Hegemony in the North (The Supreme Alliance).

 The royal throne room was a true marvel to behold . It was a large hall , decorated from floor , wall to ceiling with golden engravings of mighty mythical beasts engaged in fierce battles. The most prominent of the mythic beasts were the dragons , the national symbols of the Agreya Kingdom. The room was packed with noble men from all over the world , sent as representations of their home governments to attend the first ever occasion where one of the Great Five would be stepping on Agreyan soil and paying its king a visit .

 King Louis Montreal sat uneasily on his throne as he watched more and more people flood into the room . He wore a magnificent red robe soft with velvet fur striated with diamonds and rubies which shone in great harmony with the gemstones and gold densely packed into the crown on his head .

 Next to him were his two sons , the princes of the Agreya kingdom. Lan Montreal , the eldest and first born , chose to wear a grey suit that attracted little to no attention while his younger brother Kelvin Montreal did the blunt opposite . He , just like his father , was extremely dressed for the occasion. Everything from the cote-hardie with elaborate sleeves , bright purple tunic and golden flowing cloak were soaked in precious stones that even extended to his matching white leggings .It was evident that he planned to make a great impression on the coming visitors and gain their favor.

 As he stood there beside his father , Lan started going over the encounter he had with Vivian after having Mei take him to her . Having used one of his guards (Lucinda ) to take Mei as a hostage , Henry had then led the group to a downstairs room . He opened the door for them and they walked in , Lan insisting that Henry take the lead.

 Inside was an empty room with nothing but a bathtub overflowing with white soap foam and bubbles and a metallic rocking chair swinging slowly just next to the tub . As Lan watched , the head of a woman with long laid back soaking purple hair slowly emerged out of the dense white foam and shot its sharp violet eyes at him.

 " Lan Montreal , we finally meet. I am Vivian Marjorie , Hazel's cousin , " the woman introduced herself with a seductive smile and winked at him. She then dipped back her head into the foamy water and completely submerged in the water tub basin . After a few seconds , her head again emerged leaning on the basin's side that was facing Lan . She left her hands to hang outside the basin as her chin lazily sat on the rim of the water tub to support her head. More soapy foam built up from the ripples and formed a dense ring around her shoulders .

 " I brought them as you asked my lady . I shall now take my leave , " Henry bowed his head for her and then without giving Lan a glance walked out.

 " I think the threat assessment is done , this is a sealed and empty room meaning danger would only come from outside , " Vivian continued after Henry had left. Understanding her message , Lan asked Lucinda to take Mei and wait outside the door for him.

 " All men are the same , none of you will ever pass up the chance to be alone with a lady taking her shower , " Vivian started after Lucinda had left and closed the door behind them 

 Completely ignoring her , Lan started his own conversation ," I won't waste time asking you why empty mines are still being mined . What I want to know is what you plan to do with the project Hegemony , that sneaky thing you have running in those empty mines."

 Vivian had expected that . " You really are something else Lan Montreal . That is a top secret act of treason I have going in my backyard and I need the prince's word that I won't be hanged for it , " she said , imitating the tone of a timid little girl in danger .

 " But then again , if punishing me was your plan , you wouldn't have come see me in person and I wouldn't be enjoying a nice morning bath ," she followed up , reducing her tone back to its normal pitch.

 Lan walked over to the rocking chair near her and took a seat ," Weapon systems , blue prints and ammunition that bear no seal of any kingdom are being worked on by the refugees I made you employ down there at the mines . I am going to guess that this is the Supreme Alliance's plan and why they got pissed of with the relocation of the refugees . "

 " Correct , they couldn't care less about you putting an end to a small wheat smuggling cartel in the Southern Province . What they can't ignore however , is what you chose to do with those refugees , bringing them right to the door step of their operations and interfering with project Hegemony .

 If you did indeed plan all of this and it wasn't just a matter of lucky coincidence , then you are one very scary man to deal with , " Vivian answered , careful to only talk about the things that Lan brought up . She did not want him to know more than he did , which was already a lot.

 " Those weapons the Supreme Alliance is working on and using our mines to cover up are already outdated in my opinion and I have made arrangements for their disposal . But the scheme itself is still useful to me because the Supreme Alliance will keep on sending financing and resources to sustain the operations . I plan to secretly use those funds to revolutionize our own military defenses using some plans I have in mind and you will be the person to oversee the new project ," Lan continued ignoring Vivian's probing remarks and gave her an order .

 " If we do this and they find out , Agreya will be in trouble . Are you willing to take that risk just for the extra gold ?" Vivian started being serious.

 Lan got up from the chair , " None of that will matter after the vising envoy from the Supreme Alliance Kingdom comes to see our king . You should instead be worrying about what might happen the next time I find the Marjorie family doing something that undermines the crown . Hazel is the only reason I am going letting this slide , you may not be so fortunate in the next time ."

 After saying this , Lan had completed his objectives and was ready to leave. Vivian however stopped him as he was about to pull the door open and walk out. She stood up from the water tub and stepped out revealing a stunning black dress embroidered with sewn yellow rosses that hang from her chest just below the shoulders. The soak from the water made the tight dress grip the slim figure of Vivian more tightly than it usually did , doing plenty of justice to her gorgeous physique .

 She walked slowly , careful not to slip off her wet feet , and stopped inches from where Lan stood , " Underneath that kind and gentle exterior of yours I sense an unlimited void of darkness . Your cold and empty silver eyes stare right through me without blinking even when I make the most seductive of gestures. I stand this close to you in a dress that leaves nothing to imagination and you did not even flinch ," she said making sure her eyes directly met his .

 " Do you have a point ? " he asked her blankly , starting to get bored.

 " My point is that you are not faking it . You are undeniably the very definition of cold ruthless evil , a monster. I want to stand behind that monster , " she finished and then put up the smile she had when he had walked in and winked her left eye at him .

 The loud blast of trumpets brought Lan back from his memories . Their loud sounds signaled the arrival of the envoy from the Supreme Alliance into the throne room. As the envoy walked in slowly , Lan heard the king curse quietly under his breath , despising every moment of the occasion.