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"GET OUT!" Duke William screeched as the tailor stuck him with another pin, "You doddering idiot! I told you to be careful! I have enough people trying to whittle me away with their little pinpricks without my TAILOR joining them! OUT!"

The elderly tailor bowed and rushed out of the room as the young duke was not pleasant when he was upset, and he had been upset for the better part of a month.

"Do calm yourself, nephew..." A drolling call preceded the luxiously dressed badger as he entered the room, "He has been with the family for a long time after all..."

"Standing up for your fellow relics, uncle?!" The duke yelled as he tore off his half finished garment. He'd be damned before he'd let that quibbling moron finish it, "I suppose it makes sense that you want me being literally stabbed in the back while you circumvent my authority!"

"Your wit is always so sharp when you are irritated, my blusterous nephew," The badger wheedled, "But you know I only have your interests at heart," his simpering grin stopped before it reached his eyes.

"You're making everyone despise me, that's hardly within my interests!" the duke shot back as he threw on his robe, "If you had used your connections to prevent the tax levy like I asked, we'd have the support of the lower income sectors. I need them spending money, not lining your pockets with it!" He tied the belt of his robe with a defiant tug, "You're killing my investments and making the commoners protest!"

"I am...maintaining our authority," the uncle said as malice began creeping into his voice, "Do not forget who instructed and advised your young rule when your father died in the--"

"You mean when you let him die!" The duke yelled and flopped into a chair, "You could have gotten him out of the war, it wouldn't have even been difficult."

"I seem to remember a scab-kneed cub petitioning me to refrain from doing so," the uncle hissed as his tone dropped any simper. How much longer did he have to tolerate this headstrong whelp before...but, no...Better to live out of the spotlight. The rewards were so much greater without the risk of usurpation...

"A mistake for which I have paid every day that I have to listen to your voice," The duke scowled, missing the dangerous tone his uncle had taken, "Your council has just become a whistling din of self-preservation. You think like this is still the old days."

"Do not speak ill of times you did not see for yourself, nephew," the badger returned as he regained his more genial speech, "The generations behind us acted to give you this land, and with every new monarch we have had to sacrifice a little more of our ancestral rights; These youthful theories are not going to stop our coffers from running dry."

The duke snorted derisively. How could his uncle be so blind? Even his ancient eyes hadn't seen the time before the legislature. He probably hopes to run our royal authority into the ground so he can advise the next round of idiots appointed by the king. He even seemed to be helping it along by letting the provincial legislature overtax his people,

"We have to operate with more flexibility, uncle. Those servile masses have the representation of the Legislature, but it is I who will be blamed for the taxes."

"A situation you could have prevented had you not been too busy embarrassing yourself at the Imperial Court," the old badger scolded, "You left me in charge of our office and I acted in the way that has always preserved our family's legacy. The people pay us for our leadership, it is the aristocratic way."

The duke had been massaging his temples, not really listening until he realized the old badger had mentioned his disgrace from fighting that...insufferable suitor, "How did you hear of that?!" He balked loudly, "I only just returned?!"

The uncle rubbed his grizzled chin absently, "Regarding your little 'duel' with that commoner? It is my business to know of that as soon as it occurs, if not sooner." He sneered at the petulant duke.

"It was ridiculous nonsense!" The duke yelled as embarrassment slipped into his tone, "He made an utter fool of himself, the fact that he won is immaterial."

"And yet, it is he who has gained the king's confidence, nephew," the badger grinned menacingly, "And it seems that the Imperial nobles are already swaying to his favor as well. Not to mention that none of your proposals were approved."

The duke looked with sudden fear at his uncle. The old badger had always retained connections that made him a valuable adviser, but his talents for gaining information seemed to be outstripping his assumed reach.

"And what would you propose, uncle?" His voice quavered slightly even as he gave a snide grin, "Our control of the province is not of major concern to the king, it was a longshot at best."

The old badger grunted a chuckle, "It was a 'longshot' in that the king and the heir apparent care even less about the rights of royalty than you do, William," he sat slowly in a tall-backed chair across from his nephew, "This king has wilted away performing menial upkeep to his empire, barely exercising his supreme authority. And when that...repulsive spawn of his takes the throne, it will be even worse."

William balked at his uncle's disrespect, "That is still the crowned princess, uncle. I do not care for her taste in men but..." his eyes narrowed, "I will not risk you impugning my honor further by insulting our Monarch and especially the future Matriarch."

The old badger clapped his paws together with a patronizing look, "Don't tell me you are still harboring you little affections for the pretty princess, nephew," he chuckled with an odd, knowing glimmer in his eye, "Oh if only you knew what was hidden below that young face of hers..."

William was dumbfounded, what was his uncle driving at? "I grow weary of your persistence in delaying the facts, uncle...it does not suit your recent abilities to garner information so quickly. Either way, I forbid you from continuing to speak in this manner about her highness, even when we are alone." He waved his paw dismissively.

The old badger's eyes flashed above a malicious smile, "You will reconsider that when I tell you what I have discovered about the royal family, nephew. That princess you admire so is an abomination; a freak against her supposed gender." He pursed his lips in finality, refusing to elaborate.

William just laughed, however, "You seem to be considering the local gutter talk prized information now, uncle. I may have overestimated you earlier. Tell me, is this the one where the princess is actually male, or is it the one where she has a third eye under her fur?"

The badger did not change his expression, "Oh, but this was no gutter-joke, it comes directly from my royal brother's ancestry; your ancestry, William."

"And yours as well then..." William hummed, he was irritated with the delays, but the adviser always faffed about when there was something important...

"Just as you say. It is a curious thing, I have never admired our distance from the royal line until I found out what I am about to tell you," he leaned closer to his perplexed nephew, "The female heirs with the closest link to the royal heritage are often born with both sexes, a condition which has been kept secret for generations and has even spread throughout the nobility to some degree."

William chuckled incredulously, "And how did you discover this remarkable fiction, uncle?"

The badger grimaced, "Because this vile trait has been appearing with greater regularity outside of the Imperium. Some of the savage cultures even prize the anathemas, if you can believe it," he shuddered, "But, your trusted uncle has been investigating this rumor for years, and this new wave of...ugh...hermaphrodites all link back to the original monarchy of the Imperium; including the distant relative who gave you the birthright of this province."

William couldn't comprehend this, and he would certainly never call his uncle "trusted"...but the ancient badger had never actually lied to the young duke, presumably. Certainly he had been manipulative and witheld information at times, but he was always forthcoming when questioned; this tending to make his schemes all the more irritating for his blatant disregard of the duke's authority. And this new information, even if true, made the old badger a possible liability. He had some new scheme concocting, and William didn't like the implications.

"So, William," the uncle continued with annoyance at the lack of response, "Are you still so eager to get your hand up the skirts of that harlot? Afraid you'll find something to your liking?" He sneered.

"Silence!" William shouted as he jumped from his seat, "This goes no further! I despise your continuous plotting when we are already hanging on the edge of being displaced! My province is appealing against me to the Legislature, and all you can think about is some rumor that I still do not believe!" He pounded his fist on the nearby hearth to prove his point before lowering his voice dangerously, "And the next time you choose to insult me, you may find yourself ejected from the position you so clearly enjoy. I don't care about your services in the past; I rule this province, not you." he bared his teeth.

The old badger didn't waver under the outburst. Oh, William, you're only deluding yourself. But out loud he resumed his wheedling simper, "Just a harmless joke, my nephew. I merely wanted to prove to you how repugnant the idea is of this princess becoming queen."

"You will tell me your plan, uncle," The duke whispered, an uncommon gesture on his part, "You will tell me why you have used my resources to discover this...story."

The badger chuckled, "Perhaps you do not see the opportunity made available by the situation," he stood and poured himself a glass of whiskey, "If we can prove that the princess herself is one of these oddities, the royal family will have no choice but to disown her or to reveal their generational shame." He gently ran the glass past his nose, savoring the aroma,

"In either case, a new heir will have to be chosen. It will cause havoc among the aristocracy, and during that time we can establish ourselves without the risk of displacement by the Monarch," he took a casual sip, "We may even fall back to feudalism, with no central head to unite the legislatures if the people blame the king himself. We will be powerful again, nephew."

William was still unsure...he was even still grappling with the news of the princess's gender; a princess he had once sought himself. He shuddered at the implication...The promise of power was an attractive one, but the cost seemed high. Worse, his uncle would not be divulging this unless he required the duke's aid, and that put William at greater risk...

"You have yet to tell me how you plan to reveal the princess's condition, uncle," the duke finally said as the badger leered at him over his drink.

He drained the glass, "All in good time, nephew. All in good time..."