"You're the—?! Er, that is to say... The khan, I presume?" Chrom straightened himself up doing his best to switch to envoy mode.
"One of them, yes—the East-Khan. My name is Flavia. I apologize for the troubles at the border, Prince Chrom. You are welcome in Regna Ferox." As she walked in Flavia grabbed a cloth and began wiping the sweat off of herself before adjusting her hair to appear slightly more presentable as she did Corrin stared and admired Flavia's physical form, she had always enjoyed physical women Rinkah had shown her how good it could be to look at their forms, as she stared Flavia shot her a smile and a wink which caused her to turn a deeper shade of crimson.
"So… Uh… you mentioned that you were one of Khans… did you have a falling out with your other half the west Khan?" Corrin did her best to draw Flavia's attention away from her staring, as she finished the question Flavia laughed, it was rich, full of life and caused Corrin to question her choices again.
"Ha-ha! Me…ha… and that oaf! Ha! Your funny and cute, you got a good one there Prince Chrom…ha…" Flavia broke out into that rich laugh again which caused Corrin to turn an even deeper shade of crimson "Ha… In the past there were times the Khans shared a bed but it always ended in a war or one stabbing the other… so they decided to settle things a little fairer and sticking to the Feroxi way we got a bunch of brutes and chucked em in the arena to represent us, no killing just knocking the teeth out of the other guys, can't have the khans fighting after all it'd get too personal and one would probably kill the other" Flavia shrugged as she finished explaining Feroxi politics and sat down heavily in her throne placing one leg on the arm and looking towards Chrom "So, what brings Yliesse's royalty to my hall this fine day?"
As she Finished speaking the gathered group stared at Flavia as though she was mad, Chrom composed himself quickly "Uh… about the border incident there was… almost no harm… so you have no need to worry yourself, I'm confident we can put that misunderstanding behind us. Is it true bandits posing as Ylissians have been ransacking your border villages?" as he spoke Chrom did his best to keep his emotions in check; first his anger at the injuries Corrin had received dealing the skirmish then his anger only worsened as he mentioned the possibility of his countryman being wrongly accused of raiding their closest neighbour.
Even though Flavia looked relaxed she tensed as she spoke "Yes. Those Plegian dogs! We found documents proving as much on the corpse of one of their captains. Plegia must see some benefit in raising tensions between your kingdom and ours." By the time Flavia had finished her statement her guests had backed off simply due to the anger in the warrior rulers eyes.
"Damn them! I... Forgive me, Your Grace. That was...indelicately put." Chrom sighed heavily after he spoke realizing what he had said, normally Emmeryn would reprimand him for speaking as such and he could feel Fredrick's gaze burning into the back of his head, out of the corner of his eye he could see Corrin tense, however none of them could have expected the Khans response.
"Ha! Damn them and damn delicacy! Here in Ferox, we appreciate plain speech." All the tension drained from Flavia's body as she spoke, her eyes looked over to Corrin and although the Khan didn't say anything there was unspoken respect for both her and Chrom in that moment.
"In that case, you should have a word with your damn border guards..." Chrom smirked as he looked at Rami who shrunk back a little under the combined gaze of the Prince and Khan.
"..Ha ha! Now that's Feroxi diplomacy! Yes, I like you already. I know why you have come, Prince. But regrettably, I cannot provide any Feroxi troops for Ylisse." Flavia looked slightly disheartened as she finished talking "I truly am sorry"
"What?! Why not?!" Lissa jumped in as she seemed to realize that Flavia wasn't as scary as she seemed.
"I lack the authority." The Khan shrugged and took a flagon of ale that a servant brought forward, Corrin could smell it from where she stood and it smelled delicious, she noticed Flavia whisper something to the servant and within a few minutes she was offered a flagon by the same servant if she weren't so eager to try it she would have gawked at the poor girl as she left.
"Forgive me, but I don't understand. Aren't you the khan?" Chrom noted Corrin eagerly downing the ale and decided that before they returned to Ylisse he would have to try some.
"As I said, I am ONE of the khans. In Ferox, the khans of east and west hold a tournament every few years as I previously explained. The victor acquires total sovereignty over both kingdoms. And that means they have the final say when it comes to forging alliances. The West-Khan won the last tournament, you see, and so..." Flavia trailed off watching the cogs turn in the prince's head with a small smile.
"So we are to receive no aid at all?" Chrom looked defeated as he spoke, while Lissa looked frustrated and Robin looked Concerned that Corrin had asked for more ale.
Flavia rolled her eyes This man may be just as incompetent as that damn oaf Basillio…. However…. "Not if you always give up so easily! The next tournament is nigh, you see, and I am in need of champions." Flavia smirked once more as she noticed Corrin perk up and realised that at least she got the idea.
"What does that have to do with us?" Chrom folded his arms and looked to the Khan who smiled
So the boy is simply cautious interesting Flavia decided to continue leading the Prince on "The captain of my border guard informs me your Shepherds are quite capable. Perhaps you would consider representing the East in the upcoming tournament? If you win and I become ruling khan, I will grant your alliance." Flavia revealed her grand plan with a bright look as Corrin nodded seeing the logic however Chrom opening his mouth caused her to mentally sigh again.
"I would have assumed Ylissians had no place in such Feroxi traditions." Chrom continued stepping cautiously which Flavia respected as much as she hated it was clear the prince needed to make sure he wasn't offending.
"Ha! On the contrary. The khans themselves do not fight—they choose champions to represent them. Otherwise our land would be rife with blood feuds and dead khans! We don't involve comrades or kin for the same reason. Over time, it was decided in the over the years the tournament should be fought by outsiders. Although the outsiders have never included foreign royalty. ...That I know of! Ha! Regardless, it is your choice to make." Flavia played her gambit sure the prince would fight for his people but how much was he willing to put on the line and if he would be a strong ally to Ferox.
"There is no choice, East-Khan. My people are desperate. We face not only Plegia's constant attacks, but now the added threat of the Risen. If fighting for you is the quickest way to an alliance, then we will take up our steel." Chrom looked determined and as he finished speaking Corrin raised her tankard and cheered before lowering it again quickly and sipping at it awkwardly.
"Ha ha! Oh, I like you and your… companion, Prince Chrom. I do hope you survive the tournament! Come, I'll show you the arena where the tournament is held. But be wary! I hear an equally able swordsman champions the West-Khan." Flavia smiled brightly as Corrin hid her face in her tankard and Chrom clasped her wrist in a traditional fashion "He shall be defeated by Yliesse's necessity" Flavia nodded and turned serious "Well-spoken again—I look forward to seeing if you're equally skilled with a blade!"
The Shepards gathered in the arena prep area it could have been described as a locker room however it had an area to prepare mounts and repair gear, it was more akin to a military camp that had been shrunk down, as they prepared Robin, Corrin and Chrom gathered around a small table to begin discussing which of the Shepards would take to the field.
"So obliviously Chrom, myself and you will be out there" Corrin spoke before either of them had a chance.
"Okay… we'll need cavalry obliviously however we need to think carefully…" Chrom looked over what information Flavia could provide them.
"I agree we should bring Sully…" Robin began "Then we will need Fredrick….." Corrin continued "Yes! Vaike and Miriel as well!" Robin's eyes were lighting up as she continued their train of thought "Then one more…." Corrin looked over the gathered Shepards as she did Robin spoke "Are missing someone?" this caused Corrin to roll her eyes as she saw Kellam in the corner "Yes for you and No for me, I'll explain later, however maybe we should bring Stahl" Robin looked to Corrin confused before she nodded "I agree Stahl could be useful"
Chrom looked between the two women as they made the plans and felt useless they began discussing deployment, as they did he decided to speak "I think me and Corrin should deal with the champion" while Corrin nodded Robin just went silent and gripped the table edge after a few minutes she spoke "Fine… I'll hang back with Miriel and deal with the mages" there was a begrudging look in her eyes as she spoke.
Once everybody was prepped they made their way into the arena, as they did the remaining Shepards went to join the audience, more importantly they were allowed to join Flavia in her booth, the crowd went wild as the Shepards readied themselves.
Corrin looked to Chrom "Looks like our opponent will provide a greater challenge than we thought" She gestured with Yato towards a certain blue haired swordsman across from them.
"I see him..." Chrom gripped Falchion tightly and made his way towards the centre of the arena, Marth meeting him halfway.
The two of them stared for a moment before Chrom spoke "Marth! One question, before we begin?" the other swordsman simply stared "...Fine, then. Our swords can speak for us!"