(Part 1)

Earlier that same morning.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" Azalea rose in her seat, restraining herself with great effort to not bang at the dining table during the family's pre-meal talks. "You're not gonna send Akhi any help, Dad? Did I not make that point strongly enough, just the other day?!"

"Zal, dear," Mirani put in, painfully aware that her fellow consort was also keeping a close watch on this, "do behave yourself. I helped him reach that decision."

"You?" Vestra put in, no less sternly. "Why, Mira? You know as well as we do that the fall of Nasria would mean doom for the northern defenses!"

"Oh, let's not overreact, Ves." Mama Viper's smile was almost lazy. "Nasria is a city like any other, its significance lying only insofar as it is being defended by your son. Would such an assessment be incorrect?"

"Still! Without reinforcements from here, he would have to rely almost solely on those heathens, which--!"

"...We shall come to appreciate in time," Urdin finished for her. "All these years, and I expect you'd have known better than continuing to oppose those with different faiths to ours, Ves." He turned to regard Azalea again. "At least they have faith."

Vestra rose, flushed. "Allah's Holy Words are meant to be spread to every corner of the earth, you know that!"

"And how people on its surface shall accept them, Mother, or if," Leia spoke up, to the surprise of everyone present, "also depends on the inclinations put into their hearts by Allah. For our part, meanwhile, denigrating them for not displaying it would be folly--I trust you would know that better, so act like it already."

Taken aback by this mild rebuke, Vestra slowly resumed her seat.

"In any case," this queen offered, "this is Mustafa's first-ever tenure as wali. If his station is to be given away to mere rebels just like that, he might not take it too kindly... especially coming from someone putting him there in the first place!"

"Well, you have had no part in said placement anyway," the Amir reminded his first consort, not unkindly, "and you'd be wrong to assume that I would want harm for our other son. Lost cities might yet be recaptured; lost trust may take a lifetime to restore. In this particular instance, should further defense prove to be unfeasible, Mu shall have every permission to fall back, regroup, and readjust tactics. How is that so hard to take?"

"But the shame, Dad!" Zalea lashed out. "What would the common people say to a prince, firstborn at that, deliberately turning his back on them?!"

At this, Rashid nodded to himself in silent wonder. He had not come across such a debate in his family for years; at the very least, his mother wouldn't have let him be a subject in any such. Where there had been, Mu had almost always been there to defuse them... But now that same mother's views and arguments were being put to question...

How will Mom handle this? He couldn't help wondering.

"Shame and order of birth have nothing to do with this, Sis, I should think," Leia went on. "It's their city in the first place; Akhi's just coming in to help protect it, and he shall have been protecting those same people for long enough by now. How could they still dare to fault him for having to withdraw anyway, should the occasion ever arise? As Lady Mirani put it, let's not overreact; things are already tense as they are."

"Leia!" Vestra glared at her daughter. "So you would presume to take Mirani's side now, one known for her smooth tongue and tricks?!"

"I am not taking sides here, Mother; I'm giving credits where and when due. Her arguments have merits, this once, while you're being inflexible here with regards to the son you claim to love the most. Yes, martyrdom might be something many among us would yearn to achieve even at the expense of their entire wealth and resources, I won't deny it... but is it not way better that we shall be able to see and hear from our dear wise eldest brother again, given half the chance?"

"Well said, girl," Mama Viper remarked in the ensuing silence. For her part, though, she wasn't too keen on that 'wise' part--for had he been so wise, how could there have been any rebellion in the first place?

"So..." Dastra chimed in, "ya sayin' it would not be that big of a problem for even princes to retreat, Big Sis Lei? Some would name it a disgrace, you see..."

"Blockheads," his mother asserted. "They either weren't there for the real deal, or just wouldn't appreciate the value of harboring one's resources when needed. Retreat if ya have to, Das... but don't dare make it an excuse to avoid doin' something which ya must. Mu's had more than his fill, I daresay, for so young a soldier."

Rashid's gaze was now somewhat reflective. "He had indeed..."

"Back to the matter at hand," Vestra again spoke, with a huff. "Those reinforcements shall not be sent north, it would seem. What then?"

"They shall be utilized as is appropriate," the Amir replied with a sigh. "News have begun to filter in, of ships shaped very much like dragons and serpents coming down from the north; their crew sporting blue eyes and fairer skin than any of us could ever dream. No hostilities from them have as yet been observed, but it never hurts to be prudent."

"Another likely great pack of heathens," Vessy remarked. "Great."

"Ships fashioned like dragons and serpents," Rashid observed, clearly baffled. "Are you certain you're not meandering into fantastical realms there, Dad?"

"Dad ain't like ya, Pipsqueak," Zalea quipped. "His fantasizing days are way behind him."

"In any case," Urdin resumed, "there had been reports of such sightings, and I intend to see that we shall not be caught unawares. Mu will, I'm afraid, have to make do with whatever resources he has."

"Do you even realize," the first consort pressed on, "that you are acting more as a field commander than a father here, darling? You are a father first!"

The Amir nodded. "So I am. Heck, I'm even getting reconciled with the idea of Mu having to fall back eventually, supposing he could... if only you wouldn't be half as insistent about this 'leaving him with heathens' thing on your part!"

"Seriously! What irks you people so much about it?!"

"We fear that'd be among the first subjects you'd greet Mu with, Vessy dear, that's for one," Mirani replied. "That's not beyond reason, of course, faith-wise... but that's among the darn-likeliest to cause a personal breach with yer firstborn that might prove impossible to recoup. Trust me on this--I might not have yer graces, but I do know how to size people up; ask Zal. And while Mustafa's no true son of mine, that'd have been utterly ridiculous coming from you."

Vestra narrowed her eyes at that but remained quite composed otherwise.

"There is another point," Rashid piped in again. "Akhi's not alone in the north, there's still Cousin Id. Das and I plan to go visit Aunt Lista today; perhaps you'd care to go with us, Mom, to see how she's taking it with regards to her son--much like you do?"

"Great idea," Zalea conceded. "That Lista woman is as jovial as she is calculating... darn, she might be able to present it better from the faith side; that not what ya presume to hold so dearly, Ves? 'Bout time ya get some expert's advice, no?"

Lei whistled. "For once, you're talking sense..."

Zalea banged at the table anyway. "I heard that, ya tailoring freak!"

"That was a downright compliment, Zal, sheesh!"

The former's temper was not helped when she came to see Mirani's 'go-find-a-hobby' wink.

At length Vestra sighed, just as the first course of the morning repast was being served. "Very well. Just as our dear Mu would have sought and welcomed Id's advice, perhaps their mothers too might emulate this."

***

Thus united in aspirations, and as yet unaware of potential threats closer to home, members of Vestra's line once more visited the residence of Alista. When greeting them, again in person, the hostess could not help herself from smiling.

"My word," she remarked. "How long ago was it that Zalea and Rashid had sought my grandmotherly counsel? Now you have come as a bundle... What am I to make of it, hmm?"

"Esteemed sister-in law, it has been quite a while." Vestra curtsied. "I'm here with regards to our sons."

"They are up north doing their duties, as you well know."

"Yes, well... in recent days there have been rumors purporting to say that Mu's city of Nasria is being put to siege by rebels, and we are still trying to decide whether or not he should still be defending it alongside Idris."

Alista narrowed her eyes at this. "Why is any amount of aid not being sent, if it's gotten that bad?"

"Father believes that such a move would have stretched our legions too thinly, Auntie," Rashid put in. "We talked about it this morning, and it developed that he would prefer employing them for other duties, despite Big Sis Zalea's strong objections..."

"As would befit her, I seem to recall." Alista finished for him, straightening in her seat. "That lass may not have the necessary graces, but she certainly has sense. In any case, since Urdin had seen fit for the reinforcements to be dispersed, Mu might now have to resort to... unconventional means. Why did you think you have to bring such a basic issue to my attention, remind me?"

"As to that solution, I believe Akhi already tried," Dastra chimed in, "by seeking the help of a young northern ruler known to us only as 'the Dragoness' at present. Problem is, Lady Vestra did not seem to take it too kindly-"

"Like her say would even matter, for once." Alista kept a measuring look on her sister-in-law as she hurled this brazen statement. "As long as the realm remains protected, with her in it. Not like she had had any real hand in that thus far, anyway. Did Urdin fail to tell you that much somehow, Ves, or did you not trust him enough after all this time?"

"With respect, Lady Alista," the head visitor replied, already flushing, "you know as well as I do that the primary purpose of Mu's present posting is to help pacify said region's heathens; how could he now presume to consort with them instead?"

"Hold on." Alista half-raised her hand. "Are you absolutely sure this needs to be spilled out right before these kids?"

"Oh, we too would like to know how this shall turn out, er... Auntie," Dastra replied. "Everyone else seems to have despaired in giving counsel to Lady Vestra in this matter, if I may be so frank."

"Listen well, then." The hostess sighed. "Vestra, dear... I know you had been raised in a uniformly-religious society, and this in no small part had helped garner your zeal for such things. People of different faiths are, somehow, 'beneath' you: where you could not reasonably 'save' them, you assume they are hostile and would thus merit bringing to heel by just about any means imaginable. But that is not how things should work this time."

"How, then, should it have worked?" Vestra demanded. "Have I been wrong to raise my children according to the Straight Path? Is combating infidels 'til they either submit or be vanquished altogether not part of its tenets? Is that, moreover, not the primary purpose of the jihad--the very thing Mu is performing as we speak? Under such circumstances, seeking aid from an infidel ruler--let alone turning his back from them--would have been a... a disgrace!"

"Jihad," Alista repeated, visibly weighing her next words. "I see... so that's how you've been regarding this whole thing. I won't fault you. Back in our days we had this looming threat called the Izurian Empire, in whose domains depravity might have been the order of the day. As such, the sensible course of action would have been to, how did you put it? 'Combat them until they submit or be vanquished'. Well, your dear husband had seen to that, decades ago. Most had indeed submitted, and are now loyal subjects."

"Those northern barbarians haven't still!"

"Do you wish that badly for that son of yours to return a corpse?" Lista inquired, scorn evident. "Some lands you can't just move in and conquer. Besides, you said it, Mu's already having his plate full just holding off rebels--see, I didn't even ask how there could have been dissenters from among his ranks in the first place, and we all know of that poor lad's integrity. To top that, you wouldn't bother to send reinforcements which he rightly deserved. How else would you expect him to remain just above the waterline?"

"Well... Idris would most likely have counseled him against such a move, at least."

"Would he? Perhaps. But think of this from his shoes: Id's also been posted north by his uncle, who had been like a second father to him, in order to help bring the northern realm to friendship without force where possible. I would assume it had been possible, to various degrees... and now he saw his dear young eldest cousin in trouble. What do you think he would have done?"

Alista's tone indicated that the most recent question was a general one, and her other nephews grasped it.

"Reel in the leader of the House he had considerably swayed-"

"To Akhi's aid," Rashid and Dastra alternated, before looking at each other and giggling.

"Correct," came the gentle reply, "and that is still going on today, may Allah Grant them victory. Tell me again, Ves: would they have managed to accomplish such feats together, had they cared to adopt any part of this inflexible stance of yours?"

The guest with that name winced. "'Inflexible', is it... For even you to put it that way..."

"I feel I can't put it any gentler."

"By the way, Mom," Rashid put in during the brief silence that ensued, "do you still recall those stories on how armies of the very first Kalifate, whose name had mirrored my own, had achieved such brilliant successes so quickly over such vast empires of their day?

"To be sure," this prince resumed, "they had encountered fierce oppositions of, well, heathens... but prior to every encounter, commanders of the Kalifate armies, seemingly unmindful of their comparatively modest size and strength, would sound out three possibilities to the opposition: embark on the Straight Path, and they would metaphorically be embraced as brethren; pay the jizya poll tax and they would be defended, their properties safeguarded; or the sword, in which case those on the battlefield--and only them--would be fought to the point of martyrdom or obedient submission--but even then they might be ransomed. I gather that's what Dad had done to people of these lands too, and you've been with him way longer than any of us... so how could you have forgotten such alternatives? Akhi has not."

"I like to think," Dastra put in, "that, rather than be swayed by that heathen Dragoness, Akhi might well end up swaying her instead, one way or another, as he had so many others. Better be ready for that too, Lady Vessy~"

Lista managed a laughing nod. "Hear, hear."

(Part 2)

While Vestra, Dastra and Rashid were enjoying some more of Alista's hospitality--in the forms of cakes and tea being served personally by their relative Lady Naissa--back in the palace, Mirani and her daughter stayed back in the dining room, mulling over the latter's earlier outburst to Urdin's postponement of sending reinforcements to the north.

"I know darn-well that ain't the first with ya, Zal, nor even gonna be the last," Mama Viper commenced with a sigh, "but do learn to rein that temper o' yours, dear. Someday, I fear, that might be your undoing."

"Needn't waste yer spit on that, Mom," the girl replied. "Half yer life ya've tried subverting the very truth that my dad rules, and not yours, subterfuge be damned; from where do ya think I've learned, early on, not to conceal truth when I see it, huh? 'Sides, look around ya. Half the goons in this court either can't find the truth, or are just too afraid to utter it forthright... and ya seriously think I'd just stay quiet at that, as their freakin' princess? Use yer heck o' sense!

"Gotta admit, though," Zalea went on, "that these last few days, that peasant lady Alista had gotten around me to instill some semblance of grace. Nor did that egghead Yasnar prove too poor in connecting the causes of rebellion that Mustafa presently faces."

"I see," the mother nodded. "You've made some good points concerning my career, I won't deny. All the same, bear in mind, not every court's gonna take such approaches as yours anywhere too fondly. This ain't just about me, understand? You're already of the age when proposals might start to be received from suitors near and far. Lei knew that, and has been preparing accordingly."

"Don't you compare me with her," Zalea growled. "That pighead can be all the lady she'd want, but I'd dare her to dispute truth with Mustafa. Wouldn't be too long 'fore that one nods to him, claiming obedience; heck, I've seen it once with Rashid--all wit and no nerve!"

"Azalea!"

"I'm sorry, Mom," this princess replied as she rose, her tone a tad gentler. "As long as there's breath in me, I wouldn't forsake truth, like you once did; and I'll convey it my way for better or worse. If ya don't like it, I can respect that--but don't ever try talking me out of it."

As this princess was about to stalk out, the ladies were mildly surprised to see a servant hastening to meet them, falling to one knee ten paces from Zalea.

"Your Excellencies," the servant managed, his voice choked with emotion, "grave news! The vazir... just now..."

This time Mirani too rose, sensing the urgency. "Speak!"

"The Vazir Yasnar... during his meal just now... his meal is..."

"Darn it," Mama Viper swore under her breath.

"What?" her daughter blurted. "Ya know something, Mom?!"

"Poison, has to be. No other way to gut anyone 'during his meal' but with it. What other actions have been taken?" Mira demanded in her turn of the still-trembling servant.

"We were too late, my queen," came the reply. "The vazir has passed on when we got there... but we have not put the word out to anyone else, for fear of causing uproar..."

"Darn right it would!" Zalea cut in. "All the same, we must make it known immediately--!"

"Don't," her mother warned. "What would that have accomplished, coming from us? Nothing. Yasnar's been living on borrowed time anyway; I gather he's realized that much himself, and your father will soon be made to." Mirani now approached the servant. "First order of business now would be to find out whether or not the document of our poor dear vazir's last will is in evidence, and if so I'd love to learn of its nature. Since you've been brave enough to relay this kind of news to us, peon, do it all the way. Find me that document, and you'll be amply rewarded. Dismissed."

As the servant, none other than Aska, hastened to comply, Azalea glared back at her mother, about to rebuke her... only to find Mama Viper back in her seat, visibly trembling.

"Mom, why the heck..?"

"Shut up," Mirani growled back, but her eyes--for once--did not convey matching ferocity. Instead, Azalea sensed... anguish.

"Yasnar, that heck of an egghead, dead," the mother murmured. "Whoever did this must not be regarded lightly."

"Mom-"

"Do you really believe, Zal, that my turning a new leaf would not have ruffled quite a few feathers?"

The girl took the point. "Who?" she demanded.

"Guess, ya wretch!"

Zal hardly flinched. "You suspect... Razin's behind this?"

"Innocent 'til proven otherwise, as court protocols go," Mama Viper hissed, "and I dare wager that sevenfold-blasted scorpion knew that much. Poison's a trick he's studied under me, as is subterfuge; yet right now, by all looks, his name is but one of many on the rolls of honor, sinless as a baby. Yasnar was advancing in age, nothing so unnatural... oh Allah, do kindly Forgive me...

"That snake's thought this through, Zalea, my dear hotheaded lass," Mira went on, her expression manic, "and it's worked to near-perfection. Who knows whom he might want to target next--Dastra? Your father? If even Yasnar can be felled, none in this palace is safe. The possibilities are so vast, I'd be damned if he shouldn't move to seize 'em--and when better than now, whilst the grief of Yasnar's passing renders everyone so preoccupied? Worse, we shall have none we can count on opposing him outside ourselves!"

"Razin's your lapdog to begin with. Has been since Day One!"

"He is." Mirani sighed, leaning back still deeper in her seat. "If, banking on that alone, you'd presume to regard him as my problem still, I understand. There's the door, none's gonna stop you, nor do I think I'm too old for a rematch just yet. But do think 'bout this on yer way, Zal: moments ago ya preached 'bout truth; I have been subverting it, to use your words, and I let ya hate me for it. Now when I'm about to do something that you know to be true... are ya just gonna walk away, darling? 'All wit, no nerve', was it?"

"Why, you-" This princess, flushed, turned away fiercely--but stopped short of actually walking out, trembling with clenched fists in her turn. "Freak it... I-I'm sorry, Mom... you're darn-right, much as I don't always like how ya put it. So, um, that last will-"

"You're still here. Good." Mira's recuperative capability was remarkable, and she had somewhat regained her cool mien. "First things first, do recall that you're still supposed to have an audience with the vazir tonight, and the next. Getting hold of that document now would give us quite the advantage in deciphering whatever last thoughts might have passed through such a fertile mind, wouldn't you say?"

Azalea sighed, admiration and disgust battling for show. "Ya sure never cease to amaze, Mom. We should stay away from the oncoming fuss in the meantime, I gather?"

"Categorically. Even then some might still make note of our absence and find fault with it. However it shall turn, keep yer wits about ya."

"Aye."

"Now, while we're at it, and since you were due to hold an audience with the geezer anyway," Mira resumed, "methinks that meeting must still take place even in death... one way or another. Go help that peon get hold of that document, and make damn-sure it gets where it's most needed. Mere servants could be fickle with such intricacies, or Yas might still have been around."

"Wha... You'd have me help out a peon going 'round rummaging through workloads of a departed geezer? For real?!"

At this, Mama Viper's stare became stern. "Don't ya dare disgrace ourselves there, lass. That same geezer was my worthy mental sparring partner, and could've been your second mentor in this sorta game, back when I was quite unavailable. Finding out what he may have had in store for both of us, and the realm, is the sort of service you must not balk at--with the help of another peon or not. Now go, 'fore I spank the heck outta you!"

(Part 3)

It was one thing for Azalea to be nice; quite another to be and remain inconspicuous. Instead of the stealthy approach adopted by Aska, the princess made no pretense--though remaining quite untalkative--about going to her 'possible mentor's' private study.

At one point she came across Razin, once more dressed as an obsequious courtier. This time, however, owing partly to her mother's earlier chastisement and partly from her own wish to not sully the memories of Yasnar, the princess refrained from giving the usual 'hot dish' and merely nodded in cold courtesy to the courtier's polite, head-bowed greeting. She also did not fail to notice that he too wore the black robes of mourning, and couldn't help respecting him a tad for that.

"The vazir's passing is a source of great grief indeed to those in the realm he'd so long served," Razin remarked. "I hope the Amir shall have the wisdom to see the merits of the successor to such an elevated position."

"So elevated he could be found dead during his meals; something even our lowliest peasants would never have wished for in the rugged simplicity of their darn-lives," Zalea observed, an edge in her voice. "One of his most long-serving guards is reported to have been missing, as well. Can you please help enlighten me on that, sir?"

The courtier smiled philosophically. "Death comes for all of us, Princess. This guard you're speaking of might have, in a gush of valor, sought to prove his dedication to his master-"

"That he has," the princess murmured, seething, taking another step nearer the courtier, "and I must warn you now, out of courtesy: let me not catch you in cahoots with whoever did this to our beloved vazir, or I swear, I'll make you regret it!"

"May I ask, at least, Princess, where are you-"

"Get lost!"

Razin lowered his gaze in a show of dignified respect as the young firebrand moved along; but when he was sure he was alone, he chuckled.

"Let's see how you'd like the sight of my next target, you little pest..."