She paces, twisting her hands.
It's my cousin, Byrrah. We were having border trouble with merfolks from the Calypso Abyss, in the Ionian sea. They come from deep, deep waters, and have never acknowledged us, even if there was an uneasy truce. Now, they were restless, and we were on a course for war. A war we were ill-prepared to fight.
Byrrah brought a friend of him. A magus, like you, but not a fighter, more of a diplomat. He knew these folks, and managed to talk them into stepping down.
He's been in here ever since, ingratiating himself with the merchants and nobility. He's got a lot of relations, and helped commerce to rise again, with had the nobility living in luxury again. Which is all what Byrrah wanted, I guess.
But I'm avoiding the subject.
She turns to Roberto, looking him in the eyes. She looks very distraught, and on the verge of crying.
He proposed to me. Don't get the wrong idea! He a charming, dashing man, but I don't love him. He's a nice, affable fellow, though, so I denied his request firmly, but politely, and told him I was spoken for.
This didn't deter him.
I swear, my love, I swear, I've been nothing if not clear about it, multiple times, but he's been nothing if not polite and an ally of Herakleion, which means I can't just expel him. And he's been smart about it, pleading his case as much with the council as with me. He even managed to convert Aubert.
So when they were previously trying to get me to marry someone, anyone, now they've got a nail to focus on, and they've been trying to get me to marry him.
All the while, Thula has been on my side, and advocated for you, but it's been us against them all.
She sits.
I am tired, my love. I am so very tired.
From one side, he's making it hard for me to rebuke him too sternly, and from the other, they've been gnawing at me, contesting my every decision while, at every turn, advocating for me to marry. It's been so hard for me to... to wait, and to wait, and to
She beging to sob.
So, going back more than 1 year ago to this post, we've got, speaking:
- Coral, representative of the City folks
- Llyron, representing the merchants
- Soteira
- Aubert, grand priest of Poseidon. You may remember him from a while back
- Lord Byrrah, Soteira's cousin, speaking for the nobility
- Thula. With Nera, one of the 2 guards roberto befriended years ago, when they were leading the resistance against Attumah, after which they joined the palace guard for their services. She's since risen further through the ranks, and represent the city's guards in Herakelion's council