Negotiations on the fly

The Makzata chief frowned deeply. A vicious aura circling him as he stared down at Shion who stood around his chest height.

"How are you going to compensate me?" Her low voice quieted the room.

The Makzata chief's frown flipped showing a toothy smile as he replied with the ferocity of a beast, the chief cannot be insulted under any circumstance, "How about I... destroy this city and everyone in it?"

Shion's eye's remained unchanged.

"Wrong..." Her qi began gathering around her rapier.

"What?" The Makzata chief leaned down holding his ear gloatingly, "What was that?"

"...answer!" Her voice exploded. Fearsome waves of qi crashed against the chief forcing him back.

Now there are many types of beasts in this world there are some who, though not quite knowing what a gun is, are aware on an instinctual level that fighting it head-on will not end well.

"Wrong answer....? You dare tell me, the Makzata Chief, that I am wrong?" However, as with all beasts, there are those who are unafraid in the face of all things.

Her eyes blazed a deep crimson, "What are you going to do about it?"

He smiled coldly and his qi turned into a whirlpool.

Fearsome scarlet qi rose from the ground covering her tightly and causing a terrible demonic image to seemingly appear in her place.

On the side, Agashi sighed and spoke, "Sweety, take it outside please, will you?"

Shion flinched and glared back at him. He smiled, 'I'll suffer for that one later... but it's worth it.'

Shion's body flashed and she vanished out an open window into the courtyard.

The chief followed her, breaking the window on his way out.

"Truly a vicious display of force from a countryside lord. Barbaric and foolish." A woman in a similar outfit to Sir Clegane's said in disgust.

Agashi smiled delightedly as he turned around, "Miss Yulfield! Charming, as always, but wouldn't you say that disrespecting royalty is a sin worthy of such violence... or do you think otherwise?"

He had learned in these days the names of each of the inquisitors here including their very, 'charming' leader, Yulfield.

Born to the fallen Duke Larcan of Lucia, she was picked up by the third prince whom runs the order of the Crown's Inquisitors, saved from a life at the royal harem which would have doomed her to be passed around at the whim of the nobility.

Now, loyal to the bone and willing to do anything for the third prince she puts everyone else below her gaze, even the emperor does not match the third prince in importance, not to her.

"Royalty? You mean Earl Surnova? Don't think that simply because he completed the Right of Princes that suddenly he is owed so much respect from those of us in the empire," Miss Yulfield glared at Agashi and then to Nova, "There are many others like him, after all."

"Is that so?" Agashi grins calmly, "...but are there really?"

Yulfield's voice dropped, "What are you suggesting?"

"That there are no other's who can match Prince Surnova Carrien." He made a point to say his full name and title, "Completing the right of princes, which hasn't been done in over a hundred years, running out the Loijon syndicate and crushing the Lamina's sect which battled with the emperor a hundred years ago, I'd say, no one can match his exploits to this point, he's earned his right to be royalty."

"Are you saying the third prince has not?" Yulfield's greyish qi started swirling as a vicious light flickered in her eyes.

He shrugged, "I don't recall, did I say that?"

She reached for her blade handle.

He tilted his head up exposing his neck, behind his back a powerful qi condensing on his sabers.

The nobles tensed and took distance from the two.

"Please, let's calm down." Suddenly however, a serene voice flowed from a table in the corner of the room.

Everyone looked over to the person who would dare to get in the middle of a fight between two powerhouses like Yulfield known as the 'Iron Witch' who has ten years in the inquisitors and is a powerful knight and Agashi who has roamed from battlefield to battlefield becoming infamous as the Scarlet Demon.

As everyone looked over to see who dared, they felt a strange feeling in their chests. A face they didn't expect, or really notice since everything began.

The Summer Prince. Surnova Carrien.

He had been silent through the entire ordeal up till now. Taking a sip of his tea he didn't so much as bat an eye but now, as the battle was about to start, he stepped in, once more proving his ability to weigh his words.

A true prince only speaks when they have something to say.

"Surnova," Yulfield glared over at the still casually sitting Nova, "you're subordinate is disgracing the third prince's name, I will take his head now on those grounds."

"Take my head..." Agashi scoffed and flexed his qi causing a projection of a powerful scarlet wolf to appear at his feet, "...try it."

A vein popped on her neck and a powerful wraith figure appeared at her side, it's body floating, an eeiry power emanating off it.

"I said," Nova put down his cup of tea, "Calm down."

A powerful blast of qi filled the room starting from his tea cup, immediately like they were being submerged, those normal people couldn't feel it, but those with even a hint of power felt like they were suffocating.

While Agashi sharpened his qi on the battlefield like an insane demon, Nova sharpened his qi in the solitude of his palace creating a tranquil mind and a heavy qi with stillness unbefitting of it's power, like a mountain whose weight is immeasurable, one doesn't know of it's true weight until it moves.

The Summer Prince. Named so because of when he took his first step into the world of royalty, but also because of his qi when he took power was like the morning sun on a cold day.

Deceitful and Cold despite it's warm and honest looks.

BOOM!

Outside an explosion took place that shook the estate. Everyone snapped out of their stupor and the nobles of Rekarsus and Kendogan backed away against the far walls quickly getting into their respective groups and weaving protective formations.

All but one woman did so. A woman in a particularly red dress, long and sleek. Her eyes sharp and pupils without color.

She instead walked past the ensuing chaos and decided to sit next to Nova who didn't so much as bat an eye at her obviously rude gesture.

Pitir Ranka, Tensent's diplomat didn't so much as shake, neither did Lancard's diplomat, Lucio Kintra, they are both diplomats of constantly warring nations and so these sorts of things are nothing serious and can't scare them, instead they openly looked at Rekarsus and Kendogan's elites with barely hidden disgust.

Yulfield at no point took her gaze off of Agashi, but he didn't particularly care and moved to the window.

Yulfield took her hand away from her blade and began walking forward, her inquisitors following closely.

Nefamiti and the others who had been on the sidelines saw this and chose to move to Agashi's side as well.

The two's followers glaring at each other the entire time.

"Do you follow Veru?" Yulfield asked lightly.

"If I had a choice, I'd say I'm more of her only friend." He replied with a smile, "She's a vicious deity."

A subtle qi began swirling in her hand, "Do you have any proof of your words?"

"I've been blessed with stronger qi channels and a better physique if that's proof." He shrugged and began focusing on the fight going on outside.

Pitir and Lucio stood by each other near Agashi's group making their stance known to all the nobles there.

Nova chose to stay seated chatting casually with the lady whose name he'd found out is Tarci, just Tarci.

Outside.

"We're done here." Shion sheathed her rapier and glared down at the Mazkata chief who had a disbelieving look on his face.

In the span of two minutes he'd been completely humiliated by Shion as she didn't even scratch him, using purely her qi's strength to suppress him.

"Never show you're face here again, or mine will be the last you ever see," She half turned back a nightmarish premonition falling over the Mazkata chief.

His eyes widened and he nodded.

She smiled with the glow of a loving fairy as she looked to Agashi, turning from the fearsome demon which just humiliated a feared chieftain to a loving wife who seemed like she could do no evil, say no evil.

The sudden change caused both fear and shock, the 'Frigid Wind' was not a nickname that was undeserved.

Agashi's mind was at ease as Shion stood beside him, though his body was in pain from the fearsome pinch he'd gotten.

But he suffered through it.

Yulfield laughed seeing the pain flash in his eyes and spoke, "You have no proof of being a follower of Veru, then?"

She tapped her rapier and a storm began to form in the room.

Lancard and Tensent's diplomats glanced at one another and nodded.

Powerful forces of qi instantly surrounded them as they stepped forward for Agashi looking down at Yulfield.

"Miss Yulfield, it is an honor to make your acquaintance! How we have heard of the vicious right hand of justice!" Pitir said with a grand smile.

Her eyes flickered.

"Right? She is such an inspiration to all young girls, my own daughter is fond of you actually! Would you spare us some time to chat? I'm sure she would be delighted." Lucio clapped easily.

She frowned and muttered, "Move."

The two smiled and glanced at one another, "I'm afraid, that's not possible, you see, we're already very old and our bones can't..."

"Then go to you're graves." Yulfield, as an inquisitor of the crown, did not take these two diplomats seriously, to begin with, she didn't even know who they were just that they were in her way.

Nefamiti frowned, "That's enough."

There was a flash.

As the three's blades clashed a shadow appeared in the middle sending all three blades into the air.

Nefamiti of the 'Silver Blade.' When he first met Agashi, he was in his late thirties, and had only managed to accumulate a small amount of qi through his efforts in the battlefields of the old kingdom.

However, after meeting him and following him for such a long time he'd gotten a much better grasp of qi from seeing how Agashi uses it, and as such had a breakthrough which allowed him to become a Battle Master, though not too powerful he chose to keep it a secret and emphasized speed, not power, relying on the sharpness of his blade for damage.

Because of this, his speed could match up to those much more powerful than him.

And as such, he now holds the blades of Yulfield, Lucio and Pitir in one hand and his own sword appears to have never left it's sheath.

"Attempting to kill foreign diplomats. Slander of a royal. Defamation of a noble. Baseless accusations of treason and worst of all, poor etiquette at an event officiated by royalty," Keneth said putting down a finger after each reason, "They say a subordinate reflects their master, so? Do you reflect you're master?"

Yulfield spun on him viciously, "Are you insulting the third prince?!"

"No," Keneth said calmly, "You are."

Immediately a pin drop silence spread out to every corner of the room like ripples on a calm lake.

Keneth who had been raised in a count's household has a deeper understanding of how to handle conversations and slander in high society.

Basically every day of his life he'd been trained to be venomous and to strike with lethal precision.

Marcus stood in the back eating some sweets laughing.

She heard it and suddenly, in her mind, everyone was laughing at her. At the third prince.

Her mind flashed back to the destruction of the Lucia dukedom, the death of her father, the humiliation at the hands of the Carrien elite.

And the one hand that didn't forsake her but instead reached out to save her.

Immediately she pulled herself out of her stupor and straightened up, her eyes catching themselves alight with anger, finding Agashi.

The man in question however, is off to the side passing Shion's wine back to her and getting silently scolded for embarrassing her earlier but he was smiling sheepishly the whole way.

Her heart shivered but her eyes still blazed, '...the people are all happy with his rule, you can see it in how they are all celebrating his marriage. His power is unrivaled at this border. His backing is a royal regardless of how humiliating it is, how terribly insignificant. And by the looks of it, two foreign nations... he can't be a follower of an evil deity, but also not of Veru who is a goddess of the battlefield, who do you serve to hold such power, Agashi D. Durlivan?'

"I will be leaving a capable one of my subordinates in charge of constructing a branch of the Crown's Inquisitors here in Durlivan, I expect full support." Yulfield's cape fluttered and she, along with her enterouge left the ballroom.

Shion's word's landed on deaf ears as Agashi's eyes flashed with a bitter light having heard her words.

In truth, he'd been focusing on her actions in case it put one of his subordinates in fatal peril, but luckily, that had not happened.

"...hey are you listening to me?" Shion's pinched his side angrily.

"Huh oh yea, I'm listening, I'm listening." Agashi's gaze brightened and a sheepish smile took form on his face.

"Then what did I just say?" Shion's forehead butted his.

"...that you love me very much and won't hurt me-" Agashi's side instantly burned and he was pretty sure she drew blood.

"Let's go meet Surnova, and do you know who's sitting with him?" Shion said gazing coldly at Tarci.

Like a puppy who'd been caught doing bad Agashi's aura felt lonely with Shion standing a good foot away from him, "No I don't..."

She didn't step back on purpose, 'Punishment for not listening to me.'

She knew it was childish, but tonight is their wedding night, and there had already been several disturbances and the wall had even been shattered by one of them.

"Prince Surnova Carrien, once more, it is a pleasure to have made your acquaintance." Tarci stood up as the two approached.

Nova smiled and caught her arm, "Don't worry, they are trustworthy, like my very own arms."

Tarci's gaze sharpened and she sat back down, this caught the attention of many nobles as they shifted around wanting to know who it is that the prince favors enough to stop her from leaving.

"This is?" Agashi asked as he sat opposite Nova.

"Tarci, my fiancee," Nova said to Agashi whose eyes were near bulging at this point, "she is neither noble nor fallen nobility, she tried to assassinate me but instead chose to join me, and now that things have calmed down, I feel it's safe enough to openly declare her as my fiancee if that's alright with you?"

Shion's pupils dilated into slits and her voice lowered, "Assassin? She nearly kills you and you decide to marry her?"

"It was love, at first sight, all those years ago," Nova replied with a cheesy smile unbefitting of his character shocking everyone who saw it and making them even more curious as to what was being said, "we have been together ever since."

Agashi looked at Tarci who'd face is hidden behind a fan, but even then he could see the blush going all the way down to her neck.

It reminded him of Shion's own lovely blushing and so he looked back to Nova with a knowing smile.

Nova replied with a smiling set of eyes.

The two had spoken a thousand words with only a single glance.

While those two did that, Shion caught Tarci's gaze.

Shion's gaze is that of fallen royalty, sharp and vicious but if one looks deeply enough there is an inseparable kindness attached to her.

Tarci's gaze is of an assassin, raised from birth to mercilessly kill anyone who needed to die, in the depths of her gaze there was blood and corpses but also conviction with a name.

That name is Surnova Carrien. And her conviction lies in her heart.

Shion's instincts told her that while she herself couldn't trust Traci, she could believe in that Tarci would never betray Nova for as long as that conviction in her gaze remained strong.

"Will you announce it here?" Tarci suddenly said in a hushed tone touching his hand.

"...I won't," Nova said lightly, "Today is their day, I don't want our day to be shared and I'm sure they don't either."

"You're right, these things should be special and one of a kind," Shion said calmly, "I agree that she can be trusted, but only by you, prince." She nudged Agashi.

"Please, Agashi is my best friend like family and you are his wife, call me Nova." He said calmly.

Agashi smiled and looked over to Shion.

After this, the four continued talking about anything and everything, like how he met Tarci and how they fell in love.

Meanwhile, at another much larger table, Nefamiti and the others sat together talking with the two diplomats who'd stood up to Yulfield.

"It wasn't a good idea making a stand there, but it was honorable! For that, I will give my respect to the two of you!" Anept raised a flagon of hard liquor that no one knows how he got into the ballroom and toasted to the two.

"Truly, the two of you could have died, and then that would have been a headache for at the very least, another few months going onto years, we appreciate the sentiment but try not to die on our land." Trigo said raising his glass for the toast.

As they drank no one asked the question that was on all their minds, 'What do they want?'

None of them were so naive to believe these two didn't want something, and those two were not naive enough to believe this was simple goodwill.

Just like this the night passed and fireworks shot into the sky.

Upon the ramparts, the two couples watched the fantastic explosions all along the night sky.

By the time the night had ended and the two arrived back in their rooms.

Laying in bed together Agashi held Shion tightly.

She looked over at him gently, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know..." He said anxiously, "...it just feels like something... something's wrong."

'Something's wrong?' Shion's fingers intertwined with his, 'His instincts are almost never wrong...'

She felt her heart tighten ever so slightly.

Despite the ominous premonition the two still managed to fall asleep holding one another tightly.

Elsewhere, far to the north, there lay a massive imperial capital the size of a small barony tens of miles across with tens of millions of citizens and fantastically ancient buildings and temples littered everywhere within.

The Capital of the Empire, Carrien.