(Part 1)

The encounter with Mama Viper occurred in the appointed time and in accordance with his own wishes. It also happened at the place he had come to expect: the chamber where Mirani's first fallout with her daughter had taken place.

What Aldeer did not even bother to consider was that the Amir himself might be inclined to take an active part this time around.

Be that as it may, at present, he was already being ushered before the royal couple. Having performed his obeisance, this visitor noticed that while Mirani's gaze was somewhat expectant, the ruler's was more than a tad suspicious.

"Surely this audience can come to pass in better locations, wife," Urdin observed.

"I like it here," came the reply. "So do my visitors. If you wish to be part of my proceedings, love, you would have to follow it through like everyone else. Kings are only the first citizens of their respective domains, with extra weights on their heads." Mira turned to regard this particular visitor. "State your business, peon!"

Aldeer dared not to meet his hostess's penetrating gaze.

"Your Majesty, I... wish to pledge anew my loyalty to you."

"Huh. Straightforward, are ya? I like it... but why the freak should I buy that? You had become a willing accomplice in at least two incidents that should never be so lightly overlooked, last I checked."

"That I am painfully aware of, my queen." Aldeer fell to his knees. "I shall therefore humbly accept whatever punishment, in whatever manner you shall endeavor to render, as the first and final token of this professed loyalty!"

"Well said."

"Punishment for what?" the Amir interjected, incredulous.

"My Amir..." the visitor looked up. "This worthless servant of yours had helped see to the demise of the previous vazir and one of his trustworthy aides... If we dare look so far backwards, I had also contributed to the long-forgotten attempt at Prince Mustafa; I had provided the rough sketches of the part of the corridor where the prince had been expected to pass, under express directions of Queen Mirani herself. Of the most recent assault on Princes Rashid and Dastra, however, I beg that you take my earnest pledge of innocence!"

The visitor's words fell on Urdin like so many thunderbolts, each hot and piercing.

"You..?" he stammered. "So... Yasnar's death was not natural, was it... and you had been part of it, had you not? Stay; you even mentioned that singular attempt at my dear boy Mustafa, and that Mira also had a part in it... Rashid and Dastra too had been assaulted... Why had I not been consulted on any of these, I wonder?"

His wife huffed. "One issue at a time, darling. You can ask anything you want after this; a lady's word. Now, Aldeer--any one of those misdeeds ya mentioned would merit a death sentence in and of itself. At the same time, I might not be too interested to humor you in that. Do you know why?"

"Your Majesty may be of the opinion that at present, an exponentially-larger issue would first have to be resolved... and decisively. If you spare me, I vow I shall dedicate my service to you and our Amir forevermore."

Mira narrowed her eyes. "Keen eyes ya got, but not enough."

The visitor lowered his gaze again, tore part of his garment, and this time took out a needle. "Shall I undertake to write this pledge in my own blood, then, my queen?"

"Mira," the Amir put in, "he doesn't have to go that far, you know it."

"I also know he's turned on me once, love."

"You and Azalea had had a fallout, as I recall. Did you truly go so far as to require of her this same tidbit when she came back?"

"Zal is my daughter! I did not consider her turning on me a betrayal, so why would I-"

"And this Aldeer is one of my subjects, be reminded. I will not have him harmed; not when he has pledged loyalty with such earnestness-"

"Did you afford the people of Ardis that same luxury?"

"I didn't, sadly. I feared a ruse... but you allowed me to take part in this audience today on your own accord, and this time I mean to make a difference."

They gazed at each other briefly. Mirani--an astute, if often ruthlessly-cold, judge of character--thought she saw sparks in her husband's eyes that she'd never quite noticed before. Was it determination?

"No need," Mama Viper told Aldeer at length, with a dismissive wave for emphasis. "Get the heck up."

The visitor obliged, apparently heedless of his own now-torn garment.

"Owing to your arguments just now, and since the Amir had given his word of clemency," the hostess went on, "I think we can come to a settlement of sorts, Al. Help me get rid of this royal menace, and we will decide what to do with you later. You may leave, if there's nothing else."

"Thank you, Your Grace! Again, I am at your disposal!"

"Out," Mira intoned.

Aldeer bowed once more and retreated out of the room.

"Now then," the Amir said almost immediately after the door was closed, and this time his tone was quite suddenly far from reassuring, "he mentioned how you had had a role in that attempt three years ago on Mustafa. Is that true?"

"Yeah," came the stoic response. "That was when I hadn't cared to be so good a spouse to ya, mind... which I now seek to alter by eliminating this threat."

The Amir glared at her, and Mama Viper matched it. For a brief moment he thought of reiterating in hard terms how that particular incident had had lasting impacts on his firstborn, but apparently knew better.

"And does this new 'threat' have a name?" Urdin inquired.

"Razin, my erstwhile confidant. Do I have your leave to that end, love?"

"What kind of talk is this, woman?" he blurted. "Your proclivity for subterfuge is rather well-known to me... but to have to get rid of your own confidant just to make a point, not to mention asking for my consent to it with such candor! Do you take me for a fool?!"

"Weren't you listening? I had a hand to play in that try with Mu, that much is true, and that was before I decided to play nice; but you can believe me when I say that I had none in Yasnar's murder, nor in his peon Zaeed's--nor, so help me, in this latest attempt against little Rashid!"

"Murder, you say?" Urdin rejoined, no less fiercely. "Yasnar's death had not been natural, that Aldeer hinted. Can you prove that?"

"Ya want witnesses? Send for a certain servant callin' himself Aska, he was there; or summon Ilyas, he actually begged Zal to take care of one of his charges. Here I am, who have first-hand knowledge on how Razin operates and would be more than happy to relate it. Heck, there's also your son Rashid, havin' been on the wrong end of the scum's blade. What more do you require? Name it, make yer decision, and be darn-quick 'bout it!"

"What kept you from pouncing on Razin the moment his complicity in such a heinous crime became apparent?"

"Makin' amends with Zal, for one! Ya well know she's been a tough little rascal to impress, much less satisfy--still is. Either way I've made it this far: yer best friend's dead, yer firstborn's comin' home, and in the meantime we have a new threat... which, oh yeah, ya damn-sure wanna be rid of by the time Mu's here, given the stakes. Failing that, we might yet see that future of our realm succumb to another major relapse. Not good for any leader of men, I'll give ya that... to say nothing of Ves's wrath at such prospects. As if havin' him consort with northern heathens ain't insufferable enough, no?"

Urdin visibly tried to gather himself.

"My earlier question stands: why have I not been thoroughly consulted on this Razin's whims?"

"Would ya really have bothered to listen, immersed as you were in choosing the proper vazir for this realm? Way nicer to have saved my breath. Glad I had."

"Does Ves know this, though?"

"'Tis her mongrels we're talkin' about; 'course she does--gotta see her face when she pleaded to me for help... but, 'nough of that. Now you too are aware of such a ploy, what're you gonna do about it, o Amir?"

Lord Husnirid sighed and began pacing about the room.

"Supposing what you said about Razin is true, and if Aldeer's confession just now is earnest, then indeed we'd have to act with vigor. I can't bear to have to pull off another Ardis; that was pure debacle, all said; a fury-driven adventure for glory based right off grief-fueled words of a child. Had Idris not been there to restrain me..."

"It went way deeper than havin' a city fly and maintain yer colors, methinks," Mira observed.

"...It did?"

"Goodness me." Mama Viper facepalmed, pulling at her own hair in surprised vexation. "Listen well. Our girl had had two audiences with Yasnar days before the latter's untimely passing. During the last one, Zal was made to understand that a certain officer, Vasmir--that name meant anything?--had not been able to move past the grudge of his home city's destruction. Need I spell out what might've followed, too?"

Urdin blinked. "But... I appointed that same Vasmir sometime later to be a wali of-" He paused, before yelling with dawning realization and anguish. "That subsequent rebellion- darn it, he might've seen Mu not as a prince to whom he'd owed fealty, but as the son of his hometown's defamer. That would mean- I'd practically put my firstborn's life on the line again almost by choice, mere years after he'd barely gotten out of your purported attempt!"

The third Lord Husnirid brandished his fist, trying to hold himself together even as he shook with gritted teeth.

"And to think," he went on, anguish prevailing, "I'd been denying him even to have proper reinforcements, to the point where he'd had to rely on nonbelievers... Mu would have every reason to be vexed with me from such a dastardly move! His disappointment, Ves's stark displeasure... I deserve those, and more!"

"Darn right ya do," Mama Viper prodded. "Have ya somehow lost yer touch along the decades, Urdin? Puttin' officers in grave peril without grander objectives in the wings to attain is foolishness of the first order. Not to mention, you've done so darn-little in any of those so-called 'family dinners' beyond providin' us with latest updates and, or orders--heck, even that spineless Vessy saw that much!

"In yer role as a self-conceived pragmatic ruler, I daresay," she went on, "you've forgotten that you are a father first... to such an extent that your considerations overlook the hard fact that yer 'campaigns' could not ever take place without men to carry them out--and this time we're talking about no less ordinary soldier than your heir. Will you have him and the others pass on before they get to have a taste of fatherly love, I ask?"

"ENOUGH!" the Amir bellowed, now moving to take hold of his second consort by the neck. "Talks of compassion do not suit you, Mira! You, who attempted to get rid of my son in the first place... You, who manipulated so many others--even Azalea--to your will! You, who this very day had asked for my leave to rid your own confidant!"

"Guh... Your son had been spared, come what may--twice! Azalea and myself had reconciled--kh; and if Razin could have counted past two hundred and remain--agh--nice, I would not have liked to turn on him in such a manner either, ya hear me?!"

The Amir gazed searchingly at her, this last scion of King Tharion. Hard as her words for him to simply take in, he retained enough sense to see the truth behind them.

If what this wench is saying is indeed the case with me, it occurred to him, and considering she's one of few who dared putting it forth so bluntly, then I would have to work on regaining my 'touch' with the realities from this point on while remembering to perform my fatherly duties. Self-conceived pragmatist, am I...

As a direct result of this thought, and the new realization that every minute they spent stalling would mean more time for Razin to concoct new no-less-foul plans, his grip on her neck relaxed.

"Oh Allah," he murmured, "kindly Forgive my ignorance and recklessness! The very woman whose livelihood I had intended to improve through marriage, is rapidly being revealed to have been the chief source of trouble in the midst of the actual families which, in retrospect, I may have been neglecting all this time..." He exhaled, letting out his frustration. "What do you suppose I should do with you now, Mira? Has anyone else come to know of such a maggoty apple?"

"No."

"Have you plans to let them find out?"

"Darn it, no! Not even after Razin's downfall, if I can at all help it! I-I know I should have, but- who should I relate that to, think you?! Vessy would sooner have my hide than let me finish. Dastra knows absolutely nothing of this and ought to be kept that way. Azalea... darn that lass, I love her. Urdin, I love her, you hear?! The first someone I could really call my own in decades no thanks to you!" Tears of guilt and remorse now flowed freely from Mama Viper's eyes even as she dropped down to grasp on his lower legs.

"That little wretch," Mira, still profusely sobbing, went on, "has improved so much these few weeks, I couldn't be prouder... My honesty now, much as you would clamor for it, could wreck her beyond endurance and I would sooner die here, at yer oh-so-august feet, than see that happen! My dear girl..."

The Amir kept his quiet.

"Go on, do it!" this second consort screamed, looking up. "Leave Razin alone, if ya will; he's only been following orders, just like yaself. Am I not the daughter of yer enemy, whose foul line you might've sworn to snuff out?! Had I not attempted murder--for which the only fitting punishment, short of filthy-high blood money had it freakin'-succeeded, would have been death? Am I not-"

"Mira, dear," Urdin stooped down to help her on her feet. "Come now; you are one of my lawful spouses, a queen, a mother, and must not be found behaving like this. Do listen, first, to what I have to say... and if afterwards you still insist on having a pronouncement, I shall not hinder you.

"To begin," he went on, "thank you for having me here in the first place. This chamber resembles more of a dungeon than a proper meeting place, 'tis true... yet that's precisely the kind of place that I fancy I should've been kept in for all the neglect I've shown you, Ves, and our children all these years, owing in a large part to my overzealous passions of securing a new homeland at the expense of almost everything else. And today you have helped free me from it, Mira, with such spot-on injunctions. For that, you've proven worthy of my respect.

"As for your love to Azalea," this sole brother of Imran resumed, "as a fellow parent, I could only encourage that. At the same time, if you claim to love someone, you ought not be keeping any sort of truth from them... wouldn't you say? Yes, Zal might be shocked for the first few hours, but does she not value truth and honesty above almost anything else, tempers notwithstanding? Would she not, in that same strand, have appreciated it more, knowing it came from the mother she has begun to look up to? Hmm?"

"I think..." Mirani managed, nodding to herself, "yeah, I s'pose we can hope for that much..."

"Now," Urdin pressed on, and this time his countenance and tone was considerably less forbearing, "the crux of the matter: Razin. You said he had only been following orders, but we of the army draw a fine line between initiative and insubordination, subject to discipline and other such rules as necessary, to be assiduously observed. Did you expressly order him to end Yasnar?"

Her conscience was clear. "No."

"Zaeed?"

"Never."

"He could've backed off after these two, but chose to carry on; and as if that wasn't enough, he actually targeted scions of his Supreme Commander in Chief. That does it. You have dissociated yourself of his actions at just the right time, Mira, and in doing so cleared your slate. In the meantime, we are no longer dealing with Razin the courtier, but Razin the instigator. Act accordingly while I think of ways to better bring the Ardisians into line. May Allah Reward us well."

The royal pair gazed at each other again, this time finding mutual respect and trust.

"Amen, Your Grace."

***

"Well, well," Azalea snickered when her mother again took her into confidence regarding that audience shortly before the former's bedtime. "Seems to me that the lions are gettin' just a tad more compliant as the day for Akhi's return is drawin' near, eh, Mom?"

"Compliant, is that it?" came the retort. "You'd do well not to mock 'em, lass. When I related yer earlier Yasnar-delivered insight that Vasmir had in fact been a denizen of Ardis, and that the ensuing rebellion that your eldest brother had barely mastered, had in fact been one of the results of your father's 'ignorance', as he'd put it--the Amir had seen fit to grip on my neck. Nothing compliant there, I assure ya."

"What- he did?!"

"Good news is," Mama Viper remarked, "he'd given the go-ahead for us to 'remove the filth'... and we'd need to get it done before Mustafa gets here."

"We should," the daughter affirmed. "Got any volunteers for that as yet?"

"None that I can think of; the officials and servants, in all likelihood, are gonna have their hands full preparing to honor and felicitate the new vazir, days before his being sworn in. Likewise, agents are gonna be put on alert to ensure the proceedings' smooth running. All those cannot be expected to be ready in time for that scum's end."

"We are not gonna have to engage in such niceties anytime soon," the daughter reminded. "On the contrary, the new vazir would have to pay his respects to ya as queen; thus, we shall have time for Razin provided it can be over quickly. Ain't he ours alone to carve up, eh?"

Mira paused at this. "Yeah, but for a queen to be seen directly engaging in such a foul trade-"

"You forget the princess who, as things stand, wouldn't give a freak 'bout it," the girl smirked, and the implication was clear. "That scorpion tried to sting my bro and stunned another; who better to take up the defense of such poor, helpless brats?"

"Leia-"

"-Can try to patch me up later, a proper lady like herself should know how to; or, failing that, her mom. She's agreed to be aided in this, after all."

"What have I told ya 'bout not bein' cocky?" Mama Viper objected. "Thought ya had plans to train with Rashid, too. For how long's that gonna take?"

"Set a definite date and I'll try to play along."

"Later," the queen stressed as she rose. "Rest."

"Sleep tight, Mom~"

"Love ya."

"...What, no forehead kiss?"

"Nah, that's for Das. If he wants it."

(Part 2)

Despite the crispness of the following day, Princess Azalea remained true to her word, waiting on the training grounds just after that morning's repast: garbed in her preferred black chain-mail tailored to her lithe physique, the sheathed kilij strapped to the left side of her comely waist (though the owner's current expression was anything but).

Leia was there too, having been informed during said repast that "somethin' outta place is gonna take place". So was Dastra, out of cheerful obedience.

"Oi, Lei!" the 'instructor' blurted at length. "Where the heck's yer bro, huh?"

"Beats me," came the serene reply. "You had not imparted the invitation to this event too harshly, I hope?"

"I was being harsh for his own good, darn you!"

"Rashid might not want to consider it like that, gentle as he is. He'd been through the experience of narrowly missing a scoundrel's blade, and if anything, your demeanor only moments after that may have been tenfold more terrifying for him."

"Gentle," the other princess sneered. "Timid, more like."

"What's gonna be more terrifying, Big Sis Lei," Dastra put in, "is should he not survive the next encounter, somehow. Big Sis Zal's here to help prevent that."

"Someone freakin'- gets it! And right now he's wasting my time..."

"Patience," Das called out. "Ya've tided worse storms, Sis--this is but a breeze."

"Then why the heck, runt, do I not feel refreshed?!"

The princeling made no further remark aside from a knowing smile, but Lei now stood up and approached her counterpart.

"Are you seriously going to train him in such a state of mind, Zal? With real steel, nonetheless?" she asked, putting a gentle hand on the latter's shoulder. "Never mind my brother, any other disciple's going to be quite on edge... and they most assuredly won't have given a spit for your rank. Forget training anyone for now; get a hold of yourself first. Please."

Zalea's only answer was a 'Humph', but she categorically agreed to wait a little longer. When her distinguished disciple showed up, panting and gasping, about ten minutes later, this princess was in a considerably-better mood.

But Rashid too had something new to offer.

"Do you know," this other prince wheezed, such was his excitement, "that Akhi's gonna be here by lunchtime at the latest..?"

For a time, none on the quiet training grounds spoke. Then-

"The heck're ya blabbin' about, Pipsqueak?!"

"Is that true, Bro?!"

"Rashid, better catch your breath first. I'll fetch something to drink..."

"It's true!" Urdin's second son yelled on top of the commotion. "I heard from the servants as I was getting here... and not only him and his fellow commanders, Sir Khalid, Sir Azumi and a few more names--I didn't quite catch Cousin Idris's-"

"And the envoys?" Azalea prompted. "What of those northern freaks?"

"Eh... nothing of them that I heard mentioned."

"Now hang on just a second, Bro," Dastra rejoined. "You said you caught this piece of news from passing servants, yes?"

"Right."

"Ya ain't even worried that they might be lying?"

"...Why would they lie about the return of their own prince? Akhi is quite well-liked, is he not?"

"Quite a few more are bound to mislike him, dig that," Zalea asserted. "Either way, if it's just Akhi's lot, this damnably-fine morning agenda of ours must not be suspended. A few more minutes' respite, Pipsqueak, then we get on!"

As things developed, the 'respite' lasted twenty minutes--but by its end Rashid too had been suitably-attired for this particular training: a plain-white chain-mail, again tailored to size, with his kilij strapped to the back. Zalea frowned at this, but decided to regard it as a matter of preference and dropped the matter.

"Piece of advice, rugrat," this princess commented as she unhurriedly drew her weapon and shifted forward, the legs slightly apart to the front, the sharp end of the weapon pointed at the opposition, "you would not wanna do that in a real engagement--strapping it to the back, I mean--unless ya're either ahorse or absolutely know what ya're doing. Preferably both. Come at me."

"Uh... Sis?" Dastra again put in. "I thought ya're gonna teach him the proper stances first thing..."

"Such things as can be observed need no words, runt. Don't worry--for today I'll be gentle and not strike first. Come at me, I said!"

Stunned into action, Rashid drew his weapon and with a yell lunged forth, only to be blocked neatly. Next he tried a fierce upper side slash, but Zal dodged out of the way. His third move, a lower slash, was also parried from the side, before the attacker opted to disengage.

"Ah ha," the distinguished instructor remarked, "so ya've learned 'nough to figure out that this is primarily a slashing weapon, not a stabbing one. Way to go."

During his brief spell of panting, Rashid also took to more closely observe the opposition's stance, and this time mimicked it--a fact that did not escape the princess's notice, and due to which she smiled slightly.

"Again!"

"Yah!"

Owing to the improved starting stance, Rashid's oncoming blows now had more force and better fluidity, performed from previously-not-thought-of angles. Once, Zal even had to rapidly toss her weapon to her other hand to pull off a no-look side block from behind.

"Darn..." Dastra managed. "No attacks of her own thus far, but she's so good!"

"And she's doing it the right way, on second glance," Leia remarked, fondly. "See how she's not taunting him--for once--for any missteps, but actually praised him for fresh discoveries? By having Ras go over to the offense, she's also having him disregard his own fears and focus on the 'job' of taking her down--supposing he could. Nice touch."

Having his attacks parried or evaded one after another, on the other hand, frustrated but also astonished Mustafa's true brother; not to mention, he was already performing them with real steel!

"Haah!"

Now in one of his fiercer moods, this prince again attempted a downward slash with both hands... and this time, instead of evading, Azalea broke the straps of her own weapon's well-made sheath with a quick snap, brought it up to block the main blow instead, while bringing her unoccupied sword arm to the exposed side of the opposition's heaving neck, stopping at just the right moment with a fine smirk.

"Checkmate, rugrat~"

"Wait... Did you really just-" the princeling gazed first at his stopped attack, then gingerly down at the fiery princess's weapon, now glinting in the morning sunlight. "It could be used that way?!"

Azalea tutted. "Ya may have forgotten the 'improvise' bit, Pipsqueak." She put the weapon away, triumphantly re-sheathing it. "Freak it, not like I'm gonna begrudge that on a first-timer. Fine day's work, yeah?"

"But... you didn't even get to land a hit!"

"Had I with that last one, you'd have been a goner for damn-sure. I'm givin' ya a chance to improve--don't spoil it. See ya."

"Where to?"

"The city. To watch Akhi pass, for one. Ya in?"

By this time the pair had reached to where Leia and Dastra were standing--the latter brimming with ill-concealed admiration--and the last question was meant to be a general one.

"Big Sis!" Dastra moved to take hold of both Zal's hands. "That. Was. Brilliant!"

"I'd vouch for that," Leia rejoined. "You helped my brother master his fears; for that, and so much else--thank you."

Zalea, in her turn, put her hand on her counterpart's shoulder.

"You're welcome, okay. This one's a freakin'-good learner, once his fears are properly sidelined. Stood up to me with real steel in the first day, to think of it! One's not been striking back, granted, but a feat's a feat. Now, then... ya both in for that city trip?"

"All four of us in one go, two of whom in chain-mail?" Das and Leia looked at each other. "Wouldn't that be... a tad too much for attention?"

"We're nobles, runt--attention's nothing new to us."

"Besides," Rashid added, "'tis been a while since we've received any word of Akhi; that's gonna be abound on the streets today. Let's spread out and piece together what we can, alright?"

"If you put it that way..." Leia paused. "What are we waiting for?"

(Part 3)

As Rashid had pointed out, rumors of Mustafa's return were quite rife that day, interspersed with whispers of the impending arrival of the northern envoys and how the talks with them might have turned out, and if so, on what terms.

"I wonder how Lady Alista would be feeling about this," Zal caught someone's whisper in a queue near a roadside book stall. "Prince Idris had had a son of his own now, and had been in service for close to two decades. 'Tis about time for him to be let off..."

Zal paused. 'Prince' Idris, did he say? She had never heard of her sole cousin being referred to in such a manner... so why now? Was Mu not the current Amir's firstborn, and had he not, in turn, distinguished himself by keeping the northern domains together within the Amirate's fold? What had Idris accomplished, really, beyond being a devoted sidekick?

Then she remembered: the man's mother, Lady Alista, was Urdin's predecessor's wife; in other words, Idris had the seniority and lineage. But, so far as this princess was concerned, her eldest brother had all the accomplishments!

...My eldest brother, really..? She pondered as she walked on. Heck, we're not even related by blood, to think of it! But, in that case... what shall matter most in a royal succession?!

"Princess Azalea!"

The royal scions paused as the person in question looked up, already looking irritated. A runner in plain clothes was already making his hurried way to her. The acknowledgement was in-character.

"What?" Zal demanded. "Best be good news!"

"P-princess..." such was the messenger's haste that he dropped every pretense of obeisance. "Your mother... wants you back."