Chapter Eleven #4
Returning after using the box, I washed my hands in a small bowl of murky water and made my way to the now awake royal twins.
Teryn sat with Jaska, both still discussing opening up more formal talks with Aelir, the queen, and the vahasi about the new shipping lanes, ports, dues, and a variety of things I was not familiar with.
They sat on the ground, on mats, sipping fish stew just as we all were, the ambassador unwilling to eat at the table as was his right due to his prestigious title.
The twins ate well, enjoying the sweet tarts that Jaska’s woman had fried up over a low fire. I ate only enough to quiet my gut. The elderly and the youngsters should be filled first. I was happy with a small bowl and a hard roll.
Jaska left Teryn to join his woman and son. I moved from the small fire to sit with the ambassador in the corner. He looked weary, yet his golden eyes glowed with pleasure.
“Sit, dear, sit.” He patted the mat. I dropped down beside him, still in full coil root armor, and stared at his face. “I must look a fright.”
“You look handsome as always,” I confessed as I let my shoulders rest on the smooth rock wall.
The tension in my lower back eased slightly.
“I must admit that I have missed things being discussed when the twins wished for me to be with them. I find it difficult to deny them a few minutes of my time. I am the only familiar face they see.”
“Please do not apologize. You should ease their discomfort when they need it. The talks are going well. I think the king will be amenable to many of the things the Gray Ice are asking for. Fair wages for dockworkers, open ports to all vessels, lower docking fees for smaller ships. Cargo is a large concern as are the wages being offered to those who will work on the docks. There also seems to be a general displeasure with how the wealth is distributed across all the lands of Melowynn. Something that I understand and agree with, but—and this is a large but—the noble houses are not going to open their coffers to let the common people race in to empty them. Centuries of the rich growing richer on the backs of the poor will not be eradicated with a treaty about land, facilities, and dock maintenance.”
“Are they asking for such things?” Surely no one thought massive social change would take place with the snap of a finger.
“Not so much asking as making it a talking point to bring before the heads of state. This would entail gathering all the rulers, not just the elven leaders, but the queen of the dwarves, the mispack of the Yeti, and the prizerman of the Tundra who has yet to agree to even interact with the elves on the other side of the Witherhorn.”
“Not a small task,” I offered and got a tired nod of his head.
“Not a small task at all, but one that I have agreed to lay before each head of state for consideration. That is the best I can do right now. The ports are a start.”
“Every great journey begins with a starting place.”
He smiled and then let his head drop onto my shoulder. “Such a wise warrior you are. Wake me when Jaska is ready to return to the table.”
Both negotiators slept until the moon sisters rose and returned to the table.
The talks stalled for a short time so we could all stand in the opening of the cave to watch the moon sisters align, the night growing darker for a long stretch of time.
The old people prayed to their gods, the children danced for the moon twins to play hide and seek with them, and I watched a bird drop from the starry night to land in front of Teryn.
A peach-faced parrot. The ambassador looked at me and then at Jaska.
“Our time is growing short,” Teryn said to Jaska.
“This will be from King Aelir, I am certain, demanding a reply before he must flex his military power. Jaska, are you willing to agree to the outline for the ports that we have hammered out? The rest will be a slow slog that will take many seasons to bring about, but I will see that we will begin working on the changes that are so badly needed.”
“I think it is a good place to start. Tell the king I am willing to come back to Celear for my trial.” His woman began to whimper into her hands.
He tugged her to his side, kissed the braids piled atop her head, and turned to his backers.
“This is the opening that we wished for, and it will pry open the doors of suppression that have kept us at the feet of the powerful for far too long. My time under the castle will not be spent idly. I will pen letters to the kings, the vahasi, the queens, and the others who rule our lands to remind them that the Court of the Gray Ice, a court made of simple people for simple people, is alive and well across the lands of Melowynn.”
The crowd cheered. His woman wept. His son clung to his leg.
“Captain Pasil,” Princess Alfina asked while tugging at my hand. I looked down at her and her brother. “Does this mean we’re going home to our papas and mamas and kitten?”
I glanced at Teryn. He gave me a slight nod, so I knelt to speak to the twins at their level.
“Yes, Your Highnesses, we are going home.”