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Shasta was busy attempting to fill out requisition forms for the soldiers when the door to Tidas’ office opened. Some of the squads needed to practice shoot artillery shells, which required several hoops to be jumped through before Jakub would release them.

When she saw Lawrence, Shasta’s features had instantly lit up; until Zas walked in behind him. She went from elated, to furious in three seconds flat. She didn’t even notice Maevis and Nicolas fly in behind them..

“What the hell, Zas?! ‘Easy day at the office’ my ass! You know how much I hate paperwork..”

Shasta gestured to a massive pile of folders on the desk before continuing; “Does THIS look like an Easy day to you?! If I would’ve known this was here, I would’ve gone to the stupid meeting instead!”

Zas grinned; “As miserable as you were here, it would’ve been far worse for you in that meeting, trust me.”

Shasta glared at him; “Trust? I thought we had an understanding that you would handle this shit while Tidas is gone?! And how could the meeting have been worse than this fucking tower?!”

Keeping his smirk, Zas replied; “First of all: you and Tidas Said that I should do all of the paperwork, I never actually agreed to it. Secondly, the meeting would’ve taken twice as long as it did if you’d been there instead of me.”

Shasta huffed as her fists went to her hips; “Why?”

.....

Lawrence walked around the desk, and wrapped his arms around her as he said; “Because they tried to bring up our wedding.”

Shasta’s ears instantly flattened; “How is Our wedding any of Their business?”

“Because I’m a king from another kingdom, and you’re the second most powerful mage in the RMC. Some of the nobles think I’m stealing you for military purposes.”

A low growl escaped her; “I am not a Thing to be owned or bartered.. Vice Commander or not, they have no business talking about me in any kind of decision-making capacity.”

“Except the King,” Zas added with a note of irritation to his tone.

Shasta had caught it, and instantly glared at him; “Magnus has already given us his approval and blessing. And the nobles have Skye now! She’s far more powerful than me, or her husband.. It’s that bitch Karena, isn’t it?!”

“Not this time, dear. She was kicked out before they even touched on the second matter,” Maevis said as she descended from the ceiling, making Shasta fuzz up in surprise.

Zas and Nicolas chuckled, earning them glares from Shasta and Maevis. Lawrence cleared his throat with a small smile, but knew better than to outright laugh. As the two elder Fae came to rest on the desk, Maevis sighed before explaining Karena’s expulsion.

When she finished, Shasta walked back and forth as she spoke; “So the King of Meccano wants to buddy up to Sync? They would control most of the south together, except for that sliver of land owned by Ital. Although..”

“If they wanted to invade the northern kingdoms, it wouldn’t be too difficult, so long as Sai stayed out of it. Meccano could make a deal with Ital to trade that scrap of land to Sync in exchange for the alliance. They’ve been after it for a decade now, I think..”

Lawrence watched Shasta talk her train of thought out with pride. She was far more intelligent than she gave herself credit for, or most others, for that matter. The few that got to see her true nature wanted to call her friend. Even his father accepted her rough edges for the benefits of her strength And intelligence.

As Shasta continued to talk, He listened intently..

“Oh! But there is one thing they’re not counting on! The Highlanders! Doesn’t the treaty call for a War Pact?”

Lawrence nodded as he sat down in Tidas’ chair; “Aye. They can’t fight Alcon or it’s allies, and in return, we all support each other.”

Shasta looked at Lawrence with a quirked eyebrow; “You’re part of the treaty? Ruscovic, I mean? The one Skye and Tidas took with them?”

“No, but the one that the Highlander King will sign here in the summer will have my signature next to his. As will my father’s, and I believe Genie has some plot afoot as well, but apparently ‘a ninja never tells’.”

Shasta chuckled as she replied; “That sounds like him. The man needed something to preoccupy him since Zazzy flew off after Skye. Peggy says that he actually cried when they got the report that she was safe.. Squirrley dragon.”

Everyone lightly chuckled as his recent antics flashed through their mind’s. Being as bored as he was, Genie had followed most of them around at some point. He, Marie, and Maevis had tea and talk almost every other day, and he drank with Shasta a few times a week as well.

Most of the dignitaries were leery of him at first, but Magnus seemed quite fond of him, so everyone became ‘fond of him’. Genie knew that is was all superficial except for a few, but he was very good at using his connections..

When everyone found out that he was Skye’s personal trainer as a child, it automatically made him connected to the most powerful merchant in Alcon. Lucas, Genie, and Magnus were often seen entering the banquet room in good spirits together. Making him a target for the court sycophants.

Genie wasn’t a fool, and used his ‘favor’ to actually make the ones approaching him, indebted to him. like being invited to a party, but bringing Lucas with him as a plus one. All deals made were credited to Genie, for bringing his guest in the first place. Gaining him and Sai a sensible reputation.

He was happy to fulfill most requests, except for teaching ones. Since everyone knew he trained Skye, many nobles had approached him to teach their children. He had refused them, saying he was retired, but frequently stopped by the RMC training arena to ‘stay sharp’.

Shasta and Zas appreciated it greatly, since many of their top trainers were currently in the Highlands. Even Alfred had stopped in to help out, at the request of the king. Renee had insisted on hiring more workers to lighten his general workload, so he had extra time.

Once they finished covering what they knew of the Sync Kingdom, Maevis told them about what the Fae Nation had discovered..

“As you know, we have a network of House Brownies that gives us information. What you may not know is that this network extends into every kingdom. Ital and Sync already have some kind of understanding that the food from that wee bit of land that Shasta mentioned goes to Sync..”

“Meccano is bartering with them through someone, but we don’t know who. Lucas hasn’t been able to discover their identity, either.. They’re going to great lengths to keep hidden. There’s also been correspondence between Sync and the Fire Nation..”

“I thought the two didn’t get along because they each housed rival pirates?” Shasta asked.

Nicolas perked up; “Yes they do. We don’t think the pirates are involved, just the rulers themselves, or would-be ruler..”

Seeing the confusion spread across the three’s faces, Nicolas explained; “When The previous sultan passed, he gave the crown to his youngest son due to the older one’s disposition. He sees the people of his nation as possessions, where as the younger brother sees them like they were his children..”

“Mae and I went to the Fire Nation in our youth. Next to the Highlanders, theirs is the most advanced civilization in the world. They have machines that run off of sunlight, and public transportation that’s faster than anything I’ve ever seen, and that was over a lifetime ago.. I can’t imagine how far they’ve gotten.”

Nicolas paused to clear her throat, then continued; “The oldest brother is the one contacting the Sync Kingdom. I think he’s trying to gain enough support to overthrow his little brother. If that happens, in a best-case scenario: Sync, Ital, Meccano, and the Fire Nation may instigate a war with Alcon, Ruscovic, and Sai..”

“What about the Fae Nation? Won’t they send support if that were to happen? The treaty Celestia and Aero signed says as much,” Zas asked.

Maevis nodded; “Yes it does, but there isn’t much we can do if we can’t ship anything to you. Since the Fae Nation is the southern-most continent, we would have to sail around either Sync, or Meccano to get to Ruscovic or Sai’s ports..”

Shasta turned to face the elder Fae; “What about the treaty that Meccano holds with Alcon?! The king’s twin sister is the future Queen! Would he really attack?”

Maevis shook her head; “While I don’t see him hurting Karena, I don’t see many kings turning down the chance to expand his territory.. I think the bait will be too tempting to pass up.”

“What you think is correct, Mae,” Genie said as he closed the door; “Or so my sources just told me.”

No one had heard or noticed him open the door, or enter the room. The door itself had been directly behind Zas, who was almost as big as it was. As they all greeted him, Shasta beamed and said; “You have got to teach me how to do that!”

Genie smirked; “The key is to not exist. If you can move with no intent, then others cannot see your path.”

Shasta beamed at him, which irked Lawrence for an unwanted reason. Genie had been spending quite a bit of time with her, and every one of her letters mentioned him. He knew it was irrational, and Lawrence pushed the thoughts away as soon as they sprang up, but they popped up quite often.

He was planning on discussing it with her, but now thought he should have a discussion with Genie himself instead. Lawrence had known him for as long as Skye and Tidas had, but unlike them, he also knew of his true identity and deeds..

Jin Laos of Sai was one of the deadliest people who had ever lived. A world-renowned assassin and strategist, and the most talented Wind mage ever recorded. He had many nicknames, but Lawrence’s favorite was ‘Death’s Final Breath’.

Genie explained that his contact had informed him that Meccano was ‘playing it safe’, to see who would prevail first: Marco or Tidas. All of the other kingdoms saw him as a threat because he had the backing of the people. With Skye at his side, they could potentially sway the people to rebel in every kingdom.

If Magnus changes his mind on his heir, or if the people chose Tidas over Marco: the other kingdoms would invade with or without the Fire Nation’s help..