The Conspirators of Krasnovska

9. A Counterplan

 This is one of my favorite chapters, if a bit all over the place, mostly because Briona and Siobahn get some well-deserved "screen time" here. 

An aside: this is one of my favorite pieces of writing background music and it seems to me to fit this scene - just the right blend of seriousness, levity, hope and turmoil. 

Polina nearly ran down Briona on her way to the dining hall after her first appointment of the morning (a routine checkup on Lady Antonina's arthritis). She and her constant companion, Síobahn - Síobahn the Easily Provoked-And-Unnecessarily-Violent, as Lara had jokingly taken to calling her - were lurking outside the bolted door to the Great Hall, doing what looked like some light eavesdropping.

"Are you eavesdropping?" Polina asked.

Briona turned to her with an exasperated glare. "No," the pair replied in perfect unison.

"Then why, pray tell, are you lurking outside the Great Hall with your ears pressed to the door during a council meeting?" She interrogated.

Briona shoved her hands into her pockets. "Mairéad was asked to sit on the council to discuss defense strategy in case of an invasion. We weren't. It was her idea." She poked an accusing finger at Síobahn.

"What? It's not fair," Síobahn spat.

Briona rolled her eyes. "Síobahn, you're acting like a child."

"Says the actual child," Síobahn huffed. "Why'd she get in on it and we didn't? We're the ones who found out about the invasion first!"

"Mairéad was asked to sit on the council because she has a reputation for wisdom and diplomatic skill. You have a reputation for killing people," Briona sighed wearily, as if she'd been through this fifteen too many times already.

"It was one time!" She protested. "And I really did regret it!"

"No offense intended, Lady Síobahn, but Lady Briona is right. You are acting like a child," Polina commented.

"Offense taken," Síobahn snorted.

"Shh!" Briona motioned to the door. Though it was wildly improper, Polina couldn't help but try to pick up snatches of the Council's debate.

"Any attempt at diplomacy with Thanh Keun would be a waste of our efforts," Mairéad argued. "Keunics are famed for their stubbornness. Perhaps you all need to be reminded of the Parma River Crisis?"

"But they're not the problem," a councilman interjected. "Thanh Keun was never in our way. Their only asset is their freakishly large population, which will not do them a scrap of good!"

"But that's just it," Mairéad countered. "If they're aiding Wescogniva, one has to figure they're doing it by providing troops. Manpower. They have nothing else the Wescognivans would ever want. Think about it." Mairéad paused for effect. "Wescogniva seems to have everything it needs. It's packed with resources, in control of most all the major trade routes, and the climate is perfect for agriculture. But what extremely one important thing do they lack?"

"People," Dmitri responded pensively. "It's small. Their army is among the best-trained in the world, but the population is so small that if they want half a chance of conquering a country, they've got to be getting manpower from somewhere else."

"Exactly. And they obviously thought they could use Thanh Keun as a source of information, too," Mairéad explained.

"And I take it the Emperor was egregiously overconfident in his ambassador's ability to get it," a councilman remarked. "They revealed their entire plan to a child."