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

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

[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.]

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[Perhaps my choice of words was poor. It's not a bargain. I don't ask for anything in return--

At that, Talulah audibly scoffs. There is always a price for these kinds of "deals," and it's even more suspicious when someone claims they don't want anything out of it. But Clovisia continues as if nothing has happened.

--to grant your desires. It just depends on what you want. Let me think...freedom? I can make it so you have the ability to truly exercise your will, even with the weight of the crown. Choose what to do, how to do it, and even your...companions.

Talulah will blame her hesitation on how startled she is that someone she does not know managed to see into her heart so quickly. Or perhaps this is the same thing many people before her had also longed for? But it cannot be temptation. That would be admitting to several things she can't bring herself to look at.]

What the hell are you talking about?

[ she really is acting like a wish-granting goddess that appears at the end of a heroes journey, offering them their hearts desire job well done. it's absurd, and the calm way Clovisia states it like fact only adds to Yelena's suspicion that the girl is out of her mind, or worse— telling the truth.

but what really unnerves Yelena is the sudden silence at her back. it's enough to make her take her eyes off the enemy, glancing over her shoulder to confirm that Talulah's still there, despite being clearly dumbstruck. ]

Talulah?

[ Yelena's voice comes out reedier than she intends. why is Talulah hesitating? what could Clovisia even mean by giving Talulah the freedom to act how she wants? the throne is what she asked Yelena for all those months ago, and that's waiting to be claimed just above their heads. ]

[The throne, yes, and everything that came with it. Talulah knew about what she had to sacrifice to get there, she just never really expected when she started all this that along the way, she'd gain something else to inevitably lose.

Although. The idea of all this being unexpected brings something to the forefront of her mind. Clovisia did not think Talulah would be here. She said as much. This is an...exception. A boon granted for doing what everyone believed had not been possible. What Clovisia did not think was possible, because she had made it so.]

Ah. Sorry, I was just thinking. Just so I'm clear on this, Clovisia. You say you granted the wish of another to make it so my family could never take the throne?

[...yes. Although truthfully, it was to ensure Victoria doesn't fall apart due to your line's machinations. It seems now it will collapse without them, hence why I'm speaking to you. Clovisia seems a little surprised that Talulah would even ask for clarification on such a thing. But at the confirmation, the air around Talulah starts to grow sizzling hot.]

I see. That solves a long-standing mystery for me. Wei Yenwu killed my father with his inaction and self-interest. But he didn't set that conspiracy in motion. That was Kashchey...and you. Wasn't it?

[ Yelena relaxes once Talulah comes back to herself, though her lingering worry over what she saw in Clovisia's offer doesn't entirely fade away. she'll have to ask her about it later. right now, she's more interested in what Talulah rebukes her with.

Buldrokkas'tee had given her a truncated version of the story behind Edward Artorius and his demise in Lungmen, but the accusation Talulah hurls in response to Clovisia makes something click in Yelena's mind. she called Talulah someone who didn't need to be concerned with Victoria at all. the display in the throne room, while compelling propaganda for anyone who wanted fuel against Talulah's right to the crown, was underwhelming in terms of the personal impact it would have on her. Alistair II was no more than a cautionary tale at best, an enemy at worst, and the way Clovisia refers to Talulah as a pretender— ]

You were expecting Alexandrina to be the one retaking the throne room, weren't you?

[Yes, on both accounts. With everything in place, it should have been Alexandrina taking over the throne from her father. And Edward had to be removed as the third point of that triumvirate in Lungmen, so his progeny could never consolidate power and...well, do what you have just done.

Something about the way she speaks reminds Talulah of Kashchey, like all of people and history are some B-movie from Wrankwood, and it sets her on edge.]

Well, none of that matters now, does it? If I say no deal, what will you do?

[Call you a fool. But I'm not going to force your hand or retaliate, if that's what you're asking.]

It's not. I'm wondering what the chances are that if I let you live, you plot against me like you did my father.

[ Clovisia's way of stating things hasn't inspired much trust in Yelena either. while she talks about the wishes of the people, like she's will of Victoria itself, Yelena doesn't buy that a large percentage of the common folk wanted Edward Artorius in the grave a few decades ago. people care about putting food on the table and keeping the fire stoked in their homes, not the dealings of a disposed royal half a world away.

killing Clovisia outright might be rash, but before she can weigh in on Talulah's options, the sound of approaching feet from the rear corridor draw her attention away. at the same time, her previously silent communicator springs to life, a half-garbled message coming through;

Sestra where— ... reached the Pal ... underground? We're spreading out to find you and Talu— ]

[Talulah's also distracted by the comms coming to life and the sudden arrival of their reinforcements, but the moment she lets her attention lapse, she realizes her mistake.]

Shit.

[Talulah sends a streak of her arts roughly in the same spot Clovisia had stood moments before in an effort to cut off any escape route, but the other obviously took the chance to slip away when it was given.]

[ Yelena realizes her blunder after Talulah swears, and with newly arrived rebels and soldiers beginning to pour into the room, it's hard to shift gears and address them as quickly she needs to. ]

There's a hostile caster in the palace. She doesn't look older than sixteen, dark hair, calls herself Clovisia—

[ Clovisia? A rebel she doesn't recognize remarks. You found her? We thought we lost her in a tunnel collapse when the siege started, is she all right?

Yelena's brow knits in incredulity, barking back at him sharply. ]

What do you mean is she all right? She attacked our group when we opened the throne room.

[ What? Are you mad?! Clovisia's the leader the Londinium resistance! Why the hell would she do something like that? ]

[Talulah bites back another curse and the urge to rub her temples from the pounding headache that's building from arts exhaustion and now this exceedingly more complex situation.

The dukes had been the biggest issue, she thought. Them and their armies and weapons and airships. Not...whatever this is now. She has to be careful about how much she reveals right now and how she phrases it, unless she wants a scism to start in the middle of this dark basement.]

...for her own ends, I'd imagine. It's true she was the caster that attacked us, and she revealed she'd been puppeting a lot behind the scenes. She didn't say anything about the Londinium resistance, but it's possible the resistance was something else at the end of those strings.

[But that's only one of the issues. Talulah takes another breath and straighens her shoulders.]

I need a report on what it's like in the city right now and a status on everyone we sent the scouts to search for.

[ Yelena feels a strong urge to smack her own head against a wall. of course that name she'd heard in passing was attached to the Londinium underground resistance's damn leader. more people are continuing to filter into the room, an entire platoon apparently sent down to retrieve them, and all she really wants is a few seconds alone with Talulah to try and sort out everything they just learned.

that will have to wait. for how long, she doesn't really know. while Talulah gets her report, Yelena picks out the two who came down with them and witnessed their conversation with Clovisia. ]

Both of you, over here. [ she jerks her hand forward and leads the understandably stunned pair to a far corner of the room. they need a crash course on what it means to suddenly be in possession of some very privileged information. ]

[Talulah also wants to get some time to talk about all of that, not least of which is figuring out what to do now that someone who confessed to plotting against Talulah's family is who knows where in Londinium right now. She has a half-formed plan of how to do that, but it ultimately all depends on what the scouts and messengers tell her.

The good news is that the dukes are staying put and don't seem to be either acting on or plotting plans to wriggle their way out of the current surrender. Mixed news is that the damage to the Ursus troops seems to be considerable, but the commanders are all fine, which Yelena will likely be happy to hear. And they're close to getting more widespread comms up and running.

Talulah can work with that.]

I need a few people to start mapping this place. These tunnels were unknown until now, so we need to be aware of the entry points. And I need someone to get me an encrypted channel in a room somewhere. There's information the other commanders need to know sooner rather than later. Everyone else, establish patrol shifts and take a break when you're not on one.

[Once everyone moves to obey and she gets a nod from one of the engineers that they could set something up somewhere more private, she adds on]

Yelena? With me when you're done.

Coming.

[ Yelena keeps her expression schooled as the several Ursus soldiers that have made their way into the gathering crowd visibly react to Talulah addressing her by her given name. she can't add worrying about propriety to her plate right now. after directing a few people she recognizes to stay with the pair, she moves to rejoin Talulah, dropping her voice to just above a whisper when she reaches her side. ]

I know fucked that up. I'm sorry.

[Talulah shakes her head, and lowers her voice to the same register.]

No, don't apologize. I don't think anything about that went well, including my own actions.

[And really, how could any of them have anticipated that? Talulah had certainly thought the hard part had already been taken care of. Now this is a lesson in letting one's guard down, she supposes.]

Let's wait until the comms are set up and we're actually somewhere private to get into it, though.

Yeah.

[ Yelena nods, movements subdued now that the immediate danger has passed. she looks back around the room, and seeing even more people gradually filtering in, turns back to address the group. ]

We're not setting up our base of operations here, one squad to start mapping the tunnels is enough.

[ voice returning to her normal volume, she addresses Talulah again. ]

We should go back upstairs. That's where they'll put the communication center anyway.

Sure.

[Talulah speaks briefly to one of the engineers before following her back up to the main floor of the palace. The rest who have the requisite skills have already set up the equipment in a spare room they managed to find. It just takes a little while longer for them to set up a way to make an encrypted channel before Talulah has everything she'd asked for.

She waits until it's just her and Yelena left in the room and the door is firmly shut before she sinks tiredly into the nearest chair.]

Where to even start with all of that?

[ Yelena remains silent as they move through the palace, tension strung tight across her body for the long walk to an old office that's not in total disrepair. it's only when the door finally closes and the sound of footsteps fade into the distances that she lets herself relax, dragging a chair over to Talulah's and dropping into it artlessly. ]

Anything that's too risky to ignore? I think ... Alexandrina was telling the truth when she said she plans to renounce her claim. But it's obvious this plan to put her on the throne has been in the works for a while.

[ crossing her arms, she leans back until her head is angled toward the ceiling, staring forward dully as she picks at the conspiracy they stumbled onto. ]

A few of the noble houses who went against the dukes have to be in on it. I don't know how else the Aslan heir stayed alive for this long.

We already were aware of the loyalists. There have always been noble families who only cared about the Aslan dynasty. Alexandrina is the last one, so it stands to reason they'd be moving to put her were they think she belongs.

[Just like there are those who only care a Dublinn rules. They never really made any moves, but they had been marked as an issue that needed to be addressed once the more aggressive opponents were taken care of.]

What I didn't account for was Clovisia. Then again, I'm not sure how I could have foreseen someone else besides Kashchey trying to puppeteer this country from the shadows. We don't know her true motives, and she's apparently been using the Londinium rebels as one of her chess pieces.

[On top of some other things, but those are...personal. And Talulah knows she can't look at this as some kind of retribution, no matter how much it stings.]

[ Yelena listens quietly, frown deepening when Talulah mentions the Londinium rebels. ]

We always had issues getting communications in and out of the capital. I chalked it up to the dukes keeping security tight, but it might've been Clovisia the whole time.

[ preventing Ursus and Talulah's people from making much headway in building relationships within the city would've stifled Talulah's popularity there. based on the Londinium rebels she's met and fought with, it didn't seem like making Alexandrina queen was an explicit goal of their movement. once Talulah began making serious gains, she figures Clovisia planned to minimize their reach and attempt a last minute heir swap. ]

Maybe the old man at the Universität knows something about her. If we're going to put out an order for her arrest, proof that she's not who she said she was would help.

[Talulah didn't get that sense, either. The Londinium rebels seemed discontent with the societal ills and pressure that Victoria's current ravenous expansionism brings. Anyone who could change that, they'd probably be fine with. But she also has a suspicion that Clovisia wanted to make a bit of a show.

The rightful ruler triumphs over an evil dragon. A play that practically writes itself.]

We do need some solid proof of that before we make any moves. Anything less, and she'll probably take advantage of the confusion. Fremont is probably a good option...and I'd been planning to contact the current Sarkaz King anyway. Maybe I can kill two fowlbeasts with one stone.

Kazdel might be a good place to look. I don't know if help you there— Fremont and my father get along, but Buldrokkas'tee's tribe hasn't been welcome by the court for centuries.

[ Yelena's never been clear on the specifics, but knows it comes down to her father's bloodline and the status they've had in Ursus that allowed him to take up the mantle of ruler to begin with. most of the current Sarkaz kings respect him to the point where the Wendigo's exile is more of a formality than anything, but her father has always taken it seriously. ]

For now, we can just say we're trying to locate her because of her status. We encountered her here, but she was acting erratically and took off. I remember the rebels mentioned her as one of their fallen. As long as we can keep the shit I said in the tunnels contained, they can make their own story about her taking a blow to the head and freaking out when we found her.

Really? The main reason I planned to make that connection is because I heard she’s unusually receptive to outsiders.

[Most of the Sarkaz that Talulah met and knew who had come from Kazdel always spoke rather admiringly of Theresa. Victoria didn’t have the smoothest history with that nation, but all the more reason for Talulah to take advantage of those who would rather cooperate now.

But it’s odd, then, to hear from Yelena that the current Sarkaz king who had a more diplomatic disposition than previous leaders would care about something like that. It’s not the biggest issue at hand, though, and Talulah moves on to the other topic.]

That, and her connection to me. I think that’s the worse aspect of all this. The only thing we have going for us is we had zero contact with her before now, so maybe we can pull off the story that we were just acting defensive with a seemingly hostile stranger.

I don't think Theresa's the problem.

[ Yelena has a complicated relationship with the intricacies of Sarkaz culture. she and her father can speak of it, she can read the rare tomes and visit the parts of Ursus with large Sarkaz communities, but she will never be one of them. the Lich king and the more cosmopolitan Sarkaz accept her as a Wendigo's child, and perhaps the rest would do the same ... if they'd never lived during a time where Ursus' next in line had been beloved, rising star of Teekaz race.

her gaze drifts to the side, recalling the other conspiracy Talulah's unknowingly attached to. while most of Ursus' leaders came around to her sooner or later, there were a few who would never trust or forgive Talulah for the crimes of Kaschey. they'd told Yelena she was too young to comprehend the full depravity of the Black Snake, how any fruit dropped from that tree was poisoned from the start, and Talulah's grab for the throne was just another part of Kaschey's plans, whether Talulah knew it or not. ]

I'm not sure how many people really know about her ... connection to you. I can't see the dukes have that information and not trying to cut a deal with her after we breached the city.

No?

[She's aware of some details for diplomacy's sake and from things the Sarkaz she knows have mentioned and talked about, but she's not aware of the real intricacies. This must be one of those.

With a bit of a sigh, she moves on from that topic. She can't say she's not curious, but digging into that can wait until they have everything else settled.

What she is aware of is Kashchey's legacy, how it lingers like the actual curse on her. And how much she's done to try and free herself from that mire, but not everyone will see or care about that.]

And if the dukes ever do figure it out, they've got a new form of leverage to use. In the immediate aftermath of their surrender, they'll use anything and everything to get back to their status quo. Including putting someone that I bet they believe they can manipulate more easily onto the throne.

Then we keep it from them as long as possible. Rushing your coronation was always part of the plan, we can do it in the next few days to block them from pushing for a different candidate.

[ not that the Dukes have anyone with a real claim to put forward. unless Alexandrina's made a fool of the rebellion and has been playing both sides all along, she's not about to throw her lot in with the people who strung up her father up stashed his body away like an unused prop.

thinking of Alexandrina brings another issue to mind. Yelena exhales a long breath, not quite sure of how best to approach this given how quickly everything's unfolded around them. ]

If you want me to act as a go-between for you and the Aslan princess, I will. You'll have to deal with her eventually, but I can be a buffer for now. [ given Clovisia's words and behavior, it's not hard to figure out which party would have a vested interest in keeping the Draco line away from what they viewed as their rightful throne. ]

That...might be for the best.

[There's quite a bit to consider with that scenario. It's not a problem if she's the one to meet with Alexandrina. But, between how it can be seen, whether the dukes will use any meeting between them as a pretext, and it being yet another thing Talulah will have to focus on in the chaotic aftermath, handing off the diplomacy to someone else is likely better.]

I don't mind doing it myself, but since you've already interacted with her and have some sort of rapport, things would likely go more smoothly. Not to mention, I still have to navigate everything involving Tara.

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