In Which Diplomacy has a Babysitter
As the door closed behind them Xanaria and Lupe found themselves in complete darkness. Lupe's hand found her shoulder and Xanaria closed her eyes, letting them adjust. They had done this before on moonless nights in the forest. Lupe could see well in low light because of her rabbit, but in full darkness Xanaria needed to guide her with a deer's night vision.
Xanaria tried a few doors before she found a staircase. She took Lupe's hand from her shoulder and held it. She guided Lupe's other hand to touch the wall in the stairwell.
"Stairs." She whispered.
Lupe nodded.
The stairs curved around and around. Xanaria let Lupe know when they passed doors but they kept going down.
I'm sure a dungeon will be below ground. Xanaria shuddered imagining what horrible tortures Justina might have been subjected to here. Hang on, my friend. I'm coming. If he's hurt you I will rip out his lungs. She shook it off, focusing on Lupe's fingers in her own.
Lupe pulled her back when she began to see light from below. "There's someone down there." She breathed.
Xanaria nodded and they retreated up the stairs. They opened the first door they came to with caution. It let them out into what looked like a small dining area in the corner of a kitchen. There wasn't much in the way of light but through a big window with many small panes the clear stars and thin sliver of moon were enough for Lupe to see as well as Xanaria.
"What if we prop something heavy on top of the door then make a noise to lure him up here? It would fall on his head when he opened it, knocking him out." Xanaria whispered, wiggling the door on its hinges.
"I think that would be too loud, we're good but we couldn't last against every guard in this place."
"You're probably right. What if we poison some food and give it to the guard?"
"Did you think to bring any poison?"
"No…"
"But maybe… Xanaria you're a genius! A plate of food could be the perfect cover to get close to him."
They split up to search the kitchen. Lupe found the bread box and Xanaria found the cheese hutch. She pulled out a small knot of cheese and smelled it. I don't think this is ready to eat, but it will look right on the plate and that's all that really matters.
Lupe cut thick slices from a slightly stale loaf of bread.
"Plates, plates." Xanaria muttered searching the kitchen. "If I was a plate where would I live?"
Lupe snorted at her and they exchanged a grin. After several long minutes of searching, plates were found in a cabinet on the far wall from the cooking supplies. There were also a couple aprons hanging on hooks from the side of the cabinet. Once everything was nicely arranged Lupe began to tie on one of the aprons but Xanaria caught her arm.
"What are you doing?"
"Dressing up as a maid. It shouldn't take much more than an apron at this time of night."
"Let me be the one to go down."
"No way! I'm not risking you like that. This isn't going to be quietly picking locks. This is going to be a fight, even with our advantage."
"I'm stronger than I look."
"I know, I know. But it's not about strength either. We have to take him down fast and quiet if we want to make a clean escape afterward."
"Lupe, you are probably the most recognizable criminal in the barony. Even if he wasn't here during the wedding, your ear will give you away."
"But-" Lupe began, but stopped and bit her lip.
Xanaria watched her conflicted face waiting for her to think it through.
"Alright," Lupe finally said slowly, "Fine. I see your point. Let me show you a choke hold that should keep him from crying out."
Xanaria nodded and tied the apron around her own waist.
Justina couldn't sleep. She was lying on her cot staring up at a ceiling she couldn't see. She paced around the edges of her mind trying to find something that would make the tangled swirl of her thoughts come together. It was easier when the Baron was just an asshole and not as broken as the rest of us, she ran a hand over her face. He's done so much damage but there's no…. Malice I guess. God how can I-
She heard footsteps on the stairs and felt the small muscles around her ears flex at the unexpected sound. She glanced toward the fist sized ventilation window but it was still dark. It's not breakfast and the guard change then. She listened, tense but unmoving.
"Oh, hey." The guard outside sounded pleased. "For me?"
"We thought you might be hungry."
Justina sat bolt upright grinning. Xanaria's here!
"Yeah, I could eat." There was a faint rattle of crockery.
"Does that door have enough locks, do you think?"
Justina bit her lip to keep from snorting at the simpering worry in Xanaria's voice.
"Oh yeah, see this?" She heard cloth rustle, "This is- uurrk!"
She heard the crash of falling dishes and silverware, several thumps and a tiny cough. A louder thump, cloth sliding on stone, the jingle of keys. Justina heard the others wake up and then she heard a key in the lock. She was up and near the door before it opened. The light flooding in from just the lone torch on the wall outside was enough to blind her for a moment but Justina knew it was Xanaria who hugged her. Behind them Lupe reunited with her parents but Justina wasn't paying attention. After a long moment Xanaria stepped back but they still gripped each other's arms.
"I am very glad you aren't dead." Xanaria told her.
"Me too." Justina smiled. "Thank you for coming for me."
"You would have done the same."
"Well… I would have tried."
And then a pair of big arms spun Xanaria around and picked her up. Justina blinked, somehow in all the time they had been locked in this cellar she had never noticed how big Charlie was. He didn't act big, but seeing him lift her friend like a puppy she realized he was very tall and proportionally wide with the kind of muscles you get from hauling plows and cows around.
"Look at you!" He boomed before Lupe shushed him and he lowered his voice. "I knew you weren't dead, Ri. I knew it."
"It's good to see you too." Xanaria patted him on the back. "But can you put me down? We have some escaping to do."
"Before we leave, can I show you something?" Justina said before she could second guess herself.
The others looked at her confused.
"I think it's important."
"Okay, lead the way." Xanaria said.
God, I hope this is the right thing to do, Justina thought.
Charlie lifted Mara in his arms so she would not have to climb the stairs with her bad ankle. Justina grabbed the wall torch above the unconscious guard and led them up and up.
"Where are we going?" Lupe asked as they passed the door she and Xanaria had come in by.
"Somewhere I found during my escape attempt."
When they reached the right door Justina passed Lupe the torch and motioned her back before cautiously cracking the door to peek through.
"I can't see a thing," Justina whispered to Xanaria "Can you look? Tell me if there's anyone out there?"
Xanaria took her place and peered out.
"No one." She reported.
"Odd." I thought there would be guards posted after I got in before. Maybe I'm wrong and it wasn't his bedroom I saw behind him? Ah well. We're already here; it can't hurt to try. She opened the door the rest of the way letting the torchlight spill out and stepped into the hall. She tried the first door and then the third but both were locked.
Still whispering, Justina asked, "Xanaria, can you get this lock?"
"Why?" Xanaria whispered back, already slipping out her tools and kneeling down by the door.
"Because…" Justina hesitated. "Because there is someone you need to talk to. Or possibly more important: someone who needs to talk to you."
She pushed open the door and ushered them all through closing the door behind them. Despite the late hour it seemed Baron Grayson was not asleep. He was in his bed sitting up and staring into the dark. He looked up as they entered, blinking in the torchlight. Xanaria gasped and Justina plucked the torch from Lupe's suddenly shaking hands.
"Grayson." She said without preamble. "May I introduce the 'children' you are fighting so ineffectively. Lupe, Xanaria. Meet the monster you have been throwing stones at from a distance. It seems to me that if anything is truly going to change you are going to have to talk to each other sooner or later. So let's try this now before any more people end up dead."
In the following silence she made herself busy lighting the candles in the candelabra on the Barons bedside table and putting out the torch in a bucket of scorched sand.
Xanaria was having trouble breathing. The Baron sat there looking at her with cold eyes. Beside her Lupe was strung wire tight and her shortened ear kept trying to flatten itself against her head. Xanaria stepped a little closer. As much for her own comfort as Lupe's she laced their fingers together and held tight. She felt a little better, and Lupe seemed to stand a bit straighter as they leaned against each other.
The Baron noticed. With a long blink he let out a breath that wasn't quite a sigh. "And there's the puzzle piece I missed." He ran a hand over his face but the lines etched there only got deeper.
Xanaria felt Lupe clutch her tighter, but something about him struck her as odd. He doesn't seem angry. I thought he would be angry but he isn't. He just seems… exhausted?
"Why aren't you calling the guards?" Xanaria blurted.
"What would be the point?" Baron Greyson jerked his head at Justina. "She'll only come back and bother me again."
"We could be here to kill you."
"Well, get on with it then." After a stunned silence the Baron shook his head. "I didn't think so."
Sleeping Goddess! Is he actually disappointed?
"Well," Charley said cheerfully, "If you don't mind your lordship, I'm going to sit my wife down. This seems like it will take a while."
The Baron gestured vaguely at a large padded armchair in the corner of the room but Charley was already settling Mara without waiting for permission.
"What do you want." The Baron's voice held no inflection as he asked the question.
Lupe's fingers were still stiff and tight in Xanaria's and after a long moment Xanaria realized Lupe wasn't going to be able to say anything. Shit, if she can't talk I have to help. Oh Goddess, what do I say?
"For… things to be… better?" Xanaria tried, then bit her lip hard, hating that it had become a question at the end.
The Baron rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his eyes to pinch the bridge of his nose. "That's not a helpful answer."
Silence stretched out again.
Justina sighed. "Lupe, why don't you sit down?"
"I'd rather stand."
"Young lady, sit your ass down." Justina dragged over a wide padded foot rest from Mara's armchair. "This is a diplomatic negotiation. This is where you get what you want without losing any more blood. This is where you use those words you are so well known for. This is where you win. But you can't do that if you don't talk. And you can't talk if you're poised to run. Understand? Sit. Down."
Lupe and Xanaria sat. It was barely wide enough for the two of them but they didn't mind the excuse to be close.
"Good." Justina's voice got gentler. "Now, let's talk. Look at me, if you can't look at him. Tell me: What have you promised your people you will fight for? What do you need?"
"Fair treatment." Lupe's voice was higher than usual but she kept her eyes on Justina and she was talking. "Most of my followers came to me because they had to. Because your soldier took so much from families, shops, and farms that they can't afford to eat. Or have been hurt because of who they are and more often than not the people hurting them are the same people who are supposed to help them. We have no one to appeal to. We want to be heard and we want… are you alright?"
Partway through her speech Lupe had managed to look at the Baron. But he was staring at Justina with tears running down his face.
"My-" his voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "My wife used that exact tone of voice when her niece and nephew were getting out of hand. That's all. I'm sorry."
He ran a sleeve across his face, but the tears didn't stop.
"Yes, well." Justina said. "I spent a lot of time babysitting my younger sister. I got good at the voice."
"I'm sorry, don't mind me. You were going to ask for lower taxes but better roads?"
"No, sir. I was going to ask for your people to be listened to."
Xanaria was relieved to hear Lupe no longer sounded afraid. Annoyed, but not afraid. It's hard to be afraid of a man in a nightshirt crying in his bed.
"Ah. Right. Listened to. There are thousands of people in this kingdom. Even if I had the energy to try, there simply isn't time to talk to everyone."
"You don't need to talk to everyone, just pay attention."
He grimaced. "You keep asking the impossible."
"You used to hold open court twice a week."
"My wife and I held court twice a week. Have you ever tried to listen to a million petty squabbles while the woman you loved more than life itself is dead and nobody seems to care?"
"Yes." Lupe ran a hand over her missing ear. "Yes, I have. And I kept a steadily growing camp fed, clean, and dry while your soldiers roam the land taking what they want and never caring if they leave a family starving that winter."
"Fair enough." The Baron sighed, what little anger he had managed to muster draining back out of him. "Well. Maybe you should be in charge then."
"Maybe she should." Xanaria said abruptly.
"What?" Lupe and the Baron said in unison.
"Maybe she should be in charge." Xanaria repeated. "Lupe has experience in leadership and people listen to her. She is good at finding solutions where there isn't an obvious one, and she's really good at picking the right people to get a job done properly. You would be lucky to have her in charge."
"Is this a coup?" The Baron looked around, incredulous. "Because I can guarantee you, at least in the short term, those don't make life easier for anybody."
"No. Not like that. I mean she could be like… The Baron's Steward. Or something like that. She could handle the day to day stuff. Paperwork, seeing what needs doing in the Barony, triaging projects like bridges and roads. Promoting the right people to take care of the populace instead of exploiting them. Ferret out the worst offenders and fire them so they can't keep hurting people. She could even do the open court for you. At the end of each week she could give you a summary or report. You could have the time you need, and she could do the work that's needed. You won't find a better candidate." Xanaria nodded her head once sharply as she finished.
The Baron looked so hopeful it hurt, but he asked. "What's the catch?"
"No catch."
"Everything has a catch. When the king sent Luke from the capital with his own soldiers, he gave the same kind of reasoning. Yet now you tell me his men are one of the biggest problems. Why should I believe this won't be the same?"
"So keep an eye on me." Lupe seemed to be warming to the idea. "Double check random things until you're sure. Do surprise inspections. And maybe… it's not forever? At the end of each year you could choose whether or not to keep me."
"That makes sense." The Baron nodded slowly.
"Although…" Lupe began and the Baron deflated.
"There is a catch then."
"Maybe a small one."
"What is it?"
"I want to be able to marry my girlfriend."
Xanaria gasped, turning to Lupe with shining eyes.
The Baron just blinked. "That's it?"
"I want anyone in the Barony to be able to marry whoever they want regardless of any of their genders."
"So do it. There are no laws against it, if you can find someone to officiate."
"But no one would acknowledge its legitimacy as things currently are."
"What you're looking for is a change in social attitudes. Even if I went to every person and told them not to be an asshole I couldn't change that."
"There might not be a law against it, but right now there are no laws for it either. I know it will take time to change people's hearts but the first step is to make it official. Give people the support they need when 'social attitudes' mean others feel safe hurting them."
"So, let me get this straight. You will take responsibility for everything I don't want to do, and all you want in return is for me to pass a law saying it's legal to do something that was never illegal in the first place?"
Xanaria and Lupe exchanged a look. "Yes. You could put it that way."
"Deal." The Baron's voice was raw with relief. "Can you start tomorrow?"
