Alexandra had expected a good welcome at the council. It had been six months since she had last visited this place - and a part of her was scared that she would have forgotten the way to the meeting room, or to the arenas, or she would have forgotten which shelf of the library the epics were kept on and have to ask for small directions as if it was her first time there. But nothing of the sort happened, the bridge was lowered routinely by man who was in charge of it (he sat on the long wall of the Council boundary so that the tossed coins or badges were visible to him).
As if in a routine, he greeted her with, 'How's your blade, Mable?' because spies asked of each others' health by asking of their "blade".
'Shiny and sharp, thank you!' She returned, grinning. In her fifth year, she had received the bridge duty quite a lot, and it was fun to catch the tossed coins, or catch the glint of a badge being shone her way. Even as she thought of her fifth year, Alexandra registered how different the Council felt, all of a sudden.
She had just crossed the bridge and then - silence.
It looked like there was no one around, like everybody had deserted the council and left. A lone, dry wind blew past and it carried some of the sand from the arena with it. She frowned and stared at the melancholy scene, wondering if she ought to go back and ask the bridgekeeper what was going on.
Deciding against it, because bridgekeepers seldom knew what was going on in the council that day, and taking upon herself, the mammoth task of finding out where everybody was, 'Hello?' Alexandra called out. Then she had another look around herself, turning behind and frowning, 'What's going on?' She muttered to herself.
KA-BOOM!
Alexandra covered her ears and cowered. She heard many more explosions around her - what was making it, she had the least idea and neither did she want to know. And then, as if it were the commonest of things that could have happened - she was enveloped by familiar people: all doubling over and laughing.
'She was so scared!' A fifth year said, holding his stomach.
'Exactly, did you see the way she cowered?' Someone else supplied.
'But it was my idea!' Watson reminded, not wanting to be left bereft of the credit of the plan. Unfortunately, that meant Alexandra got the wind of it too. And she registered, for the first time despite seeing him about each day, how Watson had grown a little different from what she had expected him to. The slightly pointed ears were the only "elfish" feature of his, because otherwise, his blue eyes could be quite captivating and mature and his reckless courage quite enamoring.
'Oh, your idea?!' She hissed, as she pulled Moira out.
'Oh no,' said Owen and Hans, who were the only other two in the council from her year. But they apparently didn't have much intelligence when it came to fun.
'Oh yes,' said the others, 'Now starts the real fun!' And maybe it did, because Alexandra chased the Elf around the council for several hours later. She discovered that she hadn't forgotten anything and was quite as good with the ways as she always had been.
'Fine - fine! I'm sorry!' Watson said, right in front of the lake. Ducking and laughing at the same time as Alexandra slashed Moira in the air, subconsciously registering the how differently he laughed from Liam.
'Not yet!' She said, pushing him back, right into the Lake. Momentarily unbalance, he fell backwards and then resurfaced, laughing harder. Swimming up to the Lake's end, where Alexandra sat down in a final act of forgiveness, he climbed out of it, twisting the water out of his wet clothes.
'That,' Watson suggested, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes, 'can be our new way of greeting long unseen friends.'
* * *
'So, where's Kane then?' Alexandra asked, still sitting by the Lake with the still-wet Watson, who was still filling her up with the month's news as the sun set in the distance.
'Supervisory,' he informed, one of the few times when he was serious. 'Diablos did not have a terrorist center. I found it out in three months - and since then, I'm waiting for my next trial.'
'You sound upset it wasn't,'
'I am, a bit. No risk, no fun.'
'Fun? You wanted it to be one - for fun?' Alexandra asked, nettled.
'Calm down - I just said it. I don't mean it,' he replied. Alexandra stared at him for a minute, and he stared back. Deciding that Watson was not lying, she broke the staring contest.
'That's good,' she told him, leaning backwards, on the cold grass. And then, just to change the topic, revisited her third year - the time since when they had gotten over the silly rivalry. 'How much did you score in that general knowledge test?' She asked him. Not for the first time, a change in topic was gladly received.
'That seems like yesterday,' Watson grinned. 'I got - ninety nine. And you got a hundred didn't you? Oh well, I was close enough. I got the Exiled Dovish Princess wrong - thought it was Rose - and now think it never mattered.'
Alexandra's stomach twisted: the change in topic had come at a steep price. And for Watson, it didn't matter which princess had got exiled - he didn't even know it was she, Alexandra herself - on whom the question had been. 'That was Alexandra anyway.' She corrected - it felt odd, saying it was me. One thing was good: that the one person she had to keep the secret with, was Liam. Quite faraway, quite reliable and quite mature. Alexandra shuddered to think what her state would be if Watson had been the keeper of her secret. He could have ratted out on her the very first time they would have had a disagreement. Royal problems demanded royal solutions. 'She was a useless girl, anyhow.' Alexandra added, to him.
'You say it like you know her,' Watson said, raising his eyebrows.
'Believe me, I do.' Alexandra replied, 'she was a use-less girl.' And she had no idea why she was pressing the topic so much. It was one of those daring tendencies having taken over her. Had Liam seen her do this...
'Whatever,' Watson waved off. 'All the princesses are the same,' he added.
Alexandra nodded, not yet having gotten over her dare. 'True, they are. Unless you know them personally. Then you see they are human too. They are just like the rest of us ... insecure about little things, having fights and wrangles. Then, they become queens. Everything changes,'
Watson was looking at her without blinking, 'You are talking like one,'
Alexandra laughed nervously, not over her dare even being at the brink of disclosure. 'I might be - that is, haha, do I look like one? And, I just saw one particular princess whom I had seen before. As a queen, she is very...'
'Unlikable,' Watson completed. Alexandra nodded again, finally over the dare. 'Who cares?' He continued, 'Our Emperor Liam brought her down the right way,'
'Right way? How?' She demanded, sitting up straighter. She didn't know what had been the proceedings of the previous month. And now, she ought to. 'Tell me, tell me!' Alexandra exclaimed, patting the ground in excitement.
'Oh, that's a nice little story.' He assured, 'It will go down in History books - perhaps under the label of "The Golden Age of Idgard". Coming to the story itself, you know Vedessa's map, don't you?'
'Of course!' Said Alexandra. Even children of ten knew the map by heart. Vedessan policies were a little militarist - it was much needed, in any case, for enemies far outnumbered allies in Vedessa's case. Trainings began right at the age of eight and continued till fourteen. At sixteen, most were expected to serve in the army for at least a single term - lasting about a year and a half. After which, they were free to pursue whatever they were passionate about. This policy was meant only for men. But the female lives were left untouched by no means - basic education was a must, unless somebody came from the lowest rug of society where literacy was yet to reach. And no "homely duties" were taught. Syllabuses included strictly patriotic history, limited geography and undiluted philosophy. What was more, it was always made clear that times of war could, and would, demand some labor from the Vedessan women.
'So you must know, there are five main rivers he-' he continued, but Alexandra interrupted again.
'Victorie, Fiama, Predus, Madong, Arkansis - yes. What about them?'
'And the largest ones a-' he continued, but Alexandra interrupted again.
'Arkansis and Victorie - yes. What about them?'
'No, you know everything - what's the point of telling you?' Watson shot at her, making as if to get up, but Alexandra pulled him down.
'Alright, I'll shut up. Go on,' she assured, smiling.
'Good, so they are so big that they flow down into Losiane, Gertruda, Gentaug, Akwanda, Pierdalos, Retrangine, Olphanx, Watebash, Florandes-
'Yorkyte and Lemeva. The Divided Kingdoms,' Alexandra completed. They had all been one huge, massive Empire. Ethnic, political and cultural differences had broken them up - into these eleven separate kingdoms. But everybody else still looked at them collectively, and called them - divided kingdoms.
'You interrupted again,'
'Sorry! Continue, Elf.'
He shook his head, 'So yes, Victorie and Arkansis flow down into DK, they are the only source of water there, the grounds are rocky and wells are next to impossible. Those places don't have much rain either. So the two perennial rivers are their lifelines. And our King's a smart man. He had the two rivers dammed - dammed with double "m" not the one with an "n" - he had them dammed. And then, left them that way. Water still reached the DK and everybody was all fine.'
'Then?'
'Then... a month back, when the need of it arose, the clever fellow played his Triumph Card. He had saved it for such moments - Vedessan diplomats made it clear in the Akwandian court that Vedessa would stop its rivers, change the course of them even if that meant floods in Vedessa, to plunge all the Divided Kingdoms into drought. Akwanda had broken the terms of cordiality and all the Divided Kingdoms would pay for it.'
Brilliant. Just brilliant!
'So the Kings were all outraged. Not on Vedessa, rather, on Akwanda.' Alexandra said, looking up at the sky and shaking her head, smiling. Until then, she hadn't considered modesty to be a positive trait, but after Liam, it truly seemed so. Choice few people held the metal to do so much and not let out a single comment on self praise after it.
'Spot on, Captain. The other kingdoms said they would invade Akwanda - raze it to the grounds, none of the Divided Kingdoms are too well off. They do not have many alliances. So the Emperor Liam, didn't even have to lift a finger. If Akwanda didn't surrender, he would simply watch the other Divided Kingdoms tear it apart. And if it surrendered - well and good!'
'So ... it surrendered, didn't it?' She said, Olivia had made it clear in the letter ... goodness, Olivia wasn't enjoying nowadays, was she? Alexandra had thought she had done a noble thing and what-not. None of it. Liam had forced it out. That man had style, Alexandra had to admit. And his act of releasing Than seemed not-so-bad now, his speech on cowardice and bravery not so wound up. If they needed something, they needed firm decisions like these, unafraid policies like these. She hadn't been so in praise of anybody for long.
'It did?' Asked Watson, staring at her, clueless, 'How do you know? When?'
Alexandra cursed, not everybody knew of the letter. Her daring tendencies all having vanished, she decided an easy cover up for this. 'I - unless they are utter fools, they are going to submit.' She said, tilting her head in a you know... manner.
'Right...' Said Watson, staring into the Lake, 'But you still never know. Queens and Kings are strange creatures. I've never heard of a straight royal.'
'That,' Alexandra said, 'I can agree with.'
But she knew there were straight royals. One was sitting next to Watson right then, and one was in the Palace of Idgard. Neither knowing how strongly opposites attracted.