> Aidi loved riding. She was expected to and had been trained in the saddle all her life. She had been raised in the fine arts of mathematics, as well as statecraft, needlework, music, figure drawing, poetry, dance, the hunt, rhetoric and much more. None of those disciplines let her fly through the fields like this, leaving her alone except for the wind, the sun and the thud of Quibble's hooves.
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> Her honor guard had long since fallen behind. There was no danger to her this deep within Imperial grounds. No magic or beast, certainly no assassin, could touch her here. If she wanted the illusion of solitude and freedom, the guard would indulge her, just as they had yesterday and the day before. It was a game at first, but by now it was a routine. The guard would enjoy the shade of a tall oak by the private creek, Aidi would gallop her horse into a froth around the perimeter of Mirror Lake along all its wooded paths, then she would rejoin them for a cool-down trot back to the residence.
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> Aidi really did enjoy the exercise, and there was no denying the exquisite landscaping. This area beyond the lake could have been mistaken for true old-growth forest, complete with a herd of white harts imported at great cost from the Redeside Mountains. Her father had spared no expense. The Emperor rarely spared anything or any one.
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> He would have been outraged to learn Aidi was a spy. He hadn't raised his daughter in that particular art. Halfway through her ride she pulled in Quibble, letting him blow and snort. She tied him by the usual oak where a rivulet of cold water let him dip his nose and drink. She reached into her saddlebags and retrieved a neat package of leek and elderflower dumplings. Was it perverse of her to eat them cold? She waited.
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> Her contact appeared moments later with quiet grace. "Princess."
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> "Sir Obin," she nodded, a palm on her horse's neck. He wasn't a knight nor even nobility. Aidi had learned his real name, but she kept that to herself. She also knew his unsavory vice, which made him useful, as well as the source of his true loyalties, which made him dangerous. Did he know she knew? Probably.
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> "Your offer is accepted, m'Lady. You convince the Duchess to refuse the marriage offer, hostilities out east will cease." He had a quiet, dull voice, making it easy to forget any words he spoke. She knew it to be an act--a skill, even--but it worked all the same. Here was an agreement that would change the military and political course of the empire, and he seemed to be chatting about the weather.
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> She nodded. "Very good. I'll send the usual signal. It will not be difficult to convince her, given the Earl's age."
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> "Will your father indulge her wishes?"
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> "Sir Obin, you don't doubt me now, after all this time?"
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> He replied in that bored, distracted way of his, as if being discovered trespassing here didn't mean his head on a spike. "Ambiguity is our mutual enemy, Princess."
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> She laughed. "You should have been a diplomat, Sir Obin. Very well, I'll be clear, so you can report it to your masters: The Duchess of Erat will refuse the alliance with the Earl of Whitcombe and His Imperial Majesty will not press the suit. This will end the war in Esterom by winter."
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> "By winter," he nodded.
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> "How lovely, we can enjoy a peaceful banquet to start the Year of the Perch. Well, not you, Sir Obin. I expect you'll be far away from court." She held his eye, her meaning plain.
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> "I won't even be in the country, no."
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> She pulled herself with practiced ease into the saddle. "Thank you for your help in this. You've just saved thousands of lives."
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> "The greed of those men won't be satisfied by a peaceful resolution, Princess, but at least they'll need to rethink their plans." He tugged the edge of his cap respectfully and melted away into the forest.
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> Princess Aidi rejoined her honor guard a few moments later, schooling her expression. She would dine well tonight and sleep even better. Tomorrow, crochet with her aunt. She'd have so much to report.
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