The Camp of the Legal Queen, Glacia, Saturday Fandom Time

[glacial_queen]

"You're joking."

Karla looked at Morton, who was doing his damnedest not to grin as he shook his head. "Not at all. Julian is out there with them now, escorting them through the camp."

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Karla repeated the information that he'd just told her. "So...a group of Blood from Sidra have traveled all this way to come beg an audience with me?"

"That's what they said," Morton agreed. "They made sure to refer to you as the true and rightful Queen, too. Julian thinks they want something from you."

"Of course they do," Karla growled. "Still, it's not like I can ignore a positive overture from Sidra. Especially since they had to tromp through snow and half the Bloody Territory to deliver it." She turned away from the medicines she was brewing, signaling for another journeymaid to come take over for her. "How long until they arrive?"

"You probably have about fifteen minutes," Morton assured her. "Julian's taking them the long way through camp. Deliberately."

"Good on him," Karla approved. "Okay, make sure we have warm food and mulled wine waiting in the front of my tent. Then round up the usual suspects and make sure they're medium fancy and in my tent in ten."

"Your will is my life, Lady," Morton said with an extravagant bow. Karla pelted him with a snowball from behind and ran off to her tent, laughing.

***

Ten minutes later, several members of her First Circle were assembled and waiting for their guests. Karla, ever the diplomat, had ordered several of the posters they'd taken from Sidra to be hung about the walls. She had a large and imposing chair to sit it, but had not yet called in for additional chairs. The attending Blood would stand before her until she had ascertained their motives for visiting, both stated and not.

She'd changed from her working clothes into a dress, warm and finely crafted, but with very little ornamentation. Her hair was pulled back to frame her face, but again, the style was attractive, but simple. There were more papers than gilding in her tent, and while everything was of high-quality, it all had the air of use to it. There was nothing here that was only useful for show. The food was heart, warm, and filling, but practical, and she ate no differently than anyone else in the camp. She was drawing a stark contrast between herself and the ostentatious Court of her uncle's.

Time to see whether they could really handle the Queen she was going to be, rather than the whatever kind of Queen they'd traveled here expecting.

"Game on," she murmured, just loud enough to be heard by Morton and Warren, who were flanking her chair, and Raven who was mirroring Mallory's position just off to the side. "Let's see what these folks are after, shall we?"

[For thems in Glacia with her!]

Comments

[wwiii]

"This'll be interesting," Warren murmured in turn, wearing the finest that he'd been able to bring with him, wings half-mantled already and his hand resting on Karla's shoulder, his Consort's Ring in plain view. "I think this is the first party to actually come to us looking for an audience, instead of a fight."

It was a welcome, if intimidating, change of pace.

[glacial_queen]

"If they really are," Karla said, mouth twisting. "This could always be a ruse of some sort."

"Is that why you put up the posters, Lady?" Mallory asked, voice plaintive. "To see if they'd be unable to hide their reaction?"

"Nope," Karla said, relishing the answer. She ignored Mallory's disappointed sigh. "They're up to put them off-balance. If they want something from me, that's fine. But they're going to remember exactly how they treated me first."

[wwiii]

"It'll give them an idea of just what they're asking," Warren agreed, glancing sidelong at a poster of a chicken doing something unspeakable to Karla and frowning to himself. "They'll appreciate that Karla is stepping up to liberate all of Glacia, if nothing else. Including those who never did a thing to deserve it."

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

"Can we at least agree not to scare them off before they're even done asking whatever it is they want?" Morton asked. He'd met his cousin and knew that streak of mischief well. "I had this great idea where we didn't actually shove people away just because we were feeling spiteful."

[glacial_queen]

Karla waved a hand at him. "Yes, thank you Lord Obvious," she drawled. "I'm going to behave myself. But if they're coming to me for something petty or stupid, or if they intend to try to put limits on me, I want a reminder of exactly how things stand between us right now."

She was planning to be good! She was! But she wasn't about to let them try to cow her or bargain away bits of her authority for their support.

[wwiii]

"Trust me, the resident chicken here really couldn't agree more," Warren intoned, rolling his eyes a little. "We'll behave, of course."

Warren had his sticks at his hip, and his claws in just as plain view as the Ring on his finger. They would do a good deal of the talking for him.

[trigons_child]

"I should be able to determine if they are truly in need and regretful of their past actions, or if there is malice in their hearts," Raven said.

She was more comfortable to be back in a dress again, and she was particularly keen to see what the reactions to the posters would be.

[glacial_queen]

Karla reached up to brush her fingers over Warren's hand, a gesture of comfort on both their parts. She also found comfort in him, of course, but he'd been on edge recently, too. Quicker to growl than usual wont, with a tendency to bristle at the oddest thing.

Darkness, they weren't even in the tent yet and his claws were already out and he was half-mantled.

"Don't be surprised if it's a mixed bag," she said to Raven. "If it is something beyond an honest desire for help, they'd be smart to bring others along to mask their sincerity."

[wwiii]

War was Hell. Dealing with the fallout of mind-twisted landens and burning witchblood fields was apparently starting to leave its mark on Warren's attitude. He gave Karla's shoulder a small squeeze.

"So we'll be on our guard," he replied. "But well-behaved. Is there anything else we should know before they come in?"

Again, sticks at his hip. He was so not above beating them back out again if it came to that.

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

"Not that Julian's said," Morton offered. "Though he did say that he's pretty sure that they're all well to do merchants and such. No aristos. And all of them are older, like late middle age. He judges the youngest male to be about thirty."

[glacial_queen]

"Hmm," Karla said thoughtfully. "I'm that much more inclined to believe them. Middle class, so they're solid. Not willing to change their minds with every little shift in the wind. Older, so they remember a time before Hobart and what it was like for business. Not the very high, who will likely side with Hobart for as long as it's politically convenient, or the very low, who have been victimized by him, but don't necessarily speak for everyone."

Lord Mallory sniffed again, but this time it was in approval. It was gratifying whenever he saw Karla use her lessons.

"Ladies and gents, I do believe we may have an honest emissary! Will wonders never cease!"

...She still wasn't taking down the posters.

[trigons_child]

"I hope that is indeed the case," Raven said quietly. If it would help bring about the end of the war, she'd rejoice. And if not, if it were some kind of trap, she was prepared to teleport Karla to safety if any of the group tried to do her harm.

[wwiii]

And Warren was prepared to...

Well... His sticks and claws were right there. It was probably very clear what he was prepared to do.

"Should we get this over with, then?"

[glacial-court.livejournal.com]

"Try not to sound enthused, everyone," Karla snarked.

Moments later, there was movement at the tent door and Julian ducked inside, holding the flap open for a group of seven; six males and a female. She was a Priestess and the ranking male was a Prince; the others were Warlords and no one wore a Jewel darker than the Summersky.

"Lady," Julian said with a precise bow. "May I have leave to present these...concerned citizens of Glacia? They beg an audience with you."

[glacial_queen]

"It must be pressing need, for them to travel north in the dead of winter," Karla said, inclining her neck to them. "Well, you are here and the audience has been granted. What is it that you wish of me?"

[kaeleerans.livejournal.com]

The Priestess stepped forward, nervously licking her lips. "Greetings, Lady. I am Kalina, and, well, first we have come to acquaint you with the excesses of your uncle's Court. He is a dangerous male and he mustn't be allowed to rule any longer. He has--"

[glacial_queen]

"I am well aware of what Lord Hobart and the Ruling Council have been up to," Karla interrupted, voice cold. "After all, it is my armies that have discovered the worst of his cruelties and brought them to light. Perhaps the memory of those from Sidra are short, but I remember what he was doing to my people back before I was forced to flee Glacia for my life. So what does Sidra have to tell me that I do not already know?"

[kaeleerans.livejournal.com]

"If I may, Lady," one of the males, an elderly gentleman wearing the Yellow, stepped forward. "Sidra has been in a state of disarray for days, now. More and more news of Hobart's crimes are reaching the ears of the people, and the most we've been able to make him answer for is the horrible thing that happened in Yllestad."

Another of the males looked up.

"And that, barely," he added. "He presented a scapegoat to the crowd during one of the riots, to answer for what happened. It wasn't until he was nothing but a whisper in the Darkness that his family came forward... with a solid alibi that had him nowhere near the North at all."

[glacial_queen]

"So you have learned the truth," Karla said, sad and firm at the same time. "Hobart is a liar, a manipulator, and a murderer. But I ask you again, gentlemen and lady. What is it you wish of me?" She arched an eyebrow. "Of my Court? Of my Consort?"

[wwiii]

"They're asking us to march on Sidra," Warren replied, his voice entirely too soft. "They're asking us to put the war down here, and to take it to Hobart's doorstep."

He spread his wings, going from mantling to a full spread that served to make the imposing figure he was cutting seem all the more dangerous.

"Isn't that right?"

The round of non-committal murmuring from the group assembled confirmed as much. They were met with a low growl in reply.

[glacial_queen]

Karla paused, letting them get a good long look at her Consort, from the wings to the claws to the lack of Jewel around his neck.

"But that can't be right," she said, affecting confusion. "I remember our welcome the last time I marched into Sidra--and then, it was not to make war, but to become Queen using the old laws and traditions. In fact, I have copies of some of the lovely art that was drawn of me, lest I forget that welcome."

[kaeleerans.livejournal.com]

A few more nervous glances were exchanged, first toward the posters hanging on the tent walls, and then amongst themselve.

"We... were mistaken, Lady," the Priestess murmured, bowing her head slightly. "We didn't yet understand the poison that Hobart was spreading. There's no excuse for the way we, or any of the citizens of Sidra behaved. Only the knowledge that all we knew of you were the lies spread by a madman."

[glacial_queen]

"You are wrong there," Karla said quietly. "Hobart is no madman. He is fully cognizant of what he does. If there is a flaw that drives him to what he does, it resides in his heart or his spirit, not his mind."

She rose, rustling out her skirts as if to leave that topic behind. "Let us talk of those lies a moment, shall we? Some of what he says of me is truth. My Consort is not Blood. Neither are some members of my First Circle. My Court will have landen members and I will work to give them the same rights that the Blood enjoy. This is the kind of Queen I will be and the kind of Court I will have. Are you so sure that Sidra will welcome me with open arms?"

Not that Karla planned to stop her campaign if they said no, but they were coming to her for help. She was going to grind their faces in awareness so no one could ever say they had not realized what to expect.

[kaeleerans.livejournal.com]

There was another silence shared between the group. They could all say themselves that they would be willing to overlook the Territory Queen accepting landens as equals, if it meant putting an end to the madness in their home. They couldn't however, speak for the rest of the city's population. Nor could they speak for the rest of the Territory. They could accept that the war for Glacia's liberation from Hobart had been fought mainly with a landen army, and the heaviest casualties had been among the landens, as well. But equality... a landen court and a landen Consort, no matter how much he resembled a Warlord Prince to look at him, here and now...

"Sidra will bleed out and die if this war doesn't end soon," one of the males replied. "The harder the people rally against Hobart, the harder he'll push back. If Sidra can't see that, if they can't come to understand that the way of the proper Queen is what's best for our home, then what hope is there for Glacia at all?"

[glacial_queen]

Karla nodded. "You are right, which is why it pains me to deny you your request."

There were gasps at that, hurt and angry and surprised. She raised her hand to cut off the Prince's angry bluster.

"I will not march an army onto Sidra. I will not bring war to my people. Too many people--too many innocents have already died for me to chance fighting in the street. You think a riot is bad? You have seen nothing compared to what happens when an army marches in. I will not do that for you. But you can do something for me, instead. And, in doing so, help yourselves."

[kaeleerans.livejournal.com]

The party gathered hesitated for a moment, casting uncertain looks amongst themselves. What she said made sense, perhaps, to a person who wasn't there, watching Sidra burn. What choice did they have now but to bring in some sort of force to quell the rioters? Sidra was already in a state of war-- Against itself.

Still, the Priestess steeled herself, squaring her shoulders and speaking evenly.

"What would you have us do, Lady?"

[glacial_queen]

"Give me the city," Karla told them. "If I recall all of my troops and begin to march, we can be there in a few weeks. Have the gates open for me and the people aware that I am coming. I will enter as the rightful Queen and a peacekeeping force--anyone caught rioting or looting or committing other crimes once I enter will face my justice. Make the city welcome me and I will take care of my uncle."

[kaeleerans.livejournal.com]

"It will be done," one of the males said, before they could so much as confer with one another. One by one, the others nodded their agreement. "We'll bring peace to Sidra... And in turn, you'll bring peace to Glacia."

Seemed fair. They had to reign in a city that was tearing itself apart, and they only numbered seven. She had an army, and she had to take down one man and his puppet Queen.

... It wasn't quite so simple as that, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, right?

[glacial_queen]

"I will be the undisputed Queen of Glacia," Karla said softly. "And I will not change who I am or how I intend to rule. But I do not wish to be the iron fist that crushes all resistance. Those are tactics that my uncle uses. Convince those who still resist to accept me and I will be the Queen our Territory desperately needs."

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

She would have said more, but she was interrupted by the ringing of a phone.

Awwwkward.

Morton blushed a furious red when he realized the phone making all the noise was his and he fumbled to shut it off. No sooner had the ringer been silenced that it began to ring again.

"...I should probably take this," he mumbled, and dashed from the tent.

[wwiii]

Warren watched Morton dash off, blinking and raising an eyebrow before glancing back at Karla.

"So, Glacia will be the first Territory in Kaeleer that implements Telephone Protocol, hm? I'll write the book."

In response to the blank, somewhat baffled stares they were now getting from the Sidra delegation, he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Where were we?"