Rough Seas

8 - The First Meeting

Ianite rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache starting to form. The projection of Dianite was busy boasting, standing on the opposite side of her desk in her office. The two of them had finally been able to communicate, if only through astral projection. They had been talking for less than twenty minuets, and Ianite was already exasperated. Dianite was not acting civil in the slightest; as soon as he and Ianite had made the connection, he had immediately boasted about his latest attack, almost provoking Ianite enough that she actually considered stopping the meeting. But, her drive for peace overrode her anger, and she seethed in silence for about ten minutes.

"Dianite." She said through gritted teeth, cutting him off his grandiose claims. "Let's move to what this conversation is really about." He smirked at her, tilting his head almost mockingly.

"Sister, dear, no need for such formalities." He replied, watching her let out a sharp breath, obviously annoyed with him.

"I am urging you to cease in attacking my villages, or I will be forced to bring harm to your champion." At that, Dianite straightened, a sharp glint in his eye.

"Oh? What's this? My sister, actually threatening to torture someone?" Dianite's voice was devoid of any humor. He let out a snort, crossing his arms over his chest. 'You don't have it in you to even order someone else to torture my champion. There's no way you could even do it yourself. It isn't your way" He said, making air quotes around 'way'. His astral form shimmered slightly, likely due to the fact that Dianite was falling prey to his emotions once more. Dianite had always been the least stable out of the three of them, always causing fights. Ianite raised her chin defiantly, her mouth a thin line and her eyes cold.

"If it is what I must do to protect my people, then I shall." She responded, her eyes almost challenging Dianite. Dianite watched her for a moment before he shook his head and chuckled slightly.

"You always have ways to surprise me. Alright, I'll cease from attacking your people." Dianite said, his mouth curling into a smirk again. "I'll be seeing you, sister dearest." He disappeared shortly after wards, causing Ianite to let out a relived sigh. Dianite was, and had always been, hard to deal with. She closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead, feeling the headache slowly starting to go away. At least she had a silver lining to this whole thing.

"M'Lady?" A familiar, and somewhat timid, voice asked. She smiled and opened her eyes. It was the Captain of her guards. Morgan.

"Morgan, please, come in." She answered, smiling tiredly as the mortal woman walked in, helmet under her arm. The guards titled her head to Ianite as a sign of respect, stopping near where Dianite's astral form had just been.

"The Dianitee champion is settled in his room, and can be brought to your office at any time." Morgan said, Ianite nodded, relived that there had been no incidents. Morgan, seeming to pick up on this thought, continued. "He was actually quite compliant, and he barely said anything." Sighing, Ianite replied.

"Poor boy. He's probably scared out of his mind. This is likely the first time he's been in this kind of situation, and I pity him for it." Ianite frowned slightly. She wouldn't be able to fit him in to her schedule today, but tomorrow would work. She could talk to Dianite afterwards as well, and find when he could come to Ianarea to actually negotiate his champion's release. "Morgan, please bring him up next morning. I think that will give both of us a chance to relax." Morgan nodded and made her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. The sound echoed across the room, and Ianite stood from her chair. She would be having a busy couple of days, no doubt.

-

Tom boredly drummed his fingers on the desk, his head resting on his other hand as he stared out the window. He had been waiting for Ianite to call upon him for a few hours, having taken a nice, long bath the night before and falling asleep almost instantly. It was strange to Tom how he hadn't been sent to any sort of dungeon and interrogated, like he had been expecting. Instead, here he was, dressed in a loose pair of pants and a baggy shirt, just waiting. His coat had been thrown over the back of the seat he was on, and his shoes had managed to disappear while he was taking a bath. Tom let his thought's wander, mind drifting around for a few minutes before settling on the Captain and Jordan.