New Horizons (Part 7 of the Ignaius-Saga)

Restoration

As usual Tanier was woken up early and said good buy to Variel, before he left for his won rooms to get dressed and ready for his day. He had completed and polished the list he had compiled for Elina three days ago, it was time to let her know of her options, so he summoned her to his office, working on reports and correspondence until she showed up.

It took some time for Elina to appear at his office. She looked mostly normal, but her right hand was heavily wrapped in bandages. She didn't seem to be in the best of moods, though this wasn't an unfamiliar sight, but she put on the standard polite act and curtsied in greeting to the king.

"You wished to see me, Your Majesty?"

"I did. Please sit down."

He completely ignored her injury. Under other circumstances he would have done the polite thing and asked for her well being, but he was sure it would only be seen as an invitation to complaint over Variel and he would not make it that easy for her.

Once she had taken a seat. he handed her a list and explained its significance.

"We are both aware that the Shaded Coast needs a new lord. As much as it is unusual to marry off any girl under my tutelage before the year is over, it is very clear that giving your hand in marriage to the best possible candidate would be the best way to secure the future of your country. Here is a list with all men I would consider suitable candidates. Please review the list, so that a meeting with some of your favourite candidates can be arranged. I assume you may prefer to meet your future husband before the wedding, if possible. And I am sure your family will like to get to know and question the candidate as well. So you will probably want to discuss this list with your mother and others. I am sure you are aware that the matter is confidential and this list should not be leaked to the outside."

Elina sat looking down the list of names as Tanier spoke, her expression stoic. When he finished talking, she set the list on her lap. "Yes, I understand. I will share this only with important members of my house alone." She was already going through the list in her head, trying to put faces or facts with names. Her mother and possibly her uncle might know more. "My family is still in mourning, so I hope you understand that this might not be decided as immediately as you might hope. I do understand the urgency, however."

She was again being as formal as possible, hiding her displeasure at the very idea of being forced to marry at all. There was no point in protesting, for it would get her nowhere. Hopefully, with her mother's help, they could find a suitor that wouldn't be likely to completely take over the Shaded Coast in his own family's name.

"I completely understand. I got you this list as soon as possible to give you more time to consider your options."

He was thinking about anything positive to say to her, but he could not think of anything. The most positive option he saw was asking her about the project he had discussed with her mother.

"I suggested to your mother to give you bigger responsibilities in rebuilding the city. Has she followed my suggestion?"

So, the suggestion had come from Tanier originally, or so he claimed. That was news to her, but she didn't show her mild surprise.

"Yes, sire," she replied. "I am to go down to the city today to oversee reconstruction of an orphanage and a temporary shelter for those who have lost their homes. Even at the pace we are working, it may take weeks to rebuild the residential districts that were most heavily damaged. It is urgent that we clear the streets of homeless civilians as quickly as possible or the chaos will halt any further work."

"Let me know, if you you think my resources will be of help. You could talk to Prince Peras about setting up temporary accommodations. I am pretty sure we can still spare a few tents. Have you considered to confiscate some ships to accommodate the homeless?"

"We have repurposed most of our naval fleet for the time being, which a few still left to make necessary patrols. Most merchants fled the docks when the fires happened and there are few left in our harbor. We are hesitant to force any of our trading partners to give up their ships for any length of time, lest they stop trading with us."

This had clearly not been all of Elina's doing, but her knowledge of the decisions and their reasoning did prove that she had been present during the deliberation. She reported dutifully, finding it much easier than talking about anything personal with this man.

"Ships of the Royal Navy will arrive here in roughly two weeks to reinforce patrols. We have to monitor traffic to and from Aurora more closely than we did in the past. This should free up a few more ships.

I think this is all for now. I don't want to detain you any longer, as you have work to do. If you have questions regarding any candidates on the lists or why some potential candidates are not up there feel free to ask me."

That didn't go so bad so far, he thought.

"Of course. Good day, Your Majesty." Elina stood up, curtsied, and left the office without another word. She didn't complain about Variel or demand he be punished, and this was mostly because she knew her words would fall on deaf - or rather, uncaring - ears. She was sure he was already aware of the discontent amongst those affected, people wondering why nothing had been done to punish those responsible other than those that were killed in the initial attack. So, there was no purpose in bringing that up, either. She simply left him to his work and went to ready herself for her own.

Thus continued the restoration and began the preparation for the king's departure to a foreign land.