Disclaimer: I do not own
Note: Chapter 12...
Merleawe was frustrated. She had understood the reasoning behind the plot to kill her. She was, after all, a high-value target, and very important to the functioning of the country. Of course the King of Caldia, driven by the desire for more land, would want her to die to set Viegald at unease. She was frustrated that she had been betrayed by a member of the Council, but she could accept that. She could live with it; she could change that. Of course there would be people who didn't like her.
But she didn't completely understand why Yue had been targeted. Yue had said it himself; he kept his head low, and didn't do much of anything worth mentioning besides his job. Merleawe could understand how the King of Caldia would feel Yue was a threat because he jeopardized General Lenolora's loyalty to the country, but wouldn't he also have realized that General Lenolora would probably desert if the king had actually planned to kill Yue? Yes, the king could manipulate General Lenolora by threatening to hurt Yue if General Lenolora "misbehaved," but there was no use in killing him outright, was there?
But then, Merleawe knew she was probably overreacting. Yue could take care of himself; he could find out why he had been targeted and reason through what had happened, if he so desired. Merleawe had her own troubles to deal with. Namely...
"Merleawe." Yue spoke up, and Merleawe turned to him, sitting at the conference room table, holding a cup of tea that Merleawe knew Glenn had all but forced into his hand. Merleawe knew Glenn was very worried about Yue; knowing as well as she did that blast injuries could be tricky, and some types of internal injury caused by shock waves took days to manifest fully, and could cause life-threatening complications; but Merleawe also knew that Yue had been warned ahead of time and would have had time to cast barriers to protect himself, minimizing injury, and probably leaving him without any major complications, so she wasn't too worried. "How are we going to deal with Agros?"
"Yue, you're certain we should?" Merleawe asked, then realized that Yue was probably sore, and, if so, he was probably crankier than usual and therefore less apt to think things through fully. "But, didn't you say it was risky, calling out a spy?"
"This nonsense has gone on long enough. We need to break some link in the chain from Caldia before someone actually does get killed. And Agros seems to be the only consistent member of the chain that I actually have the means and reason to go after. The only question is; how do we approach him? At the Council meeting? Shall I inform him myself? Should we call a private meeting? Should we first notify the King?"
"Addressing the issue in the Council is begging for trouble from the other five ministers. I don't want you going after him yourself; you might get hurt. A private meeting would make him suspicious. And I don't see any downsides to first informing the King, except..." Merleawe thought for a while. "... He has enough things to worry about."
"Don't we all?" Yue asked wearily. "This is a matter of national security. His Majesty has the right to know what is going on. I suppose we will contact the King about Agros, then."
Note: I'm starting to have my doubts about this fic; writing it has become more of a chore than a joy. But maybe that's because it's my third chapter of the day and I'm too tired to even get up and go somewhere with internet access to publish it. Or maybe it's because chapter 13 is coming up. Whichever way, though, I'll keep going.
