(Part 1)

Having been so chastised, Rashid left his eldest sibling's study with some haste and intended to improve on his kilij-training. It was not very long, however, before he was accosted by a visibly-anxious Azalea, wringing her own hands as she approached.

"Well, Pipsqueak? What did he say?"

"Akhi? I think he's not in a position to give clear rulings about anything just yet, Big Sis; as we all know, he's just hours from a tiring journey, on top of having come out of a patience-sucking siege alongside northern warbands."

"Ya wouldn't... advise that I see him now, then?"

"Not unless you wish to be torn right up by his proverbial fangs and claws that badly. I don't care what you've been fancying yourself to be—I daresay Akhi can see through that."

This princess opened her mouth as if to argue, but decided better.

"And where're you going?" she pressed on.

"Is that really of your concern now?"

He turned to leave, but she took hold of his left arm, detaining him.

"Rashid! Listen. I'm not seeking quarrels here, alright? My mother's very life hangs on Akhi's words, if he were to realize it—sure as heck he does. I... I'd need to channel this mounting anxiety somewhere, and you know that much, darn it!"

"What would you have me do, anyway? What can I do?" he shot back. "Akhi just would not listen to me, not now, and you best not try to make him to before you're quite ready. In the meantime, I have my own skills to try and improve on—skills that you helped teach, do recall."

"I know, but... have you none in mind that I could talk to, at least?"

Rashid shrugged his arm off Zalea's grip and sighed as he momentarily closed his eyes.

"Really, Azalea, what's happening to you? There were times you would presume to tell the rest of us what you thought we should do, or have done." He grinned. "To think that just another woman should prove capable to weaken your resolve so!"

"Look here, ya little freak." This princess glared back. "I will gladly stomach Akhi's displeasure, but not yer mockery on that 'woman' bit, I'm warnin' ya... much less Dastra. Heck, he might in turn start to lose sleep 'cause of this; I have ideas on just how bad that can get."

Rashid's gaze softened a fraction. "Should've let Akhi know of that... Alright, listen up. I doubt Big Sis Leia will be able to change Akhi's mind any better than she could've taught a horse to roar; so why not try and pay Auntie Alista another visit? I wish you well. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

This time Azalea let him go.

***

Azumi was allowed to re-enter the eldest prince's study shortly after his distinguished visitor had left, whereupon Mustafa confided to him what had passed.

"That said," the prince concluded, "what suggestions have you to make?"

The aide was silent for a good moment.

"To begin with, my prince," he said, "I humbly thank you for the extent of your trust in me that you should see fit to let out such a personal matter."

"We've seen enough 'twixt ourselves to not let distrust fester, Azu."

The immediate response was a smiling nod. "Secondly, sir... far be it for me to appear forcing your hand, but I feel this kind of issue, and others like it, would need to be addressed and put to rest before the envoys' arrival... which, for your information, shall take place in seven days' time. Nothing should remain that might cloud your judgment on such an important occasion."

"How well you understand me! Perhaps you've figured out to whom else I might speak of this, as well?"

"That is not mine to impart, sir, begging pardons. You would know better."

Indeed I do, this prince reflected as he put his own mouth on his hands, cupped together to his front. And with luck, that talk would not devolve into yet another squabble...

(Part 2)

Whilst the royal children had been busy weaving new strands of intrigue, attempting to prevent some of them from being sprung completely, or outright dashing to cut through existing ones, Queen Vestra had opted not to take an active part insofar as her own children were not directly implicated. Indeed, such a stance had put her in a relatively 'neutral' position.

Needless to say, the second attempt on Rashid's life had prompted her to take a step back from this stance. Mere days after this event--as might be recalled--Vestra had gone out of her way to make a demand to Mirani to reveal whom the culprit might have been; even ended up agreeing to cooperate with the latter in keeping the plan to rid said culprit a secret, even from the Amir. Why bother putting her good name at risk simply to stand for a murderer, for that matter?

Nor did the new information that Mira had begged and received forgiveness for her faults from their husband seem to have perturbed Ves very much: so far Mira had honored her part of the deal--as Ves had hers--and had proven to be a master organizer-protector from the shadows besides.

If it were at all possible for the fire-eating Azalea to be and remain on good terms with Mira, why, then, would it be so wrong for such a ladylike figure as Vestra to try and emulate that? Was maintaining decent relations not part of what was enjoined in the Straight Path, moreover?

With regards to the 'northern hordes', however, and despite earlier suggestions from Lady Alista whom she nevertheless respected, Urdin's first consort resolved to maintain a firm stand. Mustafa's emerging victorious had shown to her that working alongside them was possible, sure... but now that Nasria was safe again, their usefulness was pretty much over. Therefore, when it had first come to her attention that northern envoys were about to make an appearance in Elbar in the near future, Vestra had desired to discuss this in greater detail (and better still, under four eyes) with her firstborn.

There now occurred three knocks on her chamber's door as she was admiring her new leaf-green dress before the mirror, and the very figure she had been craving to see was soon shown in.

"Mother. Peace be to you."

"Mustafa!" She hastened to embrace him again, and warmly. "Welcome, darling. I was wondering when you'd spare enough time to visit here."

The son gazed back at her pleasantly. "Well, here I am. Anything on your mind, specifically?"

"My word, forthright as always. Come now, have a seat." He obliged, sitting on nearby cushions with her still holding his hands in visible bliss. "So, dear. What can you tell me about this young northern ruler... er... Dragoness, was it?"

"You have the nickname right, Mother, though not the ruling order. What do you wish to find out?"

"Anything you'd care to let me know of."

"Before I begin, why would you want to know of her first? There are so many other tales about the northern regions that I might relate, without being less entertaining."

"Such other tales you might use to regale your siblings with, some other time. More to the point, I'd naturally like to know of the individual with whom my son has a chance of having long-term relations."

"Mother, what-"

"On a strictly professional basis, that is."

"Oh, proficient she had certainly been, her youth notwithstanding. Given name, Brista. It might also interest you to learn that she had been through the lamentable experience of seeing her grandfather disposed of by rebels of her own. There were even those daring to hint that her father, the reigning Lord Balkir Sabris, may have taken the reins of power rather prematurely. Bri maintained that that gave him the impression of a, to use her own words, 'spineless weakling'."

Vestra blinked. "Such colorful words. How many summers has she seen, remind me?"

"Fourteen. What was more, with that kind of backing, she had undertaken to set out and help me--the results, we all know."

"So what's your point?"

"Perhaps that way I can help you understand better, Mother, that those you see fit to denigrate as 'heathens' are not without problems of their own."

The queen huffed. "That'd be for me to decide, son... though I'll note that you may have been positively inclined to her to some extent; and in the course of one single campaign!"

Mustafa laughed. "What did you expect? Many were the words exchanged during lulls in the fighting, and of varied topics too. Helped to bridge differences 'twixt us, which is never unimportant in keeping us commanders to be and remain of one mind during a field campaign--and from there, the men."

"And... after it?"

"Who can tell? Her envoys are already on their way. A fresh stone to try and leap from to say the least, no?"

Vestra held her gaze a moment longer. "You sound so confident."

"I don't see why I shouldn't be, really. Unless..." here Mu's expression became mildly thoughtful, "...there are things happening here that you have yet to let me in on."

"Oh, I'll let you decide there. I understand Rashid had come to see you earlier?"

The eldest prince nodded. "Indeed he had. Did he tell you?"

"A mother's worries, let's just say. Did he ask you for anything?"

"Well... I don't know who first put the idea to him, but... he pleaded with me to pardon Mirani for her past actions. Do you think that would be the proper thing to do, Mother?"

"First things first, my lion: what would the Amir's view of it be?"

"With respect, Your Grace, the Amir had not been there in time to prevent the deaths of two of my maids; and besides, Rashid and myself had been the ones actually attacked. Mira's kids will doubtless be clamoring for her exoneration..."

"Even were it so," Vestra reminded him, "best not act on surmise, Prince; fat chance, it would not end well for any of you. Send for them for a talk, and act accordingly."

"I shall, of course... but I was asking of your opinion. You've lived with and alongside her the longest of all of us, apart from the Amir himself."

"Hmm... suffice to say that she seemed earnest in her personal reforms; we rarely saw her clash so openly with any of her kids these days, for one. She even agreed to cooperate with me following the second attempt on Ras-"

"Second attempt?" Mu frowned. "This is new. Who might've done it, I wonder... Had it been the same as the first?! So help me if it was!"

"I don't believe I'm the right person to contact on such things, Mustafa. All I'd care to relate at this juncture, is that Mira and myself do have similar goals--and that is to keep our kids safe, watch them prosper. We've seen enough dissent and division 'twixt ourselves already; I'm all for a new tack, dear, and I trust you are too. Forgiving Mira might well be a decent step forward... wouldn't you say?"

"But you see, Mother," this prince pointed out, "even were I to forgive Mira as a person--I could, don't get me wrong--our people might be in for an outcry. Far as they're concerned, even if they would not dare admit it too loudly, the scheming Queen Mira could be attributed to some of the more heinous mishaps that's been affecting their lives more directly. I will not suffer our justice system and laws to be made a mockery of!"

"So... you wouldn't forgive her?"

"Doing so would mean braving Azalea's wrath! A brat she might be, but she also knows darn-well how to arouse feelings. In this particular instance she'd have darn-solid reasons to give flame to yet another showdown--which, oh yes, will surely upset your noble agenda of peace and plenty."

Vestra sighed, placing her hand on her son's cheek. "What will you do?"

"I... Such a problem would need to be observed from more than one aspect, Mother, that much I know. What I'm not so sure right now, is from what aspects exactly-"

"Might I help?" a new voice joined.

"Dastra!" Mustafa rose abruptly. What were the door-minders thinking, letting this visitor in without his nor his mother's express leave, and now of all times? "What are you..!"

"Akhi, please... I know this is more than a tad unseemly, chastise me however ya see fit after this. For now, though, I can tell you're gettin' anxious 'bout my mom; well, so am I. If I may..?"

Vestra, astounded as she also was by the manner of this visitor's entry, nevertheless found it in her to admire his courage. When her true son looked at her for confirmation to Dastra's implied request, she nodded.

***

"How much have you heard?" Mu demanded of his youngest sibling almost as soon as the latter was seated across him.

"Made my entrance as ya pronounced about not havin' our laws be made fun of. Gotta admit, that rings of truth; Big Sis Zal might've wanna push for that too, I gather."

"She would, eh?"

"She would," the boy affirmed somberly, "much as it would not have been easy for her, we know what she's like. Just now you seemed inclined to save our mother which, I believe, would do much to gladden her. If I can just help you ensure that Mom would still be safe without having your sense of justice sullied..."

"Can you now, child?" Vestra put in. "We have not arrived at any definite conclusions as yet, we were just discussing possibilities."

"And I am here to help my brother think on some of those, Lady Vestra. With your permission?"

Here again Urdin's first consort could not help but be pleasantly surprised. She had been trying her best to stay clear of Mirani's webs, disgusted as she had been by the foulness of her schemes... yet now with her firstborn's return she found herself once again being drawn slowly right to its center, and this time to try and get her counterpart out of them!

"Well, Mother?" the elder prince prodded. "Should we give him a chance?"

"As long as you're sure it wouldn't cloud your judgment, Mustafa."

"Speak on, Das."

The princeling beamed. "I... I won't ever forget this, Akhi! Thank you so much!" It occurred to him to leap and embrace Mu then and there, but Das stopped himself. "Now, do tell me: from which corner are we gonna 'attack' this cake?"

Mustafa resumed his seat and exhaled slowly to calm himself. "Know, though, that I still would not make any final pronouncement on the matter; you are here only to advise, Das, nothing more. That said, let's begin with the religion side first--it had been, and shall continue to be, one of many pillars upon which our Amirate had been established."

Vestra smiled. "I was wondering when you'll get to that, my lion."

"I, for my part, have been wondering why you did not put it forth first thing, Your Grace, the way you're used to... but, fine, here we go. From the religious perspective, indeed, forgiveness is a lot better than vengeance. Be that as it may, we are speaking of Mirani here; under whose direction blood had been shed. Bear in mind, too, that we haven't had time to contact the families of those two maids with the truth, of which we learned only now."

"How so?" Dastra put in, astonished. "I thought that was already settled long before..."

"It had only been relayed to them," his brother replied, "that those maids breathed their last in my young service, not that they had been killed specifically--and as such, they had not had too much room to make demands on either blood money or your mother's life as should have been their rights. Now, however, were they to come up with such demands... tell me, will you be brave enough to swallow it?"

"Akhi, they are your citizens to begin with, and your citizens love and respect you!"

"Make no such rules on anyone's feelings, Das. They could pause to listen to me as much as blame me; but you have not answered my question."

"We have to hope they wouldn't get to that..." Vestra tried.

"Pray do not change the subject just yet, Mother, unless you have something new to present. We got to this topic by your approval."

The mother nodded and kept quiet, appreciating the soundness of this argument.

"Akhi, I..." Dastra stammered. "I did not know there were such considerations, honest! So it's not just you and Big Bro Rashid that we ought to be apologizing to..."

"Do you think Azalea would've known what to say?"

"If she doesn't, I don't know who else would... I-I mean, in the meantime..."

"Seems like we'd have to continue this talk another time, then."

Tears started to well in the princeling's eyes. "I just wanted to help, you know..."

"I know, brother," came the reply as Mustafa gently put his hand momentarily on the boy's head, "I know... so help me again. Get Azalea or Mirani here, I don't care how. Tell either of them that you should happen to meet first, that I expect real answers; or you can stay quiet forever on this matter. Let's see... Two days hence, alright?"

Dastra nodded, and was allowed to leave soon after.

"Don't you think," Vestra put in when she was sure that they were alone again, "you've not been a tad too hard on that boy, my lion?"

"That," the prince replied calmly, "was but a gentle brush of the outermost part of my growing mane, Mother."

(Part 3)

"That's what Akhi said? Truly?!" Azalea interrupted halfway through her true brother's explanation of his latest encounter. "Darn, is he shrewd... So first we're expected to grovel 'fore those bereaved families, then what? Razin ain't gettin' any younger!"

"Just... get that fat mongrel the heck outta yer mind for now, Big Sis, please. Ya wanna help me save Mom or not?"

"'Course I freakin'-do!"

"Then get to see Akhi in two days, and for our sake, don't annoy him! We have only this one chance--see ya don't screw it."

Zal huffed, arms crossed. "Don't need ya to tell me that, runt... but dang, Mu's got a point. If those families shall indeed yap for Mom's life, what should we do then..?"

"Accept it, methinks," Mama Viper offered from the shadows, before stepping out onto the light. "No way to cheat Death, lass, ya know it. Was that not why Mu wanted to see me one last time, Das? Be honest."

"Well... Said he'd welcome you too, so-"

"That's settled then. I'll go. You can join me or not, Zal, but learn to hold yer freakin'-tongue this time 'round. You've been advised to go see Lady Alista earlier as well, so I heard... but ya took too long to make up yer mind, this once--how unusual. Now we must exchange the rabbit for the lion, like it or not."

"I can still go!" the princess protested.

"Then go, but don't expect it to change anything. The die is cast, the summons delivered."

"Darn you, Akhi!" The princess stormed off. "HECK IF YA THINK I'D YIELD THAT EASILY!"

"One wolf on the loose." Mama Viper smiled wearily. "Now then, Dastra dear, do me a favor, would ya?"

"Yeah, Mom! Anything!"

"Get me the peon callin' himself Mardanish, and be darn-quick 'bout it."