TUW 5: Havoc in the West

6 | Spheres

"You certainly don't understand how the Dwanzeig government works," the Heiress said. "It's worse than the Lantegian counterpart in terms of the number of spheres we have to break through. Cardovia doesn't have enough time and resources for that. We're already spread too thin. And there's also the issue with those things..."

Marin figured she wasn't supposed to hear about that last bit, so she edged away to give the Heiress some privacy. Instead, she trained her eyes on the maps. Too many spheres? Since when was breaking stuff out of the Heiress' capacity? Why couldn't she show up there and do it herself?

Spheres...

An idea popped into her head. "Why don't we head for the biggest sphere there was?" she said, drawing closer to the map and flipping to the one highlighting a closer look at their target territory. "What if we don't need to expend more resources than we needed, and instead...focus on bluffing?"

The Heiress narrowed her eyes. Oh, she hated the idea, but with Marin's track record, she's willing to at least lend an ear. "I don't see why we should resort to underhanded tricks that will leave us as laughing stocks should it fail."

"That's why it won't fail," Marin said. "They will believe what we have to say because of a number of things."

The Heiress cocked an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"How is the Virtakios these days?" Marin asked. Xanthy was the only one who could provide some sort of hope for salvation apart from the Heiress and the Sovereign. With her out of the picture, they'd have better chances.

"Out of the radar as far as my spies are concerned," the Heiress said. "But I can feel her. She's heading east as of the moment."

Marin jerked her chin at the map. "What are the chances she'd end up in Dwanzeig?" she asked. "And what are the chances she would get approached by the royal family?"

The gears in the Heiress' head were turning now. "A lot," she muttered, extrapolating from what she knew and the things she wasn't telling Marin. It's fine. Marin was here as fodder, as something to poke through the Heiress' ideas to get them flowing. "That's...actually a good plan."

"We push the royal family to get Xanthy's help by feeding their espionage network of an oncoming attack," Marin said. "We'll then see if she agrees. If she does, it minimizes the Sovereign's chances of taking over and beating us there. And since we're closer..."

"We can camp out at the borders, ready to march," the Heiress mused.

Marin crossed her arms over her chest. "And if Xanthy refused, then, we're ready to swoop in," she said. "But we don't necessarily need to attack. We just need to take away the one thing they care about."

"The forests," the Heiress breathed, eyes widening at the sudden realization. She whirled to Marin, a visible sheet of hysteria peeling her features apart. "That is a good plan, Marin. A brilliant, brilliant plan."

This was also the first time the Heiress called her by her name. It elicited a warmth in her chest, something she couldn't place any time soon.

"And it coincides with another front I have been dealing with," the Heiress said. One glance at the timeteller on her desk ignited a sort of urgency in her stance. She jerked her chin at Marin. "I need you to step out for a minute. I have another audience. She should be coming inside the markers now. I'll call you back when we have reached an accord."

Marin could only follow. On her way out, though, the Heiress had one last thing to say. "You'd make a great leader one day, and I can give you Cardovia if you want."

Instead of replying, Marin stepped out of the tent and stood in front of it. Her, lead this circus crapshow? Not a chance. She'd rather set herself on fire. Without her wish, she wouldn't waste her life chasing after territory leaders and begging them for their aid. She'd be living her life, free from any masters who tell her what to do.