CHAPTER ELEVEN
“I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality,” Jasmine said, dropping into a deep curtsey on the front steps of the palace.
It was Thursday, five days after the Festival of the Goddess, and Jasmine’s official visit to Galandeen was at an end.
“It’s been a remarkable week. You have such a beautiful city.
And I hope you’ll have the opportunity to visit Iderheil in the near future.
There are so many sights I’d love to show you. ”
After a week of showing her around and being treated to her dry humour, Ryu couldn’t help but grin at the invitation. “I’d love to,” he said. “But perhaps not too soon,” he added. “Otherwise we’ll just reignite all those rumours about us supposedly getting married.”
The media had been having a field day with that one, with photos showing up daily in the newspapers of the pair of them visiting various landmarks around the city and plenty of speculation about whether the prince might finally be preparing to announce his soulmate to the world.
And when the palace had tried to quell the speculation by making an official announcement that the prince and princess were not engaged, one or two publications had even started trying to pair Jasmine up with Kentario!
He knew from a few subtle comments that his bodyguard had enjoyed her company as much as Ryu had, and the paparazzi had apparently noticed.
“I do have just one more question to ask,” Jasmine said, lowering her voice.
Nearby, the king and queen were busy saying their farewells to Jasmine’s aunt, and further back, Kentario and Danag were standing stiff and straight in their Guard uniforms, keeping an official eye on the gathering.
Jasmine glanced over at them. “It’s about your rather endearing bodyguard. ”
That got Ryu’s attention. Surely she wouldn’t…
She already had a soulmate. But Kentario had already registered his soul mark, he remembered belatedly.
So it was just about possible that he and Princess Jasmine…
No, they couldn’t be. Could they? The media couldn’t possibly have gotten that one right… ?
“What about him?” Ryu asked, realising after that fact that it had come out just a little too sharply.
Jasmine smiled, a mischievous, knowing look. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” she said coyly. “You’re rather protective of him. And he even more so of you. In a way that seems to extend just a little too far to be considered professional concern.”
“I don’t follow.”
She glanced around again, to make sure no one was close enough to overhear. “I think you like him.” The way she said it made it clear she meant as more than just friends.
“He’s not my soulmate,” Ryu said, embarrassed at having been caught out. Was he really so obvious that Jasmine had figured it out in just one week? Did that mean Kentario already knew? What about his parents? Was that why they kept trying to get him to take an interest in other nobles?
“Since when has that ever stopped anyone?” Jasmine asked.
“Since I’m a prince and I’m supposed to marry someone who can have babies and carry on the family line. And we’re both alphas. And he’s my bodyguard! Do you seriously need more reasons than that?”
“You know, he watches you exactly the same way you watch him. Quietly. Constantly. And always from a distance.”
“He does not,” Ryu replied automatically. But at the same time, his heart was doing a funny little dance in his chest. Kentario didn’t watch him. Not like that. He glanced over at the man… and was dismayed to realise that he was, in fact, watching Ryu.
“Fair enough,” Jasmine said, fluffing her hair nonchalantly. “I know when my advice is unwanted. Seriously, though… don’t settle for someone just because they’re suitable. Life’s too short to sell yourself out just to please everyone else.”
“Jasmine? Are you ready to go?” Jasmine’s aunt called loudly, gesturing to the car that had arrived to take them to the airport.
“Coming,” she called back. “Stay in touch,” she told Ryu, with a wink. “And let me know how things work out.” She followed her aunt to the car, offering a demure wave to Ryu and his parents, then slid into the seat, and the driver closed the door.
As the car pulled away, Elise sidled over to Ryu and put an arm around his shoulder. “Well, she seemed a lovely young lady,” she said. “And you enjoyed the week, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Ryu admitted, for once not feeling defensive about his mother’s eagerness to match him up with various young women. “And she invited me to visit Iderheil at some point in the future.”
“Oh, that’s delightful. So it wasn’t the dreadful trial you thought it was going to be?”
“You’re just trying to get me to admit that my mother was right about something,” Ryu said, with all the teenage sass he could muster. “Never. It was a complete disaster. And now the entire country thinks I’m going to marry her, and then Kentario’s going to steal her from me in a fit of jealousy.”
Elise burst out laughing. “The media does manage to come up with some fanciful stories, I’ll give you that. Oh, Captain Landis!” she said brightly, seeing the man arrive. “I wasn’t expecting to see you this morning.”
“Good morning, Your Majesty,” he greeted her, with the customary bow. “But actually, I was coming to see King Sou. I have news,” he told the king, “from the Arctesian ambassador. His flight was rescheduled. He’ll be landing at the Azrahn airport in thirty minutes.”
“That’s rather early,” Sou said in surprise. “He wasn’t due to arrive until late this afternoon. Why would he move his flight forward?”
“I don’t know for certain,” Maro said, “but I would guess it has something to do with the war in Biermarg. There’s been a sudden development overnight. Rebels have taken the city of Gylan and are moving towards the capital.”
“I want a briefing in my office right now,” Sou said, swiftly turning and heading in that direction. “Send a driver to collect the Ambassador, but stall him at the airport. Create a traffic jam if you can possibly manage it. Anything to buy us a few extra minutes before he gets here.”
“As you wish.” With a bow, he hurried off, leaving Ryu and Elise standing with matching expressions of bewilderment on the stairs outside the palace.
? ? ?
By mid afternoon, Ryu had developed a whole new respect for his father’s skills as a negotiator.
For all that he’d disagreed with the king’s decisions on Nalmaga, and on plenty of other minor issues in the past few months, his patience and persistence in dealing with their current visitor had won Ryu’s admiration, where Ryu himself would have been tempted to simply order for the man to be beheaded.
But one of the conditions for Ryu being allowed to sit in on this set of meetings was that he was there simply as an observer – which, in this instance, Ryu had to agree had been a good call.
The Arctesian ambassador, a middle-aged man by the name of Fredrik, was an entirely slimy sort of person.
He was an alpha and had apparently decided that Ryu was an omega, for all that his gender was well known on the international stage.
He’d spent half the meeting ignoring him entirely, and the other half shooting him subtle leers.
At one point, he’d even loosened his tie to allow his scent glands to show – a move that was titillating when done between interested partners in a night club, but completely inappropriate in a formal political meeting.
Fortunately, he’d followed traditional business protocol and doused himself in cologne, so at least Ryu didn’t have to be assaulted by whatever lecherous scent he was emitting.
But aside from being a complete ass, he was also proving entirely uncooperative on the political side of things.
“You must understand,” Fredrik was saying, “Arctesia has a completely different climate from Galandeen. The mountains are covered in snow for nine months of the year, and what farmland we have is far too valuable for food production to consider resettling thousand of refugees on it. We’ve already taken in over five hundred people, and by all reasonable measures, that’s the limit of our capacity. ”
King Sou’s frown grew deeper. “The war in Biermarg is only showing signs of getting worse,” he said.
“There are already thirty thousand refugees living in the camps, and that number is growing by the day. The rebels have started infiltrating the southern-most camps and are putting more and more civilian lives at risk. Goddess only knows what’s going to happen if they manage to reach the capital. ”
“I’m well aware of the political situation,” the ambassador said.
“But as I’ve stated time and again, Arctesia has neither the space to settle more refugees, nor the agricultural capacity to be sending large quantities of food to the camps.
In order to end the conflict, Biermarg must find a way to settle its own political disputes. ”
“If food production is your concern,” Sou said, trying a different tack, “then consider that Arctesia has many other industries capable of assisting the aid effort. You excel at producing electronics. Surely that could be-”
“I very much doubt that the refugees would welcome shipments of televisions or electric coffee machines,” Fredrik said with a chuckle.
“There’s no electricity in the camps, and as far as the civilian population goes, attempting to help them in such a laughable fashion would only add insult to injury. ”
Watching on silently, Ryu firmly reminded himself not to glare at the man.
The ambassador was being deliberately obtuse, the tactic obviously designed to obstruct any further effort to gain their cooperation.
Aside from the standard electronic gadgetry, the Arctesians also manufactured solar panels and wind-powered water pumps, not to mention their state-of-the-art medical equipment.
Any of those items could make a material difference in assisting the refugees.