A Northern Prince

Four


\"This is not an orthodox way to settle foreign policy issues, Majesty,\" Strife said, trying to fan his hand of cards out with at least some of the grace Dano had shown. He wasn\'t even going to think about where the elf twins learned to move cards like they did. \"We should send an envoy!\"

The six of them sat around a field table in a tent about ten miles outside of Eqilobos city. Two elf mages who were rogue against the temple, loyal only to the throne, the head of the temple with a straw of honey held between his teeth as he fanned out his cards and his betrothed, a sevrit with a long tail whose tip slipped under the loose cotton shirt of the head of the temple. Then acting Empriat Charity sat across from her personal secretary Strife. They were her best friends in all the world. This was a decision she didn\'t know how to make. \"Shut up, Strife. If you win, we\'ll do it your way.\"

Charity fanned her cards out. Poker. It was the answer to everything. Everyone knew that all great decisions were made on rainy nights in tents far away from the luxurious palace. The little moon was back, the Goddess Mayonaka was back with the Goddess Lunatay, at least according to the traditional stories of their people. Most people believed that she was the incarnation of Mayonaka and that the almond eyed princess was Lunatay. Life wasn\'t a fairytale though and love didn\'t rise up out of nothing and it didn\'t just fix everything.

Kai studied his cards. \"So the goal of this game is to acquire all the money?\"

His twin, who had such a different voice, even if they were both songbirds, mages of song, cleared his throat, folded his cards. \"I think the goal is to get all of Char\'s money, then we get to tell her how to do it right for once.\"

Strife\'s mouth dropped open, closed with a snap. \"As if you two would understand anything more distance than your theater or …\"

\"Woahhh, Strife,\" Dano interrupted, as he descreetly tried to scoot his chair closer to Tokala\'s. \"That\'s rough. Kai and Ko read lots. I\'m sure they have good ideas.\"

Dano smiled, dark hair mused around his face as if he\'d tried to put it all back in place hastily and not succeeded too well. He shivered suddenly, eyes feeling as if they\'d just gone cross eyed for a moment.

\"Toka,\" Charity admonished sternly, \"We are here to seek omens for peace or war. Can you please not tickle my little brother?\"

Tokala\'s pale face lit up brightly. Dano smiled, thinking cherries in the snow. He reached out and ran his thumb over Tokala\'s cheek. \"It\'s okay. He\'s not bothering me. Are we going to play this game. I got ideas about what we should do about those southern people.\"

\"Does it involve singing to them,\" Kai asked, peering over his cards as he shuffled them around. \"Two queens is a good thing?\"

\"You\'re not taking this seriously!\" Charity snarled. \"Kai! You\'re not supposed to tell what you have!\"

\"Even I knew that,\" Strife snorted. \"Majesty, aren\'t you supposed to turn one card up and set it next to the draw pile?\"

Ko broke out laughing. \"We\'re playing poker for the fate of the world, not gin rummy.\"

\"Oh, you\'re all fools!\" Charity snapped, pressing her thumbs to her temples. \"I should have gotten players from the Tirson\'vey.\"

The Tirson\'vey was the Emprial personal guard, a fighting force that kept civil order in Equilibos and the only full time standing troops for the north.

\"Uh,\" Dano said, his cards dropping from his fingers, as he backed up his chair.

Tokala sat transfixed, the fur at the very tip of his long white tail standing all on end, twitching.

\"What is it now?\" Charity growled, standing from her stool.

Kai reached over to catch Ko\'s hand and Strife pointed behind Charity.

Charity spun around and there floated a young girl in a cloud of rainbow hair. The Empriat of Eqilobos dropped to one knee, head bowed, cards on the packed dirt floor.

Lai Lei smiled. Dano dropped to one knee, his chair falling over behind him. The other two songbirds knelt with a bit more grace, heads bowed. They\'d had their share of disagreements with Lai Lei, even though it was her power that gave them their magic. In the first Temple War, she\'d taken Ko\'s gift back, leaving him magicless for years. Tokala kicked Strife\'s chair over as he dropped to his knees by Dano.

Lai Lei laughed, sparkling like living music, bird song and water fall splashes. \"Empriat\'sen\'na Charity,\" she said, slender little girl fingers touching Charity\'s short hair. No one really called Charity that title anymore, Empriat\'sen\'na. She was not the heir apparent anymore, but the Empriat for all practical purposes. \"I want you to go south, and to find these two men. Bring them to the deepest Temple and there will be no war.\"

With shaking fingers, Charity picked up the jack of diamonds and the jack of hearts, which were no longer normal cards, but now had Sei and Leo\'s faces on them. \"Where are we to find these men? This one, with the red hair, he\'s a songbird?\"

\"He is my High Songbird of the South. Find him, Empriatsen\'na, bring them both to me or there will be war that no game can pretend away.\"

\"How long do I have?\"

\"You will have until Lunatay\'s Moon is whole twice, and then there will be nothing which I nor any other of the gods can do.\"

Charity didn\'t want war, really, did not want to chose war and death for her people ever again, but she wouldn\'t allow the southerners to invade her lands either. \"Don\'t they have gods in the South? Why are they attacking us?\"

Child like Lai Lei folded her legs under her, rested her fingers in her lap. \"Bring them to me, willingly, if you can.\"

Then she was gone, leaving just the faintest scent of burned hair in the air. Dry mouthed, Charity rose. \"I guess we\'re going south. I knew the answer was in the cards!\"

She threw the two changed cards on the table and the others looked at them as they stood. Without knowing who they were, it was going to be hard to find two southerners. Especially if one was a High Songbird that didn\'t want to be found.