Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
M ila’s heart raced as she and Roq approached the grand council chambers. The massive doors loomed before them, ornately carved with scenes from Tharvisian history. She took a deep breath, steadying herself for the challenge ahead.
“Ready?” Roq’s voice was low, his black and silver eyes searching her face.
Mila nodded, squaring her shoulders. “As I’ll ever be. Let’s go dazzle them with science and charm.”
Roq’s lips quirked in a small smile. “I’ll leave the dazzling to you. I’ll stick to looking princely and nodding at appropriate intervals.”
Mila snorted, grateful for the moment of levity. “Don’t sell yourself short, Your Highness. I’ve seen you dazzle with the best of them.”
The playful moment passed as the doors swung open, revealing a cavernous room that practically oozed power and tradition. Mila’s steps faltered for a moment as she took in the scene. The council members sat in a semi-circle on elevated thrones, their faces stern and unwelcoming. The air hung heavy with formality and the weight of centuries of Tharvisian protocol.
Mila felt like an ant under a magnifying glass as she walked beside Roq to the center of the chamber. The council members’ gazes bore into her, some curious, others openly hostile. She recognized a few faces from her research into Tharvisian politics - there was Councilor Farin, known for his isolationist views, and Councilor Iyra, who had long opposed any collaboration with Earth.
As they reached the speaking platform, Roq squeezed her hand briefly before stepping forward. His voice rang out, clear and authoritative.
“Esteemed members of the council, we come before you today with urgent news regarding the future of our planet.”
Roq launched into their presentation, his fingers dancing over the holographic controls as he brought up charts and data visualizations. Mila watched, impressed as always by his command of the technology and his ability to break down complex information.
When it was her turn to speak, Mila stepped forward, pushing aside her nervousness. This was her element - the science, the data, the irrefutable evidence of the crisis facing Tharvis.
“As you can see from these soil samples,” she began, bringing up a holographic display of her own, “the illegal mining operations have accelerated the depletion of key minerals essential to Tharvis’s ecosystem. But this is only part of the problem.”
She delved into the details of their discoveries, explaining how the planet’s core instability was interacting with the surface-level damage to create a potentially catastrophic situation. As she spoke, she could see some council members leaning forward, their interest piqued. Others, however, remained stubbornly impassive.
When she finished, there was a moment of tense silence. Then, Councilor Farin spoke up, his voice dripping with disdain.
“While your... research... is certainly interesting, Ms. Arison, I fail to see how the opinion of an outsider should influence Tharvisian policy. Our planet has survived far worse crises without foreign intervention.”
Mila bristled at the dismissal. She opened her mouth to retort, but Roq stepped in smoothly.
“Councilor, with all due respect, Mila’s expertise has been invaluable in uncovering the true extent of the crisis. Without her environmental knowledge, we would still be unaware of the deeper issues threatening our planet.”
“Prince Roqron,” another councilor interjected, “while we appreciate your dedication to this... project, surely you can see that implementing such drastic changes based on limited data would be irresponsible.”
Mila clenched her fists, biting back the angry words that threatened to spill out. She’d faced skepticism and dismissal before in her career, but never with such blatant disregard for hard scientific evidence.
To her surprise, King Brakus spoke next, his deep voice silencing the murmurs that had broken out among the council.
“We have heard the evidence presented by Prince Roqron and Ms. Arison. Their findings are troubling and warrant serious consideration.”
A ripple of surprise ran through the chamber. Mila glanced at Roq, who looked equally taken aback by his father’s support.
But the king’s words weren’t enough to sway the entire council. For the next hour, Mila and Roq fielded questions and countered arguments, their frustration growing with each dismissive remark and delay tactic.
Finally, the head of the council raised a hand for silence. “We thank Prince Roqron and Ms. Arison for their... thorough presentation. The council will need time to deliberate on this matter. We will reconvene in three days to discuss potential courses of action.”
Mila’s heart sank. Three days? The planet didn’t have that kind of time.
As they left the council chambers, Mila could barely contain her anger. “Three days? They’re going to sit around and ‘deliberate’ while Tharvis literally falls apart beneath our feet?”
Roq’s jaw was set, his own frustration evident. “Politics,” he said, the word sounding like a curse. “But we’re not giving up. We’ll find another way to make them see reason.”
Mila nodded, grateful for his determination. Despite her anger at the council, she couldn’t help but feel a flutter of something else - appreciation, attraction, a growing sense of partnership that went beyond their shared mission.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of strategy sessions and data analysis. By the time evening rolled around, Mila was mentally exhausted but still buzzing with frustrated energy.
“Come on,” Roq said, appearing at her elbow as she pored over yet another set of environmental readings. “We’re having dinner with the family. A chance to regroup and maybe gain some new perspectives.”
Mila hesitated, but the thought of spending another hour staring at data she’d already memorized made her relent. “Fine. But if anyone asks me to explain soil composition one more time, I might scream.”
Roq’s laugh was low and warm, sending a shiver down her spine. “Noted. I’ll make sure to steer the conversation toward less... earthy topics. Though I can’t promise Zora won’t try to commune with the dinner plants.”
Mila snorted, grateful for his attempt at humor. “I’d pay good money to see that, actually. Maybe she can convince the vegetables to stage a revolt against the council.”
The private dining room was a stark contrast to the formal council chambers. Warm lighting cast a soft glow over the elegant table, and the scent of exotic Tharvisian dishes filled the air. Mila’s stomach growled, reminding her that she’d barely eaten all day.
Raelee and Vex were already there, heads bent close together in conversation. They looked up as Mila and Roq entered, Raelee immediately rising to pull Mila into a fierce hug.
“I heard about the council meeting,” she said, her voice tight with anger. “Those narrow-minded, pompous-“
“Raelee,” Vex said, his tone gently warning. “Remember, some of those ‘narrow-minded’ councilors are within earshot.”
Raelee rolled her eyes but subsided, though Mila could still see the fire in her sister’s gaze. “Fine, fine. I’ll save my tirade for later. But just know, I’ve got some choice words lined up that would make even a Tharvisian space pirate blush.”
Vex raised an eyebrow, a smile playing at his lips. “Is that a challenge, my dear? Because I assure you, my vocabulary of colorful expletives is quite extensive.”
“Oh really?” Raelee leaned in, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Care to give us a demonstration, Your Highness?”
Vex glanced around the room, then leaned in close to whisper something in Raelee’s ear. Whatever he said made her eyes widen and a blush creep up her neck.
“Well,” Raelee said, fanning herself dramatically, “consider me both scandalized and impressed.”
Mila couldn’t help but laugh at their antics. It was a welcome distraction from the stress of the day.
As they took their seats, King Brakus and Queen Erida entered, followed closely by Dravek and, to Mila’s surprise, Zora.
“Hope you don’t mind me crashing the family dinner,” Zora said, her eyes twinkling. “I heard there might be some juicy political drama to dissect. Plus, I couldn’t pass up the chance to see Dravek’s stoic facade crack under the weight of my charm.”
Dravek, who had been in the process of sitting, nearly missed his chair. He recovered quickly, shooting Zora a look that was part exasperation, part intrigue. “I assure you, Lady Zora, my ‘facade’ is quite intact.”
Zora grinned, undeterred. “We’ll see about that. I’ve got all night to work my magic.”
Mila couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s irreverence. “Pull up a chair. There’s plenty of frustration to go around, and apparently some top-notch entertainment.”
As servers began bringing out the first course, conversation flowed around the table. Mila found herself seated between Roq and Raelee with Vex across from them. The king and queen sat at the heads of the table, while Dravek seemed to be doing his best to put as much distance between himself and Zora as possible - a task made difficult by Zora’s determined efforts to engage him in conversation.
“So,” Raelee said, spearing a piece of what looked like glowing purple fruit with her fork, “how exactly did the council justify their complete and utter idiocy?”
“Raelee,” Queen Erida chided gently, but Mila could see the hint of a smile on the older woman’s face.
“What? It’s a valid question. They’re sitting on their hands while the planet is in crisis. If that’s not the definition of idiocy, I don’t know what is.”
Vex placed a hand on Raelee’s arm, his touch visibly calming her. “While I agree the council’s response is... frustrating, we need to approach this strategically. Antagonizing them further won’t help our cause.”
“You’re right, of course,” Raelee sighed, leaning into his touch. “But it would be so satisfying to tell them exactly where they can stick their ‘deliberations.’”
Vex chuckled, his thumb tracing small circles on Raelee’s arm. “Save that fire for our sparring session later. I have a feeling I’m going to need all my skills to keep up with you tonight.”
The heated look that passed between them made Mila suddenly very interested in her plate. She cleared her throat, turning to Roq. “So, um, any ideas on how we can get through to the council? They seemed determined to dismiss everything we said, no matter how much evidence we presented.”
Roq opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a burst of laughter from further down the table. Mila looked over to see Zora gesticulating wildly, apparently in the middle of a story.
“...and then the flower said, ‘Well, that’s not very sage of you!’” Zora finished with a flourish.
There was a moment of silence, then King Brakus let out a booming laugh. “Delightful! I never thought I’d hear plant-based humor at the dinner table.”
Dravek, seated next to Zora, looked like he was trying very hard not to smile. “That was...” he paused, seeming to search for the right word, “unexpectedly amusing.”
Zora beamed at him. “High praise indeed from the stoic prince! I’ll have you know, I’ve got a whole garden of plant puns up my sleeve.”
“Please,” Dravek said, his tone dry but his eyes twinkling, “spare us the botanical bombardment.”