| "Bear," he said, "I would never ask you for thatFor our sake as much as for your ownI will not have my name remembered as the man who first invited the newly awakened might of Quileia north into the PalmIf an army ever ventures from Quileia through these passes, and I hope we are both long dead before such a day, the wish of my heart will be for it to be slaughtered and driven back with losses so bloody that no King in the south ever tries again
"If there is a King in the south and not another four hundred years of the Mother and her priestessesVery well," Marius said, "then tell me what it is you do need
Alessan's legs were neatly crossed, his long fingers laced in his lapHe looked for all the world as if he was gucci handbag discussing nothing of greater moment than, perhaps, the sequence of songs for an evening's performance
Except that his fingers, Devin saw, were so tightly squeezed together they were white
"A question first," Alessan said, controlling his voice"Have you received letters offering to open trade?"
Marius nodded"From both of your TyrantsGifts, messages of felicitation, and generous offers to reopen the old trade routes by sea and land
"And each urged you to scorn the other as being untrustworthy and unstable in his power
Marius was smiling faintly now"Are you intercepting my mail, Pigeon? Each did exactly that
"And what," Alessan asked, direct as an arrow, "have you replied?" For the first time, unmistakably, there was a taut cord of copy mulberry handbag tension in his voice"Nothing yet," he said, his smile fading"I want a few more messages from each of them before I move
Alessan looked down and seemed to notice his clenched fingers for the first timeHe unlaced them and ran a hand, predictably, through his hair
"You will have to move, though," he said with some difficulty"You will obviously need tradeIn your position you have to begin showing Quileia some of the benefits you can offerTraffic north will be the quickest way, won't it?" There was an awkward kind of challenge in his tone
"Of course," Marius said simplyWhy else am I King? It is only a question of timing, and with what happened this morning I think my timing has just been moved up
Alessan nodded, as if he'd known chanel 5 ladies handbag au all this already
"What will you do, then?" he asked
"Open the passes for both of themNo preferences, no tariffs for eitherI will let Alberico and Brandin send me all the gifts and goods and envoys they wantI'll let their trade make me truly a King, a King who brings new prosperity to his peopleAnd I need to start doing it soonImmediately, I now suspectI have to put Quileia so firmly on a new path that the old one recedes as fast as I can make itOtherwise I'll die having done nothing but live somewhat longer than most Year Kings, and the priestesses will be in power again before my bones are picked clean underground
Alessan closed his eyesDevin became aware of the rustling of leaves all around them and the sporadic calling gucci canvas bag of birdsThen Alessan looked up at Marius again, the grey eyes wide and calm, and he said, bluntly:
"My request: that you give me six months before deciding on tradeAnd something else, in that interval
"The time alone is a great deal," Marius said very softly"But tell me the rest, Pigeon
"Three letters, BearI need three letters sent northFirst letter: you say yes to Brandin, conditionallyYou ask for time to consolidate your own position before exposing Quileia to outside influencesYou make it clear that your inclination toward him is based on his appearing stronger than Alberico, more likely to endureSecond letter: you reject, sorrowfully, all overtures from AstibarYou write Alberico that you are intimidated by Brandin's canvas gucci bags thre |
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