Internal V.1: Child of Discord (Internal, third draft)

(20) Three Times the Charm

(Part 1)

Following a brief nap of about an hour, and even as her daughter was still engaged in excited discussions with Leia on refined manners, Mirani resolved to invite herself to her fellow consort's gardens to try and unburden herself mentally. The 'mind games', she felt, were about to be played in new, considerably-more-complex areas... and with luck, sooner than she would dare expect.

Might Vestra, that 'religious wench', not know how better to handle this kind of round-the-clock stress?

On the other hand, it so happened that Vestra--in the light of her own string of experiences, including that of the previous night with Urdin--also wanted to better reflect on her next steps; and as she headed to those same gardens, it crossed her mind that perhaps her scheming counterpart might just be the right individual to relate things to.

The queens' encounter, therefore, while a surprise for each, was a relief of sorts for both; being seated as they were on separate benches.

"Well, well." Mama Viper whistled. "How long has it been since we got the chance to settle matters just between ourselves, eh, Ves? No kids to niggle us 'round, nor to prevent whatever else that might otherwise need to be let out..."

"I concur," came Vestra's smiling reply. "I feel we have had so many chances before today to talk our problems out during any of those 'family' dinners; but in retrospect, we hadn't been acting like family at all. Instead, we merely listened to what our lord husband had had to say... and not once, as I recall, did he show that he cared that much for anything immediately beyond governance!"

"Now, don't overreact. We knew he meant well: that same decent governance helps us finish whatever needs to be done up 'til now, don't ya think."

"Be that as it may... look, it still holds true! Now that I think of it, even during that explanation of events up north, he only mentioned that the city of Nasria 'is still ours'. Listen to that! No mention of casualties, even projected ones; nor of how Mustafa, young as he is, must have taken great pains to defend it in the first place; nor, heck, even how hard it must've been for him to reconcile such contrasting views--in strategy, beliefs and so much else--with the Dragoness lass... so much so that their conjoined forces might then coordinate said defense successfully. Urdin seems to care only for the results; far less so for how it might have been achieved!"

"As so many other leaders so often do, dear," Mira reminded her, "and the longer they remain leaders, chances are, the worse it'd develop... but such is how things are supposed to work for this age, and we can only hope the next one might turn out better--short of full-force dethronement, which, oh, by the way, I had had the honor to witness. Front row."

"Mirani!"

"Bygones be bygones. Have ya tried pointin' that out to him, though--this lack of concern for how things might be achieved?"

Vestra moved to the same bench as that of Mirani's before actually replying.

"I tried! Just yesterday, we were discussing on how the next holder for the office of vazir is to be determined. Our husband laid out three names, one of them currently in the army ranks..."

"A second. Why are you letting me know of this now?"

"I'd like to see if the Amir's reasoning could, in your opinion, be accepted in the first place."

Mira sighed. "Naive as ever; ya don't bother suspecting in the least that I might be fomenting schemes o' my own as we speak... Very well, continue."