Trade Agreements - and other chaos

[Chris Strongheart]

: Strongheart ran a tired hand through his now blond hair (the last time he had blond hair was when he was younger - the stress of transforming back and forth probably triggered it to go blond. Hopefully, it'll be back to its normal dark brown color before the meeting). Lord, he hated traveling, really and truly did. He'd rather be at home in his home realm then dealing with trade agreements and other assorted forms of chaos. The only reason he was doing this was because his only child was at school (or was at school until she was struck down by sand merks) and he had to give something of an official apology to King Aldrich for his child's bobbling of a spell, even if the bobbled spell saved the prince's life.

He leaned over and picked up a glass of wine and sipped it slowly. Hopefully this meeting wouldn't end up with him wanting to kill something or rather, turn back into the dog he was cursed as. He sighed quietly and held a picture of his daughter in his hands. "We'll be a family again, baby, I promise," he said quietly.

-

Strongheart stood in the council room, waiting for Aldrich to acknowledge him. Hopefully, this would go off without a hitch. Now, what did his people need? Oh, right, Eraklyon had a new type of grain and his people had just finished mining that blue stone that Eraklyon prized in their jewelry. That should work, he thought as he ran a tired hand through his dark hair. If not, well, maybe they'd find some use for the overabundence of Pixietails. One could barely take a step without tripping over a swarm back in Lovelylocks.

They were cute - but. Just the sheer number was enough to drive everyone mad. He mentally groaned as one of the fuzzy things scrambled across the desk in front of Aldrich. It stopped and settled down in a pile of important papers and refused to budge. It was a light blue chipmunk who should have been at home in their home realm, not here. Strongheart was less then thrilled to see one causing trouble. 'Hopefully, he won't have it killed, but truthfully, I don't really care if it is,' Strongheart thought.


OOC: see the cute fuzzy thing on Strongheart's shoulder? That's a Pixietail. They come in the shape of birds, mice, rabbits, squirrels, fish, seahorses... I think there's a turtle

[Sky]

Aldrich sat at the front of the council room in his high-backed chair, his arms resting regally on the thickly padded armrests. It had been an exhausting day and the last place he desired to be was in this room, on the verge of some trivial meeting that had to do with who knew what.

Shifting imperceptibly in his chair, Aldrich grimaced inwardly. He had grown somewhat portly as of late - too many rich, tasty dinners - and now, he was reaping the ah . . . rewards. Wryly, he wondered how much longer it would be before he would have to opt for a new chair - probably not much longer - the thing was flimsy enough without having to support any additional weight . . .

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Aldrich gave a tight smile to the man standing before him, who was obviously waiting to be acknowledged. Yes, it would be the best for everyone to hurry and get this matter dealt with -

Waving his hand absently, Aldrich furrowed his brow, which he considered to be his signature 'let's get down to business' look, and began, "Yes, yes, on with it, Strongheart. I haven't got all day."

[Chris Strongheart]

: Strongheart bowed before speaking, his courtly manners fresh. "I thank milord for seeing me," he said. "I was hoping to renew one of our old trade agreements. Our gems for one variation of your grain. Our farmers have been having a tough time this year."

He sighed quietly. "And I'm sure you heard about the incident at Red Fountain. I offer my sincerest apologies and I also offer my daughter's. She tried to help him but given the situation, was not entirely successful."

[Sky]

Absently, Aldrich flipped through the paperwork that Strongheart had provided for him to sign in order to renew their trade agreement. Nodding as he skimmed the document, Aldrich replied without looking up at the man before him, "Yes, I suppose this will be satisfactory." Without another word, Aldrich scrawled his name on the papers and then laid down his pen, leaning back in his chair. Removing his reading glasses, the king furrowed his brow as he asked, "Now, what is this you of speak of concerning Red Fountain?"

[Chris Strongheart]

: Strongheart buried his face in his hand and shook his head. "The fact that your son hasn't contacted you in days to let you know anything about the school year thus far hasn't set off alarm bells?" he asked.

He groaned. "To make a long story short, my daughter, who you met when she was a child, attends Red Fountain with your son. Two dragons appeared in Red Fountain. One dragon tried to make a pancake out of your son and my daughter tried to cast the removal spell. She didn't have time to complete it so she did the best she could."

Strongheart sighed. "Currently, your son is merged with a dragon, and my daughter's a victim of the sand merks." He tried to remain sober. "Your son has a better chance of having his condition undone then my daughter."

[Sky]

"Let me get this straight," Aldrich began, his fingers squeezing the armrests fiercely to contain his growing fury. Partly rising out of his chair, his face growing deep red, he roared, his attempts to control himself unsuccessful, "My son i-is a dragon? And no one said anything to me until now?" Narrowing his eyes until they transformed into dark slits, he asked ominously, "How long has this, this - whatever you call it - atrocity - been going on? Why wasn't I alerted at once? And more so, where is my son now?"

Not waiting for answers, Aldrich motioned to the guards, "Find my son. Find him and bring him back home. I will not have him being treated by . . . by . . . foreigners. No. No. Enough damage has been done. Sky must return to Eraklyon and I will decide what must be done next. I - I will go and find a skilled magician who will undue whatever your daughter has done to him and that will be that." Aldrich pounded his fist on the table for emphasis, as though to say 'I am Aldrich. My word is law.'

[Chris Strongheart]

: "Blame Red Fountain for not alerting you," Strongheart said. "And if it wasn't for my daughter, your son would have died so do not blame her. And your son is with the Four Brothers of Magic."

Strongheart sat down on the floor. "Carolinus will help your son. I know it."

[Sky]

"This is . . . this is preposterous," Aldrich sputtered, flinging himself back down into his seat, which groaned unceremoniously at the stress of his weight. Muttering, he continued, "Of course you would say that your daughter was really a heroine - but what father wouldn't?" Stubbornly he added, "Even if said daughter is at fault. Still, I cannot blame you for doing so."

Rubbing his temples, Aldrich sat in silence, slowly regaining his composure. "Yes, well then, I desire my son to return to his home. He must return home. This is a matter that should be dealt with as a family and that is how it will be dealt with, Strongheart. Understood?"

[Chris Strongheart]

: "Right, I'll just go do more realm hopping to get to my wife's home realm and tell her to send the dragon back here," Strongheart said, trying his damnedest not to be sarcastic. "Even if I did remember where said realm was - there's the whole Quest thing that could be going down. And if there is... Well... it's your son's chance to be a great hero."

Strongheart sighed to himself. "At least he didn't suggest having his son marry my daughter to keep this whole thing tightly under wraps."

[Sky]

Aldrich sat in his chair, his skin distinctly pale. Shaking his head back and forth, his eyes, he muttered to himself, seemingly no longer aware of Strongheart's presence, "No . . . no . . . no. This cannot happen. It cannot. It will be scandal. Scandal. For eleven generations my family has possessed the crown of Eraklyon. For eleven generations there had never been a scandal. Not until Sky . . . and he ruined it. Ruined. First that ordeal with Bloom and Diaspro . . . and now this. My son must love to torture me." Breathing unevenly, Aldrich bit out, "Eleven generations of purity. And now it's all down the drain. No, there isn't anything left to do that can minimize the scandal this situation will cause should it leak out. We'll be ruined. What realm's people want a dragon prince? But still - there must be some way to minimize the damage. Think, Aldrich. Think . . ."

The moment the idea dawned on him, Aldrich sat up straight in his chair and a smile that resembled those of lunatics graced his face. "That's it," he whispered, leaning forward. "They'll marry. We'll say it happened in secret and that now they are away on their honeymoon. It will be perfect! It'll buy me time and I'll be able to find a way to cure Sky and all will be well . . . my name can be saved yet."

[Chris Strongheart]

: Strongheart nearly dropped dead from shock. "Okay, marry. In name only or are we going to have the whole elaborate ceremony?" he asked. His daughter was going to kill him for this. He only hoped that his daughter did love Sky.

[Sky]

Aldrich looked startled at the sound of Strongheart's voice. "Hmm?" Aldrich asked, confused for a moment. Regaining his senses, he shook his head and grimaced, "In name only, of course. Do you honestly think I would allow my son to actually marry that daughter of yours? Sure, sure, she's a nice enough girl, but she is not fit to be the future queen of Eraklyon. No, what will happen is that I will announce that Sky has gone off and eloped with your daughter. It will cause a scandal in itself - can you imagine? A prince eloping? It is the epitome of scandal. However, as soon as I return Sky to normal, I will have him 'return' from his elopement and he and I will announce that it was all a ploy of ours that was meant to cover up the real story - Sky's marriage to Princess Diaspro. It'll be marvelous. I'll get everything I want. All will be well in Eraklyon."

[Chris Strongheart]

: "And just what is wrong with my daughter," Strongheart said, his voice taking on an icy tone. "She's nice enough but she's not fit to be queen. What's that supposed to mean?" He was protective of his only child and he didn't like the fact that Aldrich was taking advantage of her.

Strongheart found himself hoping that Sky would be furious enough that he'd actually refuse to make the annulment. He doubted Sky would actually hurt another person like that.

[Sky]

Aldrich smiled knowingly. "Ah, what a good father you must be - always standing up for your daughter. I applaud you, really. I admit, your daughter is certainly lovely, however, lovely or not, that simply does not change the fact that she is not fit to rule this realm. You may or may not believe me but, one of the primary reasons why Eraklyon has been so successful is that the royal blood line has been impeccable. By selecting those with the best pedigree to marry into our family, we ensure that this realm remains successful. I am afraid that despite how 'nice' your daughter may be, her blood is not that of a future queen. At least, not of this particular realm." Pausing for a moment to let his words sink in, Aldrich then continued as he shuffled his papers, clearly signaling that the meeting was over, "I admire you, Strongheart, but my word is final. I will not have my family's blood tainted. Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do; I must find my son."

[Chris Strongheart]

: Strongheart said nothing but promptly turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, literally ready to kill the first person who said boo to him. His daughter was not a toy to be used in such a fashion. He best send a message to his family to let him know what Aldrich was planning.