Aery sat at a meeting with her "inner circle" of advisers. These were her war councilors, battle-hardened veterans (Including her trainer Rowan Stormfire, when he was around, which he currently wasn’t), her panel of ambassadors from all the nations, her economics advisers (wealthy merchants, mostly) and the heads of the guilds, including her spymaster and chancellor of mages. Their appointments in particular were the source of riots, but Aery could think of no one she trusted more.
Of course, the people of the realms didn’t see what she did in her two latest appointments. In her spymaster and head of the couriers guild, Silenia Earthwatcher (She had taken that name after Aery suggested that they not appear to be related, lest people think she was stacking her advisory panel) the realm saw a scrawny, scruffly nine-year-old girl who had thread bracelets up both forearms to her elbows and several knotted thread necklaces. But Silly, as she had her friends call her, brought connections to and the loyalty of well over two thousand street urchins in all the realms, and when Silly threw her support behind Aery, all of them did too. The result was a network of information, of secrets and plots, flowing up the chain of command to Aery.
In her Chancellor of Mages, Amethystia Starseer, the people saw a girl who shouldn’t have even discovered her magic yet, a tiny, very skinny four-and-a-half year-old with shocking violet eyes, looking plainly scared to be in a room with so many adults. What they didn’t see was that she was more aware of politics than most grown scholars were. With her magical abilities she had mental connections to all the mages in Adarlan. She’d always been a very aware girl, but with her magic, she could see anything or hear anything in Adarlan, and even in some of the neighboring realms.
Aery had gotten lucky with those two. If not for them, she’d probably never have pulled herself out of the darkness that had tried to swallow her up just two months previously. She stifled the sob that tried to rise up in her throat and turned back to the dizzying task of trying to follow the heated debate going on: Half of her advisers were convinced that they should declare war on Terrasen (which had since freed itself from Adarlan’s rule with the assassination of her uncle) and the other half were of the firm belief that they should exchange ambassadors and set up a treaty. She’d read lips to catch up on the argument, before she finally broke the tension. Most of her council meetings were like this, a debate over one issue or another, until she finally made a decision on each, as much to shut them up as to actually clean up the messes her uncle had left behind.
“I appreciate all of your inputs, gentlemen.” That was her standard opening. “After carefully reviewing what each of you has said, I believe that we should attempt to ameliorate relationships between Adarlan and Terrasen. It will be hard, as you know, given the unfairness of what my uncle did to them as a people. But that being said, I have connections to Aelin Galanythius and I think, if anyone would be open to repairing the relations between our empires, it would be her.” Instantly an argument broke out, to be silenced by a rapping at the door.
“Come in!” Aery called. The door opened and a boy of about nine, the courier Axle, poked his head in. Seeing the gathering of nobility, he looked like he wanted to run. Silenia rose to her feet to beckon the boy into the room, and he came in with reluctance. He bowed deeply to Silenia and then knelt to Aery.
“Oh, dearest Axle, please get to your feet. We have no time for such nonsense. From the look of you, you’ve been running hard.” Shooting a glare at her merchant advisors, who objected to a street boy being allowed to stand in Aery’s presence, and another at most of her military advisors, who objected to this breach of protocol, she motioned for the boy to hand over the papers.
He fidgeted, put his hand through the neck of his shirt. His hand fidgeted around for a moment, then a slender linen folder fell out of his shirt. He blushed. “Sorry, mum, I mean, yer Majesty, on’y, the nobles, they like me t’ carry my messages in one o’ these sos that pickpockets canna steal them.” He was also subtly doing hand-signs in front of him in such a way that none of the advisors could see. He’d learned the hard way that his accent changed the shape his mouth took, and as a result Aery couldn’t always understand by lip-reading.
He bent to grab the messages, rose to his feet. He pulled three envelopes out for Aery; a stack of a dozen more he handed to Silenia. She gave him a gold piece, for he’d most likely run all the way from the border of Adarlan and Terrasen, which was where he was usually stationed. Then she shooed him out of the room.
Tiredly Aery looked at the letters on her desk. Then sat bolt upright. One was a dinner invitation from the royal family of Fenharrow—God, these people just never quit!—but the other two… One was addressed in a messy scribble that she could barely decipher. Rowan Stormfire. The other was in a scribe’s elegant hand. Aelin Galanythius.
Since tears flooded her eyes and she could in no way explain them to her advisors, she quietly said, “Everyone out except Silenia and Amethystia.” When the other grown-ups started to argue, she raised her voice. “I said, everyone out! I’ve made my decision regarding Terrasen, now go. We’ll meet at two bells after noon tomorrow as we always do.” She forced the tears back behind her eyelids. “Get out, please!” Her voice cracked.
“Do as she says!” Silly raised her voice too. When one of the soldiers jumped to his feet and started shouting at her, a purple glow appeared over his lips and then faded just as quickly, with one difference: His lips had fused together. The same purple fire formed a pair of giant hands which started none-too-gently picking up her advisors and carrying them out the door and down the stairs. Most of them ran out on their own accord. Then the hands came back inside, shut the door, barred it, gave themselves a round of applause, and disintegrated into a pile of purple glitter.
Aery made eye contact with Ame and Silly. Silly rolled her eyes and Ame just blinked innocently. Then all three collapsed into a fit of laughter that lasted until their stomachs hurt and their eyes were streaming.
“You know, someone’s going to have to clean up that glitter, Ame.” Silly said, between her giggles and hiccups. Ame just rolled her eyes, clapped her hands, and the glitter vanished.
Then the girls settled into their sign language.
OPEN LETTER NOW. Silly signed.
Rather than sign anything, Ame just used her magic to write over her head “I could send all those Fenharrow letters back to where they came from. And disintegrate them into glitter. Their whole ballroom would be filled up with it and they’d probably never bother you again.”
Aery glared at her, causing her to giggle until she got the hiccups, then turned to the letters. She opened Rowan’s first.
[i]Dearest Aery,
I am en-route to Adarlan from Xandria. Aelin tells me you need a military advisor. Well, you can count on me. Also, you have still not finished your training. While I do not like the path your career has taken, I promised Aelin that I would train you to the best of my ability. And I keep my promises.
You can reply by courier to the White Pig Inn.
Regards,
Rowan Stormfire.[/i]
She giggled despite herself, and wet a quill to write a response. She always wrote her own letters.
[i]My friend Rowan,
I tremble to think of what I might have left in my training. Be that as it may, I am sorely glad to know that you will be here soon. Besides my Mage Chancellor and my Lady Spymaster, I have no one here that I can trust.
Love, your student and sometimes-partner-when-she-doesn’t-screw-up-too-badly,
Aery.[/i]
A purple blob came in front of her vision until she sat up and looked at Ame.
SERIOUSLY A-M-E TOO SNARKY YOU-ARE. She signed. Ame just giggled.
“Will you open the letter from Aelin or not?!” The purple fire wrote in the air.
SORRY MISTRESS was all that Aery signed, causing another bout of laughter from her two youngest advisors.
[i]My daughter,
I hope this letter finds you well and in good health. I am sure you have many responsibilities, even as I do, so I will keep this letter brief. I will be sending you an ambassador in a week’s time—probably, she will be en-route before this letter gets there, because, as darling as your couriers are, their sense of time is a little peculiar (and by peculiar I mean nonexistent)—Her name is Alyssia Icethorn. She is entirely trustworthy, and I should know. I trained her myself.
I should like to pay a social visit, however, this is infeasible. My realm was in shambles and is only now managing to be put back together. I cannot leave it at such a critical time, so we will have to correspond purely by post. I have heard that Rowan is going to be attending you, and you cannot imagine how relieved I am to hear it. You need someone you can trust by your side, someone stronger than Silly and Ame. Though I’ve also heard that Ame’s magic is good enough to rival even the great mages. Did she really calm the entire rebellion in ten minutes?
I look forward to hearing from you, my daughter,
Aelin Galanythius.[/i]
Aery grinned despite the tears that were flowing down her cheeks, and set to writing.
[i]Aelin, oh Aelin.
It is so good to hear from you. It is also welcome news that you are sending an ambassador; maybe now my advisors will realize that you mean no harm. They have been doing nothing but encouraging me to declare war on you. I will be sending one of my own, once I find a suitable candidate. Would you be terribly insulted if I sent a child? Most of my people are too scared of me because of the deeds of my uncle, and only the children, who know me from the street, are eager to help my cause. I think I will be sending Esmyrilda Hanen. She’s one of my across-borders couriers. She can be trusted; I would trust her with my life.
I am saddened to hear that you are not able to make a social visit, as I have something that is life-altering that I must ask you about, something that I dare not commit to print. While my couriers are good, there is always a chance of a letter falling into the wrong hands, and this is of such a delicate nature that I dare not write it, for even a whispered rumor would leave my queendom in shambles. I may send the message by mage connection, for Ame has a range where she could set up a communication with any one of your mages, if you have one that you trust. Speaking of Ame, that girl baffles me. Her magic is so strong now…I wonder if she’s part fae? It would surely explain her unusual resilience and capacity for magic.
Looking forward to hearing from you, and from your ambassador,
Your loving daughter Aery.[/i]
She pressed her seal, five knives forming a pentagram around a rose, into the pale blue wax that she always used. She then called for a courier. As luck would have it, it was Esmyrilda. At fourteen she was one of the older couriers. “Esmy, I’ve got a new job for you.”
The girl flinched, and Aery hastily recorrected. “No, no, you’re not being fired. You’re one of the only couriers I trust, and I trust you completely, with my life. You’ve proven your worth time and time again.” Once street bullies had beaten the girl fairly badly to get the message she carried, and she hadn’t given it to them, and had completed her run with several broken bones. “I’ve got a promotion for you. As I said, you’re the only person I trust that I can spare. So, take these letters. Give the one addressed to Rowan Stormfire to… Azzy, why not. Have him take that one, and then you take this one to my lady Aelin Galanythius in Terrasen. All the way there. Then tell her that you’re Esmyrilda Hanen, and you’re there to be her ambassador to Adarlan.”
The girl met Aery’s eyes for a second, hers going huge in her head. Never had anyone appointed someone so young as an ambassador, nor ever to so important a house.
Aery smiled at the girl. “Go on, you heard me right.” And, curtsying and mumbling thanks, Esmy sprinted off.
Aery sighed and jumped when the clock struck midnight. Had she really been that long writing?
Oh well. She doused the candle and went to bed.