Legacy of the Remembered

20. Duty

It became apparent to Bohjin all too quickly just how unprepared for attack Ehvera was. A week had gone by, yet they made no progress in uncovering the instigators or discovering their motivations. By now, his citizens knew of the disappearance of their prince and princess. Word spread quickly through Janheim, and the neighboring towns would know soon enough. No matter how much Ehverians scorned outsiders, they were nonetheless open to discourse within their communities. In other words, gossip spread like wildfire.

Bohjin felt useless. He had already written to his uncle, Haln Ahlveyr, who resided in Belind. He would take the next steps towards sealing an agreement should the Bellish be willing to offer aid. Bohjin trusted Haln to be the promising negotiator that he was, but Belind was a stubborn kingdom that took its neutrality seriously. Queen Katerin Mithe would only act on what happened if she thought the danger would spread to her own kingdom. If that did happen, she would take action in her own way, without the partnership of Ehvera.

There was nothing to do on that front, but there was something to say about Ehvera's eastern neighbor. Tsunizar may be its own brand of neutral, but it had already acted in Ehvera's favor by sending the initial warning. He would have to reach out to contact them. Perhaps his cousin, Senye, could be of assistance. She did know both Tsun and TsunSign.

Sitting down at his desk, Bohjin prepared the letter for Tsunizar. His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Yono Sateruko, was not a man easily understood. However, this was something Bohjin felt content to handle. Writing was his forte. All his life he had been writing and reading letters in preparation for the diplomacy that would later occur for him. Peaceful and polite conversation proved important among foreign relations. Insulting another kingdom was too easy when the words took place on paper, without the help of vocal inflections.

It stressed him to be at the forefront of every major decision within his kingdom, but at the very least, he had Rime by his side to stand strong. Together, their kingdom would survive and remain powerful. They just had to crush any signs of weakness before questions began circulating. It did not help that Rime herself was foreign; she may have built up a respectful reputation thus far, but not every Ehverian showed pride in their queen. Many still lingered on the fence, just waiting for her to mess up so they could degrade her into the outsider she once was. He was not proud of the xenophobia of his people.

It was his mother's decision to unite them through marriage that led to her death.

He would stand by Rime no matter what. It did not matter to Bohjin that she was not his true romantic partner. They came to an agreement regarding her romantic and sexual preference; forever, they were partners. He acknowledged that, but what remained was still worth protecting. Over his 25 years of life, Bohjin had no friend worth more to him than Rime. His budding romantic feelings for her died out years ago when she rejected him, but their friendship proved strong enough to maintain a powerful relationship. Tsunizar would surely agree.

It was settled. After another excruciating talk with Meirr—who had finally given her name—Rime was spent. Storming through the corridors of the castle, the queen ignored the hands reaching out for attention and the voices calling for her majesty to wait.

No more waiting.

Something dangerous was going on, and Rime hated sleeping on the matter. She knew Bohjin needed rest. She knew he already planned to gather intelligence from their contacts. But, despite all of that, Rime could not stand by herself and do nothing. There was one contact she was certain would be valuable, but they would need her own standing to reach them.