The months after Davys became president were less chaotic than Valerya had imagined they would be. Davys moved into the presidential palace and carried out his duties as president. He ruled with an iron fist, showing no mercy to perpetrators of crimes. If one was so much as in the general environment where treason was discussed, they and their families were executed with immediate effect. He was brutal and made sure the division leaders knew it. He achieved what his father could not, by quelling rebellion, because he was not afraid to spill blood. He was fine with being referred to as the blood king.
As bloody as he was, he was also just. Within his first six months in office, he undid all the negotiations his father had previously made. He allocated much more resources than ever before to level three. He ordered builders to construct more schools and markets for them. He gave them proton beams for trade. He was loved and hated at the same time. It sat just fine with him.
A constant that remained in those months, were talks about his marriage. The Volyrts were behind Auguri Anna and were solidly against anyone else. Davys loved Valerya, but he knew, deep down, marrying a Volyrts would make him the most powerful president that ever existed. A president who could merge the presidency, with the Volyrts, who were a powerful nuisance. A feat no one had managed to do before. He didn't particularly care for the girl, but what he could achieve by marrying her made her more attractive.
Valerya came into the study, smiling. She sat on his lap and kissed him deeply.
"Ohhh. Why the special treatment babe?" he asked with a grin.
"The new recruits have started to respect me. They now begin to believe I'm worthy to be their leader," she replied as she kissed him again. In the last six months, she had not had an easy time as the leader of the palace guards. Her subordinates were second and third maestros at the very least, men and women with not only more experience but more training than she had. She was then stuck with the herculean task of trying to convince them she was worthy to be their leader.
At first, they disliked her because they thought she was given the position because she was sleeping with the president, but over time, due to her perseverance, hard work, impeccable leadership and immense love for the empire, the dislike eventually became indifference, and then unwilling respect. Even with their personal opinions of her, her orders were being obeyed without question. It was the law of the empire.
Sebastian faced similar due to his massive promotion as well, but unlike her, he only had ten subordinates, considering the fact that his ward was bread dead, and didn't need much protecting. They occasionally met up in the massive hallways, but never really had any deep conversations.
"I am happy they've begun to, babe," Davys said. She looked at him closely and blurted, "The Volyrts are still forcing that child on you, aren't they?"
"They do know how to apply pressure, I must admit," he conceded.
"Why don't we end this now? Our relationship. I know there are a lot of benefits in the alliance, and it would benefit us all."
He looked at her before getting up, placing her gently on her feet as he did so. "Do you trust me?" he asked.
"Of course."
"Good. Because I have something to show you. Something I've never shown anyone," he said.
"Would you come with me?" he asked.
She nodded and he held her hand as he led her out the door.
Valerya had never been to level two. To her, it seemed dingy and definitely less colourful than level one. The buildings were smaller, the clothes its occupants wore were shabbier, and it smelled a little like pee and failed dreams. She noted that it was fairly easy to move from level one to two, partly because she was with the president, and he had an automatic pass, even though they were going incognito, and partly because most people moved from level one to two just for amusement, to reassure themselves that people had it worse than them, to make up for the emptiness in their lives.
She also noticed that it was much more difficult for people coming from level two to level one. There were checkpoints every hundred paces, and the individuals who made it past each one were thoroughly searched by holograms.
The moon was bright, and Davys got out of his car. They approached a bridge, and Valerya noted tens of dirty, unwashed bodies lying beneath it, their small packs of clothing acting as makeshift pillows. Most of them were sleeping but the few who weren't didn't even bother to pay them any attention.
"Why have you brought me here?" she asked.
"See the little girl over there?" he asked as he pointed to a small figure, which could have easily been mistaken for a bundle of clothes.
"Yeah," Valerya replied.
"That's Rose, the Vireot," he said.
"Who's…," she began but gasped when the weight of his words hit her.
"The Vireot? You rescued her?" she asked with wide eyes.
"From the Volyrts, yes. I did. I couldn't let them kill an innocent child, so I recruited some help to fake her death and sneak her out. It's better she stays here than suffer a cruel fate."
Valerya kept silent. She really did not know what to think.
"I hid this from the Volyrts. If they do know, it would lead to a complication, at best. If I do marry Auguri Anna, I will not have to hide anything ever again. I would have all the power, and there's nothing they can do about it."
Davys held her hands and looked her in the eyes. "I showed you this so you could see that I trust you completely. I want you to be my partner for the rest of my life. I want you to share my bed, my power and my life. I will marry Auguri Anna."
Valerya was stunned into silence before extricating her hands, "so basically, you want me to be your mistress while you marry that child for power," she clarified. The shame on his face said it all. For the second time in her life, she gave him a resounding slap. Unlike the first time, she knew the consequences, and unlike the first time, she didn't care.
"Take me home. NOW!" she yelled as she stomped back to the car.`