the white fox

CHAPTER FOUR,

THE WHITE FOX | FOUR

 ONE AFTERNOON. THAT was how long Danna managed to keep her tongue in check for. Because this Mr Volkov had clearly just suffered the consequences of bothering Daneira Pang when she wasn't in the best of moods. Funny, how Danna could be so calm and composed but snap within a moment.

Mr Volkov had come with Lieutenant Harlande and the other boy, Louis Sanchez, but they didn't seem fond of him. They didn't spend most of their time together. Most people seemed to have taken Diksha's advice and steered clear of him. There had to be a story about that somewhere. If Asteria wasn't on the job, she'd be trying to figure that out.

Io and Louis Sanchez were doing a wonderful job at calmly ignoring each other, not even glancing in each other's directions. Danna was talking with Lieutenant Harlande now, being politely disinterested about it, her face impassive. So Asteria focused on her food. Across the table was a girl with the same blonde hair as Miss Wushire, who kept trying to meet her eye. A sister, maybe? Couldn't be too pleasant. Perhaps she was seeking revenge. Or if she was smarter, forgiveness for her sister's rudeness.

The truth was that Asteria couldn't care less. Miss Wushire had served her point. She was useless now.

The lieutenant seemed pleasant enough. He wasn't an idiot, which was nice, and possessed a good sense of humour. That seemed to be in short supply these days, at least around Asteria's circles. But it also spoke to a certain degree of intelligence, which she did not want poking around her. She'll do her best to stay away.

Danna didn't seem to be causing any trouble for Lieutenant Harlande, so Asteria let her concentration drift from them and turned towards Louis Sanchez. "Mr Sanchez, isn't that right?"

"Correct, Lady Asteria." He seemed a little startled at being talked to, though he did his best to hide it. "May I help you?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Just a bit bored, really. It was either you or joining upon Danna and Lieutenant Harlande's conversation. Are you friends?"

"We are," he replied. "Our families live together, so we're rather close. Arrived together."

"I see, I see. And Mr Volkov?"

"A friend's friend. We were asked to look out for him since this is his first trip here." And they didn't do it willingly. That much was clear, from both his expression and the way they acted.

"He's from Novokuluga?" But they both knew what the real question was: which side was he on? Novokuluga had been split in a civil war for what felt like decades. Sai stayed neutral for the most part, fond of neither side, but Princess Irina had made a few moves that seemed to favour the older monarchy.

"Kirivaya." Under the Kozlov regime's rule. Asteria gave a nod, not betraying her own personal beliefs. Really, she'd never taken much of a side in the Novokulugan affair, so she didn't have much to hide anyways.

"And where are you from, Mr Sanchez?" If this was the same Louis Sanchez, he'd be from Vayante. Asteria had been trying to remember that mission Io had been dispatched on two years ago, the one where these two's paths would have crossed. The younger son of a baron? Irina had sent Io out to make sure he and his family weren't Meliquean agents. They'd moved to Caershire soon afterwards, which was their destination anyways. The only reason she'd kept him in her memory was because Io alleged that this Mr Sanchez had caught her spying on him. Iolanthe Mi didn't get caught. Not even when she was twelve.

"Vayante." His smile wasn't happy. He couldn't be much older than Io, and Asteria was suddenly struck with the knowledge that these two probably carried the same amount of demons. This generation hadn't had it easy. Born in the aftermath of the Epimurean Revolution, Caershireen Independence, and raised during the Saian Revolution. And then spending their teen years worrying about the war with Melique, until it finally began a little more than a year ago. Asteria had been lucky. She'd been kept away during the Saian Revolution and raised in luxury. But even she had her own burdens.