Snippet #1974605

The Lunch Meeting, Pt. 2

Relos Zaiphar

Relos smiled at the emperor, calmly brushing aside the quiet thanks that he had offered the younger prince on the behalf of his daughter. A few more pleasantries were exchanged then, simply for the purpose of easing the slightly tense air that had been made by Rue’s condition. As that wound down, though, Relos couldn’t help but notice that the emperor was speaking with him more easily now. It was if...in spite of himself, the emperor had eased up to him, somewhat. It was as if, being nice to his daughter had helped the emperor see him in a slightly better light. Relos didn’t mind think too much about it, knowing that, after having time to reset his thinking, the emperor would go right back to treating him like the enemy.

Still, it was worthy to note that the man did, at least, genuinely care for his daughters. That was useful information, certainly. And that was the only explanation for the odd change of coloring that he was displaying currently.

With the princesses now acting as little more than adornments, an audience at best, the two males resumed the discussion. Things started small, the emperor easing them into the realm of politics gently, with a typical – “Now, we’re here for business, not small talk, as you know…”

Of course he knew, but that didn’t mean that small talk wasn’t nice. In fact, if the business could be all in all avoided, Relos wouldn’t be complaining.

But, that bullet was intent on being bitten; still dealing in the realm of small topics, the emperor continued by restating more common sense things like: “You’re here from Zaiphar to discuss the trading conditions between our countries” and “If we’re going to reach an agreement about this situation, there’s going to have to be some work done on both fronts, you know”. Duh, and…duh, although Relos had an inkling that most of the ‘work’ was going to be done on Zaiphar’s part.

Then the emperor went off slightly, giving Relos a bit of a pause. “So, Relos, tell me,” he said, sitting back in his chair and resting his chin on his clasped hands. “What do you think of Shigan, so far?”

Relos was taken aback, slightly. In retrospect, he should have expected this line of questioning, but some part of him that lacked judgment had thought that that particular answer wouldn’t have to be carefully thought out until later.

That given, Relos floundered for a minute to compose something decent to say. In all honestly, Relos wasn’t much impressed with what he’d seen of Shigan. Most of his stay had been rather unpleasant, with the exception of the time he’d spent with Lilla. Further thinking about it, she was the only thing that he found even slightly appealing about Shigan currently-although these princesses looked like they could prove to be quite enjoyable.

So, if he didn’t want to blatantly lie to the emperor-and he didn’t, for lies based on lies had a nasty trait of turning back on the liar, while lies that were based on truth tended to hold stronger against scrutiny-he had to steer clear of directly mentioning Shigan, and more on the things he’d done since he got here.

Well, that shouldn’t be too hard…

“I won’t lie, your highness: I haven’t had much of a chance to enjoy your pleasant city. I’ve only been here a short while, and my exploration has been limited to your palace, and only a small part of it. However, what I have seen, I won’t hesitate to say, has been quite enjoyable.”

“I was not, however, expecting to find Ms. Lilla waiting for me. She was quite the surprise; a welcome surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.”

Relos knew he’d just played a dangerous card, mentioning Lilla right off the bat. However, he had plans to use her later on the deliberations. To what extent she would be of use, he didn’t know, but there was no way he wouldn’t try to use all of the materials at hand.

If he didn’t mention her now, then it would be difficult to draw her into the conversation at a later date, So, even though the emperor quirked his eyebrow a little at the mention of the ‘entertainer’ that he had prepared for the prince, he nodded at her name.

“Yes, I know it must have come as a bit of a shock. Had I been in a calmer state of mind, I would have more thoroughly explained the situation to you. But, as it is, I was distracted with several things-you know how it is-and it slipped my mind.” The emperor spoke easily, sounding almost as though he would have brought up the dancing girl later on had Relos not. Relos knew better than that, of course. There had not been enough time for anything compromising to happen, yet. If it was purely up to the emperor, Lilla wouldn’t have been mentioned until she’d had ample time to get him in bed.

Relos nodded, having expected such a line of defense from the emperor. So he was going to go with the ‘ah, I meant to tell you about that…’ line. Well, two could play it off until later.

“She was no trouble, I assure you. It was just a bit startling to see the bounds that your hospitality goes. I was not expecting my own personal tour guide, after all. I look forward to drawing on her knowledge in the future, when I get the chance to explore more of the city.”

“I advise you to do so,” he said. “It helps to have a local who knows their way around town show you around, eh? At least, that’s my mentality for travel.”

Heh, what was this, now: a vacation?

“Good thinking if there ever was any made by man, I say,” said Relos. “And I agree completely.”

Not much more was said. The emperor had a few more questions pertaining to Relos getting settled in and accustomed to the palace. To Relos’ slight displeasure, but according to his expectations, precious little was discussed that directly pertained to their true reason for being there: the trade arrangements. So this really was to be just an introductory meeting, and nothing more.

Halfway through the discussions, the servants reappeared, bearing trays of light food and drink, which were passed around the table. Some minor talk was exchanged while they ate, but the bulk of the talking took place before and after the meal. The talk extended a few hours into the afternoon, but it passed quickly-from the simultaneous ease and tenseness with which it passed. So light were the weapons that they were playing with at the start, but still both sides were so carefully wielding them. It made Relos anticipate how things would be later, when their words actually mattered…

When things started to slow down, meaning the emperor was running out of things of little importance to talk about, he told Relos that it was time to be getting back to business, as one would say.

“It has been a pleasure talking to you, Relos. You’re quite the character, you are. I look forward to have more of these talks in the future. For now, though, I’ve got some other things I need to attend to. So, if you would, I would end our meeting here.”

“You will hear no complaints from me. I could use a bit of a lie down after the good food and conversation. And, after all, we have all the time in the world. No need to rush things.”

“Precisely,” said the emperor as he stood. “I’ll be on my way, then. One of the attendants will show you your way back to your room. Until next time.”

The emperor started to walk back in the direction of the palace, most of the servants trailing behind him. When he was out of range, Relos turned to look at the princesses around him, who had inexplicably been left by their father. He offered them a bit of a smile and stood. He moved around to each of them, planting a kiss on each of their hands as he bid them farewell. He did so politely to each, not trying to overstep any bounds-the same ones he hadn’t minded overstepping so much with Lilla.

When he came to Rue, he also leaned in and gave her an encouraging smile after he planted the kiss on her limp hand. Whispering, so that the others didn’t hear him, he told her, “Joie de vivre₁.”

To which, she shyly smiled back up at him, and with a quiet voice, responded “Mot Juste₂.”

Oh, she spoke old Zaipharian? Well, it made sense for the princesses to be schooled in the native languages of the different countries, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t surprising that she understood it so well. Some natives to Zaiphar didn’t even speak it that well…

He quirked an eyebrow at her, but then moved on. When he had made his rounds, he bade them all farewell one last time, then made his way back to the palace, escorted by a single servant. As he walked, the afternoon replayed in his mind, and he went over every detail: from the emperor to the surprisingly unique princesses. And then he thought ahead, and like the emperor, Relos found himself looking forward to the future, because it looked interesting.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

1.-Enjoying life, the feeling of living; Relos is telling Rue to, essentially, perk up, live life.
2.-Exactly, I know what you mean, what I was thinking; Basically, Rue is agreeing, saying: exactly what I was telling myself.