A Rousing Proposal [PRIVATE]

The man laid his head in his hands as he waited for his advisor to enter the room. He stared down at the documents, critical anger evident in his expression. The bills sitting on his desk... they were just unbelievable. Unthinkable that someone would send him this.

"Deny the Centarus people-" he couldn't even finish the first portion of the bill. Looking to the next stack, he narrowed his eyes. "Allow for a revoking of Linzin militaristic rights, under section three code of law..." he stopped right then and there. Saying them out loud only made the hand situated on his desk ball tightly.

He would've hoped that this affront on his eyes was in jest. At least then he could punish them for having such a sick sense of humor. But, in his mind; he knew this was no joke. No one would send him these types of proposals under pretense of being funny. Because, racism in any sense was not something to joke about; no matter anyone's views on the issue. "This is going to take more than a simple glass of Ale to drown out."

Somehow, Anavitelli was going to blame him for all this. He just knew it. Sure, he had the utmost respect for the woman; but sometimes, her attitude was difficult to deal with. Despite her insolence, however, she was an incredibly good person to confide in; whose knowledge of public opinion and social equality was damn near unmatched. He could give that to his diminutive right-hand. She would be under scrutiny today, but in his heart he knew she was innocent. She would simply brush it off and help him figure this out.

Whenever she decided to show up, that is.

The male stared at his assistant as she came through the door. Hopefully he could salvage the the core of the issue without sparking any unnecessary animosities. It would've been easy to just dance around the subject, get something out of her while not alerting her of anything amiss.

Then again, the smart thing to do was to bring it up. "Ms. Bisclowe," he used her last name. He'd only done that when there was a problem, most often politically. "I've come into contact with a bill that I wish for you to review."

He motioned for her to approach his large desk, holding up the document to her.

Gaustion could understand her anger. Upon the document was an affront to even his own eyes. A terrible display of horrible thought processes by collective individuals.

"I know. This surprises even me," the monarch's eyes were transfixed on the document in her hands.

The bill was a set of laws, created with a racist intent. Its law set proposed many things, such as the induction of Centaren labor, denying the rights of freed Linzin slaves the ability to serve in the military, destruction of any artifacts associated with slave trading, and even going as far as to suggest that the Centarus people would rise up against the Empire.

It was sickening. He looked to his assistant with an intense stare. "Now, Anavitelli," he began. He paused for a moment, before continuing. "This bill's origin is traced toward one of the law meetings. Instead of delegating with the law makers, they sent it to me."

He folded his hands. "The fact that it's even in my lap, today, tells me that there was a backing from the people in the legislature. While not always the case, backing from the Judge Consul sends the files directly toward the Emperor for approval," he picked up a pen. "Obviously, I will not be supporting this bill, and will fight for the legislature to change it."

He then put the pen down, steeling himself. Time to lay down the bomb. "What I want to know, though, is if the passing of this bill is your doing..."

Gaustian could only internally wince at her response, as expected as it was. Frankly, he would've been much more suspicious had she responded any less extremely. "I understand your anger. It is a valid assumption," he said. "The bill is incredibly defamatory, a downright mockery of what we in Spera stand for."

He leaned back in his chair, gaze as penetrating as he could possibly make it. "Of course, this also falls on your head, seeing as you are the moderator and leader of the Body of Law; who happen to be the ones who passed this bill to me."

The emperor continued. "Now, tell me; are you involved in this, Ms. Bisclowe? Or, has your Body suddenly decided to send a bill to me under your nose?" Another piercing question.

As unfortunate as it was, her previous statement was absolutely correct. Anavitelli was the one thing that kept him from going over the edge in this job. While he was grilling her for all she was worth, anyone could tell that he truly trusted her. She was an honest woman - most often brutally.

Besides, her own race was being persecuted. He knew nothing of her home life, only that her father was an Elenor who served in the military. He only knew as much as she would tell him. That was the basis of their relationship. Now, that bond would be tested yet again. He had answers, now was the time to begin planning.

"Alright, Ana. I believe you," he said gently. "But, this must be tackled now. Racism is not something that can go unpunished. We will need to uncover who is responsible for the bill and punish them, accordingly. We will need to meet Selene, where we will discuss the issue."

He nodded to the woman. "We leave in twenty minutes. Be ready," Gaustian said, standing to his feet. "Call for the Enryon to pick us up. We'll meet her aboard it."