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Lawrence and Shasta’s wedding was a big one, which he was not comfortable discussing without her. When Magnus started listing things that they would need, Lawrence had put his foot down about it. Since he was the same rank as his father, Magnus decided to leave it for a later discussion..

Lawrence sighed in relief. Karena had been trying to take over the whole thing, and seriously pissing Shasta off in the process. They didn’t even like each other, but Karena seemed to think that she could make decisions on Shasta’s behalf.

When she had sent a selection of bright-pink and purple swatches for Shasta to choose from, she’d gone straight to Magnus. When she had still tried to interfere, Shasta had said something that’d pissed Karena off more than anything..

“I want someone with Taste to help me plan my wedding.. That’s why Skye is my Maid of Honor, not you..”

It had been a lie, but Karena didn’t need to know that. She wanted Skye as her Maiden because she was her best friend, next to Tidas. Lawrence was going to have him as his Best Man, and his children would be the Ring Bearer, and Flower Girl.

Zas had agreed to give her away, and Magnus was going to preside over the wedding himself. It would most likely wouldn’t take place for one or two years since Skye and Tidas were going to be roped into being diplomats. Shasta was a little sad to wait, but she wanted their wedding to be done their way, not how everyone else wanted it to be.

They didn’t want a big wedding like most royals, and they didn’t want Marco and Karena involved in the planning. Magnus had been furious with Lawrence over it, but couldn’t do much since he was the King of his own Kingdom.

The best he could get was front row for them, which Marco didn’t seem to care at all, one way or the other. Karena was the only one who seemed angry that she wouldn’t be involved in it. It would go down in the history books, and she wanted to be listed.

.....

Since she couldn’t be, Karena had turned back to her old prejudices. Saying that ‘it will be nothing but a commoner’s affair with a beastly touch’. Shasta didn’t care what was said, as long as she butted out of it.

After glossing over any exact details to the gathered lords, they move on to the next subject..

Talking about the wedding led Magnus to cover the current economic projections for the kingdom. Thanks to the extra food provided by Skye before she left, the people had more than enough to last the winter. It was to the point of having to give the people extra rations, to make sure nothing was wasted.

The excess of food, in turn, created healthier, and more productive citizens. On top of that, Tidas’ schools were being completely funded, saving the parents money. The hospitals were steadily funded by Skye’s unaccepted payments, and the stability of food across the entire kingdom helped to keep everyone healthy over the wintertime.

Overall production of goods, and quality of living had raised across the board. With free schooling, stable food and water, and proper sanitation made easily accessible; everyone was given an equal start...

Alcon was currently second to Sai in advanced technology, but everything else was either on par, or over the top. Sai couldn’t produce food like Alcon did, so it was behind in that category. When it came to everything else, however; they were even.

The two Fae listened intently as they realized how much of a difference Skye had made for the people of her kingdom. She had singlehandedly brought the kingdom out of it’s slump by simply not being a greedy person. As they thought about it they recalled that Skye had advanced their technologies as well..

‘Of course, that’s with none of the kingdoms knowing what the Highlanders have.. Otherwise, I think the rankings would be quite different.. I wonder how much Skye has improved their lives by now?’

As Nicolas let his thoughts run rampant, Maevis stewed over the fact that a room full of stuffy men were deciding Skye and Tidas’ future without them. The two women had discussed them visiting the Fae Nation several times, but Maevis didn’t think it would be possible for quite some time now..

‘Damn that Genie for ruining our plans! Celestia and Titania will be very upset that they won’t see her for a couple more years now.. Damn it! Not to mention that they’ll want to have children at some point.. Can’t go on dangerous adventures with a child strapped to your back..’

“What’s with your face? It looks all...scrunched. Did you eat something bad again?” Nicolas part-fussed, part-teased.

Maevis smacked his arm, ruffling his red robes as he fake-yelped. A couple of people right below them looked up at the chandelier, but saw nothing. Shaking their heads, they returned to listening to the King’s report on the kingdom..

Maevis sighed with relief. She didn’t feel like dealing with the court’s sycophants today, and was doing everything within her powers to avoid them. They still hadn’t stopped pestering her and Nic about trading goods with the Fae.

The treaty that Celestia had signed stopped them from trading with anyone but Alcon for a set number of years, but they still got to dictate which merchants they allowed to sell their items. They had left the distribution up to Lucas Moonstone, who retained a small amount of the profits as a middleman fee.

It had all been approved by Magnus, so the nobles couldn’t do anything about it. Lucas rarely chose the noble shops to sell the Fae goods from, except the few that ‘consorted with commoners’. It was to the point that all of the ‘high-end’ shop owners had to comb the commoners’ marketplace, and buy up the Fae goods they saw.

After buying the random goods at high prices to begin with, they would resell them at their shops for an outrageous amount of money. Many nobles had started having their servants go to the commoners’ marketplace to buy for them, or going incognito themselves.

The shop keepers were desperate to keep their status quo, so they bombarded the Fae Representatives with goods requests at every available chance. Whether it obviously irritated them or not..

When the meeting let out, they waited for Lawrence and Zas to leave before flying out the top of the door as quietly as possible. In the hall, Maevis made a low trill-like cat call to get their attention. Zas perked his ears up, then subtly looked up.

The two Fae motioned for him and Lawrence to meet them down the hallway, away from prying ears and eyes. Since they were heading to the RMC Headquarters, they walked down an unpopulated hall, then stopped to chat a moment.

Maevis huffed in exasperation; “Do those meetings always involve so much prattling?”

Lawrence burst out laughing, but Zas kept it to a snicker as he replied; “It usually doesn’t get so bad.”

The Ruscovic King snorted as he curved his mirth; “I think you meant to say that they’re usually worse.. But Karena wasn’t there to drag it out this time, so that’s why it didn’t last the usual eight hours.”

Nicolas’ eyes bulged; “Eight hours of That?! Human endurance is a scary thing..”

All three chuckled at Nic’s observation, then Maevis took on a more serious expression; “So Skye and Tidas are fine in the Highlands? They haven’t had any issues?”

Zas and Lawrence exchanged a weary expression before Lawrence said; “Well, there were a few. And one in particular that has my father acting very strangely. Do you two know anything about the Warrick family?”

Maevis and Nicolas remained eerily still as they both replied; “We are not at liberty to discuss it under orders of Empress Titania, and King Magnus..”

The Ruscovic King quirked an eyebrow at them; “That’s not going to cut it for me.. I’ll have a talk with my father later.”

Maevis quirked an eyebrow right back at him; “You’d be better off asking the love birds as soon as they get back. I don’t think the creepy one wants anyone to know anything about her..”

“Creepy? Oh! You mean the oldest, right?” Zas asked, taking a moment to catch on.

As Nicolas nodded, he thought about what the Highlands meant to him, and his eyes clouded over with tainted nostalgia..

“Oh no you don’t, you old fart! Get outta yer head right now, or I’ll smack you out of it!” Maevis yelled, recognizing the glazed-over look on Nic’s face.

“Ouch! You’re supposed to wait a little in between the warning and the hitting! By the gods, woman! Learn some patience!”

Maevis stared flatly at her best friend; “I’m too old to learn new things. Now, on to a happier note: when will the wedding be, exactly?”

Lawrence sighed as they started down the hall again; “I don’t think we’ll be having it for a while. Shasta really wants Skye and Tidas to be a part of it, and I agree. They’re the ones who helped us get together. It wouldn’t be right if they weren’t there.”

As they chatted for a bit, the four covered Lawrence’s eventual wedding, Zas’ upcoming family reunion, and the prosperity of the Fae Kingdom. Once they reached the long outdoor hallway that connected to the RMC Headquarters, they exited the palace..

Marco had been walking along and listening to them from within his secret passageways, behind the walls. It was amusing to him that all four were cautious of him..

‘They should be.. Once my plans are complete, all four will likely be dead. I wonder what kind of faces those two old bats would if I plucked off their wings? I’ll have to order them captured alive when everything starts so I can see..’

As he made his way over towards his father’s quarters, one of Marco’s guards popped out of nowhere, and bowed. Motioning to him to speak, the guard said; “Dr. Stein wishes to speak to you, my King. He says that he’s made another breakthrough..”