A Threatened Treaty

Chapter Twelve

Castle Araluen came into the view of William Treaty, his parents, and his grandparents. Will sighed. "It's been a while since we've seen Evanlyn and Horace," he commented. Halt, Pauline, and Alyss all nodded in agreement.

"Who's Evanlyn?" William questioned.

Will, William's father, turned to him, "Evanlyn is the name your Aunt uses under unofficial business," he explained.

"Ah, I see," William replied.

Will chuckled at his son, turning to face the magnificence of the Capitol's Castle. He sighed. "Can't wait to see them."

Alyss nodded. "Yes, it's been too long. We haven't seen them since Alysster got married," she replied.

Halt nodded his agreement. "Yes, and I would like to see how they're fairing with the well-being of the kingdom."

"I'd say they're doing just fine, in my opinion," chimed in Lady Pauline.

The rest of the group nodded their agreement and they continued on their course.

They were greeted at the door, where they were told to dismount, by the guards. They did as they were told and told the guards to announce their presence to Alysster Treaty.

"Maybe he's at a meeting," William said.

Halt shook his head. "It's his day off. Not to mention, his superiors are supposed to give him a few days to make sure everything's in order for the trip."

William stayed silent and began to walk his horse toward the stable yard. He was followed by the rest of the group and they began to brush down their horses and help them get settled. Aside from the lady's, of course.

As Alyss and Pauline walked toward Alysster's apartment, Pauline drew attention to Alyss' silence. "You've been quiet since we've arrived, Alyss. What's on your mind?"

Alyss sighed. "I feel like something is going to go wrong," she commented.

"With the mission?" Pauline questioned.

"Yes, but I don't know what it is," Alyss answered.

Pauline gave a small hum in agreement. "Something doesn't seem right," she said under her breath.

When they arrived at Alysster's apartment, their instincts were correct. Something was awry and they could see it in Alysster's body language and movements. He would fidget with his thumbs and fingers and his voice held a hint of nervousness whenever he spoke to anyone.

"So, Alysster. Have you heard anything else about the mission?" Pauline pushed.

Alysster looked at her and saw that she knew something was wrong. He sighed and began to fidget with his thumbs and fingers again. "About that," he began, "you and my mother...aren't going."

There was silence in the room for a few moments before Pauline spoke again. "Budget issues?"

Alysster nodded, biting his bottom lip. Alyss sighed. "Who threw a fit?"

"Jacqueline and my colleague, William."

"I did not throw a fit!" cried Jacqueline.

Alysster looked at his wife and rose an eyebrow. "You caused a fight over it and blamed me for the voting and the budget issues. I'd say you threw a temper tantrum yesterday."

"You two had an argument yesterday?" Alyss questioned.

"Yes, and she blamed me for not being able to go. She's not going either, and neither is the Queen, or any of you two. It's all of the men in the group that are going."

Pauline and Alyss exchanged glances and smiled at Alysster. "This gives all of us girls to catch up on recent events. We haven't seen each other since you and Jacqueline had Evie, so this trip isn't all that bad," Alyss explained. "Not to mention, I want to see how Maddie is holding up with ruling the Kingdom."

Alysster let out a relieved sigh and leaned back. You have no idea how much that's been torturing me since yesterday. Aunt Cass has already found out, thanks to her connection with The Counselor and the fact that she's the one who set the budget anyway."

"Did she get upset when The Counselor told her?" Pauline asked.

"No. She understood that she had no control over who gets voted into a group, so she just left it. She's helping Uncle Horace pack, though. I think she's also hoping for some girl time."

Alyss giggled. "It'd be nice, that's for sure," she commented.

A knock sounded at the door and Alysster looked toward it before calling, "come in."

Halt, Will, and Alysster's brother, William all entered the room. "Looks like the girls beat us to it," Will said.

Halt walked up to stand next to Will. "I feel like something went wrong," he commented.

Will and William nodded their agreement.

Alysster sighed. "The girls can't come on the mission because of budget issues," he told them.

"Oh..." replied Will.

"Are you disappointed?" Alysster asked.

"Yes, actually. I would have liked for them to come with us, but if there is going to be an issue in bringing them, then I won't let it bother me."

Alysster bobbed his head in agreement. "I know. Jacqueline and I would rather rescue Evie together, but due to the budget, she and I will have to hope that Evie's okay when we get her back."

Will sighed as he sat on the arm of Alyss' chair. "I really don't like the Head Counselor."

Alyss shook her head. "I don't think anybody likes him," she said.

#

Alysster walked in and heard a body fall from his office chair. He looked and found William rushing to stand up, but his robes were caught on the chair.

He chuckled and walked toward William. "Were you sitting in my desk, William?" he asked.

William shook his head vehemently. "N-no. I was just keeping the seat warm for you," he said.

Alysster rose an eyebrow at William's excuse. "Really, now?" he questioned.

William sighed as he slumped his shoulder. "I thought you were on your way to leaving for Toscano, so I already started on doing some of your paperwork," he said.

Alysster chuckled and lifted the chair off his robes. "I was actually about to show you what to do while I'm gone, but I see you have most of that covered. All you need to do is head to meetings every Sunday." He helped William to his feet. William smiled at him. "Which I've already got covered anyway. The only difference would be that I would need to do it for two people instead of one."

Alysster pointed a finger to the ceiling, as if making a point. "However, one member, who is off on authorized leave, wouldn't matter in terms of coverage," he said. "All you would need to do is attend each meeting and pay close attention to detail until I get back."

William nodded and looked at Alysster's desk. "The only question I have is, do you want me to sign off on some documents while your gone?" he asked.

"If they're treaties for another country, no. However, if they're reports from the Council to Her Highness, then yes, you may sign off on them in my stead. The other countries don't know I've been temporarily replaced," Alysster replied.

William nodded. "That's right, you're with the treaty division," he said, his mouth twitching upward.

Alysster graced him with a grin. "Ironic isn't it? How my surname goes with my line of work," he said.

William smiled. "Very much ironic, though I'm sure you don't mind?"

Alysster shook his head. "No, actually. I don't mind at all. It keeps me busy instead of having to fill out thousands of pointless paperwork over nothing." He headed for the door. "Well, since I've you have your new temporary job covered, I shall take my leave. Take care of my office while I'm gone."

William nodded and waved at Alysster as he left the room.