A Letter In Lue of a Treaty
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:42 am
The candlelight was almost blinding as Balyn entered the palace from the dark streets. Even at this late hour, he'd been summoned by his Aunt for something urgent. The problem was, he'd been happily asleep back at the Mantear Manor. In his mind, this had better be important.
The large meeting room was almost a throneroom in itself. As the large mahogany doors were pulled open, revealing an ovular table that only three people sat at currently. It was such a large place for so few people. Cel would never let him hear the end of it, so he had to resist the urge to laugh. Preferring not to stay unannounced, he coughed loudly. Surprisingly it echoed faintly across the chamber, which caused the three at the table to look up.
The Queen of Andor, that was never good for him.
Tigraine, at least she would be better company than just her mother. And lastly..
A man of unblemished dress he didn't recognize. Turning to face Balyn, he stood from his chair and...bowed? He must not be a High Noble, maybe an Andoran recently raised to one of the Great Houses? All thoughts of him being Andoran at all evaporated when he spoke.
"Ahhh, High Lord Balyn...I am glad we meet. Though I imagine the hour was not the finest convenience for us to do so." With that manner of speech, and enunciating every word, this man was from Cairhien.
It was a small comfort that Balyn had dressed to meet with his Aunt, as his clothes were of much higher quality than the small man standing in front of him. He was glad he didn't bring his sword, though. That could have been a bold move in front of a foreign noble.
"Yes, and who am I meeting at this late...or perhaps early? Hour."
The man shook his hand, smiling greedily at the large signet ring adorning his finger. Better check to make sure all the stones were there later. "I, Lord Balyn, am an official from the Cairhien Elitesmen. My name is Vas Noienclare. Well, to be more precise, I represent the Council that oversees the Elitesmen."
That actually made Balyn blink in surprise. He turned casually towards his family and raised an eyebrow. The question was not even sublte, it just said, "What have you done to me?"
Suddenly, the Queen cleared her through and spoke softly. That was the voice she used when any of the younger members of the Mantear family were about to be told something was wrong. It was motherly, yet accusing at the same time. "You asked me for a way to aid Andor, did you not?"
A simle nod was all he could do, and to swallow the lump in his throat. He did, however, catch a glimpse of Tigraine holding back laughter. The tears in the corner of her eyes gave away her ploy, though.
Yet it was her mother than continued. "You found the Guard as confining as the palace walls. So then you came to me asking for advice on helping foreign relations if you could."
She finished with a look of curiosity, just daring him to play innocent. All he could do was nod once, and then point subtly at the Cairhien noble and arch his eyebrow. "Okay. What does the world want of me then, Lord Vas? And why couldn't it wait till morning and proper amounts of sleep?"
"Ah, well....We've been in negotations with the King recently, at the request of your Aunt that is, that you would be a sign of good will between our nations. Your presence to defend Cairhien would greatly strengthen the trust between them."
"Wait a minute, and what stops Cairhien from taking a member of the Andor ruling family hostage?"
Vas looked almost amused, meeting Balyn in the eyes for the first time. "We are sending the King's nephew here to do the same. He agreed to do it, since he wanted to get out of the city and see more of the world. Your cousin tells me you have similar ambitions...?"
Balyn outright glared at Tigraine, who was hiding her face partially behind her mothers shoulder. She was shaking from silent laughter. In truth, he loved his cousin as much as a sister. He got along well with his family, even if they didn't pay much attention to him. Yet at that moment he wanted to throw the nearest pillow at her. Maybe with a small rock in it.
"And who is this man who will be my counter?"
"Why, I believe it is Lord Teyn Damodred."
"TEYN?" He couldn't control the scepticism in his own voice. "But he's just..." He suddenly went quiet at the look from his Aunt.
When she spoke, it was again that soft but commanding voice. "Balyn will be glad to do it, as it serves Andor, our House, and the peoples of two countries. You may both set out when you are ready. As an act of good faith, Teyn came along for the trip and is already here. He is already sleeping in the barracks of the Queen's Guard."
Nodding in both defeat and curiousity, he turned to follow Vas as they headed south, towards his manor. Knowing Cel, he'd already have everything ready. Especially a few last low blow comments at his expense. He was actually going to miss the man.
From behind him he heard Tigraine shout, "Write and visit when you can! And don't be lazy or it'll make Andor look bad!"
Turning to face her, he gave his best impression of a fake laugh; going so far as to contort his face an slap his knee. It was terribly ugly, but it made her redden in the cheeks and sit down.
The sun would be rising soon, the last time he'd see the Andoran sunrise for some time. But finally, he was free in a way he wanted to be. Though this was far from how he imagined life playing out. An emissary to Cairhien, but to serve in the protection of the capital city. What had he gotten into? The thought actually excited him.
The large meeting room was almost a throneroom in itself. As the large mahogany doors were pulled open, revealing an ovular table that only three people sat at currently. It was such a large place for so few people. Cel would never let him hear the end of it, so he had to resist the urge to laugh. Preferring not to stay unannounced, he coughed loudly. Surprisingly it echoed faintly across the chamber, which caused the three at the table to look up.
The Queen of Andor, that was never good for him.
Tigraine, at least she would be better company than just her mother. And lastly..
A man of unblemished dress he didn't recognize. Turning to face Balyn, he stood from his chair and...bowed? He must not be a High Noble, maybe an Andoran recently raised to one of the Great Houses? All thoughts of him being Andoran at all evaporated when he spoke.
"Ahhh, High Lord Balyn...I am glad we meet. Though I imagine the hour was not the finest convenience for us to do so." With that manner of speech, and enunciating every word, this man was from Cairhien.
It was a small comfort that Balyn had dressed to meet with his Aunt, as his clothes were of much higher quality than the small man standing in front of him. He was glad he didn't bring his sword, though. That could have been a bold move in front of a foreign noble.
"Yes, and who am I meeting at this late...or perhaps early? Hour."
The man shook his hand, smiling greedily at the large signet ring adorning his finger. Better check to make sure all the stones were there later. "I, Lord Balyn, am an official from the Cairhien Elitesmen. My name is Vas Noienclare. Well, to be more precise, I represent the Council that oversees the Elitesmen."
That actually made Balyn blink in surprise. He turned casually towards his family and raised an eyebrow. The question was not even sublte, it just said, "What have you done to me?"
Suddenly, the Queen cleared her through and spoke softly. That was the voice she used when any of the younger members of the Mantear family were about to be told something was wrong. It was motherly, yet accusing at the same time. "You asked me for a way to aid Andor, did you not?"
A simle nod was all he could do, and to swallow the lump in his throat. He did, however, catch a glimpse of Tigraine holding back laughter. The tears in the corner of her eyes gave away her ploy, though.
Yet it was her mother than continued. "You found the Guard as confining as the palace walls. So then you came to me asking for advice on helping foreign relations if you could."
She finished with a look of curiosity, just daring him to play innocent. All he could do was nod once, and then point subtly at the Cairhien noble and arch his eyebrow. "Okay. What does the world want of me then, Lord Vas? And why couldn't it wait till morning and proper amounts of sleep?"
"Ah, well....We've been in negotations with the King recently, at the request of your Aunt that is, that you would be a sign of good will between our nations. Your presence to defend Cairhien would greatly strengthen the trust between them."
"Wait a minute, and what stops Cairhien from taking a member of the Andor ruling family hostage?"
Vas looked almost amused, meeting Balyn in the eyes for the first time. "We are sending the King's nephew here to do the same. He agreed to do it, since he wanted to get out of the city and see more of the world. Your cousin tells me you have similar ambitions...?"
Balyn outright glared at Tigraine, who was hiding her face partially behind her mothers shoulder. She was shaking from silent laughter. In truth, he loved his cousin as much as a sister. He got along well with his family, even if they didn't pay much attention to him. Yet at that moment he wanted to throw the nearest pillow at her. Maybe with a small rock in it.
"And who is this man who will be my counter?"
"Why, I believe it is Lord Teyn Damodred."
"TEYN?" He couldn't control the scepticism in his own voice. "But he's just..." He suddenly went quiet at the look from his Aunt.
When she spoke, it was again that soft but commanding voice. "Balyn will be glad to do it, as it serves Andor, our House, and the peoples of two countries. You may both set out when you are ready. As an act of good faith, Teyn came along for the trip and is already here. He is already sleeping in the barracks of the Queen's Guard."
Nodding in both defeat and curiousity, he turned to follow Vas as they headed south, towards his manor. Knowing Cel, he'd already have everything ready. Especially a few last low blow comments at his expense. He was actually going to miss the man.
From behind him he heard Tigraine shout, "Write and visit when you can! And don't be lazy or it'll make Andor look bad!"
Turning to face her, he gave his best impression of a fake laugh; going so far as to contort his face an slap his knee. It was terribly ugly, but it made her redden in the cheeks and sit down.
The sun would be rising soon, the last time he'd see the Andoran sunrise for some time. But finally, he was free in a way he wanted to be. Though this was far from how he imagined life playing out. An emissary to Cairhien, but to serve in the protection of the capital city. What had he gotten into? The thought actually excited him.