I saw rise in the heat settle soft and as pure as snow

[reunionize]

[This, honestly, took a lot of work. More work than some of the battleplans, but admittedly the machinations of the Victorian nobles are predictable. The only thing Talulah knows about the northern territories is what she's gleaned from her father's journals.

Edward Artorius apparently had a decent enough relationship with the ruler when he'd been alive, and since the wendigo race of Sarkaz live for a very, very long time, perhaps any goodwill towards her parent might be extended to her.

She has also gleaned the northerners are not unreasonable; they've crossed paths during various skirmishes at the border, and they ignore all rebel forces once their own task is complete. Talulah has made it very clear no one from her side is to engage with any other party that isn't either obviously Victorian, or strikes first, and it seems the courtesy is returned.

That said, isolationist policy is hard to overcome, and what she's asking isn't a mere favor. To be embroiled in civil war in another country is an idea most people would scoff at, but...the north has undoubtedly seen the writing on the wall for what will transpire after the dust settles. Victoria's appetite is ever unsatiable.

The Gaulish castle she walks through is a testament to that. It's nothing but ruins now, good for little else besides neutral territory. She's brought two members of the rebels with her, two with a calm rationality suited to negotiations. She'd be fine going in alone, but, well...if Talulah saw another group's leader sitting all alone during a meeting that was meant to be a peaceful talk, she'd think there was an ambush waiting.

Still, no matter how rational one is, curiosity tends to win out, and she can hear her escort party gossiping even behind their masks. They're wondering if the northern princess is as beautiful and strong as the rumors say. If she's half as strong as that Cautus she'd seen once during a border skirmish, then her alliance would be more than a boon.

By her estimation, the meeting time is near, so she supposes she'll find out soon enough.]

Comments

[hypothermy]

—wait.

[ while at this point, Talulah's seen nearly every possible icy or aloof expression Yelena's capable of making. dismissive annoyance falls under that category as well, but the face she's making now, a shift in mood that fell over her the moment Talaluh dropped the words "lich king", is downright sour. ]

What does Fremont have to do with this?

[reunionize]

He's the one who helped me.

[Talulah's surprised both by Frostnova's expression and which part she's choosing to focus on.]

We met by chance, and he said he couldn't abide the existence of this curse. I'm still not entirely sure what he meant by that, but he did manage to contain it. You know him too?

[hypothermy]

[ in hindsight, focusing in on the involvement of the lich king after Talulah revealed something deeply personal about herself wasn't one of Yelena's best moments. ]

I just told you I had an Leithanian arts tutor.

[ not that he personally taught FrostNova on a consistent basis— he sent along one of his colleagues from Ludwigs-Universität to do the brunt of the work after his initial evaluation.

she sets her cup on the table, reaching up to scrub a hand over her face and through her hair. ]

He didn't put a seal on me, but my father brought him in when it became obvious my abilities were too much for a kid to handle.

[ this isn't public knowledge, along with most details of Yelena's life before she was officially debuted to the public a few years after her adoption. she did just say there couldn't be any secrets between the two of them, though. might as well start there. ]

[reunionize]

I hadn't assumed Fremont would have been your teacher.

[Most people wouldn't automatically assume that when one gets a Leithanian tutor, it would be the Lich King himself. Maybe Frostnova's father had something to do with it, but still...

But now that the details are slightly cleared up, there's still one thing Talulah has questions about.]

You don't seem to like him much.

[hypothermy]

No, I guess that's pretty big jump to make.

[ she grabs a candy from the bowl on the table, beginning to peel the wrapper back to free the confection inside. it isn't a variety Talulah's seen before, and has a handmade look to it— nobility having certain bespoke food items in their homes is fairly common. maybe even the northern princess isn't immune to certain indulgences. ]

I don't know what kind of impression he made on you, but he's not great with kids. He frightened me the first time we met, and I don't think he was happy to report that he made a little girl cry and run to a Wendigo for comfort after ten minutes alone with him.

[ from what Yelena understands, Buldrokkas'tee had put his initial inquiry out to the Leithanian regents, but once Fremont caught wind of a request from another Sarkaz king, his curiosity got the better of him. given how isolationist Ursus had become after the Gaulish war, the Empresses had seen it as a vital opportunity to try and strengthen ties between the countries again, and would've preferred to send someone who wouldn't immediately upset a small, traumatized child. ]

It's not like I hate him— I owe a lot to his teaching. Our personalities just aren't that compatible.

[reunionize]

I know what you mean about his personality.

[Brusque and uncompromising and if Talulah hadn’t met other liches besides Fremont, she would have assumed they all sustain their phylacteries by snide insults.

I’d Talulah’s being honest, she would have thought Frostnova would have no problem weathering that sort of attitude. She’s quite straightforward and appreciated the same in kind, but if her first impression had been made when she’d been younger…that explains a lot.]

But that means you know his capabilities. He advised me I should seek a complete cure for the curse, but it won’t be a problem anytime soon, thanks to his interference.

[It’s a long time in the future, and a bit like counting fowlbeasts before they hatch, but after all is said and done perhaps another trip to Leithanien is in order.]

[hypothermy]

[ it's not like their relationship is entirely antagonistic. Fremont has been known to refer to the Ursine princess as his "third least favorite" out of his current batch of personal students— a title she feels some guilt taking over that intensely devoted Maeyer boy, honestly. ]

I do. If he let you go, then you should be stable enough for now.

[ popping the candy into her mouth, she ruminates for a moment before tucking it inside her cheek to speak again. her old governesses probably started gnashing their teeth on instinct somewhere. ]

"The moment you understood him" ... that's pretty vague, but I'm guessing that was on purpose.

[reunionize]

It was.

[She pauses, tilting her teacup back and forth in a contemplative gesture that's probably equally as horrifying to the tutors Talulah had when she'd been younger. Neither she nor Frostnova are really standing on ceremony, though, despite the weight of the conversation.]

Kashchey tried very hard to mold me into what he desired, but he especially wanted me to think the same way he did. No matter the lengths of my defiance, he treated it like an inevitability. I'm sure the requisite for the curse has something to do with that.

[hypothermy]

[ Yelena goes quiet for a moment as she mulls over the information. the candy's still melting in her mouth when she speaks again, but it's obvious based on how clearly she's able to speak around it that talking with her mouth full is old habit. ]

Sounds like he thought it was inevitable because he put the curse on you. If you've got faith in something, you don't add in a fail-safe to make sure it happens.

[ it's a comfort to FrostNova, in a way. if Kaschey had to use ageless witchcraft on Talulah to try to bend her to his will, it means part of him knew she wouldn't submit to him so easily. ]

I'll follow up with the Lich King when I get the chance. I probably don't need to tell you this, but for now, don't repeat what you've told me to anyone else here. Kaschey's crimes in Ursus haven't been forgotten. Some of the old timers would want you arrested if they found out you're carrying something from him.

[reunionize]

It's something I've considered.

[She smiles, faintly and a little wry. Long has Talulah contemplated if it is as Frostnova says, or the opposite is true, that Kashchey is certain Talulah will break and his curse will take root, no matter what.

That Frostnova goes with the former option immediately is heartening, honestly.]

But no, you don't have to remind me. I'm well aware of what others would think, say, and do if they knew this. I'd be searching for a way to break it entirely more, but that kind of free time is a luxury under the circumstances.

[hypothermy]

[ despite the horror she was born into and the stoic face she shows to the world, FrostNova hasn't lost her faith in the rest of humanity quite yet. it's why she made her bet on Talulah in the first place. ]

Yeah, it is.

[ the "circumstances" they have to operate under remind FrostNova of the other question she needs to put to rebellion leader. ]

As for the second thing— we'll be backing you as the rightful heir to the throne. Only problem is, you've got competition for that title. The leader of Dublinn says she won't make a claim, but you'd have to be stupid to believe she isn't considering it. Then you've got the rumors about a survivor of the Aslan house hidden away in the capital.

[ at least three would-be queens, all with a different set of backers behind them. this fact alone has been enough to dissuade some people from supporting Talulah, foreseeing a nation plunged into one civil war once the current powers are uprooted. ]

Our intelligence officers are going to tell you the simplest way out of a crisis of succession is to kill off your competition. Have you considered that before?

[reunionize]

I'm aware.

[Talulah sets her teacup back down and sinks a little more into the backrest of her seat. It's not the first time she's been asked a similar question.]

And I have. I don't know a thing about the Aslan heir, but I had the misfortune to run into the Dublinn sisters and learned quickly that their current leader needs to be eliminated. As soon as it's politically or logistically feasible. In fact, I'd liken her to Kashchey, down to the way she tried to sway me to her mad worldview. The other one is...at least reasonable. But I have no idea what she'd do if her sister were killed.

[Especially by another party vying for the throne. Nothing like revenge to spur on someone's own desire to claim it.]

On that note, how much do you know about their leader's arts?

[hypothermy]

[ so she's not against using force to solve that problem. good to know. what Yelena's still curious about is what she thinks of more conciliatory methods— a renewal of the joint royal lines, or even a political marriage to combine them.

Talulah's own question distracts from pursuing that topic. at least she's made it patently clear what she thinks needs to be done with one of her rivals. ]

The older one, Eblana? There's a lot of rumor, but our intelligence networks aren't what they used to be. I've heard things that sound straight out of the folktales grannies tell to scare children.

[ still, she gives a slight shrug of her shoulders. ]

But I know my father, and the Lich King. I know what arts can do. Are the stories about dead men marching true?

[reunionize]

[Talulah would always consider conciliatory methods first, but Frostnova did ask her about her willingness to consider other options, if it came down to it.]

They're true. A Draco's arts aren't exactly fire. They're more akin to energy manipulation. You've just had a sparring match with me, so you know I don't need an ignition medium.

[She'd run into similar arts, ones that keep dead or dying people on their feet as shells, but Eblana's are wholly unique.]

And Eblana uses hers to reanimate the dead. The worse a battle is, the more slaughter that piles up...the stronger she becomes.

[hypothermy]

[ FrostNova is silent after Talulah finishes her explanation. she bites down on the remaining sliver of candy in her mouth, cracking it into bits, and mutters under breath. ]

Unbelievable.

[ to her, the very idea of the Taran rebellion leader's arts is sickening. as even-tempered as she is, the one thing Yelena cannot tolerate is cruelty. leading a force of desperate fighters with the promise of a better life in store, then using their bodies like puppets to continue on with the battle— Talulah called the younger one reasonable. FrostNova can't understand how any person could watch something like that happen and reasonably not want to strangle the perpetrator with their own hands. ]

If it comes down to open warfare, our army has ways of dealing with her. Most of our generals aren't thinking that far ahead yet, but after we finalize the alliance, I'll bring it to their attention.

[reunionize]

[Reasonable in the sense that she can be talked down and likely doesn't have goals or viewpoints that are utter insanity. Talulah hasn't the slightest idea why she hasn't broken free from her sister yet, or if she even wants to.]

That's good to hear. I've seen plenty of Victoria's armies underestimate what Dublinn is capable of. All the better if you can avoid that particular pitfall. That said, besides the fact that one supposedly exists somewhere in the country, I know far less about that Aslan heir.

[Rumors and real intelligence had really blurred together as far as this situation went. Talulah also didn't have the benefit of running into her.]

[hypothermy]

We haven't been able to confirm anything, but based on the reports I've seen, there's a woman in Londinium's slums who fits the age range and physical description of Alexandrina Victoria, if she managed to escape the Aslan purge.

[ most importantly, their spies have crossed paths with individuals who are attempting to investigate and monitor the same person of interest. even if Ursus' intelligence agents haven't found a smoking gun yet, the activity around the woman is enough to raise eyebrows. ]

Look, this is all speculative, we don't even have ink on paper yet, but I've heard this floated more than once, so I have to ask— re-establishing the joint royal lines. Do you have strong feelings about it?

[reunionize]

Personally? I've long understood it's a possibility, so I'm not opposed to it. However...Victoria, in general, is a different story.

[Forget the nobles, many common people would riot over joint royal lines ruling over the country. There's certainly a cohort who couldn't care less who's on the throne, and they just want everything to go back to relative normalcy. But that's just one subsection.]

But maybe figuring out how to navigate any opposition can wait until any ink is dry.

[hypothermy]

[ the reasoning she's gleaned behind the proposition is that a return to an old status quo would be the easiest pill to swallow for some people, but she figures Talulah can argue her case if the idea starts to gain any serious traction. ]

Yeah. Everyone's more concerned with the logistics of taking on Victoria's army for now.

[ candy finished, Yelena picks up her cup again and knocks back the last of her tea. ]

The real obstacle we need to worry about is convincing one of the more defensive generals that making the first strike will be worth it. There's a couple of them, but with the rest of your list, winning over one of them is enough.

[reunionize]

Just one?

[Talulah thought she had more of an uphill battle than that. But maybe a single general is as tough to crack as she already expected.]

I haven't been making much headway with that. I'm guessing you've got a better plan?

[Considering how much better Frostnova knew the inner workings of the Ursus military, she probably knew a far easier way to go about persuading the generals than Talulah.]

[hypothermy]

I do?

[ she responds with mock surprise. ]

My plan is to pick out the one I think will be the easiest to convince and tell them if they want to wait for Victoria to start a land war in Ursus, its their men I'll be sending to dig trenches around the border towns.

[ FrostNova's negotiating style is blunt, to put it mildly. within her own court, that's usually enough to get her what she wants, though she's never had to weigh in on a decision as serious as the one she's currently undertaking. ]

You're farther along than you think, Artorius, you just don't want to put your foot on anyone's neck when you're our guest here. I can take care of that part, just keep charming everyone else you run into.

[reunionize]

[Talulah laughs in genuine surprise at just how straightforward the other can be.]

Well, no. It'd be pretty bad diplomacy if I started off with the threats and strongarming while I was trying to convince everyone Victoria would do the same. But if that's what it takes, I'll leave you to it.

[Things do seem to have fallen into place now that Frostnova is working with her. Which is a thought she thinks to voice.]

You say I'm far along, but after this meeting, I'm wondering how much rockier the path would have been if you had decided to be a part of the opposition while I was here.

[hypothermy]

[ Talulah's laughter is unexpected. she'd expected her to look at least a little scandalized, but Yelena's been finding that Talulah isn't nearly as uptight as the other Victorian nobles she's met. ]

If I were more neutral, I think you'd still have a shot. If I'd come out against you, we would've sent you home after a few days.

[ the fact that Talulah's been hosted in the palace for as long as she has is proof of her negotiating skills. neither her father nor his inner circle like to waste time on prospects they have no intention of pursuing, even if it risks coming off as unnecessarily hostile. ]

[reunionize]

[She probably would never had made headway with the rebellion and its many, many commoners if she'd been like a typical Victorian noble.]

I think you underestimate your influence. But that's coming from an outsider.

[As far as Talulah's seen, while Frostnova doesn't have the sway of General Hellagur or her father, for example, there are several people who would be equally unmoved if she expressed an indifference towards Talulah's party.]

I'm glad I managed to be persuasive enough that I wasn't sent marching home after less than a week.

[hypothermy]

No, I know my opinion holds a lot of sway, but I don't respect anyone who puts my stances over their own.

[ and most that respect is simply due to her status. while it's true that FrostNova is a formidable warrior, compared to the other top military officials, the gap in experience is staggering. not to mention, on a more personal level, Yelena knows a good portion of that favoritism is based on the paternal feelings many of Buldrokkas'tee's shield guards hold for her. ]

Victorian's been a problem for a while. We all know they need to be dealt with eventually. Being the first one to offer a real solution took some pressure off of our people to come up with one.