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“Alright, but what if we don’t stop there?” Natla said, a glint in her eyes.
“An interesting proposal,” Tihocan tapped his chin, “and how would you go about doing that?”
Natla leaned back on the couch, her head nested on her palms. “We are the Triumvirate, we can do anything.”
“Ah yes, yes, of course,” Qualopec waved one hand. “And did you have any actual plan?”
“Well...” Natla dragged out the word, staring at the richly decorated ceiling of the royal lounge room, “…not really. But you have to admit it sounds like a good idea.”
Qualopec sighed and conceded with a nod.
“I wouldn’t have agreed in the past, but now,” Tihocan rubbed his forehead, suddenly looking decades older, “after the four months we’ve had...”
Natla groaned and flopped to the side, face first. “Don’t even talk about it,” she mumbled, “we’re here to forget the whole thing.”
“Not forget,” Tihocan corrected her, “but take a well-deserved break before we get back to work overmorrow.”
“You know damn well that’s what I meant,” she peeked at him from behind her dishevelled hair, pointing one accusing finger. “But I also wouldn’t mind to literally forget it, at least for this evening.”
“Which brings us back to your proposal,” Qualopec said thoughtfully. “We need to decide on that before we start, it would be difficult to do later.”
“It will be difficult now too,” Natla sighed as she pushed herself up, into a cross-legged sitting position. “Remind me next time to be prepared in advance, keep some reserves stashed in my chambers. Or maybe in all of ours. Why haven’t we done that already?”
“I had no idea this was something I should be concerned about,” Tihocan shrugged.
“Right, you have the excuse of still being quite new here,” Natla said, pushing her hair away from her face and trying to keep them that way without having to redo her topknot. “But me and Qualopec?”
Qualopec sighed and adopted a faraway look. Then he started speaking, slowly: “It happened years ago, less than a year into my reign… I was much younger, much more brash,” he sighed again, “and I have tried something of that sense. I believed I would be able to control myself and leave the stockpiles only for special occasions. But… there always seemed to be something serious enough to warrant its use...”
“And where did it lead?” Tihocan frowned in worry.
“I don’t remember much of that day,” Qualopec admitted and Natla snorted, then stifled her laugh with her palm when Tihocan shot her a reproachful look – and Qualopec gave her one icy stare that promised retribution. Very well then, he could bring it on, they hadn’t had time for prank wars in the past few months anyway.
“I don’t remember much,” Qualopec repeated, chagrined, “but according to Chahun he found me passed-out drunk around midday, soundlessly mumbling all names of the delegation we were holding talks with, apparently it looked like I was cursing them.”
Natla, who’d still been keeping the hand over her mouth, finally released it, howling with laughter. “How have I not heard of this before?! Oh gods it must be in the recordings!” she scrambled to take hold of her piece of the Scion hanging around her neck.
“It is not,” Qualopec took one nut from a bowl and threw it at her.
Natla avoided the projectile. “Did you not have the Scion with you at that time?” She gasped with a grin. “Or did you erase it?” Erasing anything from the Scion records, while possible, was a delicate and rarely used operation. Could he have really...
“It only exists in my Piece,” Qualopec informed her stiffly.
“I wanna see,” Natla whispered loudly, staring at his Scion like a predator at its prey.
“Absolutely not.”
“Oh come on!”
“No.” Another thrown nut.
“Pleeease!”
“Can you both just...” Tihocan started sharply, and the other two turned to him, Natla with one hand raised as she had been about to return fire. “...stop it,” he sighed. More than half a year since his coronation, he was getting better at breaking his fellow rulers’ arguments outright instead of just discretely shifting the conversation, but he was still not feeling entirely comfortable doing so. These were supposed to be responsible adults. Rulers of the most powerful empire in the world! He took one deep breath and let it out slowly, recognizing that he was getting easily irritable due to the stress of the last few months.
He really did need this break.
“You definitely need this break,” Natla and Qualopec said in unison.
Tihocan scowled. He supposed his irritation was visible then. Well, at least they stopped their argument.
“Let’s see if you change your mind once we’ve drank a few bottles,” Natla told Qualopec and Tihocan was tensing again, only for Qualopec to simply shrug:
“Indeed.”
Huh. Tihocan still didn’t understand those two.
“So let me guess what happened next,” Natla crunched down on the nut she had been holding, “Chahun went through your rooms and confiscated everything.”
“And I thank him for it now,” Qualopec nodded.
“Glad I never tried that then,” Natla mused. “There must be healthier ways of dealing with the sudden increase of stress and responsibilities on a daily basis.”
“Hiding in your lab for days, for example?” Qualopec raised his one visible eyebrow. “It has not been that long since you were new as well – and I was there to see it.”
“I wasn’t hiding!” Natla defended herself hotly. “I was… de-stressing by working on something I enjoyed. For days at a time...”
“We had to lock all her labs and hide the keys,” Qualopec informed Tihocan, who made an understanding “oh” before frowning deeply:
“I do wonder if I too will develop an unhealthy habit before getting used to this pace.”
Natla laughed and even Qualopec let out a snicker. Before Tihocan could get offended without even knowing exactly why, the queen spoke up:
“Too late for that, we’re pretty sure you already would have at this time.”
“We have studied your career,” Qualopec added, “you have always worked long and hard enough that there doesn’t seem to be much of a change for you at this position.”
“I see,” Tihocan said slowly, thinking back on his work over the years. He had always pushed himself, that was true. Every since he had been a child, when he’d first started school, understanding the importance and the privilege of education, coming from the humblest possible origins… he glanced back and forth at his co-rulers, born and bred nobles who had so much handed to them since childhood. He wasn’t resentful, although definitely judgemental at times, he could admit that. But going back to the current topic… He rubbed his face:
“I don’t think the last few months were like anything I had been through before.”
“But still less of a shock than for most anyone else, we’re sure,” Natla grinned.
“Possibly,” he admitted, “but as you’ve said, I need this break.”
“Nothing wrong with getting piss-out drunk once in a while,” Natla gestured to the table they were sitting around, the bottles of alcohol still unopened and waiting.
“No one will bother us tomorrow save for the greatest of emergencies,” Qualopec agreed.
“So back to my proposal of getting some more liquor while we can still stand,” Natla rubbed her hands. “How do we convince our lovely aides that it’s a good idea so they won’t try to stop us?”
“Would it be of merit to mention to them that if we get more alcohol here and now, we won’t be tempted to use more underhanded ways?” Tihocan offered, gesturing to Qualopec with an apologetic grimace.
Qualopec hummed in thought. “Chahun could accept that reasoning, having seen the alternative.”
“And he could then help convince Hathulei and Itzi,” Natla said, then she shrugged one shoulder. “Or I could maybe convince Hathulei if I gave her a really, really sad look, but the outcome is uncertain.”
“I am not sure about Itzi,” Tihocan crossed his arms. “They are quite understanding, but also take my health very seriously, which...” he gestured towards the bottles.
“Tell them it’s for your mental health, I know they mentioned it last time I saw them bullying you into getting some sleep,” Natla advised him. Tihocan conceded that point with a gesture.
“Do we risk it then?” Qualopec asked them both gravely. “Once we mention it, they will all be on the look out in case they disapprove.”
All three fell silent for a short while. Natla finally lost the battle with her hair, pulled it free of the unravelling bun and started combing it with her fingers while staring thoughtfully at a wall. Tihocan pushed his glasses up on to his head and rubbed his eyes. Qualopec was unconsciously spinning with his piece of the Scion. They had to decide fast so they could finally get to actually drinking anything.
“Oh, I have one more argument!” Natla perked up. “While this would have been the usual amount in the past before Tihocan was crowned...”
“Hetri used to drink very little,” Qualopec caught on, remembering the late queen. “Excellent point!”
“Is that so?” Tihocan looked the bottles over. “So all of this was more or less for you two? Impressive.”
“More or less,” Natla repeated, her arms up as she was twisting her hair at the top of her head.
“It seems like we will be able to present a compelling case then,” Tihocan smiled.
“So the promise of more booze is what lets us see one of your rare smiles!” Natla declared, her eyebrows rising high.
Tihocan felt his face grow warm but still shot her a narrow-eyed look, at which she just grinned.
Qualopec rolled his eyes. “I shall call on Chahun then.”