(Part 1)

From the moment when he had found Princess Azalea in that secluded chamber (he had been the second to enter it, after Zaeed), up until he and his associates had helped nurse her back to fitness, Mardanish was convinced he'd be up for an exciting kind of game against Mama Viper, and would have been all too glad to help end the vices of such a devilish figure.

Instead, moments before this, Mardanish's path to the Vazir Yasnar Rahandria's place--in order to report on the new piece of fact that Prince Dastra (the 'right soul in wrong hands', to use the vazir's prosaic parlance) had earned himself a new instructor in arms--had once again crossed that of that very same princess.

Between a fair amount of cajoling and Zalea's usual flair for hard truths, Mardanish was given to understand that Mama Viper would now wish for a private audience with him. The princess even went so far as to offering herself to be a mediator, should things start to turn south.

Mildly intrigued by this new turn of the leaf, and having not been cautioned to turn down such an invitation delivered with such earnestness, this aide had thus taken it upon himself to tag along with the princess.

Nor was he being clueless. Azalea's earlier conduct in the vazir's care had left Mardan with the impression that the princess could hold her own and, moreover, may just be someone who would not go back on her words, through thick and thin. Banking on this, and egged on by the sheer curiosity on what Mama Viper might have to say, Mardan now presented himself before possibly the craftiest figure that the Husnirid Amirate could afford to provide in a generation.

As always, the real conversation began moments after the door had been closed.

"Salutations," Mirani began, not unkindly. "I had indeed implored my daughter to be on the lookout for someone whom she'd have known to be in the vazir's employ... but I'm afraid I had not paid real attention to the particulars." She ignored said daughter--standing a little behind the visitor's seat--who was rolling her eyes at the latter line, with habitual ease. "You are..?"

"Mardanish, as would please the queen."

"Well met. I understand you had reservations about attending this offer of an audience... which, from experience, may not be groundless. Could I in any way help dispel your doubts? Be forthright."

The visitor was only too ready to oblige. "Whatever might have prompted your decision to contact us?"

"Do you, sir, believe in dreams?"

Here Mardan gave a lukewarm nod, and his hostess proceeded to relate her particular eye-opening dream. When she was through, the visitor nodded again.

"Riveting indeed, my queen... but dreams are ever personal in nature, and you'll have to forgive me when I say we must never dwell in them for very long, much as I sympathize with your claiming to be on our side now. You asked me to be forthright; personally, I don't think you've convinced me enough... but I am simply an agent, and if you wish for further cooperation than this, you'll have to take it up with the vazir in person."

"I don't need you to spell that out for my sake," Mama Viper asserted. "What I do want to find out, is whether you would be willing to relay this sort of development to that egghead in person."

"Indeed I shall... but do be careful, this same development might also render Razin's network of cabals to be active-"

"Well, then," Azalea put in behind him, grinning, "at least we'll know where to look; and so help me, don't think we wouldn't act accordingly. Your egghead turned me down once, pray remind him of that too... and this sort of offer he might never come across again."

"Do we understand each other?" Mirani inquired to the visitor, tilting her head with a deviously-seductive wink.

What do you know, Mardan blinked as he stared at one proverbial viper, then the other. Seeing this particular pair like this, I could almost forget they had had fall-outs before. So darn-good a team of mind-players, darn it all... All the better to have 'em on our side, somehow...

However... I must also make doubly sure that the vazir's trust in me is not misplaced.

"Look," Mardan reasoned in a voice that remained firm, much to Azalea's silent admiration. "In coming here, just so you know, I had not had the time to inform the vazir. If and when I shall return to his place, if even you'd allow that much, I would be made a scapegoat of--"

"And you think I should bother about that," Mirani cut in. "Why?"

"Your earlier schemes are rather well-known, my queen," Mardan continued, with hints of a smirk, "and in that respect, you must have known that your earlier offer would be senseless without something to somehow balance it."

"First off," the Mama Viper pointed out, "pray don't flatter yourself so much, sir. 'We', you say? Far as I'm concerned, you're a mere mouthpiece to that egghead; one agent of like-I-care how many, and would do well to remember that position. Secondly, about that counterweight... you do have a point. What would you have me concede here? Oh, now, quit givin' me that dumb stupefied look--I'm the one seeking to make amends with the Amir's own right-hand man. Names of nobles the vazir might dislike and would have loved to see in chains, perhaps? Information? Hostages to ensure good faith? Anything."

Here again the 'mouthpiece' was taken aback. Not only was Mama Viper appearing to have turned a new leaf; she's begun making actual concessions too! So good to simply overlook... plus, all were of the kind that Mardan knew the vazir could make immediate use of.

This agent's comprehension of this fact made it all the harder to immediately state his pick.

"How about... your daughter?" Mardan offered, pausing to notice the princess's almost-immediate 'Seriously?!' squint.

"Her of all people?" Mirani regarded her daughter thoughtfully, then slapped her lower back without preamble. "An admirer, Zal? How ya've grown."

"Ya wish! What could that egghead want from me, eh? He dared turn me down once--!"

"Charm, for one." Mirani giggled. "Yasnar's sure to have plenty o' that, to be stayin' in his current post this long... and from now 'til our talk shall begin, you'd be his honored guest. What?"

"I'd rather kiss you, darn it!"

"Do." Mirani, having in a flash fathomed her only daughter's oh-so-characteristic way of showing affection, pointed at her own cheek... on which the princess did indeed plant a quick kiss after a brief 'for real?' moment. "Enjoy yer stay, 'kay? Won't be long, I promise."

The princess felt her own cheeks warming up. "Screw you, Mom."

"That having been said, Mardan," Mama Viper continued, turning to regard him again, "I had hoped you would have taken up my earlier offer for names--Yasnar had, after all, dubbed his small but hardy band as 'agents of reform'; how I remember. With said names he'd have been able to commence such an agenda in earnest, with myself posing as a benevolent observer.

"Instead," she went on, "you're asking for my only daughter, with whom I've barely begun to make amends. Dastra too would wonder why his sister would not be at the table tonight, as well as the Amir and his other wench and whelps." At the mention of such possibilities, Azalea's countenance softened a fraction. "Be it so; there are quite a few things about the vazir that I hope my dearest daughter might just benefit from... and know this: while Zal would be in the vazir's care, I shall hold you personally responsible for her well-being, up 'til the day that old-timer and myself shall meet and exchange ideas--three days, let's just say? Any rotten tomatoes before that... Well." Mira smirked. "I shall know where to turn to and act however I see fit, to those you presume to hold dear. Do I make myself clear, peon?"

Mardan nodded with a hint of fresh uneasiness. When the princess turned on her with an 'are-you-serious' stare, Mama Viper merely winked.

***

Through one of her female attendants, Salsabeela, Princess Leia came to learn of her lady mother's apparent distress at a piece of news from the north. When asked for particulars, however, Salsa had balked, squeaking that perhaps the princess ought to figure such things out at source.

Lei, ever the dutiful daughter, consented.

Vestra was still in her chamber (exactly where the husband had left her moments earlier) when the daughter came in.

"Akhi is rumored to be facing a rebellion," the princess repeated the words carefully, "to such a point that he has to request aid from a fellow northern noble? Really, Mother, I don't see why you would need to get so upturned over this..."

"A heathen noble, dear," the mother corrected. "Noble or not, asking heathens for any sort of help is incomprehensible, you do know that!"

"Only if and when all other options have been explored, methinks," Lei pointed out, "and we know Akhi's no fool; he'd have tried. Rather than wasting our time second-guessing what he should or should not have done, whose plate might have been full just keeping his base of operations in the biting frost of that northern theater functional, even as we bicker in the warmth of our fires, I'd have asked: why had that rebellion occurred in the first place--that we might then try and deal with to prevent similar ones from sprouting up in the future?"

Vessy paused, allowing herself a low hum. "If you put it that way... Still, I don't think we've received any letters from him for weeks."

"I'm quite sure he'd send word once things have cooled down a bit," this princess smiled, making a pinching gesture. "For now, I'd guess, the only letters he'd have sent were strictly strategic ones... for Father's eyes only. You may ask him of these at a latter date--but I must urge you, at any point, don't speak foul of the heathens in Akhi's hearing. So far as he'd be concerned, those same people might have been invaluable allies, helping in their own ways to protect our realm."

"Invaluable," Vestra scoffed at that. "I will question him how I wish, Leia, and don't you dare impose conditions on me. That brother of yours had been on the point of death once, do recall; and if this were to happen during his tenure with those unpurified ones, so help me..!"

"Mother, please," Leia sighed. "Harbor no ill will towards Allah, for in His Hands rest life and death. By His Grace Akhi Mustafa had survived that one instance, and with our heartfelt prayers he might yet be preserved again; really, that's the best we could wish from here. Even should that not prove to be the case, then he'd have drunk fully from the cup of martyrdom, and Paradise shall be his well-deserved reward. In the meantime we have actual duties, and must see to them to the best of our abilities. May Allah Reward us well and unite our hearts."

"Amen." The mother rose at length. "Attend to my duties I shall, if that be the case. Rashid has begun to craft a bow of his own, it would seem?"

"So he said, when I asked him last--knowing him, it wouldn't be too long 'fore he will start bragging of how well he could shoot blindfolded." This princess giggled. "Not that I couldn't work on some new moves, myself. Remember when I got trounced by Azalea in our most recent spar?"

Vestra nodded, pursing her own lips. "Oh, to hear the trainees talk of it. They said you overestimated yourself, having been under Mu's tutelage and hoping his name will somehow carry the day."

"I was careless, indeed," Leia affirmed. "This time I shall commence training under my own."

"Then I will pray for you too, dear... and thank you, for that earlier insight. So long have I considered Mirani as a rival for your father's attention, that I may have overlooked some of her merits. Turns out her daughter can still beat mine in a fair contest."

***

"Do I catch that right?" the vazir inquired, furrowing his brows, currently surrounded by some of his other lieutenants--Zaeed included--that were no less stunned. "You, Mardan, have actually undertaken to establish contact with that arch-schemer... without my consent?"

"With great respect for your seniority, sir," Mardanish replied, his tone modest, "I really should have asked. However, consent notwithstanding, it may be that we are being offered a golden chance to expunge some of the filth in our system..."

"How?" Zaeed prompted, he who still had a good memory of what Princess Azalea had looked like when their small entourage had chanced upon her in that secluded 'viper's pit' weeks earlier. "Has that witch laid out definite steps, listed names to be had?"

"Nothing of that sort, sir," came the reply, "though I believe she would have, had I not deferred to the vazir as is proper. We are mere agents of reform, you understand, serving under his benevolent guidance... so the question now would be, would the vazir care to take up this kind of an offer?"

Yasnar stroked his own goatee. "That coming from such a deviously-fertile mind, nonetheless... Had you seen signs of any of her other goons back then, Mardan?"

"None but the princess, my vazir. Her daughter."

"A ruse, sir," Zaeed remarked. "She's not above concealing her true strength, that snake. Pray, exercise caution; this is her turf we're about to enter, and we must not be deceived!"

"Doubtless," the vazir returned. "At the same time, Zaeed, do recall that I had turned down an offer from that same daughter before, unexpected as it had been. If we were to repeat it, she might not take this kindly."

"And yet, sir, such sentimentality..!"

"As to that, my vazir," Mardan resumed, "we shall have time to speak with Princess Azalea again. Lots of catching-up to do since last time, sir, I do believe."

"Hardly something that witch'd value that much!" Zaeed blurted. "They had had fall-outs beyond counting, please remember..!"

But this vazir, whose very proposal to then-General Urdin had helped bring about hitherto-unheard-of changes on these lands years earlier, now motioned to Zaeed for silence. "Did Mirani also lay out conditions for my coming? At what hour or place, whether I should be alone..?"

"Unspeakable," Zaeed muttered under his breath.

"None, sir," Mardanish replied to the vazir's question. "Apparently she only wished for a fair exchange of ideas."

"If that be the case," Yasnar gave his verdict, "I shall hear what she has to say; it's been so long since I've had the chance to. Go ask her of when this might take place, would you, Mardan?"

"But... sir, I'm afraid Queen Mirani has given her word on that too. You are to have a private audience with her in three days' time-"

"Splendid!" Yasnar clapped once. "Three golden days to help shape up the daughter's already-fertile mind... Best start getting to work. Has the princess been brought in yet?"

"No, my vazir, not yet. I was waiting for your decision on that."

"Well, conduct her to my study by tomorrow evening at the latest. Have a separate chamber prepared, as near it as possible--just the essentials, mind you. Mardan and Zaeed, you both will oversee the transfer, so cease this bickering. Even more than my talks with Mira, this princess might well assume the prime role in events to come..."

(Part 2)

That same evening.

This time around, each of the Amir's kids seemed to have quite a few issues to bring forth during their pre-dinner talks--which they did, starting with the youngest.

"I am finally getting to train with a weapon of my choice: the spear," Dastra marveled. "Yes, ya heard it right--the weapon of our commonest levies. Personally, I feel there are more to be said of them to bein' fodder, standin' in ranks upon ranks like such. Under the right commanders, they might also help with lowering the enemy's inclination to actually engage, what with the chanting of the takbir; a shot at lower casualties for both sides, at that."

"Thoughtful, to say the least," his true sister observed with a smirk, "but real battles ain't gonna be won by chants alone, runt. Rather, 'nough aggression and ferocity determine 'em... and to achieve this, timely arrival of the cavalry--most preferably from the flanks--is gonna be the game-changer, methinks."

"Even the most daring of cavalry charges shall in time be blunted, Big Sis Zalea," Rashid put in, "if they weren't supported by softening up the opposition. That's what archers do."

"Were Akhi Mustafa here with us, he'd have approved most of such positions," Leia remarked as her younger siblings turned to look at her. "Yet with every battle, casualties shall occur; neglect not the importance of healers and other such 'people of the tents'. Personally I feel more inclined to further polish my skills at swordplay, but... well, restoring men to fitness for battle may be tenfold more useful than trying to fight them myself."

"Darn right," Azalea concurred. "Yer directions are gonna serve that much better when exercised from someplace where stray shots ain't gonna be a freakin'-problem, Pighead, for that matter."

"Well, well," Urdin clapped thrice from the head of the table, "'tis nice to see that my kids had not been idle; each with their own skills, granted, but oh, how they seemed to complement each other! Mu would've been so proud-"

"Don't talk like you had no part in this, Dad," 'Zally' snapped, rising and pointing at him. "Whose fault is it that he'd have to face down said rebellion at all, huh? As Amir, that would be yours; that is what I believe Akhi would've said--and if that be the case, you can be damn-sure he'd have my voice in full support. Get him some help, for freak's sake! An elite regiment, provisions, anything!"

"Of this I have talked with Vestra. She-"

"-Might as well have taken yer more religious but essentially-inactive excuses," this princess asserted. "If she can pull off that much..." here Zalea turned to glare at her 'other' mother, "then I must ask that she does not adopt so unyielding a stance on those so-called 'heathens'. Think of 'em instead as Akhi's fellow protectors. They have, after all, given up part of their time to help stem the flow of rebels about to threaten our realm; if ya still insist on declaiming them, Ves, you're worse than 'em."

Lady Vestra maintained her composure. Lei nodded subtly at this. Rashid looked fit to complain at the sight of his lady mother being regarded lightly of... but having gotten a taste of how forthright Zalea could get once the idea had taken root, apparently thought better. He just scowled at her; which, fortunately, she chose to ignore.

On such a notion, that day's dinner commenced in earnest.

***

"What is it with your absurd proclivity to pull off darn-risky stunts, Zal?" Mirani demanded of her daughter as they walked off to their respective chambers to rest for the night, even as Dastra unobtrusively tailed along. "You well know Ves would not have liked such talks!"

"Heck if ya think I cared a prick, Mom. That pious wench didn't protest, nor did any of the others... and that counts." This princess beamed. "With luck, Akhi shall also begin to receive the necessary manpower to shore up his defenses; long-term gains for all. Rather than fussing o'er my ways o' grace, p'raps ya should start worrying about yer own. Ya're inviting the vazir for honest talks, remember? Would be a sight, that."

"Any news in that quarter?"

Azalea snickered. "Mardan came to me again this afternoon. He's been a darn-good dog, passed the words of yer earlier request to his master n' all. Now that egghead wants to know when exactly we might be ready to meet him; where, and how--by which I mean whether you'd allow Yasnar to bring up some peons of his own, and if so, how many and in what manner. Might he regard this as a possible ambush, think you?"

"Possible," Mira repeated. "Though now you know I intend nothing of that sort, some of said goons might not... and thus, might carry arms."

"And you intend to allow them that much leeway, huh? You're the queen, ya make the darn-rules here."

"What better way to have them appreciate our good intentions?"

"Don't give me that crap now, Mom! Should they see us armed, and if they happen to have more on their side, some might decide that the time's appropriate to rid themselves of the viper, or somethin' along those lines..!"

The arch-schemer shrugged. "Death comes for all of us, Zal. We'll come prepared, silver tongues will do the rest. For once, though, I think we should actually take up Vessy's favored precaution of praying."

"Fine headway there," Dastra chirped. "Wish ya luck, Mom and Big Sis."

The vipers, mother and daughter, exchanged looks at this and smiled, purposefully slowing down their paces so that the 'golden-hearted' Dastra could step in between them. Once he did, they both patted his head--Zalea's hand atop Mirani's.

"Thanks, runt."

"Much appreciated, son."

The princeling laughed. "Happy to be useful... and boy, am I so glad that you both seem to have found common grounds once more. Long may this amity last."

"Amen," the ladies chorused, in a manner that Lady Alista would have been relieved to witness.

***

Whilst Mirani and her get were cheerfully guessing and second-guessing the nature of their upcoming "honest encounter" with the vazir, unbeknownst to them, Lady Vestra had stayed behind in the dining room alongside the Amir himself and their kids, mulling on a no-less-heated topic.

"How rare," Leia remarked, "for Zalea to have bothered to add voice to your thoughts, Mother--and much in style. Indeed, merely praying for Akhi's safety would at best be a stopgap measure; we must still send more tangible aid to him, if we do not wish it to be thought that Akhi's attempts had won him little support back home. An elite regiment, perhaps, along the lines that Zalea had suggested? Unlike provisions, it would be much less pliable to bandit raids along the way."

"That would imply thinning out our defenses in other sectors, though," Urdin countered, his strategist's mind and intuition hard at work. "A regiment's not so few in numbers, Lei, and there might come a time when we shall need every one of these that we could afford to lay hands on."

"That is as may be, Father," Rashid joined. "My grip on strategy may not have come as near to Akhi's or Big Sis Leia's levels as I would have liked, but... to think of it, the impact on less sophisticated minds should it get through to them that Akhi Mustafa got trounced due to lack of support, might prove more damaging than that of any future intrusions you are saying we would have to deal with. Even then, you would still have a wealth of names of proven qualities to somehow bolster the defenses here... do you not?"

The Amir sighed, folded his own arms on the table, closed his eyes and started pondering.

Young as they were, his kids' arguments mostly made sound sense... perhaps owing to their not having been spoiled by realities on the field.

The royal scions had touched on but two of these: the ever-present possibility of bandit raids and the not-inconsiderable blow to public morale resulting from this possible setback against rebels--whom the Elbarians had almost always held in low esteem, particularly when pitted against such a figure as the Prince Mustafa; who, if incoming reports could be given any credence, had begun to earn a reputation as someone who could 'get things done'. Moreover, he was the current Amir's firstborn son and thus, in the eyes of many, heir apparent in all but name. What could possibly go wrong?

And yet Urdin was clear-headed enough to realize (as Mustafa himself most probably would have been, despite himself) that in this respect, his own people might be expecting just a little too much: heir or otherwise, Mu (having seen but fifteen summers) was still a junior officer rank-wise, with quite a few things to be put to the test; this rebellion was, to all intents and purposes, his first ever 'trial by fire'. Under pressure from various sides, allying with 'heathens' might well be his only viable option, short of a strategic retreat--yet here too he shall inevitably be opposed, and by no less a figure than his own mother!

Little wonder that even such a figure as hardheaded, sharp-tongued Azalea, even from so far away, had begun to show signs of genuine respect; including, but not limited to, praying for Mustafa. Not as a fellow royalty, whose position she would normally have tried clawing up for, but as a real elder brother of the same parent.

As to the matter of sending reinforcements, the Amir had agreed in principle to the earlier suggestion of dispatching a regiment. According to the most recent letter from Mu that he had received (headed, as with all other similar ones, with 'For your attention only'), dated two weeks previously, the prince and those willing to remain by his side were contesting the approaches to Nasria with rebel forces, ditch by hard-fought ditch. No specific requests for reinforcements had been made, but the Amir could read a map as well as any field commander. One glance at it, and one thing soon became clear:

Come what may, he could not allow the northern border city of Nasria to fall... on pain of having his prime heir being put in chains and either asked a realm's worth of ransom, or ended out of hand. Under the circumstances, more striking power might be required; and the deployment of another regiment would serve. Mu would see to that. The next sensible question would therefore be: who shall lead it, whose loyalty need not be put in doubt?

"Help," the Amir declared presently, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, "shall come to your brother, insha Allah."

(Part 3)

Having for so long honed his skills under Mama Viper's proverbial wings, Razin too had followed the northern news with considerable interest. He had surmised that this might have been his way to curry even greater favor with his lady--with Prince Mustafa thus distracted, he believed, their coup would be that much smoother: of the royal princes, only Rashid would have remained--and he was as yet unproven in battle. End him, overwhelm the Amir's loyalists with his own sympathizers, and install Prince Dastra...

Such was the original plan.

As events developed, however, it had not escaped Razin's notice that Mirani's reaction to his broaching this news had been far less energetic than usual; not a good sign. If one's leader could still afford to dither at the crucial moment, what would that make of men serving under her?

He had, therefore, resolved to improvise: forget that spineless Dastra; he, Razin, would assume the throne himself! He had like-minded courtiers in tow and a fairly steady supply of funds in connivance with Fatan, never mind of what origins. In this new scheme, only Azalea would need to be watched out for... then again, she's just one girl deeply caring for Dastra. Have him seized, and even the fiery princess would have to compromise. Otherwise he could rid such a pest with clear conscience.

As for Prince Rashid...

"There could be no more last-minute dithering," this courtier asserted, already neck-deep in his shadowy thoughts. "I shall put an end myself to that wretched princeling, and with him the accursed line of our homeland's invader. Prince Mustafa's own true brother; a little lower on the mark, but better half something than none! Oh, how the late King Tharion would have wished me well!"