The queen of Selasem was much younger than Andrew had expected. He knew that his own King and Queen still being children was unusual in the course of history. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d thought that would mean the leaders of other countries would all be older. No younger than forty, and probably old enough to be grandparents. He was not expecting to find a young woman around his own age waiting for them in the central pavilion.

She was dark, like her soldiers, though unlike them she wore green and gold clothing. The golden jewelry she wore was loose, and it jangled on her wrists as she moved. Andrew couldn’t tell if that was because the bracelets and necklaces were oversized or if it was that she was so slim. Unlike the older of the guards, her hair was nearly as black as Andrew and Peter’s, and it was tied back in a series of braids behind a light golden crown.

She eyed the trio, and her face broke into a grin as her gaze fell on Jarnvaror, who the guards had insisted accompany them to meet the queen. “He’s a beautiful creature,” she said. “I have a dragon hatchling, but he’s to young to ride. I’d be interested in buying him from you.” She glanced at one of the advisors flanking her. “Do you think twenty thousand pounds sounds fair? Gold, of course.”

“What?” Peter said, snapping to attention. “Jarn isn’t for sale!”

“Peter, careful,” Andrew hissed, though he agreed they wouldn’t be able to give her the dragon. Jarnvaror rumbled something himself, almost sounding surprised, even to Andrew.

But the queen only shrugged. “I didn’t think you would. No one will sell a fully grown and trained dragon, even to me. They’re too valuable. I hadn’t realized Grealand had started up the practice. And you’re all so young for it, I’m impressed. It takes quite a lot of patience.”

“We’re not a standard group, your excellency,” Andrew said. “My brother is a beast tongue. We grew up near the dragons, so this one has agreed to help my brother on our journey.”

The queen’s eyes brightened with interest again as she examined peter. “I might have known! My stable master is a beast tongue. He can talk to horses. Tell me, what did your dragon say just now?”

Peter blinked. “He was just asking what it meant to be for sale.” Again, the dragon rumbled. Peter turned to him and described the conversation up to this point in a few quick words. “Oh, and selling something means trading it for gold or money.” The dragon let out a hiss, to which Peter nodded. “That’s what I told her.”

“I take it he didn’t like the idea of being sold?” the queen asked. Peter nodded. “Well, that settles it then. Even if you would part with him, it wouldn’t do us any good if he always wanted to leave. Ah well.” She let out a wistful sigh, giving Jarnvaror one more longing look. Then she looked back at the trio. “Well, it sounds like you’ve crossed the border to talk to me about Wisps, yes? Why don’t you tell me exactly what’s going on?”

Andrew met the Selasi queen’s eyes and found it difficult to begin. He’d planned to simply tell her about their job, and the plan Captain Shigeru had described. However, he found himself summarizing their journey from the moment Anna had first appeared in the Iron Valley. The queen listened without interrupting, except to ask a few clarifying questions. Andrew described how the Wisp Stealers were causing chaos throughout Grealand and Ryukyuu, and their suspicions that it would be the same in Selasem. Then he explained their desire to investigate the Tiger Pass ruins on the way to bringing her this information.

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When he finished, her advisors mumbled to themselves at the queen’s side. She continued to stair at the three of them, though. “You’re right. We’ve been having problems with the Wisps recently as well,” she began. “Most of it close to the Grealish border.”

“We want to help!” Anna said.

Andrew heard some of the advisors huff. “To help cause more trouble, I’m sure,” one muttered just loud enough for Andrew to hear. He felt his face grow hot.

The queen glanced at her advisors and shrugged. “I’m afraid they have a point,” she said. “We’ve suspected Grealand of causing some of these problems. They are mostly Grealish bandits, after all, and all close to the border. We must be cautious about joining such an alliance. I’m afraid I’ll need more than just your word about this.”

“We have a letter from our king and queen, if that helps,” Andrew said.

“It may,” said the Selasi queen. Andrew produced the letter for her. When he tried to bring it to her, though, her guards intercepted him, so he passed it to them, who placed it in her hands. She read through it quickly, nodding several times. “There’s not much in here that you didn’t say already,” she said. “It’s not much to go on for a joint venture.”

“We were seeking only to propose the idea and open communication on the subject,” Anna chimed in. “We’re not exactly diplomates, just fast travelers and experts on the subject of Wisps.”

“Right,” Andrew agreed, grateful for the backup. “I’m certain that our king and queen would be happy to answer any question you have, or negotiate about the particulars. We all want to solve the issue of the Wisps and the Wisp Stealers.”

“Maybe so…” the queen said. A smile touched her lips and she leaned forward. “Well, I can see some merit to the idea of having trustworthy partners in solving and issue like this. And I have no doubt of your authenticity, and I think I’ve a good grasp of your character as individuals as well.”

“So you’ll consider it?” Andrew asked.

The queen’s smile broadened. “I might. But I would like some token of good faith before I consider further. You say you came to investigate the ruins on our side of the mountains? Well, that’s what I’m here for, too. Why don’t you join my investigation, and lend me your expertise? Let me see a bit of it, so I know if it’s a good deal for my people or not.”

“Are you certain, your excellency?” asked one of her advisors. “Perhaps you could have our mages consult them about our findings.”

“I’d rather see it myself, Mado,” the queen replied.

“I understand,” the advisor said. “But, and I hesitate to say this, having more foreigners accompany you on this mission.”

“It’s alright,” the queen said. She looked at the trio. “Well, what do you say?”

Andrew turned to look at his companions. “Well?” he echoed.

Neither answered right away. Peter just shrugged, his mind seemingly somewhere else. Anna began, “Normally a group of this size interacting with Wisps is a bad idea. You’re aware of that, right, your excellency?”

The queen nodded. “My men our disciplined, and we don’t intend to get close in groups larger than four or five.”

Anna took a breath. “That should help. And it seems like we won’t have much of a choice if we want to get closer to the Wisps.”

Andrew nodded. He turned back to the queen. “Then we accept your offer. We’ll show you how we’ve handled the Wisps so far.”