Zane: 19
Chapter 4: Turning Tides
Zane stared up at the leaves, laying on his back in the clearing. The sun shone through the canopy, turning the air around them into a hazy twilight of green and yellow and seeping into and warming Zayn's skin. He closed his eyes for a moment and basked every bit as lazily as his serpent form, then turned his head to her and spoke. "You realize there are only two left of your royal family."
Eleanor turned her head as well, meeting his gaze. "And there are only three of yours." Her own eyes were tired and her body was loose and content whereas Zane could feel his metabolism quickening. It made him want to jump up, run home, dance, and walk through the market, but he had to take care of this first, so he kept himself still.
"Do you know what I could do with more spies in the keep?"
A small amount of irritation flickered behind her avian reserve and she looked away, back up at the ceiling of leaves. It wasn't the first time Zane had broached this topic. "Yes. I do. That's exactly why I won't be helping you get any."
Zane looked away as well and sighed, understanding her response, but needing her to help him do this. "I wouldn't end it with a blood bath. I'd let them surrender." He didn't see the point of ending a war with more blood if there was another way.
"They wouldn't." She sat up and crossed her arms, and Zane could feel her pulling back her emotions completely to hold back her agitation. He flinched. It felt like a punishment. All the same, he had to keep going. He was tired of fighting, he was tired of the killing, and he needed her help. "Their entire royal house would be dead," he argued, "What else could they do? Especially with a ring of spies—their own people—around me as I announce it."
There was a moment of silence during which Zane sat up as well, turning his head still to look at her, watching her reaction carefully. Her face was emotionless as a porcelain doll as she stared straight forward into the trees. It made him shudder and draw back himself, looking away. Finally, she spoke. "Even I wouldn't want to surrender."
Zane stood and paced, hands clasped behind his back. "The war would be over," he countered, his voice tightening with emotion, "The death of two hawks to keep alive countless others, countless children." He needed her to just look and see. She needed to just think and to see that this as the only way that the war could end.
"And being ruled by another family." Her voice made it clear that despite their friendship, she would not be willing to undergo such a change; to bow to him.
Zane shook his head. There was nothing for her to worry about. "You would all keep your way of life, forcing you with us would just cause more conflict as if the war hadn't even ended." The skirmishes in an integrated market would be a war in itself.
Eleanor hesitated, resting her head on her hand. "Still. There has to be another way. I grew up with Danica just as I grew up with you. I could never betray her so directly."
Zane watched her carefully before smiling triumphantly, that hesitation had been all he'd needed. It was time to give her another incentive. "Get me more spies, and I'll talk to the Mistari," he said simply. Now all he had to do was wait.
She paused, looking up at him. "You've had this whole conversation planned out, haven't you?"
Zane's smile widened into a grin and he stopped pacing, standing far enough away so that he didn't tower over her. "Of course."
She didn't grin back. Her expression remained thoughtful and somber as she asked, "So exactly which of those plans is the back-up?"
"Would you believe me if I said the first one?" He asked, his expression serious once more.
There was a pause, then finally, she nodded. The tension around her features melted, and Zane watched as she let out a slow breath. "… Yes."
His smile was back, and he sat down next to her. "Good."