Verita - The Guardian of Darkness

12

What in the abyss is he up to now?, thought Elanthin, who was starting to get dizzy from Aetrian's abrupt behaviors.

"I thought of a way to prove my intentions to you", he said, as he noticed her curious gaze. "Will you allow me to add some conditions to the treaty right here and now?"

Elanthin's interest was piqued, so she couldn't help but nod. If the Gratian was trying to trick her, this was a good opportunity to find out. Aetrian might think that she was little more than an uncultured hillbilly but as the heir of Verita she'd learned to read legal and administrative papers carefully – just like him.

She watched quietly as he put down the parchment on the coffee table and grabbed the quill which Ves had readied for him. He wrote while speaking.

"The king promises to defer to queen Elanthin of Verita, or her rightful successor, in matters regarding the House of Verita and their main palace." But he didn't stop there. He continued, "Right. The king ... also promises to respect Verita's opinion in all decisions which affect the Forlorn Plains and the Deep. And thirdly, the king promises to not involve himself in the inner politics of the Forlorn Plains, if not deemed absolutely necessary."

For a moment, Elanthin was speechless. This couldn't be some sort of trick, could it? The document seemed legit and she had seen his signature before. As long as he put the royal seal on this piece of parchment, she wouldn't need to fear for her crown.

She felt like the room was spinning as a completely new thought entered her mind: Had she been worrying unnecessarily about not only her life but also the treaty negotiations? This king was currently as eager to please her as a puppy its owner. Elanthin almost felt sorry for Aetrian's ancestors, who would doubtlessly be turning in their graves about now.

"Are you discontent?" Aetrian looked over the document, which he'd written up in haste. "My other vassals have received similar conditions, so I thought it would be alright."

Elanthin shook her head, still lost for words.

"I take it you're satisfied then?"

With sheer willpower, she brought the spinning room to a halt. This wasn't the right time to loose her sense of danger. "Wait."

He waited, quill in hand.

"What is deemed absolutely necessary?"

His lips curled into a smile before he put a fine line over the words. "Scratch that. Instead, let's put down: if they do not affect Gratia. Are you alright with that, Your Majesty?"

"Aet– I mean, Your Majesty." Ves had suddenly raised his voice and both Elanthin and Aetrian looked to him. He was using a mixture of the Gratian and Veritan tongue, likely for lack of proficiency in the latter. "Are you sure that you want to allow this? What if, in the future –"

"You're questioning me?"

Ves seemed on the verge of replying something unfavorable but decided to lower his head in silence instead. The caramel bangs hid the expression on his face.

In the meantime, Aetrian added calmly: "I don't need to take her crown away to create a unified empire."

So his end goal is the title and seat of emperor; not only of the Gratian kingdom but irrefutably the whole continent, recognized Elanthin. The Gratian king was trying to unify the lands in order to create greater power and representation for himself. Although it was a selfish goal, she felt strangely reassured by it. It made more sense to her than the simple goodwill he'd been displaying.

Aetrian's hand pushed the quill towards her once more.

"Sign." There was a certainty and calmness in Aetrian's eyes which stopped Elanthin's contemplations of his goals and quickened her pulse. Had she overlooked anything? Was there a new clause which could hurt her people?

No matter how often she recalled the clauses, there was nothing in them which would cause her to be at a disadvantage. In fact, it balanced the formerly one-sided treaty out and allowed for her authority to remain intact in almost any situation.

Slowly, Elanthin reached towards the white quill. There was nothing more left for her than to hope that Aetrian had meant each of his words. Trusting him wasn't entirely possible for Elanthin but she knew that, at the very least, this treaty would allow their people to obtain Gratian citizenship and offer them a monster-free life.

When her hands touched Aetrian's, Elanthin couldn't help but flinch. His skin was soft, unlike her own, and held a warmth she wasn't used to. On the Plains, her every sensation had been numbed by a prickling combination of damp and cold.

Aetrian watched her intently as she snatched the quill from his hands and bent over the table to sign the document. Her scribbled name appeared ill-matched with the expensive parchment. In comparison, Aetrian's neat handwriting suited it perfectly. The loops of his letters were large and rounded, whereas Elanthin's own hand was sharp and space-savingly narrow.

She'd already opened her mouth to thank him for his consideration, when she hesitated. Was she forgetting the reason why such a treaty was necessary in the first place? Elanthin didn't know anything apart from the dreary domain which she was born to rule but her ancestors had owned land on the continent. Settlements in a safe distance from the Deep with rich and fertile soil, which they could cultivate with ease.

Her fingers clenched the quill. In comparison, everything and more had been handed to this Gratian king since his birth, hadn't it?

"For now, this will do", she let him know cooly. "But I wouldn't call any treaty of this kind satisfactory – as you well know, house Verita didn't choose to live on the Plains in the first place."

It was impossible to tell if Aetrian had noticed her change; at least he didn't let it show. Quietly he took the quill from her and handed it to Ves, before turning to her once more. There was an apologetic look in Aetrian's eyes now which immediately alerted her.

"I can understand your position. But now that this business is over and done with", he said, "I'm afraid I'll have to make a request."

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