Chapter 14: Allies

Vania looked up at the cheery early summer sun, and tried not to sigh. She never thought she would be wishing for rain while traveling on the road, but she had been wishing for some rain for days now. At least with the rain, the obnoxious Tyran ambassador would be hiding in the carriage along with his wife and children, and she would not have to be polite and pretend to listen to his rants.

Third Company was currently charged with escorting the outgoing Tyran ambassador back to the border, and from where they would welcome the new ambassador and Princess Cateline of Tyra, Liam's betrothed, a few months later. That was why Liam and Gerald was also traveling with the Company this time round. The ambassador, Lord Otto, would not shut up around Liam despite his cool reception. Vania had to wonder how he became a diplomat. But then again, she had heard that Lord Otto had powerful ties to the royalty in Tyra. Perhaps that was why.

Somehow, Gerald managed to sneak up on her, and she hurriedly adjusted Thunder's reins to give him and his black gelding some space.

"Shouldn't you be with your knight master?" She muttered, eyeing Liam and Lord Otto at the front of the party.

Kel was further up front, leading the contingent with Neal today. Under normal circumstances, Vania would ride next to her. But because Vania was a princess, she had been tasked with partial diplomatic duties as well. There was a reason, after all, why Third Company of the King's Own was chosen for this task. Having two royals escort the ambassadors and the Tyran princess, even if one of the royals was just a squire, showed that Tortall was taking the sealing of the two countries' ties seriously.

Gerald pretended to shudder. "I might be coming down with a cold. I sneezed a little near the ambassador, and he went off about how rude I was to threaten his highness with ill health. How can I stay near his highness in good conscience after that?"

Vania snickered under her breath. This Gerald, one that had traveled with her brother for almost a year and spent much time with Riders, was rather different from the stiff and proper Gerald that she had known as a page. His sense of justice and his belief in the Code of Chivalry was still firmly in place, but Vania liked this more casual, looser Gerald much better.

"Think I should sneeze near him too?" she asked discreetly.

"Please don't." Gerald said quickly. "He's going to say that I passed it to you, and might just demand punishment for me."

"What kind of punishment would be worse than having to entertain him?"

"Well, I suppose you've got a point…"

Vania was glad that she had Gerald to keep her company. Traveling with a wealthy, arrogant ambassador on a partial diplomatic mission meant that the whole company was on high alert. Fortunately, there had not been any of those immortal attacks so far. But everyone was stiff and proper, and Vania missed the relaxed and easy banter that Third Company had when they were on the road by themselves.

Emmy would be even better company, of course. Vania couldn't help but wonder where she was right now. It was the middle of May, and Vania's last letter from her was back in April, written from Corus right before Emmy took off with Sea Gale for Pirates' Swoop. Emmy would like Pirate's Swoop, she thought. She wondered how many of the castle's hidden passages Emmy would find. Vania would have to show her one day. Maybe they could visit after they are knighted…

"Vania." Gerald whispered urgently.

Vania snapped to him. He pointed at the front, where Liam and Lord Otto was looking at her expectantly.

"They're calling you."

Vania cursed under her breath and plastered a smile on her face as she led Thunder out of the group to overtake the few horses between them.

"Your highness," Lord Otto said, bowing his head and Vania pulled up to his right, leaving Liam on his other side. "I was just telling his highness that Her Royal Highness Princess Cateline had learned the sword when she was young too, much like yourself. She is very much looking forward to making your acquaintance."

"Oh, is that so?" Vania snuck a glance at Liam. He was looking straight ahead without any expression on his face. She tried to smile. "That is a pleasant surprise."

Lord Otto stroke his beard. "The exploits of the Lioness are famous throughout the Eastern Realms, and we can see for ourselves what a formidable addition the Queen's Riders have been to Tortall's forces. Princess Cateline, like many other young girls in Tyra, was inspired. Our council intends to pass a new ruling to allow women to fight and train for knighthood in a year."

Liam turned around in interest, for once. "Are you? This is the first I've heard of it."

Lord Otto looked very pleased with himself. "Indeed. As much as I've enjoyed my time here, your highness, I am rather looking forward to being back home for such a historic moment myself. We'll need all seven houses in the council to agree to it. And notorious as we are for our debates, I suspect that there won't be too much opposition to this, not when the results have been so clearly positive in Tortall."

Liam smiled, and it was one that reached his eyes. "That is great to hear. If you need any help in Tortall, you know we will be happy to assist."

Vania nodded emphatically, even if she would not be much help personally. But it was wonderful to hear of such developments in other lands. And knowing that it was a result of the efforts of both her mother and godmother made her swell with pride.

Lord Otto nodded once. "Thank you, your highness. We do hope that the ties between Tyra and Tortall will continue to grow. We've seen how a royal marriage had benefited ties with the Yamanis, and we certainly look forward to much stronger relations between our two countries."

The warmth left Liam's eyes, and Vania ached for her brother, who was still clearly missing Fianola.

"Of course," Liam said coolly, "that is my wish as well."

Vania looked away as Lord Otto started talking about the Yamanis, feeling selfish for her plans to stay with Emmy when Roald, Kally and Liam had to sacrifice their happiness for duty — well, Roald's marriage had worked out, and Kally had written to say that she was content, but still — did Vania really deserve to marry for love? Should she risk her family's reputation just so she could be with her lover?

"… admirable discipline, but really, they have strange practices that just boggle the mind. Taking lovers of the same sex, for example —"

Vania stiffened, turning a little to listen to Lord Otto once more.

He bore a look of disgust on his face, gesturing wildly with his meaty fingers. "— Can you imagine? Men loving men, and women loving women? That is just unnatural! Human bodies were not made for such appalling acts —"

Vania tightened her grip on the reins, so tight that her fists were shaking.

"— It's a travesty of love, of marriage. Corrupting something so fundamental would surely lead to ruin for the Yamanis sooner or later." Lord Otto droned on, oblivious to the rising colour in Vania's cheeks, "In Tyra, we used to flog these sinners in public. But now that we've done away with public flogging, we send them to the mines. Some can be cured, you know, with some discipline and hard work, but there are some that are just —"

Vania coughed loudly. She bent over on her saddle, one hand on her chest and made herself cough.

"Vania!"

"Your highness —"

"I'm fine." Vania squeaked, keeping one hand on her chest, mindful of the curious stares of others nearby, "Just a little —" she coughed again, "— I'll go see Neal."

She nudged Thunder with her knee and was already slipping away when Liam was reminding Lord Otto that Neal was the company healer. She forced little coughs as she passed the other horses, seeing Kel and Neal turning around in concern.

Kel eyed her flushed cheeks sharply as she pulled up next to Neal. "What's wrong?"

Vania shook her head and coughed again. "Neal," she croaked and gestured to herself, "can you?"

Neal brought his palm to hover in front of her chest. His light green Gift glowed, and he frowned as the glow faded. "You're fine."

Vania took deep breaths and tried to look like she was trying to catch her breath. But it helped her calm down too. "I know."

Kel and Neal exchanged worried looks.

Vania leaned forward a little and made sure her voice would not carry. "Lord Otto was going on with one of his insufferable rants. I needed an escape."

Neal chuckled quietly, though Kel's eyes held disapproval. Kel would not reprimand Vania in front of other people, she knew. No doubt she would hear about it after dinner tonight, but for now, Vania was glad to be not listening to Lord Otto anymore.

It wasn't until she was reaching out for the waterskin that Neal was handing her that she realised her hands were still shaking.

That evening, Vania stuck around the stables after dinner, talking softly to Thunder as she fed him apples. Now that the nobles had their meals, it was the servants' turn, and there was no one else in sight.

She leaned her head tiredly against Thunder's, knowing that she would have to pretend that nothing had happen the next day with Lord Otto. That man had been obnoxious before, but now that she knew he would have her and Emmy flogged or sent to the mines for loving each other, she felt an anger bubbling within her. It would be so much harder to smile and be polite around him, and they had almost another week still before they reached the border.

Weariness tugged at her, and she sighed.

Thunder nudged her gently and she hugged him closer, blinking unexpected tears. "I miss her." She confessed to her gelding, "I miss her so much."

Someone cleared their throat pointedly behind her.

Vania jerked back in surprise, and quickly wiped her tears.

"You're not referring to mother, are you?" Liam asked lightly.

When Vania turned back, he was smiling with his hands behind his back. There was something hesitant about his smile, and it was such an odd look on him that Vania blinked at him for a few moments before she found her voice again.

"What are you doing here, Liam?"

"Looking for you." He nodded towards the clearing just outside the stables. The sky was clear tonight, and the moonlight was enough to see by. "Walk with me?"

Vania nodded. They fell into step in a comfortable silence. Even though Vania had a sense of why Liam was here and part of her dreaded the conversation to come, Liam had always made her feel safe. She took a deep breath and clung to that sense of safety, praying silently that she could still have that by the time the night was done.

"You left dinner in a hurry today." Liam said when they were safely out of earshot of whoever might be listening in the stables.

"I couldn't stand Otto for much longer." Vania muttered. Honesty worked best with Liam.

"You did a good job in the past week."

"Everyone has their limits." Vania said petulantly. "I guess mine is not as high as yours."

Liam hummed, and came to a stop. Vania halted a step later, not daring to look at him.

"And I'm supposed to believe that this has nothing to do with your sudden coughing fit earlier today?" Liam waited, but Vania turned away from him, hugging herself. "Otto had obviously touched a nerve. It's what he said about same-sex lovers, isn't it?"

Vania took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Do you know someone like that?" Liam asked gently.

Vania snorted, and turned around.

"Yes." She lifted her chin. "Me."

Liam's eyes widened, his shock obvious even under the moonlight.

"Oh."

Vania held his gaze defiantly, her heart beating in her ears.

"Well," Liam said finally, and Vania wondered if his cheeks were flushed, "to each his own, I guess. Or her own."

Vania looked up at her normally confident brother shifting from foot to foot and unsure of what to do with himself.

"And Otto is an idiot, I think we'd both agree on that."

Chuckling, Vania threw her arms around Liam. She hugged him tightly, feeling his arms closing around her shoulders. She laughed or sobbed into his chest, not quite caring as relief overwhelmed her.

Safe. She was still safe with Liam.

"Thank you."

"I'll always have your back." Liam said. "And after I —" Vania felt him swallow, "— after I marry the princess, I'll start looking into changing that law in Tyra. It shouldn't be a crime anywhere."

Vania hugged Liam even tighter. She knew that marrying the Tyran princess was nothing but a duty to Liam, whose feelings for Fianola had obviously lingered. To have him promise looking into the laws in Tyra for same-sex marriage meant a lot to Vania. She knew Liam kept his promises.

"You don't have to." She said, still clinging to him and feeling very young. "I don't even plan to go there."

"The Code of Chivalry teaches us to uphold justice, does it not?" Liam said quietly. "I find that law unjust, and I'm duty-bound to change it where I can."

Vania chuckled before she pulled away and wiped her eyes quickly. "Look at you, being a knight and all."

"I've been a knight for over a year." Liam said firmly, a mock scowl on his face.

"I know." Vania grinned. "I heard you're a great knight master to Gerald."

"You don't have to sound so surprised." Liam grumbled good-naturedly, slinging an arm around Vania's shoulder and steering her forward again.

"So, tell me about your lover. Is she treating you right?"

"Well," Vania started with a grin as she fell into step beside her brother, "She saved my life twice already, so I think you can do away with your plans to threaten her…"

Liam scowled again. "I have two younger sisters. And both of you stop me from carrying out my big brother duties. What am I supposed to do?"

Vania leaned a little into him, her heart much lighter than it had been in days. "I think you're doing just fine."

Emmy was glad that Miri and Alanna halted the group when the Dunlath valley came into view below. From their vantage point on top of a hill, they could see the clearing at the bottom being prepared for the next day's historic meeting. Tiny figures in army uniform were setting up odd-looking fences and perches, digging ditches and bringing long wooden troughs and setting them around the clearing in a pattern that made no sense at all to Emmy. But a basilisk was directing the men, so the set up must have been planned.

Emmy squinted, but from this far Emmy couldn't tell if the basilisk was Tkaa, her teacher from her days in the palace, or not.

Mick whistled as he pulled his pony to a stop next to Whisper. "This is going to be a tale for our grandchildren one day! Imagine, a historic meeting of all immortals across the realm!"

"Not all immortals, you dolt. They would hardly fit." Clarissa corrected absently from Emmy's other side, sweeping her gaze across the preparations at the clearing in quiet awe. "Representatives from all species of immortals."

"Not exactly right, either," Miri said, having overheard. She turned around a little on her pony, knowing that she had the group's attention. "Tomorrow's meeting will be with immortals who have signed treaties with us, with the exception of spidrens. The spidrens claim they want to work with us even if they haven't signed any treaties. Still, it's not that all the others are friendly. We need to stay sharp."

"I'd keep an extra eye on the spidrens," Alanna grumbled, sneaking a quick look at Emmy. Emmy knew that she must be thinking back on the vicious attack by spidrens on the two of them. It had been almost nine months, but Emmy still couldn't suppress a shudder when she recalled the day she almost died.

As the Sea Gale group filed down to the valley, Emmy found herself riding beside her knight mistress.

"Why are the spidrens here, my lady?" She had been surprised when she first heard Miri and Alanna talking about it when they set out for Dunlath after leaving Tirragen. She wished that Baron Cooper had not gone back to Corus on business. He always had interesting perspectives to share about these things, and Emmy had grown to like him.

"They are the hardest hit by the mages behind the coordinated attacks." Alanna said, her eyes narrowed in distaste. "Spidrens value their young, and I've heard that those mages have been raiding and holding their nestlings in ransom so that they could submit to their spells."

Emmy grimaced, feeling a pang of pity for the immortals. It had been so much easier to think of them as pawns of the enemy, to be defended against and cut down if necessary. To know that they had their young held at ransom and that they had good reasons to fight them made Emmy uneasy. Could she still attack the spidrens without remorse the next time she faced them in the battlefield?

She had to, she knew she had to. But the knowledge was more bitter than not.

"Chin up, squire." Alanna said when she saw the look on Emmy's face. "This is why we're here. Both the immortals and us are tired of the enemy mages' manipulations. If we can find a way to work together we might finally be able to hunt down those mages and put a stop to all these."

Emmy bowed her head, taking a deep breath. "Yes, my lady."

Emmy's mood lifted when she saw the two squires waiting on their horses at the end of the trail, grinning and waving excitedly at the incoming party.

Alanna sighed, though she couldn't quite hide her smile. "I suppose it's too much to hope for Alan to be more dignified now that he's a squire."

"Around Raoul?" Miri quipped, "Have you seen how the Own acts around their Knight Commander?"

Alanna shook her head in mock resignation. "Good point."

Fianola, at least, remembered to bow from her saddle when they came within earshot. Though she was grinning widely too and winked at Emmy.

"Welcome to Dunlath, Lady Alanna, Commander Miri. Alan will be showing you to the Commander's tent, and I will direct the rest of the group to set up camp."

"I'll see you later, Emmy!" Alan called with a wave as Emmy followed Fianola, before turning back to grin at his mother. "Have you brought those snacks from the Swoop that I wrote about?"

"Oh, my journey was completely fine, thanks for asking, son." Alanna's sarcastic reply could still be heard as Emmy and Fianola turned their horses down the other way.

Emmy exchanged a look with Fianola, and giggled. They could hear snickers and giggles from the Riders behind them, too, and Emmy shook her head at Alan's audacity.

"Is it just me, or has he gotten worse since he became a squire?" Emmy asked.

"Definitely worse." Fianola said with a chuckle. "It's amazing how casual Lord Raoul is around his men. And yet First Company has become an efficient fighting machine under his command in just one year. Prince Roald said First Company used to be known for looking pretty than actual combat prowess, but that has changed now. You should see their morning drills."

Emmy nodded. "So I've heard. Vania mentioned that before." She finished more quietly, feeling a sudden pang of longing for Vania.

Fianola gave her a pointed sidelong look. Nothing escaped her eyes, as always. "I heard she's near the Tyra border now, escorting the outgoing ambassador."

Emmy turned to her quickly. "Is that so? I haven't had a letter from her since we left Tirragen."

"It's an advantage of being squire to the Crown Prince. He has a Crown mage traveling with him at all times, and the mage links to the King's council come in handy."

"Of course." Emmy looked away a little, absently noting the makeshift stables they were nearing, "I've been meaning to write to her since Tirragen, but…"

Fianola caught her gaze, though she lifted her hand to halt the party. She turned around. "Riders, please tie your ponies to the stables here. This —" she gestured at the clearing next to the makeshift stables, "— is where you can set up camp. All meals will be served in Dunlath castle up ahead, and dinner will be ready in another bell."

Emmy was tugging her reins around when Fianola stopped her. "You'll have a room at the castle next to Lady Alanna, silly."

"Oh." Emmy said, feeling a little silly indeed. "I heard there's a Commander's tent, so I thought…"

Fianola was shaking her head. "That's for meetings and preparations for tomorrow. All commanders and knights are lodging in the castle."

"Right."

Fianola turned around to make sure that the Riders were settling down. The castle gate was still a few hundred yards away, and they had a little privacy.

"Did something happen at Tirragen?"

The memory of Xander's reaction still stung, and Emmy was reluctant to talk about it. But this was Fianola, one of the few people who knew about her relationship with Vania and also a dear friend. She found herself telling Fianola about the incident.

When they dismounted at the castle stables, the first thing Fianola did was to give her a hug.

"I'm sorry it didn't go well, Emmy."

Emmy hugged her back, grateful to have a friend to lean on.

"I'm sure he'll come around one day." Fianola said as she patted Emmy's back. "He just needs time to get used to the idea."

"I hope so."

"Is that why you haven't written to Vania yet?" Fianola asked after she made sure no hostler was nearby. They started rubbing down their horses, working side by side.

Emmy tried to smile, though it felt like a grimace. "I don't know what to say. And besides, it's — we need to be careful about what we write in letters."

"I know." Fianola was quiet for a moment. "I'll likely see her in a few months, actually. Is there anything you'd like me to tell her?"

Emmy turned to look at her in surprise.

"His highness is joining the welcome party for the Tyran princess." Fianola explained when she saw the question on Emmy's face. "Liam has to be there, of course, but since this is the most important… political marriage since Prince Roald's, a big royal welcome party is necessary." She looked away, concentrating on her brush strokes, "It will most likely be Third Company escorting them again. It conveniently allows for another royal princess to join the welcome party, you see, and it looks good for everyone."

Emmy studied the suddenly closed look on Fianola's face, and knew that she still had feelings for Prince Liam. Emmy didn't know what to say, or if there is anything she could do.

"I'm sorry about that, Fianola." Emmy muttered finally.

Fianola paused, and forced a smile. "It's all right. Princess Cateline will be a regular face at court soon enough. I have to face her sooner or later. But I mean it, Emmy, if you have a message you want to pass to Vania, let me know."

Emmy nodded gratefully.

No one had mentioned that historic meetings among a large number of parties would be incredibly long. Sure, when Emmy first took her station standing behind Alanna, she had spent a few moments looking around in awe, breathing in the history taking place amongst the unlikely view before her eyes.

The whole meeting was spread out across the whole clearing, with appropriate seats or perches or other resting places for the likes of humans, centaurs, spidrens, ogres, basilisks, stormwings, and griffins alike. Some of the immortals came in big groups, like the ogres, while some are represented by as small as a party of two, like the griffins. Unsurprisingly, humans outnumbered the immortals by a large stretch. Beyond the official representatives like Prince Roald, Lord Raoul, Daine, Numair, Alanna and Lady Maura of Dunlath and their squires or servants, the whole First Company and Sea Gale spread out behind them, standing guard. Dunlath men-at-arms walked around, fetching items or carrying refreshments. Royal scribes and mages were scattered around the clearing, taking notes or providing assistance with the mage spell that allowed all speakers' voices to carry across the large expanse.

It was the largest, strangest gathering that Emmy had ever been to.

Introductions and pleasantries took close to a bell, and by the spidrens' turn to introduce themselves Daine had to break out a potential fight between the spidrens and stormwings, both of whom had a fondness for casual insults but little tolerance for receiving them.

When they finally got to the main agenda for the meeting, it started out with long recollections of when the rebel mages started interfering. The spidrens recounted how they were suddenly losing touch with whole groups of spidrens at a time, though they did not realise something was seriously wrong until their nests and younglings were being targeted a year ago.

Emmy did a quick calculation and realised that it took the rebel mages three years — since the first attack during summer camp of her first year as a page — to start targeting the spidrens' young to force more numbers under their control. What changed? Had the Crown's forces finally made enough of a dent in the rebel forces? Were the rebels planning something big soon?

Unfortunately, the spidrens' story turned out to be the most interesting one. The other immortals took turns to express their concerns for these developments at length, though some of which had little to do with the rebel mages at all (the centaurs spent a long time airing their grievances about how their inability to keep slaves was hindering their livelihoods). Nevertheless, Prince Roald patiently gave each party their time. They had only gone through the spidrens' and centaurs' turns before a quick lunch break, and then off it went again with the other immortals.

It was close to dusk by the time all immortals had their turn, and the meeting had to be adjourned for dinner and to be continued the next morning.

Emmy watched the immortals leave in a slight daze. An impressive portion of the attendees simply took off to the orange sky, while the others walked, rode, or scattered across the clearings, some to visible tents, some disappearing entirely into the trees.

"Goddess, if the centaurs complain about not having slaves one more time…" Alanna muttered darkly as she stretched thoroughly next to her seat.

"They were quite brazen." Emmy agreed, stretching a little herself, "Why weren't they concerned about being so open when they know the Crown Prince is here? The Crown has always been very firm on that issue."

Alanna scowled. "They know we need them in this. Since the attacks started, our people have been urging the immortals to work with us. But it's like herding cats. It's only with the rebels' recent change in tactics and Daine's return to the field that we managed to cobble this meeting together. They know we need this alliance."

"They need us too." Emmy reminded, thinking about how the rebels were now targeting the immortals' young.

"That's why we can have this meeting in the first place, and why the immortals like ogres and griffins who are not affected yet agreed to come. To get to an official alliance, we need to give them a little more." Alanna explained as they started walking back to the castle. "A stage where they can air their grievances freely is an easy one."

Emmy chewed on that thought, feeling as if her mind was being stretched in new directions with these concerns about diplomacy and building allies. After serving the knights and commanders at dinner, Emmy had a long conversation with Fianola and Alan about the topic over their own dinner. Fianola had the most experience in this, as Prince Roald's duties revolve around it, but Alan also had practical experience with Lord Raoul's dealings and negotiations with the immortals on the field.

It gave Emmy a better appreciation when, the next evening, representatives of all parties signed a treaty to form an official immortals-human alliance against the rebel mages. The main terms were simple: the immortals agreed to pass on all relevant information to the Crown and resist joining the rebel forces when not under coercion. In turn, the Crown would provide assistance to the immortals should they or their young come under threat from the rebel mages.

They had spent many bells working out smaller clauses like sweeteners such as more favourable terms when trading goods with local villages, but those paled in comparison with what had been achieved — an important alliance in this unspoken war where the enemy had been hiding in shadows within the realm. Emmy could only hope that this would tip the scales in their favour, and that the rebellion would die down soon.