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Title: Alliance with Tanbarun
Inspired by: Chapter 25 of the Manga Akagami ni Shirayukihime
Character: Izana Wistalia
Wordcount: 451
Rating: General
I woke up with a start. The sun had yet to be seen from the horizon. But after a somewhat restful sleep, I found myself waking up earlier than usual.
Padding to my desk where I kept spare parchment and quills, I was in the mood to make some important decisions. It came to me last night, but I had yet to work out the kinks. The tea that Garack gave me somewhat boosted my grey cells into action. I must have dreamed about the details because now that I was wide awake, my direction was clear.
I needed to escalate the issues in Tanbarun and I thought I had the best bargaining chip that would make the Royal family sit up and put more emphasis in solving this issue.
But of course, I needed to be careful in wording my proposal to the King.
After all, Shirayuki had now become an all important chess piece for the Crown Prince, and I was certain that his father had taken notice of it, if he was a shrewd ruler, which I had no doubts that he was.
I carefully drafted my proposal in neat, precise points, assuring the King that we had also vested interests in the capture of the pirate bandits that had been plaguing Clarines' harbor spots. The news about their dealings had been scant, due to the lack of reports and evidences to support this. Should they be successfully captured and given due punishments, I, as representative of Her Majesty, The Queen, would be giving out a handsome reward as well.
Combined with this, I had also hoped that with this clear-cut alliance for the greater good, I was ready to arrange special privileges to strengthen our ties with their country.
Glancing down at the long missive I wrote, I reviewed the points carefully, ensuring that what I wrote was concise and would be mutually beneficial to both countries.
Satisfied, I folded the parchment paper and applied hot wax to seal the top flap. Using my signet ring, I stamped the wax with the royal seal, used only by the Crown Prince of Clarines. It was to show that the contents were genuine and sincere.
Signaling for my aide, it was Maruko who appeared, knocking on the bedroom door softly before entering.
I handed the sealed parchment to him, and he gave his assurances that it would be delivered with much haste. And then he left, closing the door behind him.
I stood up from my chair and strode across the room, standing next to the large framed glass doors leading towards the balcony. I watched the sun rise above the pink and orange clouds, a little hopeful for the future.