by Robin Roseau
“That would be perfect. I’d like her to disguise my hair when she takes me to and from her home. From some portions of the embassy, you can see the street in front of her home.”
“I’ll see to this,” Olivia said.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You said three things.”
I nodded. “I’ve thought about this for a while, but it came to a head in the last few weeks. Lady Olivia, I am now speaking strictly as myself with no authority at all. This is simply my opinion, and I haven’t discussed it with anyone else.”
“All right.”
“I believe the dispensation I required to travel here with my troop was unnecessarily complicated. While I agree with Queen Lisdee’s basic policy, I think it should be amended.”
I waited, and then Ahlianna said, “My sister is careful to avoid suggesting she is speaking with any authority. I do not feel remotely the same need. I absolutely am speaking with authority. I agree with Darfelsa.”
“Is there a proposal to discuss?” Olivia asked.
“My sister is about to make one,” Ahlianna said. “I may make adjustments. I imagine we won’t come to conclusions today.”
“No, we won’t,” Olivia said. Then they all turned to look at me again.
“I agree with the basic policy, almost entirely. However, given the nature of the growing relationship between our countries as well as with both my sister and myself, I believe a change isn’t an unreasonable request.”
“What change do you request, Princess Darfelsa?” Olivia asked.
“I think that the rules could be loosened somewhat when a modest group such as mine, being led by someone who has had her first, and possibly with additional restrictions, has a good reason to travel through Ressaline.”
“Keep going,” Olivia said.
“That’s it.”
She shook her head. “Keep going. You know I’m not going to even discuss it with that as a starting point.”
“Fine. No particular individual should be able to use this excessively. If I were to come and go, then at some point anyone who repeatedly travels with me should linger here, shall we say.”
“That’s better, but keep going.”
“I don’t want to assign numbers or something,” I said. “You could at least let me know what you think so far.”
“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Olivia said. “It matters what Queen Lisdee thinks. You need to convince me before I’m even going to bring it up with her. Or you can detour to Ressaline City and discuss it directly.”
“I’m not currently free to do that, but I might be in the future.”
“Perhaps,” Ahlianna said, “You should tighten your argument now.”
“Fine. I can offer examples for what I don’t mean. I don’t mean that a trader should cut through Ressaline over and over. It should be isolated, such as my current trip. I do not intend to return home by the same path, or if I do, I will cross the border from Gandeet alone after arranging an escort. However, I suspect I will be returning to Barrish directly.”
“I will most likely have heard from Queen Lisdee by that time, and she may invite you to return via Charth, with your existing honor guard. However, unless she does, I would prefer your current plan.”
I nodded. “I could argue Ahlianna and I have been good friends.”
“I would agree with you, but you haven’t made this proposal that specific, and I don’t think that is your intention, either.”
“It’s not,” I said. “Does it need to be?”
“Possibly,” Olivia said. “Frankly, I see little reason why Ressaline should facilitate traders passing through our land on their way to Gandeet. If that’s what they want to do, they should plan accordingly.”
“I agree with you,” I said. “On the other hand, if I’d had a reason to return to Charth suddenly, I couldn’t have done it, and I think that’s a major mistake. Imagine… Hmm. Imagine an emergency summons for Ahlianna, and Father needed me to carry the message and not simply a member of the Royal Couriers. You wouldn’t have had an escort waiting for me, but there aren’t enough members of the Royal Guard I could recruit. But even if we had made those arrangements, and there were ten women I could have asked, chances are they would be here with Ahlianna already. If you want Ahlianna and me to feel truly welcome, I don’t think you’re meeting us halfway. When is the last time Gionna visited Barrish? But I’m here nearly all the time, and this is now Ahlianna’s second visit. Where is the Ressaline embassy in Barrish?”
I looked away. “I don’t have the authority to ask that last question, and if I’d thought about it, I probably wouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s a fair question and makes a fair point,” Olivia replied. “Darfelsa, I agree with everything you’ve said.”
“So do I,” added Gionna.
“If your proposal was extremely narrow, I would support you,” Olivia continued. “If it were a troop, limited in size to no larger than your current troop, led by either of the two of you, I could bring that to the queen, with suitable other language.”
“Such as?”
“Such as, when reasonably possible, you plan ahead.”
“And arrange a few more Firsts.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want to work out the exact language,” I said. “I’m trying to start a conversation. Frankly, I think it’s going to take a lot of conversations, and I’m not going to be here for them.”
“I am,” Ahlianna said. “But sister, you’re the expert here more than I am.”
“But you agree with me?”
“I do. Could we come to a tentative agreement now, with an agreement to review it in a few years?”
“Two?”
“Three,” Olivia suggested. “Make it very, very specific, Princess.”
“Fine. If either Ahlianna and I were leading a modest troop, but maybe very slightly larger than my current one, of all women, and we have a good reason, to do it this way…”
“Now you’re getting sloppy,” Ahlianna said. “Tighter, not looser.”
“We haven’t even decided if we agree in principle.” I turned to Allium. “You’re the ambassador. Should I have brought this to you?”
“Maybe, but I only would have been offended if you’d had this discussion and I weren’t here,” she said. “Or maybe if I disagreed with you.” She offered a smile.
“Fine.” I thought about it, then I made a tight proposal.
Olivia listened and then asked, “Now you’re asking for twenty?”
“I didn’t want to quibble over ten versus twelve. Twenty covers anything I can envision.”
“Tighter.”
I sighed. “Up to eight soldiers and six other people.”
“Too many.”
“Twelve maximum then. Plus Ahlianna or me.”
“If this is happening repeatedly, then they take Firsts,” Olivia said. “And when you have a choice of someone who has had her First, and someone who hasn’t, you take the one who has.”
“Agreed, but anyone who has had her First doesn’t count against my twelve.”
“No.”
“If I travel with Ahlianna and four royal couriers, because they’re coming this way, and I’m traveling onto Gandeet, that only leaves me seven. But it’s ridiculous that we should have to instead travel separately to fulfill this agreement. Frankly, it’s better for this agreement if we’re together. And I think that’s better than if we divide into two groups, and we each have twelve with us.”
“I rather imagine I would be vexed if you did that,” Olivia replied. She paused. “Lisdee isn’t going to agree to twelve, Darfelsa.”
“She would rather I hadn’t come. She would rather I hadn’t just arranged to have my first challenge. I suppose she would rather I didn’t show Gretchena any attention, too.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Yes, you did. My primary mission is to Gandeet, and if I’d had to compromise on my security detai
l in order to detour here, I couldn’t have argued that with Father. But he gave me a secretary and two members of the foreign service. As is, I am not convinced that’s enough, and the foreign service wanted to send men. So yes, you’re saying you believe Queen Lisdee would rather I had not come.”
I stood up. “With permission, I will depart for Gandeet in the morning. If you will not allow my troop to exit your country to the east, we will return to Flarvor and take that path.”
“Sit down, Darfelsa.”
“You just told me I’m not welcome here, Lady Olivia,” I said. “You should have denied my request. I’m sorry for being a bother.”
I turned for the door and would have kept going, but the only voice in the room that could stop me did. “Darfelsa.” I froze at my sister’s voice. “That’s not what Olivia said.”
I turned around. “Yes, Ahlianna, it is. With the Royal Courier, we are fifteen in all. And as I intend to ask Allium for one more of her couriers, it is my intention we’ll be sixteen heading east. And I’m not convinced I brought as much staff with me as I’m going to need, but I probably wouldn’t have brought more, regardless. However, I couldn’t have gone with fewer guards, and I couldn’t have gone without the extra staff, and I want two couriers who I know I trust. Lady Olivia just told me Queen Lisdee would not have wanted me to travel this way, and I should have taken the direct route. If my basic proposal has merit, you and Allium are more than qualified to work out the details. I’m not going to be here to do so. Maybe the limit is four. Maybe Queen Lisdee won’t budge at all. I won’t be here to argue it.”
“Please sit down, Princess Darfelsa,” Olivia said gently.
“The right number is twenty,” I told her. “Twenty means we don’t quibble. Twenty means that Ahlianna and I can plan a proper mission and know that our good friends won’t give us cold greetings when we arrive. Twenty means I can act with confidence. Twenty means you trust my judgement. ‘Twelve is too many’ means you’re right to distrust me, and that I never should have asked to come by this route. ‘Twelve is too many’ means I should just have disappeared from the lives of some people who are important to me.”
I turned away, on the verge of tears. I stepped to the door. “Ambassador Cuprite, you haven’t seen it, but in my papers is a parchment signed by King Leander-”
“Darfelsa!”
I spun to my sister. “Right now, I outrank you. I have a parchment that declares I am operating with Father’s authority in order to complete my mission. Ambassador, on authority of the king, please negotiate my departure from Ressaline. I would prefer direct travel to Gandeet, but if that is not possible, we will travel via Tebradine. Thank you.”
Then I spun and stormed from Government House.
Dinner
Ahlianna found me in my room, staring out the window. I didn’t turn when she entered. “Very dramatic, Little Sister.” She stepped behind me and set her hands on my shoulders.
“What was decided?” I asked her.
“That you were right.”
I turned. “Excuse me?”
“Every word. Well, almost. No, you don’t outrank me. Your paper is specific to this message. My papers aren’t.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that. Did I offend you?”
“Impressed the crap out of me, although I presume you were in tears by the time you made it from Government House.”
“No. I held them back longer than that.”
“Olivia has asked me to convince you to return to your original plans. You are authorized to depart Ressaline on your schedule along whatever path you feel is appropriate.”
“Twelve is too many,” I quoted.
“You were right about that, too, and it was Gionna who said it first.”
“She carries less authority than I do. And I’m not talking about my new authority, either.”
“I know. But her mother does listen to her, at least when discussing relationships with Flarvor.”
“I feel like an idiot. Why is father sending me?”
“You shouldn’t feel like an idiot. Frankly, Olivia’s attitude was insulting.”
“Excuse me?”
“I know we treat her like she’s perfect,” Ahlianna said. “I have a great deal of respect for her. But she’s as human as the rest of us, and Queen Lisdee sounds like a difficult woman to please. Frankly, if I’d actually been dealing with Ressaline on a continued basis, I’d have been offended much sooner.”
“Really?”
“Queen Lisdee’s policy is too absolute, and it’s hurting their entire economy. It’s also on the verge of damaging relationships. You weren’t intending to be back, were you?”
“I don’t know. Probably not. Not if they made me head south.”
“There are details to work out,” Ahlianna said. “Gionna is going to argue for twenty.”
“With Olivia?”
“With Lisdee.”
“Good. It’s probably moot.”
“It’s only moot if you decide it to be. They’ll be here for dinner in another half hour. We need to dress.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Gretchena will be disappointed.”
“Ahlianna,” I whined.
“Darfelsa, you were right,” she said.
“I acted like a child.”
“Tell me you’ve never seen Father storm from a meeting, and no one dares to insult him the way Olivia was insulting you.” I said nothing to that. “No one knows what Queen Lisdee is going to say, but even Olivia admitted you were probably right. She just doesn’t know if she can convince Lisdee.”
“Then maybe I won’t be back until Lisdee comes to Barrish to discuss it with me.”
“You could suggest that and then accept a compromise to meet her in Charth.”
“Seriously?”
She shrugged. “Of course, Gretchena will probably be in Charth.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said. “You’re saying I can come to dinner and not feel like I should be ashamed?”
“Absolutely. You don’t owe any apologies or further explanations. You should thank Olivia for permission to continue your mission as planned. Let her grovel for the rest. If you’re not satisfied, Allium can arrange a practice challenge for you.”
“With her?”
She laughed. “Unlikely. But you don’t need Olivia. They do practice challenges all the time, and the duchess isn’t involved.”
“I’ll think about that.”
“All right, then. Let’s make you beautiful.”
“You mean my bloodshot eyes aren’t my best feature?”
“They’re very artistic,” she replied.
She took care of me as best she could, then hurried to her room but told me she didn’t need me.
It was only another fifteen minutes before there was a fresh knock. “Enter!”
Allium stepped into the room. I was back at the window, but she would have seen the gown. She stepped up behind me and set her hands on my now bare shoulders. “Princess,” she said.
“Darfelsa.”
“Right now, looking like this, you are all princess,” she replied.
“I apologize if I caused more difficulty for you, Ambassador.”
“I’m fairly certain your sister has already told you everything I could about that.”
“Still.”
“Still,” she said. “Darfelsa, I’d like to know your intentions.”
I turned. “I wish to remain approximately a week.” She nodded. “I wish to arrange a practice challenge for tomorrow or the next day.” She nodded again. “When I leave, I want one more of your couriers. I am not invoking those papers when I ask for her.”
“Granted, but what’s going on in Gandeet?”
“Ask Ahlianna and me tomorrow morning.”
“All right.”
“Beyond that, I’m not sure,” I said. “If Queen Lisdee is vexed with my trip through her country, or if she feels my proposal is entirely unreasonable, then I do not kno
w if I will return to Charth.”
“That saddens me.”
“Do you blame me?”
“Frankly, no. Gionna added my name to the list, alongside yours and Ahlianna’s.”
“I should have thought of that. I was only trying to start a conversation, not work out details, or I’d have written something down.”
“You were clear, even if no one else was clearly listening,” she replied.
“I don’t want to make ultimatums.”
“Gretchena?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“No. And you, and my position here.”
“Is that all?”
“No, but frankly, if Lisdee turns me down, then it will permanently damage my relationship with any Ressalines in a position of authority. Is that wrong?”
“Probably not, but it won’t be Olivia or Gionna’s fault.”
“Do you think I’m being, I don’t know? Childish?”
“No, I do not.”
“I was serious about that other thing.” She brushed my shoulder with her fingers, and I nodded.
“I know you were,” she said. “I can’t.”
“You could,” I said. “And Ahlianna would let you, too.”
“Ahlianna has teased the shit out of me over it,” she said.
“Is it because you met me when I was fifteen?”
“No, it’s because our relationship is confusing enough. I’ve become partly Ressaline, but only partly.”
“I think you know I have a girl crush on you. Should I assume that’s a permanent ‘no’?”
“You are still a member of my staff.”
“We’ll see.”
“And if that has changed, you won’t be here, Darfelsa.”
“I suppose that’s true. But Father has pointedly told me my position here is of limited duration, Allium.”
“And I still won’t do anything I couldn’t explain to Ralifta.”
“So yes, I should consider that a permanent ‘no’. Ethics suck.”
She laughed.
“So, who beat my sister?”
“Ask her yourself.”
“I’m asking you.”
“Tough.”
I sighed dramatically. She slipped my arm in hers and tugged me to the door. “Our guests will arrive soon.”