Back in Tortall, the King and Queen were still receiving reports from all
over Tortall. They were mostly from the knights, squires and Queen's Riders they
had sent out, but some were from commoners eager to get rich, proclaiming they
had seen the Fifth Princess. King Nathaniel sighed,
"What are we supposed to do, Irena? She's been gone three months now. Zoe is an intelligent girl, I doubt she has stayed in Tortall. For all we know, she could be on a ship to Carthak, or the Yamani Isles, as we speak. She could be dead. She could be hiding in a cave on the palace grounds. We have absolutely no leads as to her whereabouts. If we expand our search to include all of the Eastern Lands, we will be practically inviting an invasion. If we do not.. we will, most likely, never find her." Nathaniel took off his spectacles and looked up at his queen. Irena sat down.
"We can't expand our search, it's true. The Scanrans have been begging for an opportunity to attack, and they surely will if they receive word that half of our defenses are out searching for a rebellious daughter."
"I think you should cut the forces that are searching for her." A firm voice said from the doorway. The King and Queen looked up and saw their politically fascinated daughter, Carenna. Although they normally dismissed her ideas as too liberal, or too impractical, this one perked their ears.
"Why do you say that, Carenna?" Nathaniel questioned. Carenna took this as an invitation to join the conversation, and she did so, sitting down in the chair next to her mother.
"Currently, our city is being protected by less than half of the forces we have available to us. As you both noted earlier, the Scanran are hoping for war to be in the near future. If the Scanrans become impatient and do something drastic, Corus will be at their mercy. Zoe has been gone for three months, and has sent no word of changing her mind. She has either accomplished whatever she set out to, and is now content in a new life, or she is dead. Either way, it is doing Tortall no good to have seventy-five perfect of our armed forces scouring the land for a girl who does not wish to be found. If you half the forces you have searching now to approximately thirty-seven percent, Tortall we be protected by over half of our forces, but there will continue to be adequate forces searching for my sister." Carenna lectured her parents in an adult, but not condescending tone. Frankly, Nathaniel and Irena were surprised. Carenna was right. Nathaniel nodded slowly, placing his spectacles back on his face and scrawling out a few notes onto a piece of parchment.
"That is a very wise idea, Carenna. I will most definitely take it into consideration. Thank you for your input." Carenna smirked, but hid it, and bowed to her parents, exiting the room as quickly as she had entered it. Irena shook her head,
"She will never make a good wife." Nathaniel could not help but grin,
"Aye, but she will make a wonderful ambassador." Irena laughed lightly and shook her head.
"Write the papers, dear. Call back half the forces, and distribute the southern forces more to the north. Zoe hates the heat." Irena told her husband, and left him to work out the rest in peace.
"What are we supposed to do, Irena? She's been gone three months now. Zoe is an intelligent girl, I doubt she has stayed in Tortall. For all we know, she could be on a ship to Carthak, or the Yamani Isles, as we speak. She could be dead. She could be hiding in a cave on the palace grounds. We have absolutely no leads as to her whereabouts. If we expand our search to include all of the Eastern Lands, we will be practically inviting an invasion. If we do not.. we will, most likely, never find her." Nathaniel took off his spectacles and looked up at his queen. Irena sat down.
"We can't expand our search, it's true. The Scanrans have been begging for an opportunity to attack, and they surely will if they receive word that half of our defenses are out searching for a rebellious daughter."
"I think you should cut the forces that are searching for her." A firm voice said from the doorway. The King and Queen looked up and saw their politically fascinated daughter, Carenna. Although they normally dismissed her ideas as too liberal, or too impractical, this one perked their ears.
"Why do you say that, Carenna?" Nathaniel questioned. Carenna took this as an invitation to join the conversation, and she did so, sitting down in the chair next to her mother.
"Currently, our city is being protected by less than half of the forces we have available to us. As you both noted earlier, the Scanran are hoping for war to be in the near future. If the Scanrans become impatient and do something drastic, Corus will be at their mercy. Zoe has been gone for three months, and has sent no word of changing her mind. She has either accomplished whatever she set out to, and is now content in a new life, or she is dead. Either way, it is doing Tortall no good to have seventy-five perfect of our armed forces scouring the land for a girl who does not wish to be found. If you half the forces you have searching now to approximately thirty-seven percent, Tortall we be protected by over half of our forces, but there will continue to be adequate forces searching for my sister." Carenna lectured her parents in an adult, but not condescending tone. Frankly, Nathaniel and Irena were surprised. Carenna was right. Nathaniel nodded slowly, placing his spectacles back on his face and scrawling out a few notes onto a piece of parchment.
"That is a very wise idea, Carenna. I will most definitely take it into consideration. Thank you for your input." Carenna smirked, but hid it, and bowed to her parents, exiting the room as quickly as she had entered it. Irena shook her head,
"She will never make a good wife." Nathaniel could not help but grin,
"Aye, but she will make a wonderful ambassador." Irena laughed lightly and shook her head.
"Write the papers, dear. Call back half the forces, and distribute the southern forces more to the north. Zoe hates the heat." Irena told her husband, and left him to work out the rest in peace.