Duncan sighed as the Toscano ambassador stubbornly repeated the same point he'd been arguing all mourning.
"Why should we sign a defensive agreement? Toscano is one of the strongest military powers gathered here!"
Duncan supposed it was a good thing Erak had taken up Hayate's offer of a tour of the city and left an underling in charge; the Oberjarl would have certainly brained the ambassador with his axe by now. At least that would have sped things up a little, Duncan thought irritatedly. The crown prince of Viridian leaned forward in his chair.
"If I may," He began "Whilst you are off fighting and expanding your empire, doesn't that leave your homeland poorly defended?"
"Is that a threat, Perth?"
"That's Prince Perth to you." Perth corrected the ambassador icily, his eyes narrowing dangerously "I am heir to this country, so I would appreciate you showing a little respect." Duncan decided to step in quickly
"It's an assessment of the facts." He said "All the ordinary workers in your country would be safer, the ones we as their rulers have sworn to protect. It is our duty as those with power to protect those without it." The ambassador wilted slightly under his glare and subsided. Perth inclined his head gratefully to Duncan, who nodded back. But every time he looked at the prince, something made him... uneasy. There was something he couldn't quite put his finger on about Perth. He seemed... a little too perfect. He thought of Cassie, how reckless she was and how foolish, all of his cousins in their younger years. None of them had been so pristine and flawless. He didn't doubt Perth had been trained as a warrior from an early age, and could fight and kill, but he seemed almost as if moulded to fit into his role instead of his role changing to suit him. The contrast between him and his younger brother was like night and day; it was clear who had been raised to be king and who had been pushed to one side, able to grow into their own person.
"All the same," The Gallican Minister began and Duncan sighed. He sensed this day was going to be a long one.
Thank you for reviews! It makes me really glad when I see them. Sorry it's kinda short, I wanted to introduce Perth (Perth. Can you tell I'm struggling for names?) and give some idea of what's happening in the conference. And sorry this is so late, I'll try and give advance warning before I go far, far away from civilisation again (Brauton, North Devon)
Guest - 'Sharasan' is a kind of honoured greeting, showing respect to the person they are addressing. Kind of like, you wouldn't say 'Hiya' to the King. You'd say 'Sharasan' because you value his company and are pleased that he is spending time with you. I don't know if it's actually a word, but it just came to me when I was daydreaming the story.
NymphadoraTonks11 - Sorry again! And I never consider anyone whiny. When you've lived with my little sister's shrieks for as long as you can remember, a review raising a fair point is nothing. I'm glad you like the story enough to complain.