own microphone back on. Henry threw his head back in a full belly laugh, then had to reach over and grab the console at the front of his platform as his laughter began to come so hard he shook.
The fervor of the crowd began to falter at the unexpected reaction, then die off to be replaced by expressions of consternation and puzzlement. Kaz hopped off his platform, walked over to Henry, hit the ‘mute’ button on the microphone, and spoke for some moments. Enibal ached to go down to his brother, but he knew – by the crushing pressure on his hand – that his Aunt felt the same. Still, it is probably best that Kaz is the one there. I don’t know if I could have held still if I’d had him within reach…
By this time tears of laughter streamed down Henry’s face, but he visibly managed to take hold of himself. He then turned and began to walk off the platform, but Kaz grabbed him and hauled him back. They had another exchange of words, this time with hard expressions on both sides, that ended with Henry giving that signature lopsided grin, a shrug, and a nod.
Kaz, still with a tight grip on Henry’s arm, slapped the microphone control and spoke to the Assembly. “I call for a vote, that we allow the man who was just sanctioned to give final words to this Assembly before he is forever banished. For all that he may be accused of, he was still here for years, and there is good that he did. By the rules we operate under, a simple majority of the Council should allow a single address by someone who is present, and allow the decree to be officially altered so it goes into full effect after a final address.”
If the buttons on Enibal’s console had been physical he’d have probably broken a finger. Instead, his entire hand ended up passing through the button. With his own vote on the board so fast, several more followed. It did not end up a near thing, but it did not come in unanimous either.
They still have no idea. None of them have any idea. In spite of himself, a smile began to split Enibal’s face. What is that phrase? ‘smoke and mirrors.’ Somehow, brother, this is fitting. I still don’t like it, but I think I can make peace with it. An image of the Confederation’s President came to his mind and he felt anger rise. Well, a sort of peace with it.
The vote completed, and Kaz spoke. “Very well, my fellow sapients. We, the Council of the League, will allow the man we just banished to address the Council, and the League, one last time.” Kaz turned to Henry. “My friend, whatever you wish to say, the floor is yours one last time.”
Henry stepped forward on his platform as Kaz made his way back to his own. Sounds of confusion, befuddlement, disbelief, and grumbles of dawing realization filtered their way through the Chamber, punctuated with the occasional shout of denial as someone realized what had happened.
Henry smiled and spread his hands wide, palms up. “Thank you. I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Your vote has freed me. I have served my species, and my nation, and this Council, for countless years, and it is time for me to retire. And, now, thanks to your mercy and adherence to League Law, I can finally retire in peace.”
A roar erupted: Fury, Anger, Betrayal… and occasional laughter. Henry stood th...
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