Black Pearl

Chapter 18

Tension was thick in the air as we sat down for supper in the palace's grand dining hall. I had been eating most of my meals in my bedroom since coming to the mainland so I was a little daunted by the expansive table, the tapestries on the wall, and the royal insignia that was mounted above Archer's dark halo of hair. As usual, I was struck by how much these people were willing to waste. 

And I knew that it was time for the hard conversations to come up, whether Willow and I tried to intercept them or not. Both of them men were glaring at each other between bites of food and I wondered which one of them would break first.

Willow could feel the simmering anger and frustration just as I could. "Wine or beer?" she offered nervously, her bright eyes flicking to her stoic husband.

"Wine, please." I desperately tried to think of something to say to break the tension. "Thank you for the tour of your garden. It was beautiful, far beyond anything I have seen yet."

She could only offer me an anxious smile as a servant filled my glass with crimson liquid.

But while we were treading lightly, just trying to keep the peace, the men didn't seem particularly bothered by anything. Archer was carefully cutting a piece of meat to bite-sized pieces and beside him, Leo almost seemed like a savage sawing into the slab of bloody steak.

"So are you going to get to the point and discuss your accusations?" Leo wondered, his voice low and cutting.

"You act like the accusations aren't true," Archer sighed, hardly raising an eyebrow while both Willow and I held our breath. 

"They aren't true for my kingdom. You forget that there are many human rulers. I cannot carry the burden for all of them."

"You have sway over your humans and they have sway over other kingdoms. We are in alliance, but I am not allied with other human kingdoms. You are the person that I can call upon to resolve issues before they stem into something bigger. We wouldn't want to let this spill into something larger, like a war, would we?"

"Are you threatening me?" Leo shot back. He set his knife down with a clatter.

At that, Archer finally had enough. With a dramatic roll of his eyes, he took a deep breath. "Leo, please. You can act as offended as you like, but when humans start hunting the trolls - a peaceful species- almost to extinction, there has to be conversations, if not consequences. Humans are afraid of what they don't understand and because of that they are killing senselessly."

"Humans are not afraid."

"How can you say that? Your betrothed is a prime example. Her people fled because they were being killed and if they hadn't fled there is no guarantee that she would be alive right now, that there would be any sirens left. And though she is alive, she has suffered. Can you imagine living your life on a secluded island? Can you imagine seeing the same sights everyday, tasting the same food, never meeting anyone new? That was her life, because of your kind," Archer pointed out hotly. "A powerful being was almost pushed off the earth because of your kind."

"Sirens are killers, we all know that, luring the finest navy men to their deaths, even innocent sailors!" Leo spat.

And I couldn't stop myself from flinching. Willow caught my eye and I was sure she would have laid her hand on top of mine if there hadn't been miles of table between us.

"There is no proof of that! Just as there is no proof that werewolves have attacked humans outside of warzones and small disputes. And yet, humans paint all of us as villains, as if we pillage your cities and towns regularly."

"Humans have not attacked werewolves since you decided to separate our kingdoms," Leo argued.

"Of course they have. Just this morning, I received a report that two young mothers were attacked while on a walk through the forest, the forest that is neutral territory. Maybe if you were more of a prince and less of a pirate, you would know these things."

I felt like I was watching the world move in slow motion as Leo slammed down his fist on the table. His mouth fell open and I didn't know what he was going to say, but I knew that he was going to be yelling and I knew each word was going to be laced with poison. 

I was speaking before I even thought about whether or not I should. "How accurate are your reports?"

Archer jerked a little, surprised to hear my melodic voice ring out. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I'm just thinking that if the reports are accurate and detailed that maybe, it's not multiple different attacks, maybe it's one group or one person. Especially if they are repeat attacks close by. If that's the case, we could make an example out of them. A show of force might scare people into following the rules again," I suggested. 

Archer stared at me for a moment and my mind's eye immediately flashed to the woman getting her hands publicly caned. Dear God, had I overstepped? Had I spoken out of turn and would now be punished? If Leo got this heated over conversations, what would he do if I insulted an ally?

I glanced at Willow in panic, hoping that I would be able to read her expression, gauge how badly I had misplayed my hand. But she was just watching her husband, her hands folded neatly in front of her.

"You know, that's not a bad idea. But you cannot do it alone. Human men, they don't respect women. If you start asking around, you may be putting yourself in danger. Now, if Leo were to agree, then we might just have a solution."

All eyes turned to my betrothed. 

"There is no guarantee that we can find these people or that one person or group is committing the crimes," Leo grumbled.

"I don't need a miracle. I just need to go back to the Troll Queen and tell her that you are trying, that something is being done to protect her people."

"Fine, tomorrow we will interview as many victims as we can that are willing to tell their story again. If they are getting attacked in the neutral territory of the forest and they can prove that these attacks are human, then we will spend a few nights in Riverstead, finding out what we can. Are you satisfied?"

Archer snort, bringing his drink to his lips. "I will not be satisfied until I can be certain that my people are safe from hate crimes, but I am pleased that we have come to a starting point."

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What is your least favorite trope?