"....And in conclusion, I believe that with Vinoli growing in power, it would be wiser for us to remain on good terms with it, rather than go down the path that our Queen-Mother's guest proposes. Thank you."
Wrapping up her speech, the blue-furred canine bowed first to her Monarch and then to her fellow members of the Ginarcian Council, before returning to her seat, accompanied by the sound of applause.
"Thank you for that passionate speech, Councilwoman", said the Queen Mother. She then turned to Merees, who was seated next to her. "Anything you wish to say in response, Princess?"
"As a matter of fact, Your Majesty. I do."
"Than the floor is yours."
Merees, who had listened with growing impatience to the Councilwoman's speech, left her seat and strode purposefully towards the center of the spacious, circular council-chamber.
"I have here" she said, "a letter, addressed to the Vinolian Ambassador and written by Argath herself. I shall now share its contents to you..."
The Dragoness cleared her throat and began to read. As she read, she noted to her satisfaction that the contents of the letter were having an effect on her audience.
"From the look on your faces." she said, making a pause in her reading, "it seems that your national pride has been wounded by the thought of another nation planning to commit assassinations within your borders. I must confess that I find this reassuring. However, the letter still has more to tell us. There is a PS here, which I think will be of greater interest to you:
'PS: Make sure to remain on good terms with Ginarcia and one day, We shall reward you by letting you rule over its people, in Our name.'
-Argath I."
The Stunned silence that greeted this reveal, was soon replaced with a noise, like the buzzing of agitated insects. Gradually, the noise grew in volume and soon, morphed into clearly audible words:
"Treachery!"
"How dare they?"
"This is an outrage!"
"Lies!"
"This letter is a forgery!"
"Why, you b..."
The Sound of a gavel striking wood brought an end to an increasingly heated discussion. Every member of the council turned towards the podium and found themselves wilting under the Queen-Mother's stern glare.
"For shame, Ladies! This sort of behavior is unworthy of you. Now, sit down and act in a manner befitting your status and your sex. At once!"
The Queen-Mother's fur bristled as she admonished her administration. The Council had never seen her this angry before. Shame-faced, they sat down.
"Now", the Queen-Mother said, once order had been restored. "I believe the time to vote has co...Is this important, Councilwoman?"
"I'm afraid so, Your Majesty. I have a question for the Princess."
Merees frowned, she had noticed this other Councilwoman. While her fellow members had been arguing, she had only sat quietly, observing them with an amused glint in her eye.
"Is this about the letter?" She asked. "If its a question about its authenticity..."
"Heavens no", the echidna replied. "We can always sort that out later. No, there's another thing I'd like to ask you, Your Highness"
"Fine. Ask away."
"Much obliged. Princess, you do have in your service a lynx, by the name of Risha. Correct?"
"That's right. She's my bodyguard." Where is she going with this?
"And that's all she is? Strange, I've heard differently...
*****
Well, you look sharp enough, Risha thought to herself, as she put down the whetstone she had been using and inspected her weapon of choice. Let's try you out.
She held the short-sword outstretched and let a piece of cloth fall on the blade. Steel met fabric and the cloth was neatly divided into two pieces.
Satisfied, the lynx put the sword back in its scabbard.
Now, how shall I pass the time until Mer comes back? Reading? No, I don't feel like it...
As she considered her options, the door opened.
"Welcome ba..." Risha began, and stopped.
She had intended to ask Merees, when the latter returned, how the meeting had gone. However, she realized that that would be unnecessary. One look at her lover's face told everything she needed to know.
Merees slumped down into an armchair and let out a deep sigh.
"Is there something I can do, Mer?"
"They know about us."
Had Risha carried something, she would have dropped it. As it was, she could only stare at Merees, mouth half-open.
"How?"
As soon as Risha had asked that question, she knew the answer:
"Alys."
Merees nodded.
"The Councilwoman who 'outed' us, so to speak, got her information from the Vinolian embassy. Apparently, one of their staff-members had invited an old schoolmate to dinner and, well, you know the rest. Risha, why didn't you keep calm?"
"I'm sorry, Mer, I tried. Its just, the things they said about you made me see red. But I never said anything about us being together, I swear it."
"I suppose they got suspicious that a hired bodyguard would defend her employer's honour with such fervor."
"You could have denied it though. You could have said that I simply had an unrequited crush on you or something, it wouldn't have bothered me if you did."
"Unfortunately no. You see, the Councilwoman in question asked if I would be willing to make the statement under the influence of a truth-potion. I could have refused to drink the potion, of course, but..."
"But doing so would have confirmed their suspicions, so you decided to confess. You must be quite mad at me. Can't say I blame you. I did cost us our alliance with Ginarcia."
"You haven't. There's another way for us to get the Ginarcian's on our side."
"Really? What is it?"
"Well, you know that Ginarcian society values motherhood above all else."
"I can see where this is going, its not so much our relationship they object to, but more that neither of us have done our 'duty', as they see it."
"That's right. Risha, I..."
"I'm sorry, Mer, I know this is my fault and I should take responsibility, but being with a male? The Prospect did not appeal to me before Guanaca. Now, the mere thought makes me nauseous. I'll do anything for you. Anything, except that."
"Do you really think I would ask that of you? Besides, even if you were willing it wouldn't matter. Its not enough that one of us become pregnant. As things are, for the alliance to be official, a wedding must take place. Between me and the Queen Mother's youngest son."
