Prince Chid, the Duchy of Fried stared at the messenger in fascination.
"What?" He asked incredulously.
"My Lord, the Dryden Embassy, accompanied by the Princess Millerna and Queen Eris, requests to see you."
"See them in at once!" Chid commanded. Was it just coincidence that Aunt Millerna and Aunt Eris would come now? With the Dryden Embassy, no less.
Chid sat down cross-legged lightly on the large velvet pillow at the end of the hall in the Audience Chamber.
"Queen Eris Aston of Asturia, and her sister, Princess Millerna Sara Aston!" announced the messenger.
Chid was delighted to see Aunt Millerna and Aunt Eris again. Eris glided forward and swept gracefully to kneel on the lush expensive rug the led from the throne to the end of the chamber. Millerna strode to her sister's side on bent down beside her.
"It's wonderful to see you again, Chid! You have grown so much!" Millerna smiled at her 9-year-old nephew.
"Greetings, Aunt Millerna! Fried is honored by your presence." Chid nodded to Queen Eris. "I assume that this is more than just a visit. Would you like to move into a more comfortable room to discuss?"
"Aren't you forgetting about someone, Your Highness?" The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows at the end of the hall.
"Merchant Dryden! Of course you are more than welcome to join us!" Chid grinned. "Please follow me." He stood up and exited the Audience room, assuming the others would follow.
Millerna glanced back at Dryden, rolled her eyes and muttered something, then stood and trailed after the young Duchy. Queen Eris shot Dryden an exasperated look.
"What? Is it my fault I'm dark, mysterious and charming?" A small smile tugged at the edge of Eris mouth, but she hid it as she stood gracefully and swept out of the room. Dryden followed behind muttering.
……………………………………………………………………………………..
"When you told me you would send a Diplomat, I did not expect that the Queen and the Princess…" Dryden coughed.
Chid smiled again. "And, of course, the esteemed Merchant Dryden would appear a fortnight later, with no formal warning. Are matters more serious than I had anticipated?" Chid asked worriedly.
Dryden spoke first. "More than serious, Your Highness. Tensions are reaching the breaking point and rising to catastrophic. More attacks have proceeded. It's all Asturia can accomplish just to keep Fanalia from being accused outright."
"What does King Van say?" Chid inquired. "I cannot believe that he is instigating these attacks. After all the work he put into our peace treaty, why would he work to destroy it?"
"He might not necessarily be instigating these attacks. There might be a terrorist group in his country that he is not aware of." Eris pointed out delicately.
Dryden snorted. "Not the Van we know. I can't believe there's something in his little country that he doesn't know."
"There are rumors that the mysterious soldiers wear Ziabach arms." Chid said grimly.
"Nonsense. The Ziabach Empire fell to pieces after the Great War."
"Whether it was Ziabach or not, innocent citizens are still getting hurt! It doesn't matter who attacked them right now! Innocent people are loosing loved ones, homes, food, with no medical care!" Millerna interrupted.
"Aunt Millerna, we cannot predict when the renegades will attack again. All we can do is send aid to the remains of the villages. Our army is not big enough to cover all the small villages in the country, especially since the treaty, armed forces have been limited. I cannot believe that the attacks have nothing behind them but angry supporters of Ziabach. The only way to stop these attacks is to stop it at its source," Chid announced, his young voice small but confident, a clue at what a strong leader he was growing to be.
"Don't you think it's a little conspicuous that Fanalia is the only country who hasn't been attacked? And as far as we know Van isn't even aware of the attacks on Asturia and Fried," Dryden pointed out.
"We cannot come to conclusions yet, Merchant Dryden." Chid said, his small shoulders sagging.
"This is ridiculous! We all know that Van wants peace! We know him!" Millerna cried in frustration. "And while we talk more people are getting hurt!"
"Hush, Millerna!" Eris tried to quiet her with a quelling look.
"Wait. Aunt Millerna is correct. I feel terrible at the innocents caught in a fresh conflict, directly after they were promised peace. What do you propose we do, Aunt Millerna?" Chid asked.
"I have an idea," Dryden said. "Why doesn't the Princess take charge of a hospital that moves from village to village, providing aid and food? She has experience in this area." Dryden grinned. Millerna shot Dryden an unsure look.
"I-don't know…"
"I think it's an excellent idea." Eris cut in smoothly. "But first…we must send a message to Fanalia—."
"Wait," Dryden cut in. "I think that we should travel to Fanalia to tell Van ourselves. This is too important to be intercepted."