Fourth Vector Ch. 18

Surely the man has to own a razor somewhere in this palace, he thought, snickering inwardly at the great bushy beard and eyebrows of the man called king.

Surprisingly, Magda turned out to be quite the actress. Her typical venom disappeared in favor of honey as she assumed a broad smile and bowed deeply in front of Aedan. "Your Majesty, how lovely it is to see you again."

"I trust you're staying well?" asked Aedan while gesturing to her face mask. "No sign of illnesses in your group?"

"None, Your Majesty. We are most fortunate to avoid the ravishes of the plague, at least to this point," replied Magda professionally.

"Splendid. It warms my heart to hear that," said Aedan before turning to look at Adalbert. "And who might this fine fellow be?"

"Your Majesty, may I introduce Adalbert of the House Avila?" said Magda with a flourish of her wrist. "Adalbert has just arrived to take part in our trade mission."

Adalbert managed a deep bow as he'd been taught and then offered the proper greeting to the shaggy king. "A pleasure, Your Majesty."

Aedan raised an eyebrow. "House Avila? As inthe House Avila?"

"The very same, Your Majesty," said Magda with a smile. "Lord Avila sends his cousin along due to the importance of our mission. There is nothing that he wishes more than good relations with our Picard neighbors."

Aedan let out a delighted laugh. "As we do as well! We are elated to have you here as well, Adalbert. Your cousin has been an easy man to work with, and I most appreciate his partnership in times like this."

"Times like this indeed," said Magda with a dramatic and exaggerated sigh. "Before we dive into business, please tell us how the city fares? Is the plague starting to slacken?"

Aedan gave her a pained expression. "Unfortunately not. Even with our best efforts, it continues to spread. I'm afraid we may not see the end of this any time soon."

"We grieve with you and your people," said Magda, matching Aedan's expression. "It can't be easy to feel so helpless in the face of an invisible enemy."

"Well put," remarked Aedan. "Well put, Magda. Anyway, let us talk of better things. I believe it was you that asked for this meeting today. Well, you will find me as your humble servant. What can I do for you?"

Magda put on another disingenuous look, filled with a false sense of sincerity. "A request for you, Your Majesty. From our government to yours, and it concerns our trade delegation."

"I see, well, what is it in regards to? Your terms?"

Magda shook her head. "Not exactly. When we filed our permit to trade here in Picardy, we were given one that only permitted our access to about twenty percent of the merchants here in the city. For that reason, our goods only reached a small portion of the overall market."

"And I'm guessing you'd like access to a full permit so that you can reach all the marketplaces with your goods?" asked Aedan.

Magda smiled. "Precisely, Your Majesty. It seems our trading mission has been going along quite well, and we'd like the opportunity to expand. We'd like for more of our goods to get into Picard households. We feel our first opportunity was used wisely, and we'd like the chance to expand our presence."

Adalbert watched as Aedan twirled his fingers through his great, bushy beard while he considered their request. Based upon how polite he'd been up until this point, Adalbert didn't think he'd hesitate to grant the request. The man seemed enthralled with Magda, and he didn't know if the king was capable of turning her down.

So when he did, Adalbert was a little taken back.

"Unfortunately, that's not within my power to grant right now," said the king with a subtle shake of the head. "You see, the plague is causing havoc right now. The permit you're asking for simply isn't being given out right now. You can understand now that most public places are deserted, and marketplaces are no different. I'm afraid you'll have to keep what you have."

The smile slowly slipped off Magda's face. "That is most unfortunate. I would've thought our position secure enough here to request the permit. Perhaps I misjudged our relationship."

Her words seemed to bring out another side to the king, and he noticeably stiffened. "It's not my decision to deny it to you, only that of the commerce guilds. Even with a permit though, it would be of little aid. You'll find the marketplaces quite empty as most of my citizens are staying indoors."

"And yet, our revenues with your people are above expectations, Your Majesty. It would seem some of them are still venturing outside for needed goods."

Aedan pursed his lips. "Needed goods, yes. Mostly food. Your goods are mostly non-perishable and/or clothing related which aren't garnering any exceptions at this time. It would seem my hands are tied here in the city."

"What about outside the city?" continued Magda. "Our mission is a simple one, Your Majesty. We just want to create enough of a presence in Picardy to recoup the costs of this trading venture. Unfortunately, our current situation in Daban is not covering our costs, which requires our expansion."

Aedan's fingers went back to his beard. "What did you have in mind?"

"You have other cities that we could trade in. The larger ones like Zarah and Burwick for example," said Magda, counting off both of them on her fingers. "If we could be granted permits for those cities, I'm sure we could be that much closer to getting our money's worth for this trading venture."

Aedan frowned. "While I'm not unsympathetic to your need to earn revenue for this mission, our talks never revolved around expansion past Daban."

"That was also before the plague hit, Your Majesty."

Aedan waved his hand. "Never mind the plague, it wasn't in the original agreement."

"Agreements can be mended," shot back Magda.

Aedan stared at her. The tension in the room was getting thick, and Adalbert shifted in his seat uncomfortably. The king's eyes flickered back and forth between the two of them for a good while before he finally gave his answer.

"Perhaps we can come to some kind of accommodation, but it won't be right now," said Aedan lightly as his expression turned more appeasing. "The plague is expanding beyond the city. While I'm not opposed to letting you expand, I'm afraid you're going to run into a similar situation as we have here in Daban." Aedan spread his hands out. "It's just a bad time for any type of economic activity as the country begins to shut down."

Adalbert shifted his glance to Magda, who was now once more grinning. "As long as it's not off the table, Your Majesty," she said sweetly. "We'd like to expand, but we're not blind to the situation here. As long as you give the eventual approval, we're able to wait out the plague until conditions become better."

Aedan gave a sigh of relief and touched his chest. "I'm absolutely delighted to hear that. We've worked so hard to make this trade mission, a first between our peoples, become a reality that I wouldn't want to see anything jeopardize it."

"We are of the same mind in that regard. As is our lord," said Magda.

"Excellent. Glad to hear it!" Aedan slapped his hands together loudly. "Now, perhaps we could talk about another subject?"

"Certainly. Let's talk about our joint army maneuvers," said Magda while spreading her hands. "As you know, we have more soldiers on the way for the joint movements you've promised us."

"Ah, excellent," said Aedan. "I'm looking forward to getting a better look at your soldiers. I think this will be an important element to our cultural exchange. Our men will fight together, our people will trade together, and we will bury the hatchet on old enmities. What more could anyone ask for than to see Picardy and Swabia become friends?"

"Nothing more," purred Magda. "That is Lord Avila's wish as well. He longs to call you brother and friend. He's a powerful friend to have indeed, especially with his pull with the emperor."

"So let's talk more about these movements then. Tell me what you had in mind," asked Aedan.

Magda spent the rest of the meeting going over the joint maneuvers as well as taking the opportunity to pester Aedan about further expansion when she could. At the end of the hour long session, it wasn't hard to tell that they had reached the end of the king's patience, even if he was too polite to offer a more frank rebuke to their plans.

"It was terrific to meet you, Adalbert Avila," said Aedan with a small smile as they exited the room. "May you stay in good health, and the same for your cousin too."

"It's much appreciated, Your Majesty," said Adalbert as he offered a bow.

"Magda, a pleasure as always," said Aedan, his words full of honey while his eyes betrayed his exhaustion. "I look forward to the time when we can do this next."

"As do I, Your Majesty. Hopefully that next time will have more to do with our intended expansion."

"As you say," replied Aedan. "Safe travels, both of you."

They weren't much more than ten feet outside the glimmering white walls of the palace when Adalbert thumbed his finger back in the direction of the building. "I think you got on his nerves."

Magda scowled, the first time she'd done so in nearly an hour. It was a remarkable change of pace from the person he'd just seen in front of the king. "It needed to be done. Lord Avila's plan needs to proceed, and for that to happen, we need to get into other cities."

"And how are we to do that while the plague rages?"

She gave him a pointed look. "We'll discuss more about this later." She hissed quietly beside his ear. "No talk about that on the streets!"

"I got it, I got it," he said quickly. "No matter his reaction, it seems you browbeat him into acceptance eventually."

"It's what always happens," she said in her mockingly sweet tone. "Eventually I get them all to do what I want. Why do you think your cousin chose me for such an important mission?" She caressed his cheek gently with her tiny finger. "He knew that I can get men to do what I want them to do eventually. All it takes is just a little . . . push." She pushed against his cheek.

"I'm glad you're so confident in yourself," he muttered.

Magda laughed richly. "You don't get this far in life in Swabia without knowing your own talents. I just so happen to know mine. Do you know yours?"

"So far, my talent is getting second chances in a country where there are none."

Magda chuckled. "A remarkable talent to have in Swabia."

"It's served me well so far."

"With any luck on our part, you won't need it any longer." She turned to him and grinned. "We'll get into the other cities. I'll make sure of it."

*****

Just a street over from the unlikely Swabian duo, Jack followed the Picard guards as they neared the Aedan's palace. Only a few inches from his side was Kat, walking in step with him and unusually quiet for the morning. He figured it had much to do with their conversation from last night and the revelation of her past. Kat had given him some space since their talk, sleeping in Vera's room over the evening while he was able to process all that she told him.

He'd always suspected there was more to Kat's history than she was letting on, but for her to have actually ruled Galicia, even for a short amount of time, was the real shocker of the evening. Ever since he learned of the Rosdahl family and their stranglehold over the country of his bloodline, he'd expected there to someday be a showdown between him and then.

He just didn't expect to fall in love with one.

Kat must have felt his eyes on her, and she raised her head to look at him, offering a shy smile. A tiny part of him still questioned her, more out of a primal sense of self-preservation. Even though he knew she'd offered him her heart, and her virginity, the most primitive portion of his brain had to wonder how much of her father's blood flowed inside her veins.

He shook the thought from his head. Those kinds of ideas would do him no good. Kat had never given him a reason not to trust her, despite the rockiness of the last week.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, just low enough for his ears only.

"I'm all right," he answered. "Just thinking."

"I could tell. I could see your wheels turning," she said with a soft smile. Her hand crept into his. It was a bold move for her at the time considering all that had happened, and even her face registered some of the risk by her fearful expression. No doubt she wondered if he'd turn her away.

He didn't.

Instead, he squeezed it gently, a motion she then returned.

"I love you," she whispered.

It was all that needed to be said. Despite who she was, what she'd been through, and who her family was, Kat was different from them. Her love was real, and her heart was genuine.

"Love you too," he whispered.

"God, would you look at that palace?" said Greg from behind them as they neared the Picardy royal residence. "Now that's where I want to retire. Get me one of those right along the Javan coast. You think Aedan would share the blueprints with me?"

Kat turned around to him and grinned. "You know, it couldn't hurt to ask."

Greg grunted. "It's a fitting place to retire to after all my years of service. What do you think, Jack?"

Jack decided to have some fun with him. "Retirement? You? Who says anyone would let you retire?"

Greg waved his hand dismissively. "You're just jealous of my future home."

All three of them laughed as they made their way inside the palace. While Jack had to admit it was an impressive sight, and by far the most modern of any they'd seen inside the Vector, it was still dwarfed by the Javan imperial palace. If you weren't careful, you could be lost for years inside that magnificent structure.

"His Majesty, Aedan of Picardy, will see you shortly," announced one of the well-tailored servants as soon as they'd been led into a smaller meeting parlor. "Please make yourselves at home before he arrives."

"I'm hoping he means we can take these masks off," said Greg while removing the one covering his mouth. "It's too hot to be wearing this thing full time."

Kat and Jack did the same, removing theirs and looking around the parlor room. It was decorated with a rich, ornate tapestry that hung above a black stone fireplace. A small working desk dominated another wall, and it wasn't hard to see that Aedan most likely used the room as his personal study.

Before they had the chance to see the king, they were greeted by another person who entered the room just as the guards had left. This person was a younger woman, maybe a year or so older than Kat, with rich, straight red hair, freckled cheeks, blue-green eyes, and the pinkest lips that Jack had ever seen. She was dressed luxuriously in her own stately robes, and if he didn't know any better, he would say she was very far along with a pregnancy.

"Is it true? Katherine, is that you?" asked the red-haired woman as soon as she stepped into the room. Her face lit up with excitement as soon as she saw Kat.

"Ciara, my goodness!" beamed Kat as she rushed to embrace the woman. "It's been way too long!"

"How many years now?" asked Ciara as they hugged tightly. "Two?"

"Just about," gushed Kat as she released her and let her gaze drift lower. "Ciara, are you . . ."

The redhead rubbed her hand over her stomach. "Eight months along now. Can you believe it? Aedan and I have been trying for years and we finally got one. We're so excited!"

Kat beamed with a smile. "As I am for you! You two will be lovely parents."

"I can only hope," said Ciara before her eyes drifted over to Jack and Greg. "And who are your companions?"

Kat brought the woman over to Jack first. "Jack, this is Queen Ciara of Picardy, Aedan's lovely wife."

"A pleasure, Your Majesty," said Jack, offering his own bow.

"Ciara, this man is Commodore Jack Easterbrook of the nation of Java. He is also the King of Andalucia as well."

"Andalucia you say?" asked Ciara with a surprised look. "Now that's something I never thought I'd hear. Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty."

"Just Jack is fine," he answered. "As long as I can call you Ciara?"

"Of course! So tell me, Jack, how does an easterner find himself in control of a slave society like Andalucia?" She then looked at Kat. "Not to mention as well as a companion of the true Galician Regent?"

Jack chuckled. "It's quite a long story, I'm afraid. We'd be here until nightfall if I had to explain all of it."

Kat leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Ciara nodded excitedly before she looked back at Jack. "Well, hopefully I can hear that story someday. I'm sure my husband will be with us too soon for you to begin."

Jack nodded. "Someday soon then," he promised.

Ciara then turned to look at Greg. "What about this one? Let me guess—you're the Swabian emperor?"

Greg let out an amused grin. "Not quite, Your Majesty. Lt. Colonel Greg Vaughn of the Javan Marines."

"Greg is the commander of my naval infantry," added Jack. "And as important as my right hand."

"Marvelous," said Ciara as she smiled at Greg. "It's lovely to meet you, gentlemen!" She then turned back to Kat. "It would seem your company has very much elevated since the last time we spoke."

Kat giggled. "We have much to catch up on. Like Jack said, it would take us most of the day to tell you all that's happened."

"Maybe we can let the boys attend to their own business while we slip away for some time of our own?" suggested Ciara with a conspiratorial grin.

Kat tilted her head. "I'd love to do that in ordinary times, but I must be there to talk with Aedan as well. But perhaps after?"

"Of course. I'd always make time for one of my oldest friends," gushed Ciara as she took Kat's hands. "I do hope that your meeting with Aedan goes well. He's been so stressed as of late. I know he says it's the country, but part of me thinks there are other matters weighing heavily on his mind." Ciara stroked her stomach, the meaning heavily implied.

"It won't be too much out of the ordinary," said Kat quickly. "I hope that we can have our necessary talk with him and get on our way so that he can get back to fighting the plague."

Ciara's smile dropped. "We'd be most grateful for that at least. The sooner we can end this pestilence, the better. Too many have died."

"Too many indeed," added a new, masculine voice from near the doorframe. Aedan had just entered the room, catching the tail end of his wife's last words.

Ciara smiled once more. "There he is. I really should make my leave now. All of you are in excellent hands."

She passed by them only to be snatched up by her husband. Aedan kissed her soundly as his hand went to her belly. "Why don't you stay with us, dear? I know how long it's been since you've seen Katherine."

"No, no, it's fine," said Ciara with a wave. "You take care of the state visit, and I'll see her afterward. I do feel like I want to sit down though. Your child is awfully active this morning."

Aedan beamed with a fatherly grin. "How is the little man?" He touched her stomach as if to feel for a series of kicks.

"He's practicing for boxing lessons," said Ciara with a huff. "He wears me out and he's not even here yet. That's why I need to take a seat for a while!"

"If you insist," he said as she slipped out of his arms. "I'll get one of the servants to escort you back to your chambers. Where is Kyle now?" Aedan looked out the room and then quickly stuck his head back inside. "I don't see any of the servants."

"It's okay, I can make it back on my own," said Ciara.

"No, no, let me escort you," said Aedan before turning his attention back to his visitors. "I'll just be right back. Her quarters aren't that far away."

Kat smiled politely. "No worries at all. Take your time."

In the next moment, the king and queen slipped out the door, leaving the three of them alone once again.