War Of Men

Arcane

It was then that Medea and the Chèr entered.

'Told you they'd be here. You owe me one of those fancy notebooks. You know, by that Lord Merton.'

'I never bet against you. Why would I? You can literally see the future.'

'Next time I'll make the deal before I tell you,' swore Medea.

'What are you two "charming" people doing here? Did you come for a socialisation lesson?' Arcane mocked them.

'We know better than to come to you,' replied the Chèr. 'No, Sutoku has had a reply from Avi. He thought we should all gather to listen it.'

Arcane frowned. 'What do I care what those swines have to say?'

'Those swines could try to kill you.'

'Exactly. I'd rather not know. Adds to the suspense.'

'Wait, what's this about killing?' Sabrina nervously asked.

'The reason we're now Eseterrians. You know they were assassinated, right?'

'I guess... I was just kind of preoccupied with my own stuff at the time,' Sabrina sheepishly admitted. 'So, where to?'

The Chèr lead the way, but made sure that Arcane was beside him.

'So, which spirit's Eseterrian are you?'

'Gadeden.'

'Boo-ya! Now you do owe me a notebook!'

The Chèr sighed. 'Yes, you were right. I guess we'll see about that book, but we don't want a scandal about me losing religious funding betting with the Voire.'

Medea laughed. 'No need to worry. I'll make a bigger scandal to cover it up.'

This time they didn't meet Sutoku in the council room, instead heading to a small chamber with a painted ceiling that was exquisitely furnished. The chaise longues were a light cream that matched the doors and trimmings, the floor a warm brown and polished without being slippery. There were lamps with cream lampshades and a pianoforte in the corner. Kaya was sat drinking a coffee but still looked groggy. Emilee had a brighter demeanor and smiled at the two girls upon arrival.

'It's lovely to meet you, Miss Edris. I hope we'll become good friends.'

'I'm sure we will. Thank you!'

Ellux's Eseterrian glanced over at Arcane. 'Could I join you and Merari for dance today?'

'Sure.' Arcane had almost forgotten, she'd been planning on getting to the forest as soon as possible. Clearly that would have to wait even longer.

'This message arrived in the middle of the night. The council has already heard it, but I thought you deserved a chance to as well.' Sutoku cleared his throat, then read, 'Avi and the Enfanta sympathise with your loss and apologise for any inconveniences, but those responsible for Shula Kaya's capture did not act for the country, hence it would not be a fair trade. They are also criminals in Avi too and hence it is our choice to deal with them ourselves. To avoid even more unjust accusations and mistreatment, Avi and the Enfanta demand the return of the innocent vendor and wish the crown good fortune in their search for the assassin.'

Arcane exchanged glances with Medea. Both the country and the vendor pleaded innocent, but how could either be trusted? If the council was correct, now was the perfect time for Cines to declare war, so Avi would want to avoid it. Then again, Avi wasn't exactly doing a great job of preventing the outbreak of war.

'So? What has the council decided?' she inquired.

'The council has decided to decide at a later date thanks to me. We hoped that the Primaracon could give you some insight into the spirits' opinions.' Curiosity flared in Sutoku's eyes.