Lot of plot and politics. Next chapter should be more interesting.

Part VI

A Setting of Plans: Are You Mental?

"Lord Van!" Van braced himself for the glomping that was sure to ensue at Merle's enthusiastic cry. Well, either a glomping or a lecture. Slender, tigre stripped arms wrapped firmly around his waist and the cat girl emitted a content purr. He could only raise his eyes heavenwards, experience telling him that it would take an event of apocalyptic proportions to extract him from the girl's vice like grip. Pink tinged his cheeks when he caught a couple of amused sniggers. Sighing, he patted Merle's dyed hair, this time a candy apple red, and prayed that the embarrassment would end soon.

Fortunately, a subtle clearing of the throat from the man who sat behind the large oak desk, one of the few pieces of furniture in the room, had her retracting her arms. Van only had a chance to open his mouth before the young woman launched into a tirade that, really, he should have been expecting.

"How could you just leave me there, Van!? Do you know what some men would be happy to do to innocent cat girl like me?"

Van raised an eyebrow at the word innocent, but wisely kept his mouth closed.

"Another thing!" She paused dramatically and Van sighed.

Here it comes.

"How could you try to pick a fight with Dilandu, especially when you didn't have a sword?!" Merle stomped her sandaled foot in an attempt to properly convey her irritation with him and inadvertently squashed his foot. The dark-haired king grimaced, but kept his silence. If the look that Dryden was giving him was anything to go by, then there were most likely a great number of people who were not pleased with him.

"Why did you do that, Lord Van? Why?"

Van stayed silent for a moment, not completely sure if Merle was finally finished in her tirade. It was only when she gave him that look that he knew he finally had permission to speak. He looked around. The room was more cluttered then it normally was for one of their meetings, but it wasn't something that he could honestly say surprised him. After all, Dilandu's unexpected early arrival was of no small importance. Everyone that was a part of Fanelia's operations in Palas needed to be present if things were to go properly.

The handful of women in the room, all claiming the only available chairs, were giving him condescending looks; almost identical to the way Merle looked at him, her hands on her hips. Swallowing thickly he looked away and noticed, much to his chagrin, that all of the men in the room either looked amused or were shaking their heads at his recklessness. His eyes meet Dryden's and he was surprised at the disappointment that he saw there.

If there was anything that could make him feel worse…

"Well?"

Van glared at Merle. If only she had kept her mouth shut this wouldn't have had to be so public. Yes, this was all her fault. It didn't matter if Allen would have brought this up to Dryden at some point. If he had it would have at least been in front of a smaller audience. Only a handful of people would have witnessed his humiliation.

"It wouldn't have been a problem if I had my sword…" He muttered sulkily. Yes, this was definitely her fault.

"Lord Van—"

"On the contrary, Van, things would have been a whole lot worse if we had allowed you to leave with your sword."

All heads turned to Dryden who regarded Van, his stubbled chin resting on his threaded fingers, his expression one of thoughtful trepidation.

"Do you know why Dilandu is here, or what he is here as?"

The Fanelian king shrugged. "He's here at the Emperor's request. Does it really matter? It's not like this is the first time he's come here so unexpectedly."

Dryden snorted an act that, in itself, was uncharacteristic enough. "It may not be the first time, but I don't think it could have come at a worse time. Dornkirk has sent a new ambassador to Palas. This ambassador is a new player. None of us even know what she looks like."

"She?"

Dryden's lips curved into a smirk. "Yes, she. Rumor has it that she is Zaibach's new pet—the reason why they've been so quiet for the past half a year."

"I wouldn't call their attack on Fanelia last week quiet." Van snarled.

"An attack that was executed solely by the Dragon Slayers. Zaibach's army had no part in that attack. For the most part things have been quiet. According to our sources—"

"—the attack on Veshrane to the south was the last move that the army made."

Heads turned to stare at the newcomer. Van smirked slightly when Allen had to duck his golden head to pass through the door and into the room. It was nice to see the usual punctual knight responsible for the hold up for once. Normally, that was Van's specialty.

"Ah, Sir Allen, so nice of you to join us." Dryden grimaced, and didn't look at all pleased at the interruption. It was no secret that the two men did not get along. There were times when the merchant suspected that Allen was responsible for Millerna's reluctance to go through with the marriage. "As you say. Zaibach's army has been stationary since their attack on the southern islands. Rumor has it that a member of the royal family was taken hostage and is currently being kept at the capital."

Van turned his head, watching Allen's expression to see how much of this was true. It was odd that the Knight Caeli was privy to so much information that none of the others had heard about before. He raised a dark eyebrow at the uneasy expression that had crossed Allen's face as Dryden spoke. He almost looked constipated. Was he hiding something?

"The Crown Princess was taken in the attack," Allen finally spoke, after a moment of uncertain silence, "however; I have new information that verifies that she is no longer in the capital."

"Then where is she?"

Again that uneasy, constipated look crossed Allen's face. "My source advised me not to reveal that information. For the princess' safety it would be best if her whereabouts remained a secret."

"Your source? Since when do you have sources, Sir Allen?"

Van leaned against a nearby wall, feeling comfortably smug at the reluctance that was obvious on Allen's face. Dryden was right; the knight's actions were highly unusual. He was their source of intel for the royal palace, and almost never relied on the gossip provided by other people. He always claimed that such information could not be trusted. Yet, here he was, arguing with Dryden over something as important as the location of Veshrane's heir. Fanelia had always taken a personal interest in the condition of the large island chain. Although the Queens where the ones with the sole power making authority, it had a surprising presence. Foreign countries paid it little mind due to their reluctance to embrace the grace of God, but the former king of Fanelia had always been highly respectful of the country. Balgus had once told him that it would be in his best interest to respect the opinions of the islands' Queen. So it was high in his list of personal priorities to locate the Crown Princess, rumored to be the sole surviving member from the court of the attack, and free her. Once freed she would undoubtedly be indebted to Fanelia and provide them a wealth of valuable intel that would possibly help them loosen Dornkirk's grip on most of Gaea.

"My source is very close to the Crown Princess—"

So why is Allen keeping quiet?

"—and in order for her to maintain that position my silence is required."

Dryden gave Allen a long, searching. Uncertainty crossed the knight's face for a moment before his eyes hardened and he returned the look. After a moment of unease the dark haired merchant let out a sigh, relenting.

"I'll trust you judgment on this matter, Sir Allen. I pray that you are right."

"I am never wrong." Allen's crystal blue eyes darkened and Van snorted at this. "When an opportunity presents itself I will inform you of her location."

"Very well. As I said before the ambassador is Zaibach's new pet, but as a new player she will not have had time to become familiar with the way the court works. King Aston will be throwing a ball at the week's end in honor of Princess Millerna's engagement."

"This makes it number what, fifteen?"

Dryden shot Gaddes a death glare at the simple reminder that the king had thrown many balls in his honor only to have the princess change her mind days later about when the ceremony should take place.

"This ball will provide us with the perfect opportunity to find out what Zaibach is here for. Van, I will leave it to you to find a way to get close to the new ambassador during the event. Make sure that it is done in a way that Dilandu isn't too suspicious."

"Because that won't be too difficult." The young king muttered under his breath. "What's the bitch's name, Allen?"

The golden knight raised an eyebrow at that remark. "She is the Lady Kanzaki. You might want to avoid using that type language, Van. I'm quite sure she won't take well to that."

"Like that matters to me."

"Come now, Van." Dryden chided. "It shouldn't be that difficult. It's just one night."

"One night is fine, but how are you going to introduce me? I'm sure that no pet of Dornkirk's will want to spend time with a nobody, and you can't give me a title of an Asturian or Fanelian duke. What will you do?"

"Don't worry about that Van." Allen flashed him a secretive smirk. "Leave those arrangements to me. I'm sure we won't have too many difficulties in getting her to accept your company."

Ok, this was short, but I am trying to make an actual effort to update daily at least until I get a job. If you prefer me to do a bit more lengthy updates every couple of days let me know. I tried to work on Choices, but this fic will not leave my muses alone. I apologize if this chapter was boring. Some plot that needed to be set up.