“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!”
Augen pressed his lungs when he rocked awake grasping for air, and he felt a dead weight against his chest and tried to move it off him. As his fingers dug into the soft and warm fleshy leg of Tonya’s, she rolled to the side, kicking Augen lightly as her feet dug into his face.
Once he figured out what's going on, Augen allowed himself to enjoy it. Though he was a disciplined and polite enough boy, the 'boy' part of him grabbed hold of his imagination and started running wild with it as he started to picture Tonya's arms around his neck, her beautiful face incredibly close and her breathe brushing past his nose...
“Um…nom…nom…” Tonya mumbled as she rolled to the side with a droll when Augen's body stiffened up, and he rolled up to sitting. His body was still screaming at him for the stunts he pulled, though all of those individual instances of pain were far more manageable than before. He reached for Tonya's Wave and rested easy when all he felt was calm.
“A fun night?” Wu asked the moment Augen stepped out of his room, and Augen’s shoulders shot up before he blushed and turned to him.
“No?! I didn’t get to sleep much…” Augen said before immediately regretting it as Wu let out a guttural laugh and hugged him over the shoulder, “Wait! I didn’t mean that!”
When Tonya also awoke with the largest bed head that Wu has ever seen, the group was finally properly reunited at the breakfast table with uncle Zhad sitting beside them. Thanks to the supply of the Wave from the recharged fuel rocks, Lera and Augen were able to apply their healing Casts to get Tonya and Augen quickly back to top form, though Tonya couldn’t help but glance towards Augen whenever they shared the same room as he maintained a constant watch over her Wave also.
“Uncle Zhad.” Tonya drew the attention of her uncle just before he headed out for his daily duties, and she grabbed his hand, “I know you are going to negotiate with the people of the Dune’s Hive today.”
“Indeed.” Uncle Zhad’s eyes rolled around once before he lowered his voice, “I understand your desire to come, Tonya, but are you sure it is a good idea after one of them attacked you last time?”
“The rest of the people didn’t know who I am, nor what I intend to do while I was there.” Tonya shook her head, “I will go and meet them alongside you, as a royalty of Necrovia.”
“Very well.” Uncle Zhad nodded when Tonya turned and ran towards Augen before she grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the table.
“He will come too!”
The meeting was hosted at a small town in between the Dune’s Diamond and the Dune’s Hive, and the group of fighters that were captured by the trap set up by the Dune’s Diamond's forces had also been released and sent back to face the rage of the citizens after they also learned of Zmey’s final act.
His little band of rebellion didn’t last long after, and those that still held his ideals were banished and shunned from the town, eventually becoming the bandits that they were supposed to fend off as protectors of the Dune’s Hive.
When Uncle Zhad walked in, the invisible tension in the room became even righter. However, those started to diffuse the moment Augen showed himself.
“Is that…” One of the older delegates murmured to the other, “the Savior of the Hive…?”
“Yeah…” His companion murmured back, “I can’t believe he’s with that old bastard…”
“Cough cough.” Uncle Zhad took a seat and drew everyone’s attention before his scribe leaned over the meeting table and laid down scrolls of writing to each of the representatives, “Thank you all for joining the meeting, as we hope to foster a relationship that will be positive and long-lasting between our two cities. My name is Zhad Glaza, as many of you might know, and here, we have princess Tonya Glaza here, and Augen Zuku, her companion.”
“So it’s true…” The leader of the Dune’s Hive delegate sighed, “What happened in the capital…”
“It’s all true.” Tonya said, standing up, “My parents were murdered in the midst of an insurrection, and the princess of the Nekova family had fully taken over the central regions of Necrovia.”
“And why is she here? In this meeting?” The leader continued, looking back at Uncle Zhad as he pushed his scroll forward.
“Here’s our most generous of deals, considering the recent events.” Uncle Zhad said, “And princess Glaza may act as our witness for this agreement, and when she bore witness, none shall question her authority.”
As each of the delegates began reading the scrolls, Tonya reached her fingers forward, picking up the piece of paper closest to her before swiftly rolling it open.
“Tonya?” Uncle Zhad asked with a harsh tone, “What are you doing?”
“I am witnessing.” Tonya tilted her head and smiled politely back at him before she set her eyes on the scroll. Then, she reached one hand over to Augen who had been holding onto a pen ever since Tonya had grabbed him earlier, “And making amends to the deal as I see fit.”
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“Princess, you mustn’t!” The scribe beside Uncle Zhad said quickly, “The terms of the deal were carefully calculated!”
“Then it will be recalculated.” Tonya looked back at him, “Water, will be provided to you for free. The tax rates for the rest of the goods and the traders will be reduced to be less than in previous years for the next five years.”
“That’s…preposterous!” Uncle Zhad stood straight up before he tried to stay calm and maintain his image, “The water farm was ours alone, and the work of our labor!”
“No.” Tonya shook her head, “The water farm was made by Wu and your people. And therefore, it shall serve the people too.”
“That’s exactly what we are doing!” Uncle Zhad planted his hand firmly on the table.
“If that’s the case, then you will not have exhausted the nutrients in our soil and the money in our accounts over the past year!” Tonya said, finally slamming down the hammer, “Your careful calculations left behind gaps and unaccounted-for spending, Scribe, perhaps you should have checked your work better, or have done a better job at hiding your expenses!”
As the delegates from the Dune’s Hive sat there stunned, Tonya looked over at each of them individually before she passed the official scroll along with Augen’s pen, and they took a brief glance over it before signing it quickly.
“There. The deal is witnessed.” Tonya said as Uncle Zhad sat back in his chair with cold sweats forming all over his forehead.
To quote a legend, the negotiations were short, and Augen can’t help but admire what Tonya had done in that short amount of time. What’s even better was that she had leveraged Uncle Zhad’s need for her support and the threats of his unaccounted-for spending to get the deal across. More so, but playing this publically as a stunt, she also garnered support from the leaders of the Dune's Hive too.
To have everything come together like this at her age...Tonya's destined to become the ruler of this country.
Uncle Zhad watched her with venom as she and Augen departed the room shortly after, and he knew that he couldn’t move against her. Not now, and especially not with all of her capable companions around her. And perhaps he had missed his chance from long ago...
“We are beyond grateful for what you have done for us…” The delegates from the Dune’s Hive said as they gathered around Tonya outside of the meeting room, “We will sort through the details of transportation and work labor, so our workers can also participate in securing the water. And…if you needed help from the Dune’s Hive, you may count on us.”
“That may very well be the case soon…” Tonya said, looking back at Augen, “News of my involvement will be released with that of the trade deal, and that’s if the surviving groups of Zmey’s inner circles haven’t alerted Mila of my recent actions, then we will tell them. With all of your help, Western Necrovia will be able to stand strong together.”
“You can count on us.” Another younger middle-aged man said, “We will share the news with the nearby villages, and with all of our strengths combined, not even those clowns from the capital can touch us!”
“We will also go with you.” Tonya said, "As the future queen of Necrovia, I must know the needs of my people better."
“With your presence, I am sure the people will rally behind us in no time!” The delegate leader said, “Our progress will be swift!”
“Augen.” Tonya said, looking back at the boy who was waiting patiently behind her wtih a big grin on his face, “Are you coming with me?”
“You never had to ask.”
By the time Beardy was broken out of Tonya’s King’s Eye Command, his feet had already been bleeding for mines with bubbles of flesh propping up the bottom of his feet and layers of sand forming a patty at the bottom. He rolled onto his knees and moaned in pain as his throat felt drier than the Necrovian sands. It was the middle of the night, and the stars above showed that he had journeyed eastward for at least a whole day.
If what he recalled was correct, then there’s a village ten of miles away from here that regularly has traders to the Dune’s Hive, so he must make his way there first. In a handful of hours, he crawled to the edge of the village as the blisters were also added to his arms and legs.
Stealing a camel, he made a run back to the Dune’s Hive, only to see his camp completely destroyed, and Zmey nowhere to be found. However, as he approached, one surviving snake emerged from the shadows before it crawled and stopped just shy of Beardy with a bulging stomach.
He looked around before taking a blade and slicing open the snake’s stomach, revealing the golden egg within. His eyes widened, and he looked at the eyes of the snake as the light in its eyes slowly started to dim.
Cracking the golden egg open, and a small Cast lit up from within.
“Princess Mila!” Zmey’s voice came from within, “I hereby present my tribute to you! The head of the exiled Tonya Glaza, and the plot that is ultimately her demise! As your agents have promised, I am ready and willing to take control of the whole of Western Necrovia, and serve under your rule!”
That had been Zmey’s plan all along ever since the first Wave of PORA agents came through. Though before Tonya had presented herself on his doorstep, it was a matter of lesser importance as securing further power within western Necrovia was the most important thing on his mind. Once she's here, Zmey enjoyed the entertainment, though Beardy was always the one to push for the killing of them as quickly as possible.
And now, it seemed the more pragmatic one was the only one to survive the onslaught.
“If only you had listened to me…” Beardy shook his head and lowered the golden egg before he wrapped it up in a towel, “Things would have been different…we could have been on top, we could have rivaled the capital…Look at us now…we have no options but to borrow their power for revenge…”
With that, Beardy hopped onto the back of the camel and made his way eastward, where the Dune’s Eye sits proudly in the center of Necrovia.
A civil war is coming, whether he liked it or not, and at the end of it all, only one will rule over these sands.