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“I thought that they’d already joined ’em?” Skye asked.

Marie shook her head; “No, the pirates have. Their King allows them to do as they please as long as he sees a share of their profits, and that they don’t attack anyone with a specific banner flying on their ship.”

Skye perked up; “I knew about the banners from me Da. His merchant ships have ’em, although I dinna ken how he got ’em.”

“The old crank won’t tell me, either. He won amnesty from me in a chess game over it after I found out he had them.. Sly bastard,” Magnus complained as he gestured to everyone to come closer to him.

Skye, Tidas, Lawrence, and Genie all gathered around Magnus and Marie as she continued; “The pirates support their kingdom by sending supplies, so even though he is morally opposed to it: the king can’t do much about it. The Fire Nation is known to be mostly desert, so they probably have a hard time feeding their people. And since the king’s older brother is the pirate’s leader, he trusts them to be civil, even though they’re actually quite brutal.”

“The pirates don’t mind joining a war just to get a payday out of it, but the Fire Nation’s King wants peace. The only problem is that his nobles are like any other kingdom’s.. If they see that a profit can be made, then they won’t care how many people die. As long as they aren’t the ones doing the dying.”

Skye had a puzzled look on her face as she spoke; “The older brother.. Why is somethin’ goin’ offin me head about him?”

Genie forced down a chuckle as he replied; “I believe it’s because you’ve met him. The Fire Nation’s older brother was the same man that was sent as an ambassador during last year’s Mage Trial. His name is Lord Abdul Abari.”

.....

“That creep?! Well, I guess his occupation fits his looks,” Skye stated as she rubbed at her chin.

Genie let a small bark of a laugh escape as he said; “And here I thought I taught you to never judge a book by it’s cover.”

Skye shook her head; “Aye, ya did. But ya also taught me ta trust me instincts. I remember how he treated one of his servants.. That man will be a problem later: I’d bet money on it.”

“Hopefully you’re wrong, lass,” Magnus interjected; “Marco was hoping to establish trading with the Fire Nation. Lord Abari seemed open to it, and they had planned to start negotiations this coming fall.”

“If they are planning to align with Sync and Ital, what will Marco do then?” Marie inquired with a hard expression.

Magnus shrugged; “I don’t know: that’s up to him. I am getting old-ER, Marie. These lads need to start sorting out their future themselves. I can’t rule from beyond the grave.”

“Why not?” Skye asked out loud, thinking it was an inner thought.

Tidas and Lawrence laughed as Magnus smiled at his daughter-in-law. He knew that she worried over the kingdom as much as his sons did, if not more. Skye actively went out into the city, and healed whomever she came across. Even if his sons had been born with a Shaman trait: Magnus highly doubted that they would do the same.

‘Well, Tidas probably would.. I’m so happy that those two turned out so well. Most arranged marriages are lucky if the two parties can create a friendship, but these two.. I’ve never seen two people so in love with the other.. I must admit: I’m a bit jealous.. I wonder if I could’ve made Sorcha that happy? I hope I get the chance to ask her after my time comes..’

As Magnus lost himself in his thoughts, the other five discussed what they knew about the Fire and Fae Nations. Marie had a plethora of knowledge, but even she knew very little about them. Their port cities were isolated so they could manage who came and went inside their kingdoms.

The Fire Nation was defended by a massive mountain range that ran from north to south on the continent. Only a single passageway led inland, and it was heavily guarded and monitored. But once one passed it, an ocean of sand that stretched as far as the eyes could see and beyond laid between the port, and the Capital.

The Fae Nation was protected by not only a raised coastline, but by the Empress of the Fae: Titania. The only way into the continent was to go through the port city, and only Fae were allowed to venture inland. Marie had been there once in her life, and wished that she could’ve seen the forest-covered continent.

“Maevis promised to take me once I retire as an advisor, but who knows when that’ll be,” she stated as a knock sounded from the door.

After Magnus had called out for them to enter, a large guard poked his head in, and said; “The council is waiting for you, My King. Please join them at your earliest convenience.”

“Thank you, Hanks. Send word that I shall join them shortly, and that they better have good news for me. My stress is at it’s limit for the day.”

The guard named Hanks bowed, then left to relay the King’s message. He wanted to ask if the princes would be accompanying him, but decided against it.. ‘If he brings them, he brings them, but I hope he doesn’t.. The nobles are furious at Prince Tidas right now.. I hope that Prince Marco will make an appearance, and calm everyone.. I doubt that the rumors are true, but they won’t believe anyone else but him..’

As Hanks strode down the hall, he prayed to the gods that the King would live another twenty years.. ‘Everyone in the palace knows what will happen after King Magnus passes.. I pray that our princes learn to compromise with each other; I don’t even want to think about what will happen to Alcon if they don’t..’

************

Skye awoke the next morning to find her husband sleeping semi-soundly next to her. She hadn’t been sleeping well lately due to reverberating pain left over from when she had fought against Richard. It was easy to get under control once she was conscious, but the searing pain that she felt every time she woke up was getting annoying..

‘WHERE is it comin’ from?! Tis like me marrow be on fire, but nothing’s amiss after I start circulatin’ me magic! What the bloody hell is goin’ on?! Do I gotta circulate me magic while Ima sleepin’ ta get decent sleep?! Is that even possible?!’

As Skye’s own thoughts irked her, Tidas stirred next to her. He had been tossing and turning every night since they’d returned home, and last night hadn’t been any different.. ‘The drama he had ta deal wit last night probably didna help any, either..’

After they had left Magnus’ quarters, they helped Zas and Shasta finish off the paperwork for the investigation into the missing homeless. After that, everyone had dressed and gone to the banquet hall for dinner. Even on their way to their own quarters to change: servants and guests alike gossiped about Tidas as they passed by.

While everyone did bow and show him proper respect for his status, he and Skye could hear the gossip as they walked along. Everyone seemed convinced that Tidas had hit his brother for one of two reasons.. Either Prince Marco was in love with Princess Skye, or he was jealous of his future-king brother.

Both were wrong, but they didn’t see the point in correcting them when Magnus was going to make an announcement; which he did after everyone had been seated and served. But it barely put a dent in the rumors, and gave extra fuel to the expert gossipers..

“I heard that Prince Marco was severely wounded by his brother, and that’s why he’s not here. I can’t believe that Prince Tidas is still allowed here, and hasn’t been thrown into the dungeons,” an older noble stated to a group of them.

“I concur: he broke one of the highest laws. He Should be shackled and dragged away. The King already has to cope with his endearment to commoners.. He should just lock him up before he truly tries anything nefarious..”

A woman that was often seen talking with Karena spoke next; “He has no sense of loyalty to his family, or his bloodline. If it weren’t for his capabilities, then I think the King would’ve had him sent off somewhere. Remember how terrible he was as a child? That should’ve been our first warning..”

Skye and Tidas could hear them because of their Tank traits, but the nobles were smart enough to be at the far end of the room when they were hurling insults. Magnus couldn’t hear them, but the surrounding crowds could easily. The ones that had talked were either within Marco’s inner circle, or constantly standing right outside of it, so those gathered believed them.

By the end of the night, Skye could’ve sworn that Tidas had gritted his teeth bad enough to crack a tooth. As she watched him tossing and turning with a pain expression on his face, she recalled the words he’d said after they had crawled into bed to sleep..

“Aren’t ya pissed at ’em fer sayin’ all of that bullshit?” Skye had asked after snuggling down into the covers next to him.

Tidas sighed heavily; ” Aye, but I left myself open to them when I let Marco goat me into punching him. Even if I screamed the truth at them, it wouldn’t matter without Marco there to back me up, and he decided that his random hunting trip was more important than clearing up any misunderstandings.”

Skye hadn’t said it, but she believed that Marco had planned it all out. Tidas striking him, the guards there as partial witnesses, him leaving abruptly; it all felt too convenient to be a coincidence. As she slowly climbed out of bed and dressed in a rush, Skye decided that she would confront Marco...

************

She had grabbed riding clothes that were similar to the ones that she had worn the day before, but Skye didn’t care as she darted down the hallway towards Magnus’ quarters. Peggy was just waking up when she had left her hallway, which meant that Marco was most likely leaving soon. He had said that he would see Magnus before he left, so Skye ran to catch him.

Marco was just about to knock on his father’s door when he felt Skye’s Magic careening towards him, so he waited for her. As she slowed to a walk and went up to him, Marco could barely keep the grin from his face as he spoke; “Skye: what a pleasant surprise.”

“Suppose ya knew I was comin’, hmm? Whatever.. Ima just here ta tell ya somethin’, then Ima gonna go climb back into bed wit me husband.”

Marco’s face flashed a hint of irritation; “What is it?”

Skye narrowed her eyes on him in the most threatening way that she could, then said; “I dinna know what that setup was all about, but ya won’t turn the people against Tidas. You can get yer nobles riled up all ya like, but the people know yer brother better than you do: they’ll never believe that bullshit.”

Marco smirked arrogantly and he leaned over Skye slightly, and replied in a low voice; “I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything, Skye. They’ll draw whatever conclusions they want based off of what they see and hear..”

“Ya mean whatever you show and tell’em! Why would ya not clear yer brother’s name when You pushed him ta fight?!” Skye yelled with obvious anger in her tone.

As the door to the King’s quarters opened, Marco just smiled as he whispered; “Can you guess why, my Little Lass?”