(Part 1)

"Always glad to take yer call, Mu," the queen mused. "This is the second time ya've asked for me, I recall."

Mu did not laugh. "Then I'll do you a favor and cut to the chase, as I'm finding this singular affair to be distracting me in more ways than one. Would you mind if I just let Razin slip?"

Mira blinked. "What are you saying? Ya're gonna help him evade justice?"

"Far from it. Even now my trusted aide is seeking to ensure that the felon will voluntarily turn himself in... or, failing that, to make a permanent end of him. But we both know Razin could be far more slippery than that, and there's a chance Azu would return empty-handed in both instructions. What would you say to that?"

"Are ya really havin' me believe we cannot thus hunt him down, with all resources available to us?"

"Suppose we do, that'll attract attention; the masses would want to know what it were all about, and even if by some luck we should nab him again, your august name shall inevitably be implicated. Then I'd have little choice but to indict you."

"We both know you do have that authority."

"Technically, yes; but much more would then be at stake. You are one of my father's legal spouses, and he may not consent to such punishment, given your reformed state... least of all your own kids. Were I to persist, I might be accused of fratricide, and this Amirate's succession issue might then be put to question, way sooner than we'd have liked; is that what you'd want?

"Now," the prince resumed, "turning a blind eye to a single palace felon breaking clear, alone, penniless, friendless... What would we lose, one courtier? Get another in. Not like he's particularly distinguished, else you wouldn't have been so keen to play patron with him for decades. Eh?"

Mira was silent for quite some time, humming with a hand on her chin. One side of her wanted to bask and marvel, for such was indeed part of her original scheme: put Urdin out, and one of her own in. But then she took a closer look at this youth: putting up a tough front even as he tried to pull so many strings together at once, having barely recovered from a months-long siege alongside people he might not have wanted to be there with in the first place.

Affectionate pity mixed with renewed remorse wiggled in, adding to her already-immense admiration for him.

"And if ya can afford to let one 'palace felon' escape," she resumed carefully, "what guarantee should we have that such a thing would not recur? Besides, his escape would also imply technical freedom from our laws-hence bigger whims in the future, new aliases, whatnot..."

Mu smiled. "Such is the sort of risk we ought to be taking; not the first time for either of us, I gather. Fault me all you wish for mentally writing Razin off--Azalea and Dastra would still have your reformed counsel like they had so often and openly wished. The future of two of my siblings for one petty felon's life--not fair? In return, I would have to make sure this kind of calumny does not recur, and I shall."

"If ya put it that way... Heck, I've turned a blind eye so many times before; I s'pose once more for the good of all won't hurt, will it? Does this mean you're gonna let me off too, though?"

"Not unpunished. You had helped ensure two entire families--those of my maids--being deprived of means of livelihood. That shouts for compensation, so let's see... Three-quarters of your wealth should be given over to the realm for charity purposes, I gather--perhaps a mosque or orphanage, or both--so that you may indirectly atone for your sins while still being of use to your own homeland."

"And the final quarter?"

"Use that to settle down where you wish, kids and all, outside this Amirate for a period I'd rather not specify. Let them understand that I bear no grudges nor malice thus; they're as much my father's offspring as I am, being afforded a second chance to keep their royal integrity relatively intact. Is that sufficient?"

Mirani rose up and got out of her seat, only to drop to her knees while clutching Mu's right palm with both hands and kissing it with deference, only pausing when Vestra's firstborn bid her to.

"Sufficient, ya say? My young, dear lion of a prince, this... this is way better than we know I deserve!" she pointed out, lips quivering in sheer delight. "For two noble lives that this miserable excuse of a queen had intended to take, you've saved three, perhaps even more. Even though we may not get to see each other again, sir, I, the last surviving child of King Tharion, am deeply beholden to you! Do let me know, is there anything I might get to wrap up just for ya before my departure?"

Be merciful, Mu recalled his true brother saying. It might come a long way.

It did seem that way now.

The prince helped Mama Viper on her feet, and for a moment they shared a heartfelt embrace like true mother and son--two experts of the game, in their own ways, having concluded a memorably-brilliant set.

"Now may not be the proper time to reel favors in just yet, Your Grace," he said as they disentangled, "but I may hold you to that. You will, of course, help to ensure that Zal would not be making unnecessary fuss about this; the alternative would likely ruin her as much as that felon."

"Naturally. One last point: Razin did not work alone. He's got funds, connections, agents..."

"Some of which you helped supply and cultivate, a dark twist on your supposed authority. Start working to reverse that, would you? Sooner the better."

Mama Viper smirked, rising from her seat. "Count on that, sir."

***

As Mirani and Mustafa finally came to terms both thought they could settle down with, the Amir was formulating his own conclusions as he made his way to Vestra's chamber that night.

Having been assured that he would be getting new, likely-more-efficient weapons for his arsenal through production if not trade, Urdin's attention now turned to the case of Razin as well--the man hinted by so many to have tried to off his children in at least three separate occasions. The Amir's most recent encounter with his firstborn that other day had implied urgency that this man be dragged in for a trial as soon as possible... but Urdin had maintained that such a thing would not be possible without sufficient damning evidence.

"Then again," he wondered, "Mu and Rashid were far from being the only victims of that nocturnal attempt three years ago. Two of Mu's maids also lost their lives; and if Razin was as guilty as they claimed, he might well have had some part in their demise too! Oh, if only I could get to find out just what kind of hard evidence they had! But even without that, security must be doubled from here on, vigilance increased, what with those northern savages' impending arrival..."

Thus resolved to start doubling his watch, the Amir now began to wonder whether he might actually have lasting peace with those same 'savages'--and if so, at what cost.

"Yusuf could be right, though. To be able to produce things we could not, even after years of stable improvement... Perhaps they're not as backward as we'd love to think, after all. Mu also mentioned during that dinner, how they would 'welcome peace as well as the next man'... Well then! We shall have to see how the northerners are going to regard our increased security measures; in the meantime there should be a chance to haul Razin in based--finally--on hard evidence!"

(Part 2)

That same night, somewhere outside the capital.

"Not very long now," Idris observed, almost to himself, huddled close to the still-burning campfire.

The last time he could recall saying such a line with such fervor, was as a runaway eleven-year-old brat, standing beside his mother as their battered ship--having barely survived an encounter with Sigistan sea wolves--was nearing the shores of Urdin's newly-wrested domain. Their second shot at having a homeland.

The girl across from him, currently armored in black, yawned while covering her mouth.

"Sure as heck is," she noted sleepily before hugging her knees. "Just glad they ain't sendin' troops out here, considerin' how my lot must've been perceived: ragged patchwork o' self-serving polities with Dad at the top." The lass shrugged. "All there is, all I got. For now. Might getta fix that once I'm outta this foxhole."

"Lady Brista, you might not wish to relate such things out loud."

"What the heck, Sir Id. Barbarians, I heard some o' Mu's men whisper 'bout us. Why not do the rest of 'em a favor n' meet such an expectation halfway, eh? I'm not bein' called 'Dragoness' for nothin', I'll have the rest of 'em find out. Mu's about the only reason I agreed to be here at all, ya know that, right?"

Amir Imran the Second's only child sighed. "Twentieth time you told me so today, please get over it already. Besides, Prince Mustafa shall not be alone. Some of his siblings might also get to be there when you greet him."

"Yeah, yeah--came from a freakin'-large brood, our hero does. Told me so one smoky night. One to watch would be a certain Azalea. I even wondered why aloud, but he just grinned, that foxy lion. One way to find out, I s'pose. How 'bout ya, Sir Id? Not homesick, I hope?"

Idris chuckled. "We're near enough it for me not to... but I do wonder how my family must've been faring."

Brista's expression softened a fraction. "Got kids of yer own, 'ave we?"

"Allah Be Praised, yes."

She winced inwardly at the mention of 'Allah'--a term she just might get to hear for many more times where she was headed. Most probably in not-too-friendly atmosphere, given her perceived upbringing. Not with Idris, true, but even that had taken time and countless dead. "How many?"

"One, named him Uvais."

"Hope he won't be growin' up sibling-less as I have. Been no fun, I tell ya."

"About that," Idris stared into the campfire, now reduced to red embers, "we'll have to see. For exactly fourteen years now I've helped my uncle see to the improvements of the homeland whose reins of rule he'd seen fit to take over... strategically from now-dead King Tharion, and family-wise from myself. Now he's begotten the likes of Mustafa and Azalea, and I've been blessed with a son of my own. How time flies."

The young Dragoness's expression hardened.

"Hey, hold it--just said yer uncle took the reins o' rule from ya. If so, chances are I'd be makin' deals with some damnable usurper; and I'll say it now, I freakin'-hate such breeds. Like sin."

"Usurper?" Mu's only cousin flinched inwardly in his turn. None had dared affix that brand to Urdin so openly in the years following his second marriage. Already the prospect of having this young firebrand meeting eye to eye with the equally-headstrong Amir, was causing mounting concerns for his top diplomat. "Best not make too-unpleasant remarks on things you know very little about, Lady Brista-"

"Only my grunts get to call me that; ya're not one of 'em. 'Bri' will have to do. Now, Sir Id, if ya will, relate to me how Mu's dad came to power: I better be assured as deeply as possible where we both stand before the talks shall commence."

Idris met her stare. "Fine, Bri. Suffice to say, my uncle helped fill the hole that the early demise of my father had torn open... both as a family man and as the inheritor of the principality that my grandfather Husnir had established a strait away some forty years ago. I was very young then, and ruling through regency even as we battled against King Tharion's forces would have been unthinkable at best. Regents tend to bicker, and what we really needed was unified command. My uncle understood that; my mother nodded; she asked me to and I obeyed. Allah Be Praised, we end up stronger than we had ever been through such compromise."

Bri grunted. "Moral. But you do acknowledge that you have a right to where this Urdin is sitting?"

"That I do, everyone in my realm would know. But, just 'twixt us, I might not get to push it... not because I couldn't. I have witnessed, all these years, instances when power would so often put you into conflicts with yourself, and I would rather not have that additional burden by choice, what with a new family behind me. In my modest opinion, we need younger and fitter ones to step forth to such a grand task... Ones like Mustafa and yourself."

"Not takin' up chances when ya see it, eh? Boring~"

Idris smiled. "That suits you better. Now, if you will, let's get some rest."

***

"You what?" Leia gasped shortly after her eldest brother confided his most recent plans to her during the aftermath of the following morning's breakfast. "Planning for both of them, Mira and Razin, to slip through your fingers just like that... because you're worried of what Azalea might do? I-" she shook her head, "I respect you, Akhi, but I don't think I can just nod to that. You've subdued a rebellion from the outside with all force, but would prefer not to address where it would truly matter--the inside? Think on how dearly the first such failure had cost us--your maids!"

"Don't think I forget that," Mu retorted. "but if and when I decide to make Mira shorter by a head, Azalea would look to me for the blame!"

"Oh please, we know she's not dumb enough to stop there! I have been 'Pighead' to her for many years now, but I rather that than subvert justice! That not what makes a good ruler? I thought you believe in it too!"

"I thought you would have better things to offer than fuss about matters whose goings-on you'd known very little about, Leia. I confess, that kind of proposal to Mira at this time might sound underhanded... but I know we might then have peace. Peace! Is that not how we have managed to progress this far?"

"An uneasy peace at best, spent always looking over your shoulder," the princess observed. "And not only for you, but your kids and grandchildren should you be destined to have them. Is that what you want part of your legacy to be?"

"You're thinking way too far ahead there, Sister. I'm not even Amir yet, might never be!"

"All the moreso, prove yourself worthy of it from now! Father had been willing to try and track down your would-have-been assassins all the way to their benefactors' lair, and let them have it too. His ways to accomplish that might not have been very gentle, but here you are. Am I to believe he had you spared... so you could commit the very same darn-mistake?"

"Am I to believe you'd rather see your siblings suffer from the loss of a parent?! Zaheer would've loved to see you on that-"

Lei snorted. "I don't even know who this Zaheer is, so let's cut to the chase. Suffer they might, but their lessons from said parent could fairly be said to have finished with Mira's death anyway. Zal and Das would need to figure the rest out by themselves, sure... but they would do so together, in a world that might yet have some place for them. Tell me now, how is that not mercy in itself?"

Mu glared back at her. "And some thought Mirani hard-hearted. Would you have said the same, had it been our mother?"

She paused. "I... think so. That's just how stern justice could get, Father told me once. In the kind of case you mentioned, I might then have to devote more of my time for both of you, and I would do so in the knowledge that we did not shy away from values Mother taught us. At least then-"

"You're not the only one free to think that way, you know. Should Zalea decide instead not to shy away from values that she believed her own mother had taught her, what then? We'd have a new threat possibly worse than Razin could ever be, by choice-" here Mu pounded on the table in a chopping motion, his palm facing sideways, "-and this in spite of all the time she'd been trying to improve and mature! Would you have me lop Zal off as well next, hmm? She is as much my sister as you are."

Here Leia truly started to hesitate. "Just what is your take on 'justice', then, Akhi?"

The 'lion prince' leant in his seat. "For one, I've learned that 'justice' is not measured by how many heads we've taken, no matter how many would've liked to argue otherwise in such times as these; rather, it's more about achieving solutions acceptable, if only relatively so, to all parties involved. A thing you might wanna start thinking of, too."

"Can't always get what we desired, huh?"

"Not in this world. As things stand, Razin is being given another shot at earning himself an honorable discharge, even as I am going to finally present the 'hard evidence' Father asked of; about time I do. Wanna join?"

Lei smiled properly for the first time that day. "After you."

(Part 3)

Much to their surprise (although Mu was only slightly calmer), the siblings came across Razin again on their way to seek audience with the Amir. The courtier recovered first.

"Excellencies," he nodded to both of them by way of greeting, with almost no trace of alarm. He appeared to be alone.

Something he'd caught from Mira, no doubt, Leia thought warily.

"Razin," Mu acknowledged, rather snidely. "You still have the gall to show up at court, do you not?"

"Why, I have not been notified to the opposite effect, my prince."

"You might soon be."

"Am I to regard that as an active threat, sir?"

Fishy gnat, Mu thought, seething. "No, sir, that's a warning. Your first and last, if you're not careful. We both know who made more of what."

"Knowledge without proof, sir, is vanity."

"I have nothing to show to you," Mu growled.

"Then kindly stay out of my way."

Azalea would gladly have put this earthworm in place... if she could. "Will you not do so much as apologize?" the lion prince called. "Might lighten your sentence."

"I seek no reprieve for trying to warn my Amir that what he's doing is wrong," came the response. "I let your brothers live, and while I regret not having ended you through that fateful stab, there you stand, still trying so hard to condemn me... and for what? Your survival, Prince Mustafa, had directly led to the sacking of an entire city that had professed submission!"

"And those maids?" Leia snapped. "Would you stoop so low as to regard them to have been-!"

"Unfortunate collaterals, yes. That was all they had ever been, to me, ever since. If you wish to have my life taken for those wenches' sake, by all means, go ahead... but I warn you, you'd be no less a killer in such a tender age. Your orders had taken my son away for good, and many more besides, just like those of your mangy father!"

Mu blinked. "Your son..?"

"Vasmir. You never paused to care why he revolted, have you? Not then, not now, and no thanks to those heathens and their Lady in Black... Darn you both! Go on then-" he spread out his arms. "Seize me, if you dare!"

"So why did Vasmir rebel?"

"SEIZE. ME!"

"I've never targeted children with a purpose. Why was it?"

Instead of providing an answer, the courtier leapt on the prince with a roar, soon taking hold of his neck while pinning him down. Mu, prepared as he was for such a reaction, was nevertheless unarmed, and all he could manage was prevent the chokehold on his airpipe from getting too tight. Lei, rushing in to help, did manage to land a left haymaker to Razin's exposed side of the face, but he grunted the pain away and his next no-look elbow riposte bloodied her face and vision, effectively rendering her out of the game.

Meanwhile Azalea, coming from the other way, was already geared for her morning swordplay. She heard the scuffle, and her rage boiled upon seeing its victims. Her sword was out in mere seconds.

"SCUM!"

Razin looked up, briefly registering this newest challenge. This slight respite proved invaluable, however, as Mu pulled off a punch to the courtier's jaw that further disoriented him even as Zal proceeded with her own single-minded, rage-fueled attack. Gathering momentum that was only slightly altered as Mira's fiery daughter leapt over Leia's still-knocked-out figure, she came up with a fierce downward slash.

Razin still found time to evade, however, dodging sideways; but this in effect freed Mustafa up. Azalea's steel blade missed the latter's exposed throat by a hair's length; too close for comfort.

Thus cornered into a stalemate, Razin attempted to make a run for it... but his courtier's robes slowed him down, and behind him, the youths he had so long tried to harass were no longer in the mood for clemency.

Noises of the extended scuffle, meanwhile, had also gotten Mira's attention; she appeared just as Razin was getting very close to the corridor's end, and very quickly registered what was happening.

The sight of her, coupled with his present mental state, did not prevent Razin from trying to reach out, literally.

"La-Lady Mira, mercy..!"

"None for turncoats."

Upon her mother's quick nod at her, Azalea resumed her own attack, putting this particular courtier's life to rest at last through a single thrust from the back and out to his chest. Mama Viper's smirking face became Razin's final sight.

"None messes with a viper's nest but will get bitten!"

Silence fell following the body's unceremonious thud. Mira very deliberately trod on her erstwhile lapdog's body as she went over to the lion prince and his still-unconscious true sister.

"Doin' alright, Prince?"

"Thanks." Just one more death today; seen so many before.

"Sent Azu out for that one, I gather? Well, no need. It is done."

"Could've been better."

"This is best. Wasn't the sort of parting gift we intended, but-"

"But nothing," Azalea cut in. "Justice served, traitor dead, siblings saved. No regrets."

"Urdin would be furious."

"He will," Mu acknowledged, "but I shall be there for you. Meantime we got a body to bury and another to transfer. Will any one of you please fetch Azu again? I'll attend to my sister."

"Let me do that," Zal said. "Least I can do, havin' Pighead-ed her for far too long. You and Mom go see to this earthworm's internment, Akhi-" she pointed down at the corpse with her bloodied weapon. "Been quite the thorn in our butts; he deserves that much."

"Might wanna clean that," the mother advised, referring to the weapon.

"I will. Later."

Very soon they heard the clatter of a metal tray, and some scattered bread. The servant Aska was standing there, horrified.

"Impeccable timing." Mu stood up, dusting himself.

***

When news of the most recent takedown reached the Amir, he did not react for a full minute.

"You do know they have committed a grave sin, Mustafa!" He fumed. "And you still have the gall to advise me that I somehow overlook this?!"

"Were it not for them, I would not even be here! Would you condemn them for doing what they did best, Father, when once more you had not been there for me?"

"This must not go unpunished, either way!"

"And it would not." The prince then outlined his own thoughts: spare the lives of Mira's lot, but have three-quarters of their wealth confiscated for charity measures. They would be miles poorer, yes, but live they shall. Their expertise and reformed state might then help restore the balance. In time.

"I feel you need not be reminded, Your Grace, but we have reached a critical juncture here," the prince reminded him. "A new vazir is in place, and with it new rules; a deal of sorts will be negotiated with our northern neighbors soon enough, insha Allah; and to top it all, the roots of malice plaguing our Amirate for decades shall very soon be extracted. Why begrudge the voluntary departure of your flesh and blood so? You might still be part of their leave-taking, if such is your wish."

Urdin's countenance softened a tad. The 'hard evidence', even if presented, would be of little use now. No trial, then, it would seem, without causing further rumpus; and the Pathfinder could guess how his firstborn had done his best to avert just such an occurrence.

"This turn-a-blind-eye better be worth it," the Pathfinder murmured.

"We are talking about one of the women whom you had taken in under sacred marriage vows; who bore your children; and who had every reason to be loved by us, having helped uproot a foul menace to our household--even I very nearly did not," the lion prince pointed out. "It can't hurt to be merciful, Father, may Allah Reward us well."

"I shall take your word on this." The Amir paused. "Just where would they be going, then?"

"Yet to be determined, and in any case, that can wait. Those northerners are due here tomorrow, with Idris and Khalid in tow; rumors of which are already rife in town. How well are we prepared for them?"

"Well enough to not disappoint, I hope. It has come to my attention also that our northern friends are quite capable of making grand offers, if not always tasteful."

Mu smiled. "I suppose that means you'll need ones with sufficient experience with them on our side, as well."

His father no longer beat around the bush. "That would be of immense help, indeed. Would you be there?"

"Brista would've settled with no less. While we're at it, allow Mirani a seat there too: her father had had dealings with Bri's realm that we might not have realized, but which might come in handy... Oh, and let's not leave our new vazir out. First major stroke and all; we need to see if his performance merits keeping that kind of position."

"Fully agreed. I'll see what can be done."

Prince Mustafa Husniris was personally present for Razin's internment later that same day, and he was among the last to depart from the gravesite. As he did so, the young 'Dragontamer'--as Bri would insistently have it--wondered whether or not this might be a foul precedent.

Yes, Razin might have been a full-blown criminal; but his cause was apparently justified, to have lasted for at least one generation with undimmed fervor...