Outside, Vander was waiting, with Ymazu and a pair of powerful-looking guards. Laela glanced nervously at them, but they said nothing, and only stood silently on either side of the diplomats.
Vander bowed his head briefly. “My lady, the Emperor would like to see you.”
“Good,” said Laela. “Will yeh come with us, Vander?”
“We shall,” Vander said briefly. “Ymazu and I are expected to attend. Come, and we will show you the way.”
Laela nodded to Oeka, and the pair of them followed Vander and Ymazu. The guards silently fell in behind, uncomfortably close to Laela and Oeka. Clearly, the Emperor was taking no chances.
Vander and Ymazu led the way toward the centre of the palace, an area Laela hadn’t seen yet. At the end of their journey, the corridors, already open and airy with large glassless windows, opened out even further into a column-lined walkway. Beyond that was a large courtyard. The city outside had looked barren to Laela, but the courtyard was beautiful. It had been filled with plants, all lush and green. Vines covered the walls, festooned with bright red flowers. Water splashed into a shallow pool that was covered in lillies. Small, ornamental trees grew around the edges, filling the air with a pleasant, spicy aroma.
Despite the circumstances, Laela felt much calmer here. This, she decided, was the perfect place to negotiate. Peaceful, friendly, and elegant.
The Emperor was waiting by the pool, sitting cross-legged by the base of a tree. He was wearing the usual white kilt although this one was edged with bright red and decorated with gold beads. His bald head nearly shone in the sunlight.
He looked very relaxed, but despite that, there was another thing in the garden that added the faintest hint of a threat. This time, for the first time Laela had seen, the Emperor’s partner was there.
She almost missed it at first-the griffin lay on her belly among some bushes, nearly unmoving. The slow flicking of her tail had given her away. Her feathers were magnificently patterned with browns and yellow-golds, and the splash of green on her wings had melded in with the plants around her. Even her beak and forelegs were brown. Her eyes were the colour of sand and stared unblinking at the newcomers.
Laela had learned a lot about how to behave around the Emperor and his partner. So had Oeka. The pair of them stood where they were and let Vander and Ymazu go first.
The two diplomats approached the Emperor and his partner. Vander stood with his head politely bowed, while Ymazu took a step toward the other griffin.
Laela, watching, frantically tried to remember her name. She couldn’t come up with anything.
The Emperor’s partner didn’t stand up, and barely even turned her head when Ymazu lowered her own in submission. She opened her beak, and said something. Ymazu replied.
Finally, the two griffins looked toward Vander and the Emperor, neither of whom had moved.
Vander knelt, and spoke in Amorani. The Emperor answered him, and finally stood up to look at Laela and Oeka. Acting on some unspoken signal, Vander and Ymazu both stood aside, leaving Oeka to approach the Emperor’s partner, who now stood to receive her. Standing, she was much taller than Oeka, but lighter and slimmer.
Oeka bent her forelegs and touched her head to the ground. “Great and powerful Zaerih, I am Oeka of Malvern. I come to you as an inferior in every way, and carry no plan to attack or insult you, who are dominant over me and my human.”
Zaerih-
Zaerih gave her a rough shove with her beak, pushing her away. Oeka resisted for an instant, but quickly realised that she was being dismissed and loped back to Laela’s side.
The formalities finally over with, the Emperor smiled and gestured at Laela to join him. “Sit with me,” he said.
Laela obeyed, sitting cross-legged opposite him, by the pool. “Thank you for seein’ me, Sacred Ruler.”
“I am honoured to receive you, Lady Laela,” the Emperor said gravely. “May I ask how your King is faring?”
“Not well,” Laela said honestly. “Sacred Ruler. . the King is very badly hurt. But-” She raised a hand, and her voice as well. “But there’s no blame on you. The doctors yeh sent did a good job; yeh’ve been takin’ good care of him, an’ me as well. I know there’s been some tension, bad things bein’ said, but I’m here to tell yeh there’s no problem. I was a witness. You had nothin’ to do with this, an’ neither did any of yer good people, Sacred Ruler. Yer our friend, our good friend, an’ I know the King would say the same if he were here. But obviously he ain-isn’t, so I’ve come in his place.”
“You are his highest official here?” said the Emperor, unreadable.
“I am,” said Laela. “My words are his. What I say, he says.”
The Emperor smiled. “He told me this. That is why I granted you an audience.”
Laela’s heart beat faster. “Good. Then here’s what I have to say.”
“Speak,” said the Emperor.
Laela took a deep breath. “The King needs t’be taken home, an’ quickly. Only Malvern has the medicine he needs. But before we leave, I’m here t’finish the negotiations. So tell me what’s left t’be done, an’ I’ll see it done.”
The Emperor frowned. “You are certain that the King must be sent home?”
“I am,” said Laela.
“But what medicine can your people have that mine do not? The doctors of my palace are the finest in the world.”
“They are,” said Laela. “An’ they’ve done good work for him an’ for me. But they don’t have what he needs.” She smiled slightly. “He needs snow. Only the North has that.”
“Very well,” said the Emperor. “Your people must treat him as they see fit, and if our help is not asked for, then so be it. I hope that he will return when he has recovered, so that we may complete our treaty.”
“We can do that now,” said Laela. “I’m empowered to do it.”
But the Emperor shook his head. “Our treaty cannot be sealed without the King.”
“Why?” said Laela. “What did yeh need from him that I can’t give?”
“The marriage,” said the Emperor. “The King must marry my daughter, or the treaty will be void.”
“Can’t she come back with us?” said Laela. “The ceremony could happen in Malvern once the King got better.”
“That is not good enough,” said the Emperor, not angry but firm. “The ceremony must happen on Amorani soil. There must be a wedding. We are prepared for one.”
“Can’t we seal the treaty some other way?” Laela asked in desperation.
“No. We complete every new alliance this way. There must be a meeting of two souls, a binding of two families. This is vital.”
“I understand,” said Laela. “But the King is unconscious, an’ he’s never gonna wake up unless he goes home. He can’t get married this way.”
“Then he must come back later,” said the Emperor, unmoved. “Without the marriage, there is no treaty. Do not waste our time in arguing over this, Lady Laela.”
Laela knew there was no chance of Arenadd ever setting foot on Amorani soil again. If he ever tried, she would stop him. But there was no way the Emperor was going to change his mind.
“Then maybe we can do this another way,” she said at last. “Could someone else here maybe marry her instead?”
“Only a member of the King’s family may make the marriage,” said the Emperor. “It must be royal blood to royal blood, or the wedding would be meaningless.”
Laela rubbed her eyes. She was quickly running out of options. At this point, it looked like she was going to have to accept the inevitable and go back home with the treaty half-finished. And when-if-Arenadd recovered, she would have to tell him that she had failed and that he would have to go through another six months of agony because she had been unable to finish what he had started.
She settled on a compromise. “I understand, Sacred Ruler. If yeh don’t mind, I’d like some time t’think about this.”
“Of course.” The Emperor smiled. “You look very tired, and are more than welcome to rest. I will see you
