Edward stepped over to a drinks tray seated at the edge of the king’s desk. He poured two glasses of water, handing them to the two men. Sir Quintana gulped his down and passed the glass back to the servant. There was no point in dragging the conversation out.

“I successfully met with Kierra Atainna and delivered the package.”

“…from your expression, I assume she didn’t take to it as favorably as I’d hoped.”

The knight winced. “I’m afraid I don’t have good news, my king.”

Sebastian heaved a heavy sigh. He slowly walked back to his chair, dropping into it heavily and waving for the other man to continue.

“In her own words, the attempt to buy her loyalties is a personal insult and no king can command her to appear before him.”

The king rubbed his brow. “Command her? I went out of my way to make that damn invitation as unauthoritative as possible, as she’s made it clear she doesn’t respect our titles. Despite being a guest in my kingdom.” He sighed. “I offer her a gift to show a relationship between our people can be profitable and somehow, that is a personal insult? I don’t understand that woman.”

“I’m afraid it gets worse. The seed….”

“Ah, yes.” The king went through the papers on his desk, grabbing one. “From the different accounts in the time of the First King, it was understood that the seed came from a sacred tree, a prized plant of the elves. There was never any hint as to its properties and no success in growing it.” He tossed the paper away. “Don’t tell me it was actually the seed of a common weed or some other nonsense.”

“No. The seed is from their Sacred Tree. As in, a tree that supposedly hosts the spirit that birthed their entire race.”

King made a contemplative noise. “Would that not make it more valuable?”

“It was apparently given as a test. Giving it back is, apparently, a spit in the face to their generosity and the worse possible way to fail this supposed test. An unrivaled insult to the whole of their race…enough for them to declare war.”

The king sucked in a sharp breath.

“Fortunately, her wife has spoken up for us. Orphelia Yemen assures me that Lourianne Tome is up to the task of calming her.”

“Where is the girl?”

“With her father. I thought it best to give you the chance to react without her or her father in the room.”

Sebastian grunted. “I don’t know what to make of that family. They can be useful but even the best snake charmer is vulnerable handling a viper. One day, that man will bite my wrist but he makes sure he’s too useful to simply toss aside.”

His fingers tapped an agitated rhythm on the desk. “The question now is who to blame for this. Easiest to pin it on our foreign relations adviser, I suppose.”

“We have a foreign relations adviser?”

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“We do now. Or, we did. His employment under the crown will have to be re-evaluated in the face of this failure. Given the state of things, I can’t help asking myself if this was done on purpose. The man practically begged for the job.”

“Was he suspicious?”

“As suspicious as every other ambitious second son. He has some renown amongst the scholars of the capital and an interest in the records before the Great War. Better, he had no allegiances, which is rare to come by. There were few I could trust with the duty. Of course, there is also the possibility that no matter what we did, we were doomed to fail.”

“…you still believe that the elf is a spy?”

“It is a theory I am unwilling to relinquish without sufficient proof. On the one hand, her refusal to accept any invitations to the palace could be taken as innocence, as a spy should want to get close to me. On the other hand, it could be taken as contempt. Orion, our likely former foreign relations adviser, discovered a few documents that show there may have been a relationship between the elves and the old goblinoid warbands. It’s not clear how that translates to the present.”

The king slapped his desk. “An official presence isn’t going to do the situation any good. The Yemen girl is already in place. Samuel will be returning to the Hall as well. If subtle doesn’t work with the elf, we’ll have to be direct with the Tome girl. If she truly has that much sway with her wife, then tying her more securely to the kingdom will naturally build a bridge to the elves. If only it were so easy to tie her down. Even the Guiness are having trouble on that front.”

“Are you sure Samuel is the right one to make friends? I have little experience with Lourianne Tome but it was made abundantly clear to me that her appreciation lies solely in women. Perhaps…” He hesitated to share his thought, as it bordered on insult.

“The elf is tomorrow’s problem. We have plenty to deal with today.” He sighed. “…you fucked up, Reis.”

The knight winced. “I’m aware.”

“This assignment was supposed to shut up the troublemakers but you’ve delivered them all the weapons they need to bring you down.” He held up a hand, forestalling any comment. “I know it isn’t your fault but that’s not how it will seem. However, I have planned for this. Edward, fetch Dowager.”

“What’s going on?” Sir Quintana asked as the door shut behind the servant.

“I can’t have the royal knights questioned, even a former one. Since our attempts at diplomacy have failed, we shall have to prove your dedication to the kingdom the old-fashioned way. There is a horde of goblinoids about to invade our kingdom. My son could use a few accomplishments under his belt before he takes the throne and there is no one I would trust more to watch his back.”

Sir Quintana frowned. “I’m a little too old to be sent on subjugations, Your Majesty.”

“Too bad. This time, it’s an order.” Sebastian smiled. “Those old bones have a little life in them still.”

“Old? I’m three years your junior.”

“Like I said, old.” The king raised a hand, opening and closing a fist. “With all the problems raining on my head, I have to wonder if I missed something I wouldn’t have if I still had the same focus of my younger days. When I dreamed of being king as a boy, I imagined the great deeds I would do. How I would single-handedly save the kingdom from disaster after disaster. There were so many things I thought I could accomplish as soon as I became the most powerful man on the continent.”

He grunted. “Only to find out that the king is simply a man who sits on his ass and mediates conflicts between a dozen children who call themselves nobles.”

The knight nodded. He understood. When he was growing up, he thought being a soldier would find him fighting epic battles against powerful monsters, not collecting taxes and warding off beasts better described as pests. It had its bard-worthy moments but they were few and far between.

The same could be said about his tenure as a royal knight. While he enjoyed that life, he thought there would be more glory. Instead, he spent his days standing around looking important or chatting with the king.

A few imbeciles had caused disturbances but in the two decades he served as a royal knight, no one had dared to raise a hand against the royal family.

Humanity had become unambitious during the extended peace.

“Now, when the kingdom faces its first true crisis, I find myself asking for the peaceful days to continue. How fickle fate is.”

A knock interrupted them before Sir Quintana could respond.

“Enter!”