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Murdoc’s smile shifted into a smirk; “Well two, actually. I doubt I’ll get one without the other taggin’ along..”

Turning and walking to his desk, Magnus grabbed a heavy canter, and refilled his cup. He had quickly marked Murdoc Campbell as a charismatic fool, and assumed that Amara was his brains. But as they had conversed, Magnus came to realize that he was simply an honest and loyal man..

‘Now that I think of it, he reminds me a bit of Lucas.. I just don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing yet. Either way, it means that he’s stubborn. Which doesn’t bode well for his future relationship with Marco..’

Magnus’ expression wavered a moment as the thought made his heart constrict. Regardless of Murdoc’s title; the King of Alcon saw the Highlands as part of his kingdom. He wanted peace for all of his domain: not just the southern half.

Once Marco gains the throne, Magnus knew that his kingdom would revert back to civil war. The Highlanders would hold a viable claim to their territory, but would never be able to hold the south. The highest ranking nobles would never stand for it, or the lords closest to the boarders that suffered from their yearly skirmishes for generations.

Magnus had made a smart move sending Lord Moonstone and Lord Reinbolt’s men to the north for support. Almost none of the soldiers had issues with the Highlanders any longer, and vice versa. But the other lords and property holders near the boarderlands still held a deep resentment towards the Highlanders.

The only way that they would be accepted after a war was if they followed another King and Queen entirely...

‘Please don’t say it.. Please don’t say it..’

.....

As Magnus chanted the simple phrase over and over again in his mind, Murdoc dashed his hopes of a confrontation-less night by saying; “I ken that there’s no one more suited fer the job than Skye...and Tidas as well, I guess..”

“You guess?!” Tidas practically yelled before snapping at him a bit; “What the hell, Murdoc?! You haven’t even asked us if we Wanted to go back to the Highlands! I’m the Commander of the RMC, and Skye’s a new General! We can’t be diplomats!”

“Oh, bullshite..Who’s been mannin’ yer post this whole time? And yer a prince first and foremost. Diplomacy should be first on yer list of duties, yeah? And technically: Ima askin’ fer Skye, not you. I assumed ye two were a package deal, but I’ll take the better half if I gotta choose.”

Tidas huffed in anger, then took in a deep breath in preparation to tear into the highly amused Murdoc. Right as he was about to start screaming, Skye placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder. He was tense all over as he looked as his smiling wife..

Skye could see how nervous Magnus, Lawrence, Marie, and the others had gotten at Murdoc’s suggestion. She didn’t want to go back to the Highlands so soon, and she had a previous vow to hold up with the Royal Mage Corp. On top of that, Skye missed her family and friends; especially Peggy.

The Highlands had partially been like a vacation to Skye and Tidas. At least compared to the massive amount of work, training, and time apart that they had to endure leading up to the Highland Raid. After the initial battle to prove that they hadn’t betrayed them and killed Petrie, it had been mostly peaceful inside the bunkers.

Being a diplomat in the north wasn’t such a bad plan for in five years or so, but for now, both Skye and Tidas wanted to focus on their duties at home. Magnus and Peggy were both getting older, and didn’t have as many years left in them as Skye would’ve preferred..

‘I really would like both of ’em ta meet their grandchildren before they pass, but I doubt they’ll get the chance since we wanna wait a bit..’

As she pushed the thoughts aside, Skye looked at Murdoc with stern eyes and said; “If the king sees it fit to assign us, then we’ll go, but I dinna think he can without showin’ blatant favoritism ta me. If it weren’t fer my...unique set of skills: I never woulda been allowed on the mission ta the Highlands in the first place. I got trainin’ and other-”

“Why is it specifically Skye that you want?” Marco asked, cutting Skye off mid-sentence.

Murdoc’s face deflated as he turned towards the Crowned Prince; “There be many reasons, but mainly cause I intend ta steal her heart-OUCH! What the Hell Amara?!”

“Now is NOT the time fer yer terrible jokes!” Amara yelled at her king before pulling her arm back, then turning a soft gaze towards Marco; “Please forgive him: he thinks he’s funny..”

Murdoc started to mutter low; “Ima bloody delight, tis what I am.. Not some crabby old-”

“WHAT was that?” Amara asked in her ‘I’m going to set you on fire’ tone.

Murdoc smiled like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar as he apologized. Maevis and Nicolas, who had been silent most of the time, were laughing so hard that they had to rest on a book shelf, or risk falling out of the air. Marie and Magnus were joking about how Murdoc and Amara reminded them a bit of themselves, which irritated Marco.

He didn’t want his father to see them in a completely positive light: that would stall his plans for later. If Marco wasn’t careful right now, Skye could outright refuse to do any diplomatic assignments. He knew that his father would give in to Skye’s demands if she pushed hard enough..

‘She Has to go to Sai, or she and Tidas will find out what I plan to do. If I’m to get everything I want, I need her to develop her traits. Genie’s dishonesty might bite him in the ass.. He’s lucky we have the same objective..’

Marco stood up and walked over to the same decanter that Magnus had just used. After he had filled his cup, the Crowned Prince looked towards the Highlanders with his signature placid expression; “I suppose I need to ask the obvious: why do you specifically want the last surviving Warrick to be the diplomat?”

Everyone froze for a minute as they stared at Marco. Magnus cursed inwardly, hoping that the conversation wasn’t about to turn hostile. The look on Tidas’ face wasn’t reassuring, and the Highlanders looked even more irate than he did. But before Magnus could even try to control the situation, Lucas glared at Marco..

“What does that matter? And how do You know about the Warricks?”

Marco shrugged; “I am the future King. It only makes sense that I know the history of my own kingdom.. Finding out about Skye’s true parentage wasn’t hard to learn. What I would like to know is why the King of the Highlands is so insistent on Skye being the diplomat. Do you wish to restore the Warrick name?”

Instead of becoming angry or irrational like Tidas was about to, Murdoc chuckled; “Well, that’s not happenin’. I like me crown, and the perks that come wit it. Besides, I seriously doubt that Tidas would be willin’ ta give his wife up. And I know Skye willna have any other but him.”

Marco hid an annoyed expression as he stared at the Highlander King. It was obvious that he cared for Skye in a romantic way, and it irritated Marco greatly. He already hated Tidas for claiming her live. He didn’t want anyone else trying to wriggle their way into her heart.

Pointing out Skye’s bloodline had obviously made Magnus nervous, so Marco focused his argument around it. Ignoring Murdoc and the others, he turned to his king; “Father, be rational. Skye’s bloodline coupled with her marriage to Tidas is a threat to my furure crown..”

Tidas stepped forward hastily; “How are we a threat?! Neither one of us wants to-”

“As you well know, brother,” Marco turned and replied to him in a tart manner; “Mob rule gets it’s way more often than it should. The Warricks were the original royal family of Alcon. After father passes, if you and Skye challenge me for my crown: the people may demand that I hand it over. Then we will have a full-blown civil war on our hands.”

Skye cleared her throat loudly, then spoke in a stern tone; “I don’t wanna be Queen: period. So it doesna matter who wants what. The only thing I want now is ta be wit me husband, and possibly start in a grand baby..”

Tidas grinned like a love-sick fool while Murdoc and Marco hid their jealousy. Murdoc knew and respected Skye’s feelings, but Marco was looking forward to breaking them. He longed for the day where he could begin his ‘training’ with Skye, especially since he knew that she wouldn’t bend to his will without a fight.

As Marco took in a breath to calm himself, he looked towards Magnus; “You read the same reports that I did, father. You know that my worries have a foundation to them.”

Magnus nodded solemnly; “Aye.. We know of the people’s predisposition pertaining to the MacArthur name. Even after hundreds of years, the north still sees us as traitors. I was hoping that Skye’s marriage to Tidas would sway their opinion of us, but that image seems limited to my youngest.”

“Those all sound like reasons why they make the best diplomats fer the Highlands verses not. Tidas could directly build up the reputation of the MacArthurs. I dinna see why ye two are so opposed..”

Marco huffed, tired of waiting for his father to mention the main reason that they couldn’t be the diplomats for the north; “On top of them being a direct threat to my future rein: they have another assignment that will most likely take months, if not an entire year..”

Skye and Tidas looked at Magnus with a mixture of surprise and irritation. They had just gotten home, and the king had promised Skye before they’d left that she and Tidas would have a bit of alone time afterward. As they stared at Magnus with growing anger, Genie stepped in front of him.

“If you two are going to be angry, it should be at me. I was the one who convinced Magnus to send you two..”

Skye glared at Genie with rising fury as she asked; “And why do We have ta be the ones ta go?! We JUST got home!”

Genie put his hands up in a defensive manner; “I know and I’m sorry, Skye. But it has to be you two. The Senate has requested you two specifically..”

“Why?!” both Skye and Tidas yelled at the same time.

Genie slowly lowered his hands as he replied; “For two reasons. One, they wish to evaluate your bond with Zazzy. The second is more dire: Mei and her father have received death threats, and I want you two to help me figure out who is trying to kill them..”