Twins of Fate

Politics

Once Allison had finished, they headed back towards the door to the hall. They both took a deep breath to get ready for what was going to go down. Allison pat Aliesia on the shoulder reassuringly and waited for her to enter first.

Walking back into the room was harder this time; now that she knew who was against her and who were still unsure.

'it's ok, I still have Allison and not all of them are against me. I just need to word what I say carefully and remain calm the entire time... this will be the perfect time now to work on my own poker face. I've got this!'

Back in the center of the room, she waited for her mother to begin again. "Were you able to get all of your wounds treated?"

"Yes, your majesty, Allison bandaged my wound. It won't pose a problem any further, I will be clear of head." Aliesia said.

"Alright if you are so sure, we will begin again. The issue at hand is, what to do with the supposed Derkaz refugee? Would any of you like to open the discussion?"

This time the room was quiet, the council members looking at each other to see who would break the silence first. Aliesia was surprised that Councilors Almais and Preal remained silent.

Aliesia let out a small breath of relief when Allison started the discussion. "If I may start of your Majesty?"

With a small smile she gestured for Allison to continue, "You may."

"I understand, slightly, why the Derkaz man did what he did." There was a light gasp around the room, and looking at Preal and Almais, you would think she were confessing to murder.

Allison paused before she continued, "Now, hold on a moment. Let's look at what we know. We know that conditions in the Derkaz clan haven't been great... if anything the conditions there have been downright deplorable. We also know that communication with them has been limited since the first war, but they have been completely cut off since the last time that they attempted to overthrow our clan. For all he knew that last skirmish could have tainted our opinions of him and his people for the worst. He wouldn't know if we would kill him on sight or not. So, it would only make sense for him to take a hostage first to assure that he would at least be able to assess the situation to see if we would listen to what he has to say. Lastly, I believe that it was a complete coincidence that he happened to attack the princess since he wouldn't even know who she was in the first place. The last time anyone outside of our clan and allies have ever even seen her was the last skirmish... almost ten years ago now. That is why I understand why he went about it the way that he did. Now, as to the veracity of why he left in the first place, I'm of the opinion that it doesn't hurt to wait a while to see if it's true or not."

Loud voices were immediately raised after she finished. Diana sighed before she raised her hand to cut them off. "One at a time please. Councilor Lee, what say you?"

"Your Majesty, I hear what Councilor Pennworthy says, and I'll admit that it is plausible and understandable why he would act in that manner; However, I also agree with councilor Preal, there is too much that is unknown. We don't know why he came here, especially since it has been so long since the skirmish. It has been at least four years now since we last saw a refugee and it has been almost too quiet in the Derkaz clan. How do we know that this isn't a trojan horse sent to find out our weaknesses? What if we were to allow this man to become a citizen, offer him the chance to integrate with our society, and he gathers all the information he can, just to run off into the night and let the Derkaz King know? How would we prepare ourselves for the backlash?" His face was had a slight pallor when he finished.

His argument had almost a physical presence, as she looked around all the others looked to be in deep thought, allowing silence to fill the room.

After a moment, Councilor Bedouin began to speak in his slow baritone, as if pondering every word he said, "I understand both points as well, your majesty. The opinions of both sides are not without reason. If I may, I might have a solution that should satisfy all?"