An Aimless War (Greatest Thief 2)

Chapter Thirty-Four

"Do you know why what you did was unacceptable?"

Tandrin and Tannix shared the habit of pacing while they spoke. The king was slowly walking back and forth behind his desk, while I sat stock still in the armchair in front of the desk. Normally, Tandrin didn't make me nervous. But normally I wasn't in trouble.

I tried to come up the answer he was looking for. "Well... I-"

"Argued with me, in public," Tandrin interrupted. "But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that you made my brother argue with me. Do you understand why that would be problematic?"

I knew I had crossed a line in the city, but I wasn't sure how Tannix had done anything wrong. I started talking before knowing what I was going to say. "He... uh... you're the king, and he's supposed to obey you."

"Finn," he sighed my name, and turned to rest his hands on his desk. "I can't be exactly the way I want to be when I'm in public. Maybe one day, I'll be able to safely walk in the lower city, handing out money. It isn't just the war, it's me. Esmeranda inherited the throne, not me. And I'm a Tandran. I have to be careful I don't do anything that'll upset Zianna's advisors or generals or other nobles in the city. I can't do anything that'll upset the other city rulers. If I step too far out of line, I could be forced out of this position and leave Meranda to face the war on her own."

"But you're the king. How could anybody force you to do anything?"

"I'm not really the king. Not yet. Meranda crowned me almost the moment her father died, but it wasn't a proper coronation. And we're not married. We're betrothed. For Meranda, that was enough. Not everyone agrees. It's a bit of a mess and I won't bore you with the details. The point is, I can't have rumours spreading about my one real ally disrespecting or arguing with me."

"But Tannix would never-"

"I know," Tandrin interrupted. "I know he wouldn't. But people will make whatever they want out of what they see. Tannix and I need to be on the same page. It's for him, too. Our family has always been very popular with the people on New Teltar, but he's young and he wasn't supposed to become Lord West Draulin. If he slips up too many times people might lose confidence in him. Tannix and I don't have the luxury of settling into our positions and gaining people's trust before we have to face any real challenges. We have to figure out what we're doing, gain trust, and lead our people through this war."

I nodded. I couldn't imagine what that felt like, but I knew what he said was true. Granted, I didn't know enough about Teltish politics to understand what he was dealing with from his own people, but I did know something. "You did the right thing today," I said. "People will enlist, and when you have them trained and paid, and when we win this war, the Native Zians in Zianna won't forget what you said to them."

"I know it was the right thing to do. Thank you." He pulled out his chair and sat down. He wasn't annoyed anymore, just tired. "Back to Tannix for a moment. I'm not trying to imply that I want him to obey me blindly. I need him to tell me what he's thinking and argue with me, he just needs to do it in private. I know what happened in the city doesn't seem like much, but it was very telling."

"But..." I shrugged. "He just asked you to not make me beg."

"Because he values you over his position. I understand, I feel the same way about Meranda."

"But you don't have that luxury," I repeated his earlier word with a nod.

He smiled, and then for a moment just looked at me. He was so similar to Tannix. I almost found myself envying Queen Esmeranda, simply because she could be with Tandrin openly. But things weren't as simple as that for them, either. The envy faded, replaced by sympathy. Tandrin and Tannix had been given the kingdom. They had grown up with everything they could possibly need or want. But they had never been free the way I had been. Who would they have been if they had been born middle class?