Here is the latest chapter. You all have a lot of opinions on the baby that Jane is carrying, but remember that I'm nearly complete and I have all well underhand. Have a great week and I will see you over the weekend.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 39
The messengers rode to the allied countries to alert them to Aro's demise while the heralds told the various counties of Dwyer that they'd finally succeeded at one of their long fought goals.
Albemarie was quick to send a messenger to the camp in New York, offering their surrender and asking for instructions on where to meet for treaty negotiations. Baron Peter was wary of King Corin, so he sent the messenger back informing him that their troops were to withdraw from the border and the King and three of his men could travel with a posse of Royal Army soldiers to escort them to the capital.
The Queen would not be traveling anywhere near the fighting as it got more out of hand. The news reached the capital in enough time for them to prepare for the summit. The Kings of the allied countries would be there to assure that they were being compensated properly from the treaty, but a majority of the negotiations would be handled by the Queen.
King Seth was the first to arrive, taking time to visit with his cousin. For the first time since knowing her, Isabella noticed that her friend was nervous. It took a quiet moment between the pair, that she learned the reason.
"My King suspects that something is amiss, but I haven't talked to him yet."
"What is it you are afraid he will learn about?" Isabella couldn't imagine something that would unsettle Leah so.
"Sam. I don't know if he will support me marrying someone below my station. My younger sister lives off the graciousness of our sovereign, and if he feels that I'm looking down my nose on his generosity, then I could be causing her difficulties as well."
"I'm sure it won't cause any problems, but if he does, I will give Sam a title and you can remain here. Your sister, Kimberly, is welcome also."
"Thank you, Majesty." Leah seemed a little relieved after the conversation, but Isabella knew she would worry until her cousin consented to the relationship.
It was four days later that King Conner arrived from Hatteras, rounding out the allied rulers and giving them a day to discuss the negotiations before Corin arrived.
The meeting went well, but when they emerged, Seth saw something that caught him off guard. Without saying anything, he gestured to Sam and Isabella had to move to stop Leah from following. "Let them talk, we shall go and relieve the princess' guards and I'm sure the King will find you when he's ready."
It was an uncomfortable few hours in the princess' rooms, but when King Seth entered, Leah was the first to stand.
"Cousin, may we speak?" Seth asked, and Leah motioned for him to join her on the settee.
"The Queen and I have no secrets, so please tell me what you need to say, Majesty." Leah was almost trembling when Seth reached out to take her hand.
"Why have I not heard about this man before now? It is tradition that he must come to your King and ask permission to see you."
"We were far from my home and I was worried about your reaction. He isn't a noble and I was afraid -" Leah rambled before her cousin raised his hand.
"Do you love him?" Seth's direct question was answered with a nod of Leah's head.
"Does he treat you well?" Again, the only response the King received was a nod.
"Are you willing to denounce your titles to marry him?"
Isabella almost spoke, but Leah was quicker. "I would give up anything for Sam. He is a good and loyal man and his devotion for me is only out shadowed by his devotion for the Royal Family of Dwyer. If you knew him better, you wouldn't question my choice."
"Such passion from my warrior cousin," Seth spoke after a long moment. "How could I deny your heart the happiness you've found with this man? I had hoped to see you married to a prince, but having such a strong tie to one of our allies and dear friends is near as good as long as you are happy here."
"I am, Majesty, so happy." Leah looked on the verge of tears as she spoke.
"Then go find your Captain. We will see you married in Neuse, as is tradition, but for now enjoy your evening. We will speak more before I leave."
"Thank you, Majesty," Leah said with a deep bow. She nearly ran into the men waiting outside the door, leaving the Queen alone with the King of Neuse.
"Tomorrow will be a difficult day," Seth said as he looked to the now closed doors.
"I have been through this before, and Corin knows he picked the wrong side. You will all receive the reparations for your expense in fighting this war, as will Dwyer. But more importantly, our border will extend further than it does now and we will have the advantage of another front to fight on against Pamlico. The walls are closing in on King Vlad and he doesn't want to admit it."
"How do you remain so sure and strong during everything you've endured?" Seth asked in the privacy of her daughter's rooms.
"I have to be so for my people and my husband. He's fighting this war, the least I can do is ensure we have a country to rule after he has won it. I'm looking forward to a very boring decade after what I've been faced with in the beginning of my reign."
"I'm sure you will get it, you deserve no less. Now, I will leave you to your evening and we will meet again on the morrow."
"Goodnight, Majesty," Isabella offered her wishes.
"And to you, Queen Isabella." Seth did the same as he left with his men in tow.
*PttT*
On the first morning of treaty negotiations, King Corin arrived under the protective guard assigned to him. He was moved to a room with his men so they could prepare and then were taken directly to the Main Hall. There was a large table with a number of chairs around it, Isabella and Carlisle sitting on the side in front of the thrones, giving them the place of prominence. With all the dignitaries present, Isabella called the meeting to order.
"We are here to treat with King Corin of Albemarie, to bring an end to the fighting in the southeast. Before we begin, there are two non-negotiable points we are putting to you. You can either accept them, and we will continue, or this summit will end and our army will continue to advance into Albemarie."
"What are your demands?" the defeated King asked.
"Your army will forfeit all weaponry not needed for the basic patrolling of your borders to be divided among the allies, as your army will be standing down. The other is the free and uncontested use of your lands and the border with Pamlico to bring about the swift end of the war."
Corin looked at his men before shaking his head. "We will meet your terms, our people are suffering under the cost of this war and the promises and threats that brought us into this fight have all fallen through. Now, what are the other conditions of our surrender?"
Isabella nodded to the other monarchs before continuing, "There will be financial reparations, which will stretch over years so as not to bankrupt your country, and a portion of the land at your border will now be part of Dwyer. You will not be able to raise an army for a period of time determined here without permission of the allies, and any dealings with Pamlico will be seen as an act of aggression."
"I can easily agree to cutting all ties with Pamlico, but what of the people who live in what will become Dwyer?" The concern for his people was one of Corin's few redeeming qualities, and Isabella set out to put him at ease in that respect.
"They can either leave peacefully and be granted safe passage to the new border with Albemarie, or they can swear the Oath of Fealty and become citizens of Dwyer."
The look of relief on Corin's face was immediate. "Thank you for not punishing the people for the monarch's poor choices."
From there, negotiations went on for most of the day, only ending when the Queen began to grow tired. The last few months had been hectic for Isabella and she often found herself exhausted at the end of the day.
The particulars of the treaty took a few more days to hash out, but in the end, King Corin was left with a country to rue over and an extended period over which to pay his debt back. The allies were happy with what they'd gained to offset the costs of the war for their nations, and Dwyer would be able to rebuild using the money.
The army would begin the occupation of the former lands of Albemarie and move further into the country as a part of the war effort before the formal borders were set.
King Corin signed the treaty and his men traveled with him to the south with their escort to return to Albemarie and evacuate those citizens who needed help before the army marched in.
Overall, the four kings had been impressed with the Queen's negotiating skills and with the offer for the allied kings to stay for the next few weeks accepted, the castle was overflowing with royals.
One unsuspected complication arose from all of the extra royal families in the castle. Prince Lee and Lady Tia were two of the older children in the royal nursery and they seemed to hit it off quickly. Isabella was informed of this by one of the nurses, so she brought it to the attention of King Conner.
"Is there a problem with an attachment between them?" Conner asked, seeming a little put out.
"There is no problem with a friendship between them, Conner, but I am not her mother. The Duke of Cary could already have an arrangement in place for her and I don't want to jeopardize that. But when I see him after all of this insanity has ended, I will mention the interest that is there and he can discuss it with you. But for now I must do my duty as her protector and have more nurses in with the children."
"I understand your need to protect the girl, those children have been through so much," Conner admitted.
"Thank you for that. I will see you at dinner," Isabella said as she left the room to deal with the necessary changes to the staff.
*PttT*
Edward wished he knew how the negotiations had gone at the capital, but as they had been fighting another battle that day, it was impossible. They were still fighting, but it seemed like something was changing for the better as they kept the pressure on their enemies.
The retreat that Edward and his men were chasing seemed to be unending, and as they kept riding, he saw approaching troops riding in from the east.
Was this a trap that they'd been lured into? Edward slowed Nettie as he looked on the men, finally making out the colors of Bodie's army riding to meet them.
"What are you doing riding in from this far in country?" Edward called across the field.
"We attacked from Albemarie's border. The Pamlico guard hadn't anticipated that their allies had given up the fight," the soldier answered as they closed the distance between them. "Sorry we couldn't send word, Majesty, but by the time we arrived back to the eastern camp, you had already begun the battle, so we chose to ride out and catch them by surprise. It cut their fighting force in half, so I say we were successful."
"That we were. It is a day and a half's ride back to the current border of Dwyer," Edward related. "So, the negotiations went well, I take it?"
The man nodded. "I was part of the party that traveled with King Corin as his escort and then met up with my unit. Your Queen was a force to be reckoned with during the summit, Majesty."
"I had no doubt," Edward said to himself.
In an hour's time, all the men had found their common ground and the heads of the various divisions and armies were meeting to discover exactly what they'd won.
"So we are a little more than two day's ride to the capital of Pamlico and from what we can determine their army has pulled back at least half that distance?" Edward was confused by the tactics of his enemy; it seems that King Vlad had inherited his father's paranoia but not his cunning.
"That's correct; the civilians we have encountered are begging us to conquer them so there's a chance that they won't starve," Jasper told his king. "They keep everything for their army, which means that when we do take the capital and try to put Amun in there, his own army could rise up and try to kill him."
"Then we'll leave a portion of our guard to help him oversee the smooth transition. Once he is able to restore some order, we will withdraw. It will do us no good to fight this long to have the rabble army regain control."
"We will offer the same," the General of the Hatteran army offered. "We've stood beside you through everything else, we will see peace restored to the entire region."
"Thank you, friend," Edward said as he raked his hand over his face, letting it tangle in his hair. Isabella would hardly recognize him with how long his hair had grown. It was nearly as long as Jasper's had been before the fighting began. "Make sure the citizens know that they cannot flood the border into Dwyer. We have men there to prevent a large exodus from crossing, but I'd rather prevent it if we can."
"Aye, Majesty," the men answered.
"Is there anything else of importance?" Edward asked the gathering.
"No, we will know more when the last of the scouts return, and then we can begin to move on the capital," Jasper explained.
"Very good. Get some rest, men, tomorrow we begin again."