Chapter Text
The second day of negotiations required Lily to be at them all day, representing the royal family. Later, ministers would take over for her, but Princess Nadeen had promised to spend every day at the negotiations, and Teretria couldn’t be outmatched on day two.
I did tell Lily all about my exchange with Princess Nadeen over breakfast.
“She does seem rather confident.” Lily thought, munching on a piece of toast.
“Blunt and arrogant is more like it.” I snorted.
“It’s also likely that she’s never been told no.”
“That’s no excuse.”
“It’s not, but it explains the arrogance.”
“Fair point.” I shrugged.
A beat of easy silence passed, and then Lily put down her plate, looking at me with those pleading eyes.
I sighed, “What do you need?”
“My aunt is visiting today. She’s looking over the royal guard and their quarters and I really want to see her.” she pleaded.
“They visit every month from the garrison. You saw her, what, two weeks ago?”
“But the swordmaster just taught me that new move and I want to show it to her so badly!” Lily pleaded.
“And what could you possibly want me to do about it?”
Now she lowered her eyes, “Go to the negotiations in my place?”
“Lily!” I gasped, “it’s the second day, you have to go!”
“But I don’t!” She exclaimed, “My father, the one person who could actually change our official stance is going to be with my aunt. You’ve been studying the negotiation materials more than I have! And, you get along with all of the palace officials who will be there!”
“You forget, the Guilds aren’t necessarily my biggest fan, and they’re the third party here.”
“Here, you aren’t a Snake, you’re a high ranking member of the royal household who acts as my right hand. You can represent me.”
I crossed my arms, “And how do we explain this to your father or the other officials?”
“We can tell everyone that I lost my voice, then I can invite my aunt for a nice tea!” She said, as if it would be that simple. She’d pulled this con before, but it didn’t fill me with confidence, not this time.
I sighed again, “If, if you can convince everyone that you’re sick, I will negotiate in your place. Send whatever you need off to the officials. I’m going to get dressed.”
Lily put out her hand, “Deal?”
“Deal.”
*********
“That was a stupid deal.” I muttered as I walked to the minister’s chambers. Somehow, Lily had convinced several maids, physicians, and servants that she had lost her voice, and that I simply must replace her.
Opening the door, I nodded to the various diplomats I was familiar with. They tensed at my presence, as they always did.
“Rose, welcome. Have you been briefed on the necessary information?” Cosimo, the head Royal political minister asked.
“I take political and economic lessons alongside the Princess. And I keep my own tabs on a multitude of situations.”
“Good. The strategy we have so far is straightforward. Adalux wants new markets for their goods, and new goods from us at the lowest price possible. While the Guilds want trade for markets, they do not want their products to be outcompeted.”
“Naturally.” I replied, “Adalux and the Guilds will be at odds in a way. We should take the opportunity if it presents itself.”
“What do you propose?”
“Ever played chess? You maneuver your pawns until they’re in a sufficient position to checkmate. I say we play the Guilds like pawns, and wait to see what Adalux does.”
Cosimo’s mouth twitched in the barest smile, “I think I like this plan.”
**
The trumpets sounded as the royal delegation entered, listing the various titles and ministers coming to bargain. Adalux and the Guilds were already inside, milling about as they whispered to each other. This day was the first of the real negotiations, and the most important. Nobody wanted to lose. Too bad.
The table we sat at was circular, the most important representatives from each delegation sat there, while the rest filled in chairs around. Note takers from all sides sat at the ready.
A buzz of anticipation filled the room, it made my heart feel fuzzy with excitement. But I couldn’t let myself get carried away. I had to be a knife, sharp and precise.
“I was under the impression that Princess Lileadora would be joining us today.” Princess Nadeen said politely.
“Sadly, the Princess has lost her voice, your highness, and opted to send the Rose instead.” Cosimo said, taking his seat.
She turned to me, “Send her highness my wishes of good health and speedy recovery.”
“I will.” I said, trying not to let the slight smugness I felt seep through my tone.
An arbitrator banged a gavel against the table, “negotiations are resumed! The royal delegation may speak first!”
Cosimo stood, readying the memorized speech he’d drawn up. He spoke eloquently and succinctly, discussing the goals of peaceful free trade, commerce, and equal benefit for all. Now it was Adalux’s turn.
Nadeen stood, echoing the ideals Cosimo espoused. The Guild Master of the Merchant guild, the House of Coins, followed suit.
Once the last speaker sat, I cleared my throat, “Pardon me for cutting straight to the point. But at this time, is there anything that Adalux would like to outright prohibit from entering their borders?”
Nadeen turned to me, “Not at the moment. We of course do not have a fully exhaustive list of everything that Teretria can trade with us.”
“Of course. We will begin drafting that list.” I motioned for one of the aids behind me to begin that, before turning back to Nadeen, “Then let’s get to it. What tariffs do you want?”
One of Adalux’s ministers coughed, “Pardon?”
“You have been pardoned.” I said, feline satisfaction in my voice, “You want to trade with Teretria. We want to trade with you. How much will you tax imports from us, and how much would you like us to tax imports from you?”
“Now, that is rather straightforward.” Nadeen smiled, “For foodstuffs you tax 5%, for raw materials it’s 10% and for artisan goods it’s 15. Yes?”
“Correct.”
“Well, considering Teretria would become the main source of Adaluxian products to the West, it only makes sense that those numbers are lower. Perhaps, 1, 5 and 5?”
The Guild representative spoke up, “Ridiculous!”
Cosimo cut in, “How would you change it, Coin Master?”
“The guilds will not sign such an agreement! It would flood our markets with low quality craftsmanship!”
“That’s highly insulting to Adalux’s merchants, Coin Master.” Nadeen said, quietly. It had a stillness to it, the way the water is calm beneath the waves of a storm.
“I have appraised many of Adalux’s goods, and they do not match the standards of our domestic guilds. You understand, your highness.”
“I am a craftswoman myself, Coin Master. I understand why you might believe other techniques to be inferior. But one of my blades can cut just as well as one made by your Newt’s.”
“Is that a threat, your highness?”
“No.” Nadeen said simply, “Only a fact. At this table, I’d like us to keep to those. Let us leave our pageantry at the door.”
“Agreed.” I said, “Your highness.”
The Coin Master huffed.
Cosimo spoke again, “Coin Master, you object to Princess Nadeen’s terms. What do you propose instead?”
There was a moment of him considering, “It should be the same as for other foreign imports.”
“Understand that we believe this to be unreasonable, Coin Master.” Nadeen replied, “You will have sole control of our export market. It’s a precarious position that can prove to be incredibly successful or a failure. Adalux wants a promised reward for our risk. And you get access to our untapped market potential in return.”
“If the 5% tax is unreasonable, Coin Master,” I said, “Why not increase it?”
“12%” He said.
Nadeen countered, “6.”
“10.”
“6.5%”
“9.5%”
I coughed a little, “Before we go into a bidding war, why not just say 8?”
The Coin Master and Nadeen stared at each other for a moment, sizing the other up. The Coin Master received a whisper from one of the other guild representatives, and then he nodded. Then Nadeen followed suit.
“Wonderful.” I said, “Let’s mark that down and move on to sorting out the exceptions to the broad rules.”
And so, we did. It took hours to even begin sorting out the nitty gritty things. Lace and embroidery, cut and uncut wood, stone, fruits, wheat, etc. It all had to be meticulously worded and placed in the document. The taxes changed slightly depending on specifics.
Adalux has a fabric making process that is time consuming and can only be done by a handful of skilled craftspeople in their country. So, the import taxes were lessened on Teretria’s side to encourage trade. And so on and so forth.
Occasionally, member became heated, and voices were raised. But I tried my best to cut through the noise with a dry pragmatism, and Cosimo used his mediation abilities to bring things together.
Well after the sun set, we finally concluded discussions for today. As I looked at the table, I saw the barest bones of how this accord would turn out. It would certainly change the future of Teretria, the way that we did trade, and likely change Adalux as well.
“Honestly, I am shocked that went as well as it did.” Cosimo told me outside the room.
I smiled at him, “Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is what’s needed.”
“I admit that I’ve occasionally seen Princess Lileadora observe at similar affairs, but she’s never led one.” I heard the hesitance in his voice, the reserve keeping him closed off.
“Sir Cosimo,” I said, “Everything I know about politics I learned from the Princess. She is far more capable than I am. I have devoted every second of my life to serving her, because I believe that when the time comes, she will surpass all expectations.”
“It’s comforting to hear you say that.” he replied, “I don’t know you well, but I believe you are honest.”
I smirked.
“Honest in the way that you say what you think.”
“I try. If I believe every word I say, nobody can know what I believe.”
“That is also true.”
“Well,” I said, “I must leave you now.”
“Of course. And know that I send her highness many wishes of good health.”
“Yes. I’ll tell her. If it’s not contagious, she’ll be able to attend the meetings soon.”
*********
Before returning to my rooms, I ducked into a corner to ensure I wasn’t being followed, then, I searched the walls for the latch I knew was there. Hidden in the molding at the baseboard, I found it, hearing a subtle click as the wall swung inwards.
Most of the regular passages were used by the servants, but not all were like that. Many were in strange corners of the castle, and remained in disuse. Of course, the spies among the staff helped by spreading rumors that they were full of the bodies of dead spies and such.
Down a multitude of corridors and strange turns I went. A locked door I knocked on in a series of set movements. The door was opened, a masked face peered out, recognizing me.
“Rose, welcome.” The person said.
“What news do you have?” I looked at the small subterranean room, with a table in the center. A few other masked figures sat in the seats.
“You are aware of how the negotiations went.” One said.
“On my side, at least.” I replied, sitting.
“The Guilds aren’t too riled up,” a second figure said, “though the Coins weren’t too happy about your presence. The Guild of the Bears as well, they see us encroaching and grasping for more power.”
“They know that when the next heir comes about, they will choose someone to guard them.” I said, “It’s still concerning though. Maybe see if there’s any other reason they don’t like this treaty, or any excuse they might come up with to oppose it.”
The second figure nodded and left, not needing to hear the rest. It was a safety measure, the less any one person knew as a whole, the better.
“And within the castle?” I asked the first figure.
“The ministers respect you after your actions today. Some still don’t trust you. Most of the downstairs gossip revolves around Adalux. Princess Nadeen is apparently quite popular, she might become a romantic figure.”
I thought for a moment, “Let’s ensure that this doesn’t hurt our Princess in the long term, and monitor any calls for them to marry. It’d be a hopeless infatuation by the public.” Lily didn’t like women, she liked just about everybody else, but wasn’t romantically attracted to women. It’s something we’d never seen eye to eye on.
“Understood.” the figure said, leaving.
I turned to the last one, “Any more about Adalux?”
“I’m sending my report so far to the Master. Any actions we’ve taken are ones you shouldn’t know about, for your own neutrality.”
“Of course. Keep your eyes on Princess Nadeen, but don’t let her know. I think there might be something off about her. She seems a little too sly. If you can, of course.”
“I’ll try.”
I looked at the person who’d let me in. They sported a rabbit mask, metallic, with rivets at conjunctures. The Brass Rabbit, one of the upper members of the House of Snakes.
“Would you like my report for this week?”
“Yes.”
So I told them every bit of information I’d learned that week. The silly little bits of gossip I’d heard at lunch to the important diplomatic affairs I’d spied in the papers on Cosimo’s desk.
“Good. You seem hesitant about Princess Nadeen, is there a reason?”
“No, just a feeling. It’s like something’s off.”
“Do you have another way to describe it?”
“It’s like she’s important but I can’t tell how.”
“She’s a princess, future queen of Adalux.”
“Important in some other way, beyond her titles.”
The rabbit thought, “The Snake has always said you had skills for clairvoyance. We might ask the Guild of Crows, see what they divine about her.”
I nodded.
“I also bring news from the Snake herself.”
“What is it?”
“She wonders if there’s any time you might come home.”
“I’m a bit busy at the moment.” I replied, “The delegation just arrived.”
“The Adalux delegations will be touring around the city two days from now. Maybe you could sneak off after that.”
“I will try.”
“Good. do so.”