“Are we there yet?”
“Yes, we’re here, how about you sit up and look out the window you sleepy head.”
I nudge Anna awake while looking out the window to see the city walls up ahead. Seliph opens his eyes at my words and lightly stretches to wake himself up.
“I sure will be glad to leave this carriage. If I knew this country had such bad roads I would have ridden here on my own mount.”
I stare at the road and look over the crude construction.
“The ride here would have been bad either way, but at least we finally made it.”
Anna looks confused as she stares out at the city.
“What’s with all the smoke coming from that place? The city isn’t on fire is it?”
“Nope, it’s just the smoke from all the smitheries producing equipment for the war effort.”
Looking outside I see the long trail of smoke drifting off in the wind. Those forges never stopped working. Producing more and more equipment and smoke.
“The heart and soul of Bern’s power. It was an annoying city for us. We wanted to take the city so we could cut off supplies from the frontlines, but this place is too far and heavily defended to assault.
With its natural barriers and limited access, the city itself is a natural for with little effort. Even seigeing this place would prove difficult as my spies estimate they have enough grain inside to last for five years.”
Anna seemed confused at what Seliph was saying.
“Then why did Talos’s vision show this city in flames? The way you are talking about this city makes it seem like it’d be almost impossible to siege it.”
“Because the city itself might be strong, but the people inside are turning against each other. With the recent news about the King’s failed military expedition and the ‘failure’ of the hero to kill me. Some are even agitating the populace to try and gain power for themselves. Spreading fear-mongering propaganda about how we’re going to rape their women and exploit them for everything they have.”
That can’t be good for negotiations.
“So is the king losing power? Wouldn’t that make negotiations difficult.”
“It will, but with our backing and support I think we can win back those misled souls to the king cementing the peace.”
“That might fix the issue over time, but what if things go nuclear here. You have a backup plan?”
“I do, but there are too many variables at play for me to have a solid plan B.”
She tries to keep up with our conversation, but I guess I forgot to keep her updated on the plan.
“What do you mean, aren’t we going to help the king?”
Seliph keeps a straight face as he addresses her.
“No, it all depends on who has the power and influence we need. We just have to make sure that whoever does isn’t on good terms with the Holy Empire or we’re going to a hard time dealing with another puppet of Mara.”
“Looks like we are a little late in that regard then.”
Looking out I can see a similar entourage to the one at the fort. King Elbert is leading the way alongside a young girl riding a pure white horse. Anna seems uneasy rubbing her arm as if something is irritating her as Seliph turns to look.
“Please tell me that’s not who I’m going to guess that is.”
“The champion of Mara who helped summon me here? Yeah, that’s her alright. Didn’t trust her before and now even less so.”
Anna seems nervous as she rubs her arm.
“Wait! Mara’s champion is here? Isn’t it bad if I meet her?”
I put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.
“Not like you got much of a choice. She should be friendly enough though with everyone around. Just don’t expect her to pay you any compliments.”
Seliph nods as he stares out at them.
“Her involvement is definitely going to put a strain on our talks, and if she plays her cards right it’ll be a lot harder to get a good deal out of this.”
Anna still isn’t following Seliph as she asks him.
“Didn’t you say earlier though that The Holy Kingdom wanted Bern’s land. Why would they be helping them then?”
“Bern has a lot of lands. Though not a great deal if they find a willing party I bet they’d be able to make a deal where they supply their own aid for some of Bern’s vast land. While not ideal, it will make these proceedings difficult.”
The carriage comes to a halt and Seliph opens the door and steps out onto the road. He offers me his hand as I exit as well. Anna follows behind me as Uther and what’s her face dismount. What was her name again? I think it started with an S.
Uther steps up and addresses us as we finished exiting the carriage.
“It is good to see you are both in good health. But, I don’t think I’ve met you, and who might you be fine lady. I’ve never seen blue hair like yours before.”
I speak up first.
“King Uther, it’s good to see you as well. This here is my sister Anna I don’t believe you two have met.”
The girl speaks up as she stares daggers at Anna.
“So this is who that barbaric god chose to be his champion. I must say I didn’t think you had a sister here. When did she arrive?”
Seliph returns her glare back as he addresses her.
“Not too long ago, but it was a pleasant surprise all the same. It was nice to be able to see more of my betrothed’s family. How is your sister faring?
“She is doing great and wishes to extend glad tidings to the fine people of Oslingrad. With Mara’s grace, I wish to relieve the suffering of these people. With peace, we can focus less on weapons and more on commodities and save these fine people and focus on rebuilding.”
Anna doesn’t seem to buy any of it and confronts her.
“Cut the bullshit girl! What is it you really want? Because I don’t believe a single word you said just now.”
“I am no girl, I am Sakura champion of Mara, and as fellow champions. I believe we should at least call each other by our proper names.”
“Whatever you say bit-”
I step in front of her and nudge her trying to get her to shut up. I don’t like her any more than her, but insulting her in front of the king isn’t going to do us any favors.
“Excuse my sister for her heated words. We’ve been traveling for a while. How about we catch up inside instead of out here on the road.”
“I would have to agree with my betrothed’s judgment. Would you mind escorting us to a more comfortable setting?”
Hector then rides up to us as he addresses Seliph.
“It would be my pleasure to escort you myself Seliph. Father, you and Sakura can go on ahead. I will take them to the arranged residence as discussed.”
Uther smiles at his son’s quick words as he turns to Seliph.
“Then I will arrange us some fine refreshments for our talks. It will be a pleasure to be working with such a man of your prestige Seliph.”
“And I look forward to it as well king Uther.”
Sakura then bows as she smiles at us.
“May we meet under better terms next time we meet Anna. It will be a great pleasure to get to know you better.”
At that Sakura turns her back on us mounting her horse and riding off as Uther follows behind her.
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Making our way through the city you can see the populace walking the streets. They look away the second we pass by with people bowing or sneering at our carriage. With others seeming to not even care with beggars and cripples littering the streets. Food prices looked to have also doubled since the last time I was here with a stall even having limits on how much one could buy. Whether it was because of stricter rationing or an actual food crisis I had no idea.
Anna didn’t seem impressed though as passed by the streets.
“So this is Bern's capital? Man the demons but this place to shame.”
“This situation is concerning though. The people are divided and I doubt it’ll take anything less than a spark to ignite this place.”
The street’s become cleaner and more guarded the closer we get to the center of Oslingrad. After a while, we reach a large square in the center of town. For some reason, it reminded a lot of the Russian Red Square. There a large palace looms over the square where the Palace’s Elite guard is training. When they see the prince, Hector, they all stop to Salute the prince.
Seliph seemed pleased by their devotion as he looks out at them.
“It’s good to know the military is at least on our side. Citizens are easy to manipulate, but soldiers, they are much harder to manipulate if they have a shred of honor.”
We then arrive at a manor nearby and are escorted to our rooms by the servants inside. We are then escorted to a conference room where Uther and Sakura are waiting.
Sakura is praying in the corner with a smile on her face. While Uther is enjoying some of the refreshments that are laid out. There are also a few important nobles I don’t recognize which doesn’t surprise me. A couple of them get up and walk over to shake our hands in greeting while others stay seated starring us down. Upon seeing us entering the room Uther stands to greet us and ushers us to a set of empty seats he had reserved. Flora is right behind us offering paperwork to all the people present.
“Gentlemen, I am glad that we are able to hold this unprecedented event. For the first time, demons are entering this city not as a threat to our lives, but hopefully as cooperative partners in the years to come.”
“And what claims do we have that those are their actual objectives, my king?”
I stare at the man down as I turn to address the man. We need to show them sincerity right now.
“You have my word.”
“And mine.”
Seliph stands next to me as the man still stares at us in scrutiny.
“And what makes this new bitch of yours word so important.”
“Because she is her own person. Circumstances have joined our hands, but they are still both our own. But, one thing I will not stand for is you insulting my betrothed!”
“Or my brother you prick!”
Anna is standing behind him with a fire in her eyes that is making some of the others nervous as they inch away.
“And who might you be.”
“Anna, Done’s sister and also the champion of Talos.”
At this murmurs are spreading like a wildfire. With people exchanging glances at the two champions as if they stepped on a potential landmine. With another man looking confused not sure what to think.
“Was there another hero summoning? I thought you could only summon the one.”
Turning to Sakura she shows her hands in ignorance.
“We had nothing to do with her arrival. If anything you should ask her herself.”
Sakura gesturing towards Anna in deflection.
“My god just wanted to make sure this historic event went smoothly. He believes others would wish for this to not be the case.”
She then gestures towards Sakura who quietly drinks her tea dismissing any accusations. Uther feeling the tension building does his best to deflect the tension.
“Ladies we came to calm tensions not build them up. We might have grievances with each other. I know I have my own fair share.”
His eyes meet Seliph who shrugs knowing they weren’t on the best of terms.
“But hopefully we can try to set those aside and come to an agreement that benefits all involved here. That is the first step in this long process towards peace. Now, let’s get to work people.”
For the next couple of hours, we had a somewhat productive discussion. Somewhat because it felt like a majority were sitting and waiting. Prowling for weakness or opportunity they kept their allegiances quite while other who already knew their positions spoke boldly and loudly.
Our party was in a separate restroom pondering our options as others did the same thing in the many rooms adjacent to ours.
I’m the first to speak as we sit around the room with me and Seliph sitting on a couch as Anna paces the room.
“Was it me, or did it feel like we at an auction rather than a meeting.”
Anna looks disgusts as she remembers the meeting.
“They are all just a bunch of spineless cowards. If they had any honor they would be siding with their king and not starring like vultures waiting to jump at the pieces that appear in front of them.”
“King Uther is going to need all the support he can get in that case. Most of those looks in there didn’t look good. So we’ll need more information on whose dealing with who in there. Now-”
‘Knock, Knock’ “Is now a bad time?”
Hearing it’s Hector we all calm down before letting him in.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to attend the meeting earlier. I had to meet with a couple of people before I had the time to come back here. But I feel like you’ve met with everyone on the wrong foot. Tonight my father is hosting an event for everyone here. A get together to help lighten the mood. I was hoping you could all join it tonight.”
Seliph turns to agree with him.
“It would be our pleasure, it will be nice to meet with all these people over drinks instead of a battlefield.”
He seems pleased by our answer as he smiles.
“I agree, there are also those who would love to meet your sister Diana. I have to say I don’t blame them. If you want she can join me and I can try to shield her from the guests-”
Anna isn’t having any of it as she faces him.
“I can take care of myself prince charming, but thanks for the offer. I might just take you up on it one day. But first, would you mind showing me around. This is such a lovely place and I’d love for you to show me around.”
“Of course it wouldn’t be a problem.”
He seems smitten by her request as he smiles at Anna.
“Just give me a minute to talk to my brother. I need to tell him I can take care of myself.”
“I’ll be right outside then.”
Hector leaves the room as Anna walks over to me. I’m not sure why she asked him to show her around and ask her.
“Why did you ask him to show you around?”
“We need to cover a lot of ground right? I’ll see what I can find on this end. You two enjoy yourselves. I’m going to have some fun playing spy with the prince.”
She left the room with a mischievous grin on her face without a care in the world. Meanwhile, we stared at each other pondering our next move.
“So how bad do you think this is?”
“It all depends. The king still has popular support. Everyone is just staying on the side in case things go south to save face. The question is who are our key players. Tonight we need to find them and figure out who has what to gain from who. The one wildcard is Sakura, but unless another foreign dignitary arrives all we’ll have to worry about is an assassination or a coup. But those are just worst case scenarios and-”
I grab his hand and he stops talking to squeeze back.
“Look, I’m just as worried about this as you are, but it’ll work out. We’re here to help them recover and as long as that remains the case and we show them our sincerity I believe they will work with us.”
“We just have to make sure no one decides to do a backroom deal that involves Mara in some way. Otherwise, this peace won’t be a lasting one. But, you’re right we can worry about this more tomorrow. Tonight we should enjoy ourselves. I mean we will be on their dime tonight.”
“We’ll just need to keep our eyes open.”
“And who said we wouldn’t. Just don’t try to scare them too much.”
“As long as you don’t get to worked up tonight. If anyone decides to insult us I think we can show them it was the worst mistake they ever made.”
“That’s a lot more hostile than I thought you’d be. I thought you’d tell me to restrain myself.”
“Well, I just want them to know who is pulling the strings now. It’ll be a nice change of pace compared to the last time I was here.”
“But before we need to worry about tonight how about we take a quick break to rest.”
He lies his head on my head as he combs my hair with a free hand.
“You still tired? After that whole time in the carriage.”
“Oh, this is a different kind of tired. I mean this is the first time we’ve had to ourselves in a while. We should enjoy it before Flora finds us.”
I lean his shoulder taking in the quiet time we have. We remain kite this for a while resting on each other patiently taking our time as the fire in front of us dances with its flames lighting our silhouettes against each other.
I don’t know how much time passed as we sat there, but when Flora finally came by I felt like I was much calmer and ready for whatever came next.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Saizo said he has a report for you sir and we need to start getting you ready for tonight Diana. Felecia is waiting in your room waiting to get you ready to tonight.”
Seliph squeezes my hand as he stands up.
“Duty calls it seems. I can’t wait to see how beautiful you’ll look tonight.”
He follows after Flora as I get up to go to our quarters. Walking back I find my hand tracing the windowsill as I looked out onto the grounds below. The sun was casting an amber hue on the square below. I was so immersed I didn’t notice someone walking behind me.
“The city is quite beautiful at this time of day.”
Surprised I turn around to see Sakura as she stares out the window. Her features are softer and more friendly then they were earlier reminding me of when I first met her. I had found her presence to be angelic when I first appeared in front of her. With her smile causing me to shy away.
Now though we were on opposite sides. Though friendly enough with me she still hated the goal I was striving for. Why was it that she and Mara seemed so opposed to a peace with the demons?
“You do make for a pretty woman Done. But, I will admit that I much prefer your masculine appeal to your present charms.”
She steps closer invading my personal space as she stared into my eyes. Accenting her every word with a seductive appeal I didn’t know she had. I stand my ground though as she continues to stare me down.
“You’re no fun anymore Done. I thought for sure I could get you to blush at the very least.”
She sighs as she takes a step back to look out the window.
“So what is it that you want Sakura. I’m guessing you didn’t just come here to have fun.”
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. When I heard you had been captured I feared for your safety every day. I prayed in the temple every day to make sure Mara would watch over you.”
She then hugs me and I freeze in surprise.
“Though I do not like how you are associating with that brute Talos I am glad my prayers were heard. Do not worry Done. Mara will help us find a way to bring you back to normal I’m sure of it.”
“Then what about my sister? I’m guessing you hate her since she is Talos’s champion.”
“I’m willing to tolerate her at the very least. She is your sister and I would wish for no ill to fall on her.”
“Well the offer is nice and all, but-“
She then interrupts me by kissing me and I jerk back in surprise. She is smiling at me as she puts her hands to her lips.
“That’s the expression I wanted to see. Just so you know though, I’d much rather have kissed you as a man. But, I’ll take what I can for now.”
She takes a step as I stand there perplexed by her actions.
“Just give me some time, and I’ll free you from that demon.”
She then walks off as I’m left to wonder what it is she is planning.