Here's the first chapter of my second submission for this year's Negitoro Summer Smash! This one will be four chapters long, and I'll be uploading the next chapters on Tuesdays and Fridays!
The original prompt, suggested by myself, is the following:
"Miku and Luka are the last surviving leaders of their respective nations. They are desperate for peace, and agree that a marriage contract is the best way to go. But with all their royal relatives dead in the wars, they only have one possible solution."
Once again, many thanks to Kokodoru for the beta-reading!
As for the title: Do I know it's the name of a Skyrim quest? Yes. Do I care? Somewhat. Am I going to change it? No.
Enjoy!
The entire delegation waited nervously. In their rich clothing, the oppressive summer sun only weighed down their discomfort. Luka resisted many urges: to ask for the time, to clear her throat, to stand up and walk away, far away. She wasn't qualified to sit in that chair, to be surrounded by these people, to hold this meeting. Her eyes fleeted to her trusted advisor, who only shrugged in response.
In truth, her trusted advisor was little more than her best friend. A girl she happened to grow up with and who happened to know a bit more about everything than other people. All of the other officials there were similarly out of place; the sergeant major was a staff sergeant mere weeks prior, her financial advisor had been given the post days prior, she had met the legal advisor only that morning, along with the rest of the small troupe.
Surprisingly, out of them all, she was the most qualified. Barely.
She never was in line for the throne, but she was part of the late emperor's vast family. She had at least been in the environment at times. She had overheard some conversations. She had spoken to the Emperor and Empress Consort during family dinners. She was, technically, an adult.
But that was it.
And that was all they had.
Luka shifted in her seat. The large window to her right had no curtains, no shades, no way to block out the beating sun. The outside ground, three floors below was bare concrete and steel, acting as a mirror, sending a second dose of rays back up. Still, it was probably the fairest location for this meeting. Originally, it had been a city of the Hatsune Kingdom for over three hundred years. Positioned along the northwestern coast, it was the safest and biggest port this side of the continent, and any ship that wanted to get from one major ocean to the other invariably stopped there. It was the most well-connected and ideal position the kingdom had, if only it hadn't been so unfortunately close to the northernmost border with the Megurine Empire.
When the war had started all those years ago, the Emperor had made sure to capture this city first. Then, the King had taken it back. And then the Emperor tried again.
All told, the city had been besieged, bombed and almost destroyed time and time again, had swapped hands so many times, that either party could argue that it was theirs, and neither party really wanted it anymore. It was neutral ground, or at least as close as they could get. There were no civilians around while the two militaries surrounded it equally.
It was, long story short, the perfect location to talk about peace.
Luka had no other choice. She was the last living member of her family, their resources were stretched thin, and their nation was tired, dehydrated. The reason they had started the war in the first place, control over the source of water that fed literally every major river in their empire, had been destroyed. The Hatsune Kingdom contained more sources though, and Luka hoped, prayed that she could convince whoever would sit across from her at the table that, should they make peace, they would divert another one of their sources into the empire.
Otherwise, she was in for a terrible fight to supply fresh water to far too many people.
Thousands more would die after the ceasefire, and the thought was unacceptable.
Luka shifted again. She wasn't used to the formal wear. She wore, at her request, clothing usually worn by the Emperor. She had always been a tomboy at heart, and since it had never been quite imaginable that she would actually sit on the throne one day, that trait hadn't been nipped in the bud. There had been some resistance when the emperial tailors had been confronted with her habits, but they eventually caved, cutting the brown and black fabrics to her shape. They weren't used to tailoring suits for women, making the cut stiff, constricting around the chest, and slightly more androgynous than she was used to. She barely felt like she could breathe. And that was without mentioing the variety of regalia she was forced to wear, from the medals to the gloves, the shoes to the heavy crown that sat on her head, all so obnoxiously golden. It wasn't even the decorative crown the Emperor used to wear for fancy events, which everybody knew was more for show than practical use; this was the formal meeting headdress.
It weighed a ton.
She wanted to fidget with everything; another habit that hadn't been stomped. The cufflinks dug into her skin, the socks were too long, the jacket too heavy, the weight of the medals asymmetrical. Even her long hair, which nobody had any idea what to do with, and was consequently allowed to hang loose, felt off, out of place. She wanted to braid the pink tresses, tuck them behind her ear, fix it somehow, but she knew it wouldn't fix anything, really. Luka had spent all twenty years of her life wearing jeans and tank tops, for crying out loud. The layers upon layers of cloth and accessories weighed in more ways than one.
And it was all so stupid. The building they were in was bare. The most precious thing it even contained was the table she sat at, imported that morning just for the meeting. The chairs they had brought in were military-grade. It didn't mean that it was very good; it was easy to make, easy to fix, easy to pack, and easy to use. It certainly wasn't comfortable.
Nothing was comfortable.
After what felt like an eternity, their shadows crawling ever so slowly across the floor, noise was heard at the end of the hall. Luka made sure she sat up straight, hoping that she didn't look too far out of her depth, and she heard the half dozen people behind her do the same, shuffling into place.
The Hatsune delegation rounded the corner. Luka stood in greeting, even though they were still so far away.
She studied them as they approached. They all had the typical traits of the inhabitants of the Hatsune kingdom: cool-colored hair, skin like snow and silver. Compared to the darker tones of the Megurine Empire, ranging from dark umber to soft fawn, they looked positively sickly. Most, if not all, were similarly much younger than one would expect. Unversed as she was, she couldn't identify the various insignia, couldn't tell which was military and which was financials, but all were young.
The youngest of them all was undoubtedly the woman who led the party. Luka had trouble guessing her age: from afar, her height and build spoke of a thirteen-year-old, but as she got closer, her face told of a late teen, perhaps even a young adult. The Empress had trouble seeing if she really was as emaciated and unwell as she would have guessed, either due to the war, or whatever else, or if that was normal and Luka was simply unused to seeing her Empire's northern neighbors up close. The girl's bright eyes, upturned and deep-set, betrayed simultaneously her obvious youth, but a more hidden, tired wisdom. The bags under her eyes clashed with their sapphire hue, and Luka had to wonder if the girl had as little sleep as she did. Worse yet, she was outfitted in what looked to be the heaviest dress ever, all black, and also wore a crown on top of a head of a huge, braided mass of teal hair.
Luka was no expert, but she knew that the crown and hair meant one thing: she was looking at the Hatsune Queen.
She didn't know their King had fallen. Maybe that had happened recently, and that was why she was wearing black, why she looked so miserable. Or maybe it was for another family member.
She had no way of knowing. No official training in anything regarding the Kingdom's customs, their culture. She was sorely in the dark, armed with only tiny nuggets of knowledge and little more.
When the delegation arrived at the table, the customary bows were exchanged. Luka's translator introduced and named them all, and the Queen's translator did the same.
The young girl's name was Miku. Her eyes were filled with cold determination. There was something resigned about them. Detached.
After another bow, the Queen took her seat. Luka did the same.
Her first official action as ruler of her empire was handling a peace treaty.
She was far, far out of her depth.
"Thank you for agreeing to this parlay," she said, doing her best to remember her rushed speech lessons. Head high, project her voice sufficiently, enunciate clearly. The translator did his job, whispering the sentence back to the young ruler. She cleared her throat, and said in a different tongue, "If need be, we can discuss in your language."
That was her only real weapon. She had learned their language for fun. It was almost funny, if she thought about it too hard.
If the Queen was surprised, she didn't show it. Her enunciation, pronunciation, projection, it was all perfect as she replied, "That would be ideal, yes."
"I am not very fluent," Luka said, feeling that her speech was probably choppier than it should be for such an occasion, "So if I am to say anything rude or untoward, please understand that I have most likely misspoken."
"Very well."
Luka wanted to sigh but swallowed the urge. Whoever this Miku was, she was probably far more trained than she. The girl had probably been ruling for a while.
Luka had to impress.
"You wished to discuss peace?" the Queen asked.
"Yes," Luka replied and started her rehearsed bit, hastily translated. "The initial reason for our conflict no longer exists, and it has only created more problems since. We cannot sustain ongoing hostilities in any capacity." She allowed herself to sigh. "Plus, with all due respect, those who have started this war are dead. While I am sure that I could hold many things, from death to destruction, against you and your family, I am also sure that you could do the same against me. However, war is not something that I have ever believed in, and it has only ever brought us misery. It's time for us to put our grudges behind us, and for this war to end."
The teal queen nodded. "I agree. It must stop."
Luka wanted to cheer but held her composure with an iron, gloved, and sweaty fist. There was more to do. Next to her, her friend Lily fidgeted. Luka turned towards her, except it was the sergeant that whispered in her ear, "The fact that they agreed so swiftly isn't necessarily a good thing. They might want our help as much as we want theirs."
"Isn't that fair?" Luka asked in her mother tongue, seeing that Miku's advisor was speaking to her in hushed tones.
"Fair, maybe. We could use it as leverage. But it also means that they could try to squeeze stuff out of us that we aren't able to give. Dangle their supposed willingness for peace over our heads."
Luka nodded, and returned to the conversation, with the standard polite apologies.
"Our late Emperor started the conflict in order to gain control of your water sources," Luka started. "It was stupid; to be honest, our situation is direr today. We have no more fresh water."
The Queen nodded again. "You are asking for us to divert a source."
Luka wanted to swear; she was obviously more prepared than her side could possibly be. "Yes. I understand that these sources are a large part of your fresh water supply as well. But, while the late Emperor was afraid to trust you with control over them, all I ask is for enough to keep my people alive. You may keep the sources, and I am willing to trust that you will not abuse that."
Surprise flickered on her features. "That is all you ask for? No more land?"
"No more land," Luka stated. "We only want a reliable source of water."
"Your armies have conquered much of our lands," Miku started, her enunciation remaining impeccable. Luka had no trouble understanding her. The more the teal-haired ruler spoke, the more Luka had to think that she wasn't unwell at all. She simply looked it. "Which do you insist on keeping?"
"None."
The Queen's delegation shifted in obvious surprise. Only Miku kept her composure somewhat, behind a thick veil of wariness. "None? After all the bloodshed, time, and resources spent on seizing them?"
"The people in those territories resent us, for good reason. And, they are more mouths to feed. As it stands, we do not have the resources to care for them, much less gain their trust. It would be best if the map returned to the way things were before the war started."
There was some muted discussion on the teal ruler's side of the table. There was elation, but obvious mistrust. Meanwhile, the Empress's side was quiet; they had discussed this at length. This was the best way to go for a fractured and delicate nation. While the cost to get those lands were atrocious, the price to maintain them was not worth it.
Finally, the turmoil on the other side of the table stilled.
"How can you ensure that you will not strike again, the moment your strength returns, nourished by our water?" Miku asked. "I know only of the actions of your late Emperor, but I do not know you. He struck swiftly and without any mercy; can you promise and guarantee to do the same?"
Luka clenched a fist under the table; here was the part she was not looking forward to.
"I understand that you and your ancestors value family greatly," she started. "Therefore, while some might consider it archaic, and my empire might not entirely understand it, they will respect it. I am willing to debate the terms of a marriage contract."
This time, the Hatsune delegation remained still; there was no surprise here. They would have probably pushed for it if Luka had tried to offer literally anything else.
"Very well," Miku said after a pause. "I agree that it will be the most effective way to guarantee peace between us for a long time."
"I'm glad."
"Would you consider our two nations to become one, as part of this union?"
"Logistically speaking, yes. But we both understand that the people will not agree to that, at least not right away. There is still a lot of animosity, there. If our families could lead as an example, then one day, we could be one great nation. But that might have to wait. It would be a delicate process."
The Queen nodded. "Agreed. Then, let us discuss the terms."
"Let's."
Both delegations shifted at that, advisors of both sides ready to whisper any information they had to their respective rulers. Luka knew that Lily had rehearsed all information she had on the Hatsune family members. Perhaps it was all dated, but she trusted her friend to steer her clear of the obvious crazies and bad decisions.
"I have always been destined to marry my distant cousin," Miku started, her tone frightfully neutral. "He has since perished in one of your many attacks. Despite that, I am ready to personally offer myself to any of your relatives to make sure that this union happens as smoothly as possible."
Lily softly went 'uuh' under her breath, and Luka stammered, "While I'm grateful that you're willing to do this, I'm afraid that won't work."
"How so?"
"I am the very last of my family."
There, Miku's eyes widened, and her advisor had nothing to say. The rest of her team hummed with hushed questions.
Luka cleared her throat, and said, "Therefore, I'm offering the very same; I am ready to marry any of your remaining relatives in order to make this work."
"You have nobody?" Miku asked.
"Nobody."
"Your late Emperor has no children?"
"The Emperor, Empress Consort, and their children have all been quite literally vaporized by one of your bombs a year ago."
"No uncles? Cousins?"
"One of his brothers ruled in his stead for a while, but died of diarrhea," Luka admitted. "No clean water, and all. The other brothers have perished in combat, except for one, who slipped on ice last winter. Their sons, all adults, also met their ends in either battle or attacks."
"Your aunts had no spouses?"
"For the most part, they were also culled in a terrible skirmish early on, along with their own children. Those who escaped warzones suffered from war-related accidents, diseases, and attacks. This includes my parents. I only survived because I was staying with a friend far from the conflict, for my studies. There never was any reason to believe I would ever get personally involved," Luka explained. "When the Emperor's brothers finally fell, and they traced all paths, they found only me: last survivor, borne from the Emperor's first cousin and his wife. I am the last. Trust me, if they had found a single living male relative, he would be sitting here."
"Oh?"
Luka could only chuckle. "According to the rules of my Empire, a woman may sit on the throne only when all men have perished. If I had a living five-year-old cousin three times removed, he would be sitting here in my stead." Her smile fell as she finished with, "I am quite literally the only one left."
Miku muttered. "Isn't that archaic."
"I know, right?"
The teal Queen hesitated, and Luka realized she had translated a local expression word-for-word. It probably meant nothing to her at all. She blushed, embarrassed.
"If you have any living relatives—"
"It is only me, daughter of the late King Mikuo," Miku said evenly. "Our family is closely knit and remained grouped together. This made large parts of my extended family very easy to cull, sadly. When my father realized that it was only us two left, he sent me far away for my protection. He succumbed to a stroke two weeks ago."
Luka gulped. "Oh. That is...unfortunate."
Miku shifted in her seat, sweat beading on her brow. In her black dress, the sun must be absolutely crushing. "Are you reneging your proposal for a marriage contract?"
"I wouldn't dream of it," Luka admitted. If Lily had any opinions on her reply, she didn't voice them. "I will do anything to make sure no such conflicts will arise again and gain your trust if it means securing the survival of my people. If I must wed another woman, then I shall."
The teal Queen held her gaze for a moment. Her advisor whispered a few words into her ear, but she didn't seem interested in hearing it.
"If it means securing peace for my people and the return home of our lost subjects, then so will I," she finally said. "We will wed."
Put that way, it was terrifying. Miku seemed surprisingly cool with it, but Luka reminded herself that she had always had her wedding arranged for her. Such were things in the Hatsune kingdom, after all. That was one other nugget of information she knew: the family prided in their exclusively rare teal hair color and went to great lengths to preserve it within their bloodline. Not only did this mean that the all-too-obvious bastards were culled and the responsible punished, but marriages between distant relatives were common. Luka heard that recent scientific knowledge had encouraged them to widen their spectrum of acceptable relatives, but that didn't stop their family tree from looking more like a wreath. Miku was most likely the result of generations upon generations of carefully planned and organized inbreeding. At least, if she suffered in any way of her family's pride, then it wasn't visible.
Luka sighed; the importance of family the Hatsunes felt had been the main reason they had decided on pursuing that marriage contract. They prized it more than anything, no matter the consequences. In their eyes, a union between their families would guarantee everlasting peace, which Luka planned to uphold.
That much hadn't changed, but she certainly hadn't planned on obtaining a wife instead of a husband. Worse yet, a very young wife. And, if the awkward silence at the table was any indication, neither did the Hatsune delegation.
"Very well. So be it."
Miku nodded and leaned forward. "So, to be clear, you will be returning our land to us, in exchange for a supply of fresh water from one of our sources. That is all."
"Yes."
"How much water?"
"We crunched the numbers..." Luka let one of the many experts behind her place a sheet on the table, and the other advisor picked it up. "There's a strict minimum, but the ideal amount is the one highlighted in red."
After some whispering, Miku nodded. "We can divert one of our sources; that should be more than enough."
"Thank you. I'll make sure our troops are withdrawn from your lands as soon as possible," Luka said, waiting for her translator to whisper that to her sergeant Major. He nodded and promised it would be done. "We will return our troops to the old border."
"As will we, to make sure nothing out of the ordinary happens," the Queen said evenly. "How soon can we expect your presence in our territories to disappear?"
After some whispering, Luka said, "It depends on whether you want us to deconstruct and dismantle local infrastructure."
"It may stay."
"Then two weeks."
"Very well."
"How soon can we expect water?"
"We will have to do some building, locally, to make sure none goes to waste. It will take some time to gather and focus the required manpower and resources."
"If we both agree that the war is over effective immediately, we can recycle some of our metals and manpower, if you would accept our help."
"That would be welcome, as long as your men accept working under our military's supervision."
"If your military promises not to abuse their power and enact misplaced vengeance."
After some whispering, Miku replied, "We will make sure that the workplaces are under surveillance, and all interactions recorded and logged. Nothing there will happen behind closed doors or with shut eyes."
"That's perfect."
"With the help, we could probably make sure water reaches you within the next half year."
Going by all their estimates, that offer was very generous. "Thank you."
"Wonderful. Now, we discuss our wedding," Miku stated as if she were merely commenting on the weather.
Luka swallowed a stutter. "Right."
"By all rights, your title as Empress Regnant is greater than mine as Queen. That would make our nations an empire, under your rule, would it not?"
Would it? Luka had no clue. From the whispering of the people behind her, neither did they. "I suppose. And, as my, uhm, my wife? Is that the word?"
"That is."
"You would be Empress Consort."
"Very well."
Luka hesitated. "Would you agree with that?"
"If I must."
"What I'm trying to say is..." She paused again, to gather her words. "I have no intentions of continuing my late relative's habits of conquering all nearby lands. I'm sure that our different titles sit at different levels on a certain hierarchy, but I would not reject to letting our empire be absorbed by your kingdom, rather than the other way around."
"That would make you second to me," Miku reminded her.
"That's fine. I would then be..."
After some hurried whispering, the Queen replied, "Princess Consort."
Not even Queen. Luka had no idea why or how, but she nodded. "That's fine."
"Is it?"
"Yes?"
Miku seemed almost bewildered. "I am younger than you are. My title is outranked by yours, and if you agree to this, your name would disappear from the map. On top of all of that, you are returning every square meter of conquered land. Are you really agreeing to take second place in every way, shape and form, all for a bit of water you do not even control?"
Luka shifted in her seat. The people behind her had nothing to say. "While I'm your senior in terms of age and your superior in title, I never was trained for this role. I was never raised to be a leader. In that regard, I am perfectly happy letting you take control. When it comes to the water and the land, if our union goes as planned, then both of those will be ours in due time. That is not too much of a concern. As for my legacy..." She sighed. "I do not wish the name of my ancestors to leave the map entirely, but I detest the idea of my people dying all the more."
"Do your people agree?"
Luka didn't know. "Perhaps we need to discuss the name issue a bit more in depth."
"If it would help, then I am sure that we can make sure both of our names persist," Miku said. "It is a bit unorthodox, but rather than our two lands becoming the Hatsune Kingdom or the Megurine Empire, we would be the Hatsune-Megurine Kingdom."
Luka chuckled. "It's a bit wordy."
"I know, right?" Miku said with a sudden smirk, leaving the other ruler gobsmacked. Before she could comment on her reply, the Queen continued, saying, "That said, it would possibly be the fairest outcome for the both of us. And, as you mentioned, as the next generations follow, the water and borders will cease to be an issue."
"Right." Luka cleared her throat. "About the next generation thing."
Miku seemed confused for a second, but she understood quickly. "Ah."
"We... Didn't exactly plan for this precise conversation," the Empress admitted.
"No, neither did we. I presume we both expected the other family to contain at least one surviving male."
"Exactly. So, how would we secure the next generation?"
The Queen thought long and hard, and ended up saying, "I don't know."
Luka turned towards Lily. "What are our options, here?"
"Hell if I know," the blonde whispered. "They value family, so maybe the bloodline will be most important, in which case she'd prefer a donor. But if she didn't say so outright, then she probably hates the idea of being quote-unquote 'unfaithful' to you even more. It depends entirely on what she values more."
The Empress hummed. "Neither of us have young relatives to adopt, so that isn't a way out."
"Do you have any suggestions?" Miku asked out of the blue.
"Well," Luka stammered, "There are several options we could pursue."
"Do you have a preference?"
After a second, Luka admitted, "No. I'm willing to let you choose."
"The power is once again in my court, is it?" Miku said, skeptical.
"I guess it might look suspicious," the Empress admitted. "But I'm just being honest. Even if I were to have experience in this field and even if I were to bluff, I have very little to bargain with and absolutely no desire to conquer, or even rule. I just want to take care of my people, and part of that is making sure our newfound peace is firm and secure. As long as I have no firm objections, I am willing to let you lead the dance."
Miku nodded. "Very well. Then tell me, what do you suggest in order to secure a following generation from the union of our families?"
"First, we could adopt. The con is that it ends our bloodlines. Both of our lineages would, genetically, end with us. There are plenty of children out there, though, left without families due to the conflict. We could pick a child from both of our original kingdoms, and raise them as a further example of peace between us."
Miku hummed, sitting back in her chair. "That is an option."
"Another, well..." Luka stammered. "Our union won't be out of love. It is purely a pragmatic one. If you were to find a preferable suitor in a more emotional sense, I wouldn't be against him fathering the next generation."
The newly settled relaxation evaporated out of the Queen's demeanor. "Understand that the only reason that I am not profoundly insulted is due to the fact that you do not master my language, and I assume that you have misspoken."
After the translator communicated the exchange to the blonde, Lily hissed, "Red flag, red flag! Don't go down there!"
Luka shook her head, ignoring her friend. "I understand that marriage and family are very, very important to you," she started. "But love is important as well. If you found someone, I would not be against it. It would solve the problem, continue your bloodline."
"Are you implying that you yourself would wish to continue a relationship outside of our wedlock?"
"Me? No. I— No. I have no other suitors. And if you wish for it, then I never will have any again," Luka said. "But you will be Queen, outranking me, who cannot give you children. If you were to find someone who could, who you would want to, I am willing to close my eyes."
"Out of the question. If we are to be wed, then it will be according to the terms my family have followed for generations. If either of us were to produce offspring fathered by a person who is not her spouse, then they will face the due consequences."
"We can use an anonymous donor, instead?"
"My answer remains no."
Luka nodded. "Alright. That's clear. I guess our last option would be to see where science goes. The con is that there's no way to predict that. We might have to wait a very, very long time."
"The reward, in turn, is that the next generation would be fully ours'."
"Yes. Of course, chances are that science will never get that far in our lifetime. At a given point, we might be forced to pick which is most important: the ongoing bloodline, or the sanctity of our marriage."
Miku thought about it. Luka bit her lip, aware she was already leaning on the table, her posture unbecoming of a leader. Her language had probably slipped, too. Add the fact that she was essentially licking Miku's boots to make sure things went well, and she ought to be embarrassed.
Strangely, she wasn't.
Another thought occurred to her, and she said, starting quietly as to not startle the Queen too much, "Of course, I would want us to wait for a few years, at the very least, before turning our energy towards children, no matter where they may come from."
"Is that so? Why?"
"We do not know each other, and we are both trying to fix the consequences of a longstanding war. There is a lot to do and honestly, I'm still learning. If we are to create a family unit at some point, I want it to be in a stable, nurturing environment. No matter how well we may or may not get along, any heirs we would bring in to the royal household deserve to grow up with reliable parental figures."
"That might take a while," the tealette pointed out.
"Yeah. Good thing, too. If you ask me, even our jobs and ongoing world chaos aside, neither of us should be worrying about kids quite yet."
"How so?"
Luka blinked. "We... We are quite young."
"Hardly," the Queen said, almost sounding confused by the idea. "It is normal to start a family as soon as possible. I have always been expected to provide grandchildren to the King before my twentieth year, much like all my sisters before me."
A shiver ran down Luka's spine, of the gross variety. "How old are you?"
"I turn seventeen next month."
Luka didn't want to ask when she was supposed to marry her distant cousin. She didn't want to think that she had agreed to marry a minor. She didn't want to accept that somehow, the girl in front of her thought this was normal. She clenched a fist under the table and forced herself to continue the conversation with only the practical questions in mind.
"We're waiting at least until you reach your twentieth year."
"What? That is preposterous."
"Not for the wedding, for bringing in children."
"I understood as much," the Queen spat. "It remains far too long a wait. Imagine what people will think if they see that we refuse to tend to the future of our families for so long!"
"If we care so much about what people will think, then I'd prefer to convince them that we are caring all the more about the future by being so patient and mindful. We are building the future of our two lands and that will not be done sloppily."
"Your people might think as much, but mine will never."
"In that case, I present my second, and far more personal argument: I refuse to start a family with a child. It is only barely that I still agree to marry you, only because not going forward with that will only encourage tension to grow between our lands. I will work with you. I will perhaps even live with you. But I am not going to raise kids with a child."
For the first time, Miku looked positively incensed. "I am not a child."
At her anger, Luka realized that she had been using the word for 'child': she was almost insulting the Queen! What was their word for 'minor', again? She was drawing a blank, and the seconds were ticking by.
She bit down an expletive, collected her words, and said, "You're a Queen. You're a far more competent ruler than I am. You're capable and mature and well-spoken. But you are sixteen." She sat back, both hands planted firmly on the table. "I understand we have different moral standings on this subject, but let me be firm: of all the things we have discussed so far, this is the one point I refuse to negotiate."
At that last sentence, the teal ruler visibly bit her tongue. She didn't reply, though, listening while her advisor quickly whispered something in her ear.
"I'll add that it would be wise to wait for one more reason," Luka continued when the advisor was done with his whispers. "By observing how things progress and how the relationship between us and our countries evolves, it might make the decision of where exactly these heirs will come from an easier decision to make. It might even let science catch up a bit."
Miku gave her a terse nod. "I suppose that makes sense."
"Pushing that issue to the side, at least for now, will also allow us to focus on the other issues."
"Yes. Three years' worth of time," she said, almost bitterly.
"That's perfect, if you ask me," Luka said, allowing herself to relax a bit. "I guess we can start talking about the ceremony."
"Yes."
"If you want our wedding to be according to your family's rules, then we can do a ceremony according to your traditions."
"Are there any specific rites you care for?"
Luka thought briefly of the first dance she would have had with her father. Walking down the aisle with him, perhaps. "There are a few steps that some would consider essential for a royal wedding," she said. "There is the religious aspect, which I do not personally care for, but my people might notice if they were omitted."
"We will have to see and make sure that your religious rites do not conflict with ours," Miku stated. "What do you know about the ceremony?"
"Next to nothing. It's all very sober and will take forever, but that's about it."
"Perhaps we should have our religious leaders discuss the details instead. I also know very little. It never was my task to worry about."
"Likewise. I was always just some distant relative of the Emperor. None of this was ever supposed to concern me."
The tealette gave her a gentle smile. "I propose that future meetings between relevant leaders take place here, under the supervision of both of our troops."
"You mean that we keep this city as a neutral meeting point?"
"Yes. It would technically be ours, according to the terms we have agreed upon, but making anything worthwhile of this location will take far too long. For now, we can keep it as-is."
"That works."
"When the details are cleared, we can start with organizing the ceremony."
"Right. The sooner the better, of course. Wait— If I may ask, how long will you be in mourning?" Luka asked, hoping that she wasn't butchering the pronunciation of that last word.
"Another eight weeks."
"I propose that we have the ceremony after that."
"...Very well. It would be best."
"It'll give our religious leaders time to iron out the details, too. I'll send all those who would know about this over here as soon as possible."
"Likewise. Should we need to speak again, how could we best reach you?"
Luka looked back at her various experts, waiting for an answer; organizing the meet-up had been a messy affair with telegram technology of all things. Most other systems were either totally gone or simply didn't reach the kingdom. After some thinking and more conversation, the two of them agreed on a rudimentary courier system, at least until the various telephone and internet networks would be repaired.
Yet another objective on the endless list of things to do.
When that was finally squared away, Luka let herself sink back in her chair a little.
"I guess there are other issues to discuss?"
"Following the unification of our nations, yes," the Queen replied. "There will be the issue of our currencies and other economics, perhaps a redesign of public transport, resource management, among others. Our international standing will have to be updated. But that can be sorted when we get there."
"Right. There will always be more to do, it seems."
"Always," Miku said with a bit of a sigh. "Is there anything else you would like to discuss today?"
"No. Do you want to talk about anything?"
"No, I am finished."
"Great. So, to recap..." Luka took in a deep breath, saying slowly, "For now, borders will be reestablished to the way they were before the war. We will send men and resources to aid in the efforts to divert water to our country, as well as prioritize the repair and construction of basic means of communication. Both of us shall send our religious leaders here to discuss our wedding, which shall take place in at least two months. After that, your Kingdom will absorb my Empire, and we shall do our best to make that transition go smoothly. The question of heirs and so on will wait until your twentieth year. Is... Is that about it?"
"That is it," Miku said.
"Excellent."
Both rulers stood, and Luka almost felt faint from the constant heat, the abating stress, the dehydration. Miku was most likely worse for wear, but aside from a few beads of sweat on her brow, she remained remarkably stoic.
The Empress bowed, much like how she had seen the late Emperor do, while the Queen did her traditional curtsy of sorts.
"I'm glad we came to such a swift agreement," Luka said when their eyes met again.
"As am I. I look forward to a brighter future."
The Empress nodded and watched the Queen and her party leave. Then, according to their agreement, she waited an hour with her party to give the Hatsune delegation time to leave and vacate the area. By then, their military would have backed up, letting Luka and her group leave the building without having to worry about any kind of assault.
There was still a five-hour drive to the nearest city, in another military-issue car: easy to use, fix, make, nothing more. Luka buckled herself in the backseat, taking that stupid crown off her head, undoing the tight collar.
She looked back at Lily, who gave her a weak smile.
"You did great."
"Thanks," she sighed. "What's next?"
"A nap."
Luka closed her eyes. "I can't. I have people to meet when we get home. A speech to write..."
"Dinner first, sure. But I'll give you the debriefing only after you had a nap."
"Did the Emperor ever take naps?"
Lily shook her head. "He didn't, I think. But you're not the Emperor. Rest, Luka. While you can."
That argument was enough; when her head hit the headrest, letting her eyes drift shut, even the roar of the military-grade engine wasn't enough to keep her awake.