The room burst into whispers as the Arcovese princesses stepped through the doors. Valley Floods, Emery silently cursed. This endeavor was already doomed. He introduced the new arrivals with a forced calm.
A booming voice rang out before the council could dissolve into utter chaos. “Maksyn!” It was Lord Benjamin. Extremely eccentric, the old man’s place in the council was only due to his long friendship with the Emery’s father. To everyone’s surprise, Lord Benjamin slipped haltingly into the lyrical cadence of the Arcovese language.
The pair shared a quick exchange that seemed noisy in the sudden quiet but the silence that followed after felt even louder.
“What is the meaning of this, Benjamin?” King Ryton demanded.
“Maksyn is a friend from my youthful travels,” the man explained somewhat sheepishly. “Arcova was one of the kingdoms I visited.”
This caught Emery’s attention. He had not known that any Tritorian still living had ever been outside their borders. “You travelled?”
“Long ago. I was curious and no one in the kingdom had seen the outside in over a century. Consider it adolescent restlessness.” Lord Benjamin returned to his seat at the table. “Let us begin. These old bones would like to escape our stone council chairs.”
“If you find yourself in such discomfort, Benjamin, you could excuse yourself from the council,” retorted the man beside him.
“Silence!” The king’s voice thundered against the walls. “You shame us all before our guests with your petty squabbling. We will begin the hearing.”
Emery translated this in Rhonan. As the Arcovese prepared themselves, he and Colden took their places by their father’s side.
It seemed that Pelai was the leader of the group because he stepped forward and communicated in a clear voice. Though Rhonan was not his native tongue, the prince spoke with an easy charm and eloquence. “We come to you desperate, with nowhere else to turn. The Rhonan Empire waits at our doorstep, ready to conquer our people. You are the last of our neighbors who remain free from Rhonan rule. Our people are weak and we have no hope of winning a war against the resources of an empire. We beg your assistance. Together, we can halt the Rhonan expansion. Together, we can defeat them.
“Why should we cast out lots with you?” It was Micah, a quiet man who rarely spoke. “Why should we risk our lives and resources to participate in your war?”
“Because one day, the Rhonans will come for you too.”
“For years, they have let us be. So long as we keep to ourselves, we have peace.”
“Temporarily. The Rhonans fear you, with such close proximity to their border and your legendary military strength. But they grow stronger by the day. Soon they will have nothing to fear from even you. It will be too late for you to fight back and no allies will be left for you to turn to.”
“You overreact——Prince Pelai, correct? The Rhonans will respect our peace so long as we do not interfere.” The king shook his head decisively.
“Do you believe that? Truly believe that? From what you’ve seen of the Rhonans, do you think they would ever be satisfied until they have every nation under their thumbs?”
An uneasy quiet fell over the council.
Colden seemed desperate to bring the hearing back to its original course. “If that should ever happen——which is unlikely——the three Tories will be able to hold off the Rhonans together. What good would the Alliance of the Three Valleys do if not to protect us?”
“The Rhonans would not stand against us in our mountains,” the others agreed. “Their military has always feared the unfamiliar terrain of our passes.”
“Perhaps the Rhonans themselves will never have any hope of surviving an offensive in your mountains,” conceded Pelai, much to the appreciation of the council. “But do you think yourselves to be the only mountain kingdom in the world? Personally, I find that very hard to believe. How long until the Rhonans conquer a different mountain nation? How long until the empire uses those people to defeat your military?”
The King pursed his lips. “You have our attention now. Continue.”
“If you fight now, in our war, the battlefield will be on the seas and not in your valleys. Civilian deaths on your side will be low or non-existent. If you are ever going to act, the best time is now. And if it is glory you seek, know that the credit will go to you because every sane country knows that Arcova could not win a conflict like this on our own.”
“You insult us by assuming that our desire for glory overshadows our morals,” spat Colden. “Though I suppose that I should have not expected anything more from barbarians.”
“Colden——” Emery warned.
‘Brother, you cannot deny the truth of it. These savages have spent years trying to kill each other. They would kill their own blood for the right to rule. They know no loyalty, or love, or selflessness! These people are completely devoid of the sacred virtues. And you wish for us to sell our souls to participate in their war!” The accusation hung heavy in the air, but the council kept its silence, reluctant to takes sides between the two princes.
Pelai, to his credit, did not seem offended by Colden’s words. He just looked sad. “Do not presume to understand us, Prince Colden. There was more to our war that you believe.”
“The king died and his heirs were at each other’s throats within days, all competing for the throne. I fail to see how you could ever ennoble such events to me.”
“You assume that we would turn on each other for greed,” Pelai said. “For much of my childhood, I believed the same thing. I could not understand why the uncles I adored so much could turn on my father during his coronation. But we’ve discovered that the Rhonans poisoned our grandfather, King Irhakai, and blamed his death on my father. My uncles started that war for justice, not greed!”
“You’ll have a hard time convincing me of that. If not for greed, why would your uncles turn against each other? Did the Rhonans spread more lies and accusations?” Colden added sarcastically. “Surely, you can do better than blame all your woes on the empire.”
Kenaro stepped forward now. “They did not turn on each other for greed, Prince Colden. They disagreed over what should happen to Pelai’s father at the end of the war. My father thought that such a betrayal called for his execution and that peace could not happen while he lived, while my uncles believed that forgiveness should be extended to their brother despite his actions. Regardless of the disagreement, our family has never acted out of greed. Everything they have ever done for the kingdom has been for loyalty to our family and duty to our people.”
“Loyalty and selflessness,” Emery said. “Two of the sacred virtues, Colden.”
“But they still lack the third, the one which would have saved them all this trouble. How quick they must have been to accept their brother’s betrayal, how quick to turn on each other. Love would have brought compromise and agreement. Love would have saved them the bloodshed. The Arcovese are incapable of loving each other.”
A dark murmur passed through the council, but the thing that caught Emery’s attention was the glint of anger and indignation that shone in the eyes of the dark haired princess. Her hands seemed to tremble with the sheer force of the emotion. It was obvious that she intended to step forward to speak, an act that would greatly offend whatever allies their cause had won through Pelai and Kenaro’s speeches.
Quickly, Emery acknowledged her before the council and called her to the center of the dais. Better that the council be irritated with Emery for flouting protocol than be outraged at a foreigner’s violation of their rules. “Princess Elliani. Do you have anything to add?”
“Forgive me for taking offense at Prince Colden’s assumptions.” Her voice was even, but it held an edge of barely contained danger. He would not have been surprised if her anger burned down kingdoms.
“These are not assumptions, Princess.” Colden ground his teeth, as if addressing a woman on the dais caused him physical pain.
“Have you noticed that I look very different from my cousins?” She paused to give the council a chance to reconsider her. In fact, her darker skin and black hair were why she stood out so much against the other Arcovese. She also had different facial features: the others had elegantly sweeping cheekbones; sharp, graceful lines that made up their faces. Elliani’s face was much softer and delicate.
“My father did not take sides in the war. He spent years trying to bring peace without bloodshed, trying to talk his brothers into laying down their weapons. When he was not reasoning with them, he went to the sights of their battles and cared for survivors. He did not send others to do it for him: he took teams out there with him and combed through rubble for survivors and victims. Tell me, Prince Colden: do you love your people enough that you would dig through ash and dust for their bodies? That you would personally see to their treatment or funerals?”
“That is not love; that is selflessness. There is a different, Princess.” Colden leaned back in his chair.
“But would you have done something like that?” she pressed.
“No,” Colden admitted grudgingly. “It is not my job. But you still misunderstand our concept of love.”
“You have not allowed me to finish,” she interrupted. “I’m sure the rest of your council is wondering why I brought up the differences in my countenance. Ten years ago, when my father was digging through a razed village, they had found no survivors. The search parties were giving up. There was no hope.
“But then he opened the top of a well and, there at the bottom, two children were curled up, covered in ashes and burns. He pulled them out and saw hope. He looked into the eyes of these little peasants and saw beauty in life. Two little urchins that no one else would ever want, and he took them into his arms and made them royalty.” The princess lifted her chin defiantly. “He loved us like his own, held us in our fear. He raised us as equals with his own son. Never once were we turned away. It is one thing to love your blood, another to take a stranger into your home and treat them like family. If that is not love, tell me what is!”
“I’m not sure being taken into that family would have counted as a blessing,” drawled Colden.
“My brothers have treated me with more love and respect than you have shown your brother since our arrival.”
A stunned silence fell over the council at the princess’s accusation. Colden rose from his seat, trembling with anger. Emery felt a sense of dread.