Tale of the Princess

V

Shyra leaned on the armrest of her seat and listened to the courtiers drone on and on. It was a few maasas down the line from her birthdate and she was sitting an important council meeting that discussed the current affairs of Ziya.

Her smaller throne next to the rulers' was padded and soft for her to sit on, and she got a good view of everyone from her position. That didn't make this process any more fun though. Their reports were nothing like the ones she received from her council, and they were saturated with unnecessary adressals that wasted too much time.

"And so, we'll be taking the relevant course of action, my King," the courtier said and finally sat down.

Shyra couldn't afford to look bored or disinterested though. She'd argued with her mother considerably to be allowed in his court sessions, so she had to filter out all the unnecessary talk to record important information in her mind.

"Your Majesty," a young courtier addressed the King. Shyra sat up keenly in her seat. This guy was the head of administration of their foreign trade, a subject that had always interested her.

"Our trade with Ronin and Mehri has, of course, been substantially low because of the war adding to our troubles. Ilya has been regular in its supply of stone, so our reconstruction needs are routinely being met. Plus, Alza is in quite a tough spot right now, so our trade relations with them are very uncertain. Here are our current trade levels, their increment ratios, and the rate at which they were supposed to grow."

Shyra referred to her own papers quickly. Ronin was well known for its strong metals that were forged in their fiery magma beds. If that had gotten lower, the construction of infrastructure and forging of weapons would be a problem. Ronin also traded in the huge amounts of energy they harvested through the intelligent use of Ronin's heat, which would trap Ziya's energy levels.

And Mehri... a water planet, Mehri had the primary importance of supplying everyone with an extra boost of life-giving water. Shyra made a mental note to talk to her Father about reinforcing their contract.

Ilya gave the all-important stone supplies that they used along with Ronin's metal to build powerful structures that could withstand the test of time.

Then there was Alza... it was still a well-known fact that Alza did not trade in much. It considered trading beneath it and supplemented the trade between various planets with its strategic position. Being at the center of the Asteroid Path, Alza was the junction where all other planets could coincide.

They preyed on this location and imposed a heavy tax on traders entering, buying, and selling their wares at its port. But Alza had paid a heavy price for its accessibility, and it was still paying it day after day.

However, Shyra thought with a sigh, there was no point in assessing the trading position of other planets. Ziya was in a terrible position in terms of trade and was suffering quite a lot for that.

Ziya was rich in natural minerals and precious elements found beneath its surface. For a while, Ziya had prospered solely on trade with other planets. The breaking caused the majority of trade to be cut off due to Ziya's inaccessibility. They could now only trade through the use of high-tech spaceships that could travel without Asteroid Paths. However, they required drastic amounts of fuel and money, due to which Ziya had to start depending on itself for the production of basic necessities.

Shyra's fists curled when she recounted the stress her parents had gone through in adjusting to the lack of trade and its impact on their economy. Most of all, the terrible memories of shut doors and loud fights between her parents plagued her even today.

Shyra shook herself to find that the courtiers were now discussing the share of revenue each of their provinces would get. It disgusted her to see them fighting for higher proportions of dividends while her bewildered father sat on his throne and listened to them all.

Shyra wished her mother was here to handle the situation, but the Queen was recouping from a strong bout of illness in her chambers. She hadn't been presiding in court for the past few maasas, and Shyra had to keep a close watch on court to make sure the courtiers weren't up to their usual schemes.

She'd been surprised that her mother had called for her to scold her when she was unwell. But then again, Shyra had taken well after her mother in stubbornness and pestering people.

Seeing the situation escalate to yells and raised fists, Shyra sighed and stood up to deal with the situation. "Everyone, I would like to get your attention."

The courtiers lowers their fists and looked at her wearily. Shyra ignored the looks and continued. "I'm of the understanding that your provinces have a fixed percentage of earnings from the royal treasury. This ratio is changed every five amshas to fit your performance and production needs for that period. Is that not so? The reckoning is yet to arrive for another two amshas right? Or was this clause changed recently? I don't seem to recall."

Glances were thrown across the room with silent mutterings and shaking of heads until a head courtier came up. "No, Princess, this is how it is evaluated even now. We must have made a mistake in our calculations and demands."

Shyra inclined her head graciously and her father shot her a grateful look.

The rest of the court session passed by without any more protests and fights, and Shyra was soon dismissing the meeting with a respectful bow. Before anyone could move, however, a messenger was announced at the door, stating urgency. 

Nobody dared to interrupt court proceedings with trivial matters, so her mind picked up on the reason at once. There could very few messages that were important enough to be given to her at all costs.

So, with her heart twisting in knots, she watched the messenger make his way through the hushed courtroom with a letter clutched tightly in his hand.

She raised her eyebrows slightly, sending a coded message to him. He raised his eyebrows back in response, stepped closer, and uttured the words that sent her heart in a tumbling frenzy.

"The Games," he whispered, so that only her ears could pick up on the words. "The Games are being held again, your Highness."

Maasa: a period of time, loosely amounting to a month

Amsha: Another unit of time, amounting to a week