Elemental Thief Part I : Child of Calamity

Progress and Deception

Akina allowed herself to feel relief.

There was no guarantee in the letters in front of her, and they sounded partially contrived and far too full of vague suggestions for her to feel hope. But it wasn't a declaration of non-confidence in the Regency, it wasn't years of silence, it was an offer for a conversation. She could deal with that, she could build with that.

She had to be able to, or there was no hope at all.

Then she turned right back to work, chipping away at more of what was in front of her while Reynald was hard at work hunting down former loyal Royal servants who may forgive their dismissals enough to return to work.

He had also taken her lists of those she could not trust and the things she needed to know and told her he would deal with it as swiftly as he could, without leaving the Palace bereft of anyone working within.

Small, little steps.

Even so, Akina realised they would shake the ground of those who had counted on their people being where they were. And those people would be harder to manoeuvre around than their servants had been when they came to investigate just how strong she was.

It was easier to stay busy, hidden in this room, dealing with the problems of her world safely behind closed doors for now. She felt exhausted and unsure if she would have the strength to stand up to all those who wished to control her.

Akina hadn't realised how much energy it took, just to do that, and was appreciative of how strained, tense, and withdrawn her mother had become after being alone in the palace for four long years. Akina couldn't imagine her mother had even had time to grieve the death of the man she loved. She knew, now, that her mother needed space and time from all this, from every person she couldn't trust but could not push away.

That her mother hadn't given up, she had just been crushed with the weight of maintaining such a delicate situation. It would not have been a single conscious decision to allow the country to fall so far, and Akina knew that there had been issues before her mother had been coronated as well.

It was getting to be mid day when Reynald walked back into the room, looking cool on the surface, though she could tell by the glint of his eyes and the slight downturn of his mouth that he had been running himself off his feet.

She put down what she was working on and inclined her head to his hurried bow. "What is it?"

"Princess Mireya says that you may be able to see, what you need to see, soon. She can't guarantee it, but she says there's a possibility that shouldn't be missed." He offered a shrug, shaking his head. "She said it is easier to show than explain."

Akina nodded at that, standing and moving around her desk towards him. "That reminds me. The girl... the one who started all this. We need to do something. Once we're able to do so."

"Fixing the orphanages would be a start." Reynald said drily, giving her a hard look, before falling into step behind her. "Some territories in Clairval have models we can use to provide food and shelter, education as a safe alternative to a life of starving and stealing. But I don't get the feeling that Rulin is going to be willing to let us near this one. They seemed very stubborn about the fact that she was their ward. But we need to ensure that it's for her best interests, without damaging our ties."

"Alright." She nodded, frowning as she fought back the urge to insist the girl was hers. "But I will make the effort if need be. It may be too late for her to forgive us, but I will try."

They fell silent for the rest of the journey through the Palace, which seemed far emptier, far quieter than she ever remembered it being.

Akina was about to turn to ask Reynald about it when they arrived at the Rulin apartments and the two guards bowed and opened the door for her. It was sometimes unnerving, realising that they had known she was approaching for a long while, that she didn't know just how good their hearing was.