The Peace Offering

Kouen: Chapter 22

My anger pulsed off of me. Someone had tried to kill Sindri a second time. I had stormed into the kitchen to find the person who had made the tea, but no one knew who had made it. 

Sweat dripped off of my brow as I swung my sword. The guard I was sparring against barely blocked my sword. His chest heaved as he struggled to keep up with my anger fueled strikes. 

"Prince Kouen. You must forgive my interruption, however we do have a meeting scheduled." A voice interrupted. I turned to see Lucious, a slightly annoyed look on his face. I gave a nod to the soldier and he picked up the sparring weapons.

"You must forgive me for not only my forgetfulness but also for the postponing of our meeting. There has been a lot going on lately."

"I understand. Now, let us go to the dining hall so we may eat as we discuss the new trade changes."

I followed Lucious to the dining hall where a small banquet had been prepared.  Once we sat and the servants began to serve us Lucious began to discuss the new trade routes.

"It has come to my attention that for your new peace treaty with Sindria, you have given a trade route between Kou and Ream. That has been a key trade route for my merchant brand. My brand will suffer greatly if this arrangement is not revoked."

"I understand, however, the trade route now belongs to Sindria. There is nothing I can do to nullify their control. Perhaps it would be better to go and bargain with King Sinbad."

"I have already sent word to him, but he has yet to reply."

I played around with my food. I wasn't sure what Lucious' angle was, but I knew that I had to be careful. Lucious was known to be shrewd and would do anything to get his way. 

"What Sinbad does and does not do is none of my business. The trade route is his now."

"This is a cause of the peace treaty that joined you with Sindria. May I ask, if anything were to happen to Sindri, would the treaty be nullified?" 

"That is not a question to be asked. I suggest you not ask any more questions related to that subject." 

"My apologies."

We then ate in silence, the tension in the room becoming thick. I had a bad feeling about the whole ordeal, but I couldn't quite place my finger on what was bothering me. I had the sudden urge to see Sindri and make sure she was alright. Lucious suddenly cleared his throat.

"Is there nothing I can say that will persuade you to help my cause?"

"If by your cause you mean lining your pockets with gold by giving back the route, then no. I tire of this matter, do not come to me again about this."

I stood and left the dining hall. I could feel the gaze of Lucious' burning into my back. The half eaten plate of food churned in my stomach and I could not get rid of the foreboding feeling I had. 

I stalked out of the never ending hallways and stepped out into a courtyard for some fresh air. The fresh air calmed down my stomach and cleared my mind. I noticed a bright splash of color far in the corner. As I looked closer I saw that it was a bundle of purple wildflowers. The purple hue reminded me of Sindri's hair. Without too much thought I plucked up the flowers and made my way over to Sindri's room. Once there I realized that Sindri had moved to my room, and a small bubble of laughter came up.

"Laughing to yourself will only make people think you're crazy."

I turned and saw Judar leaning against the wall. His eyes immediately zeroed in on the flowers in my hand.

"Wow, didn't peg you for a flower power type of guy." Judar remarked. I did a quick assessment of him, his body language didn't seem to be threatening but there was still a tone of hostility around him. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked, "This section is for Sindri's personal use only."

"Yeah, but she's not here anymore, is she? You whisked her off to your bedchamber." He snarked.

I gritted my teeth. I didn't like the things he was implying, or the fact that he had entered Sindri's quarters. 

"If you know what's best, you'll leave her alone." I threatened. 

"She's boring now. Her temper and magic are gone, besides, I don't screw around with pregnant chicks. They're super hormonal and shit. I don't want tainted goods." Judar scoffed.

My anger spiked and I barely controlled myself. My hand itched to strike him, but I willed it down. Things would not go well if I struck our high priest. I took a deep breath and calmed down, I would not allow Judar to irk me any further. 

"I heard about the tea incident. I would recommend that you keep your eyes open. Enemies are closer than you think." Judar warned.

"Do you know who's behind this?"

"Let's just say I have eyes and ears everywhere."

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Wah, the return of Judar! He was originally supposed to be the main antagonist, but as I developed the plot he didn't fit the role anymore. Anyways, this story is coming to an end soon, stay tuned for more action soon. -Panama