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‘I see,’ said Garovel. ‘So, then, what’s your strategy moving forward? If things continue on like they have been, then it sounds like you won’t be able to keep up appearances for much longer.’

At that, the Queen was silent for an uncomfortably long time.

Hector studied her expression, as well as Lynn’s, and he couldn’t help worrying about what he was seeing. Their solemn gazes. Their aversion of eye contact.

This wasn’t right at all. He was the one who was supposed to be afraid of eye contact, not them.

At length, however, the Queen finally answered. “It may already be too late,” she said. “I know you are expecting me to say that I have some grand plan to save the kingdom, and if you were any other of the lords here tonight, I would say exactly that. I would tell you what I thought you would wish to hear--indeed, what I would wish to hear. But with the two of you, at least, I feel I must share the fullness of my thoughts on this matter, terrible though they are.”

Hector’s own expression hardened as he listened, bracing himself for whatever he was about to hear.

“I fear there may simply be no way out of this particular crisis,” said the Queen. “Not for me, at least. Not for the Crown.”

Hector was confused. He waited for her to explain what she meant.

“Atreya will survive,” she went on. “There is no doubt in my mind about that. Because Atreya is its people. And we are a hardier bunch than I think even we ourselves realize. We are tough and often underestimated.” A thin smile crossed her lips briefly. “I would say you are a fine example.”

Hector might’ve blushed if he wasn’t more concerned about where this was going.

“And perhaps I am being overly dramatic,” she said. “It is not as if I will be gutted and thrown out onto the street.”

Hector couldn’t hold his questions any longer. “What are you talking about? Why are you saying all of this?”

For a short time, the Queen merely looked at him, her eyes softening before seeming to find their steel again. “This information is not yet public, but... Intar has offered to annex Atreya.”


Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Four: ‘Thine uncertain destiny...’
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Hector’s head reared back. He didn’t even know what to make of that news.

The Queen was not done talking, however. “I have not yet given them an answer, but it is certainly not something I can dismiss out of hand. And the terms of it, as they have been relayed to me thus far, would be rather generous, considering our circumstances.”

‘Wow,’ said Garovel. ‘And what are these “rather generous” terms, if you don’t mind my asking?’

“Complete absolution of all our debts to them,” said Helen, “as well as the shouldering of all debts we have to other nations--namely Korgum and Dozer.”

Page 1860

The Queen regarded Hector and Garovel both another time. “I see. Forgive me if I seem skeptical. I have had few reasons for optimism, of late.” She removed her hands from the table and folded them over her stomach.

“I can imagine,” said Hector. He wanted to say something more, something reassuring preferably, but nothing was coming to mind.

“This financial crisis,” the Queen said slowly, “it is... my failure. So many of this nation’s problems might have been avoided if I had only been more attentive in these last five years.”

Hector observed her face with silent surprise. He’d been seeing her all over the news lately, giving speeches and the like, and she always looked so confident and composed. But here and now? Hector had never seen her so uncertain.

Come to think of it, her worried reactions earlier were a lot more expressive as well.

It put a question in Hector’s head.

“...Is the crisis even worse than the public realizes?” he asked.

The Queen met his gaze but didn’t answer him.

Perhaps that was an answer in itself, though.

“...Madame Carthrace wants to open a bank in my name,” said Hector.

Helen’s eyes drifted away from him, seemingly in thought. “A bank? Why would she...?”

“Ah... she seems to think that, er... that my reputation would be able to help stabilize the economy. I mean, I don’t know if, uh... if that would work, but... eh... that’s what she said.”

The Queen seemed lost in thought, but she still managed to say, “I see.” And then, after a beat, “Interesting.”

Hector supposed he shouldn’t stop there. “She, uh... she also wanted me to ask you for funding for it.”

Helen frowned at him.

“Ah--if you can’t help, though, then, er, I understand...”

She sighed mildly through her nose and shook her head. “At this time, I am afraid I can offer you no such assistance.”

‘Really?’ said Garovel. ‘I don’t want to give you a hard time, but it seems a little odd that you wouldn’t choose to subsidize a potential solution to the main problem facing the nation. Or HELP subsidize it, at the very least.’

The Queen’s frown deepened. “I would if I could,” she said.

‘It’s that bad, huh?’ said Garovel.

‘It is,’ said Mehlsanz. ‘We’re already running on fumes, as it is. The Gala? Everything you see here tonight? Bought with funds borrowed from Intar.’

‘Intar, huh?’ said Garovel. ‘Well, it’s true that they’ve got plenty of money to throw around, but I can’t say I like the idea of Atreya being indebted to them.’

“Nor do I,” said Helen, “but it is all we can do to keep up appearances, for the moment. Why, if not for David’s silver tongue, I doubt even they would have agreed to lend us any more.”

‘And now they’re pressuring us to grant special privileges to their businesses. Their influence is growing stronger by the day.’

Well, that corroborated what Madame Carthrace had told him, Hector figured.

He would’ve much preferred to learn that she’d been wrong.

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‘Yes,’ said Garovel, ‘but if nothing else, then at least YOU could come, Mehlsanz, and give them a look.’

‘Mm, perhaps. But I’m a busy girl, too, you know. And besides, I don’t think Helen values my opinion that much.’

The Queen gave her a flat look, now.

‘Heh, well, if that’s true, then maybe she’s right to not care about your opinion,’ said Garovel.

‘Excuse me?’ said Mehlsanz dryly, though Hector heard a hint of amusement in her voice.

‘You can’t just revive someone and then expect them to treat you like a sophisticated intellectual,’ said Garovel. ‘I know I make it look easy, being this obviously smart all the time, but trust me, it’s a whole ordeal unto itself.’

‘Careful,’ said Mehlsanz. ‘You and I are old friends, but not THAT old.’

Garovel just chuckled.

“This fugitive from Sai-hee,” said the Queen, apparently wanting to get the conversation back on track, “tell me about him. You said that you did not think these Rainlords will be a problem but that you think someone else will. You were referring to this man?”

“Oh,” said Hector, “ah... yeah. He’s... well, his name’s Leo. He seems to trust me, but... ah... he might be under the impression that I’m... one of the oldest servants in the world.”

The Queen expression remained blank, and she just stared at Hector for a time.

Hector and Garovel did their best to bring the Queen up to speed with regard to what had happened with Leo in the Undercrust. It ended up drifting all the way back into what happened at Dunehall and even into Marshrock, and by the end it, Helen and Mehlsanz were looking more bewildered than ever. Even Lynn was eyeing him as if he was suddenly a different person or something. It was always tough to tell what was going through her head, though.

‘But anyway, enough about us,’ said Garovel at the protracted silence. ‘Tell us about what’s going on with you. We’d like to help, if we can.’

‘It sounds like you already have your hands full,’ said Mehlsanz.

‘Yeah, well, if we can help you with your problems, then maybe you wouldn’t mind helping us with ours.’

“I am not certain how I could help with this Leo character,” said Helen. “He sounds rather unstable. Do you have a particular tactic in mind?”

‘We have a few,’ said Garovel, though Hector wasn’t sure if that was a lie or not. ‘But for the moment, I don’t think we’ll need your help in dealing with him. The way Hector talked about the man was a bit foreboding--and not unduly so, perhaps--but as for me, I’m optimistic about our relationship with him. I think Hector and I will be able to bring him around and count him as another valuable ally and protector of Atreya.’