Dream of a City of Ruin: Dreams of QaiMaj Book II

Chapter 6: A Cornered Slink: Larc

Fifth Chime struck loudly in the Council Hall, its resonant ring cutting Capris off mid-sentence. No one waited for him to finish; by the time the chime had faded everyone in the Hall was standing and chattering. Capris tried to shout the last of his argument, but no one heard it.

Larc alone remained seated. Hali was at her side in a moment, bearing a small tray covered with dishes, cold-brined fish and curds of fermented sheet-fungus among them. Larc picked at the meal as the Councilors and the people on the benches filed out to Market in search of their own lunch. It was custom for the Royal representative to remain in the Hall during recess, a time of quiet to contemplate the discussions held thus far. Larc did not mind, but she did set the tray aside after eating what little she could stomach, to stand and stretch out her tired legs. The cold stone chair was awfully hard, and unlike the onlookers on the benches, she had to stay seated during all the speeches.

"A plate for you, Regent," Hali said, pulling a sheet of gold from her belt. "From Ujune."

Larc opened it promptly. When she saw what it said, she thought she would retch up everything she had just eaten.

Regent of Ice Fairies,

You have never suffered enough. Very well. We have your precious Queen. She is quite busy sporting in the Semija pits. For now. You are right that it is time to look to the future of our relations, beginning with reparations. We lost many of our Semija in the war. You will replace them with a regular tithe. Starting when you receive this message, and every slink migration thereafter, you will send fifty of your untrained Semija to us for training and use. If you do not, I will kill your Queen.

Sincerely,

Exalted Majesty

King of Chraun

Prince of Flames

Medoc

"Are you unwell, Regent?" Hali was looking at her with concern. Larc took a deep breath, trying to remain dignified.

"Thank you, Hali. You may be dismissed." That was what Larc thought she said, but she could not be certain. Sounds seemed distant. The shapes of the Councilors moving across the room looked blurry. Larc sat, afraid she was going to faint, and read the plate again, and a third time, looking for something that would make it less real. There was nothing. The plate weighed down her hands. I thought he was a better person than that. Decent, for a Flame. He had not even bothered to seal it.

Larc had composed herself by the time the Councilors filed back into the Hall and Capris took up his dull speech again, but only by a hair. Her mind was spinning.

She had been right. Stasia was alive. And Chraun did want to use her as a bargaining chip. Which meant they needed something. It couldn't possibly be more Semija. Was this a test, to see what they could get Iskalon to agree to?

Larc listened with half an ear as the Council droned on. When the time came for her to make rulings, she postponed them, saying she needed to think on them and would rule in the morning, Council would re-assemble then. Capris looked frustrated; the rulings were minor. The truth was Larc did not know what she was ruling on, and didn't trust her capacity for decision-making in the state she was in.

As soon as Eighth Chime rang, Larc sent Hali to convene a private Council and hurried to her study with the plate. There were a million things she should be doing while she waited, but she could not focus on any of them. She was so anxious that all she could do was pace until Glace entered.

"Fetch a couple of stools from the Throne room," she said to Glace. "Hali, let the guard know that we are not to be disturbed for anything less than an attack at the bridges."