Drakos watched the two humans exchanging looks and words in their own language, watching the human man give a half defeated shrug.

The woman watched him for a long time before shaking her head. "Verana didn't have them when we first met her."

He had expected a lie, not... absurdity.

Drakos snorted in disbelief. " Explain."

"Well, she had them, but she was raised by the Feysha, look... this is really personal information, and we don't know all of it. But she didn't know about her wings until the Feysha Council showed her her life's purpose." The woman, Lady Reyani offered, her words careful, slow as she searched for terms she wasn't familiar with using.

He frowned, thinking it over and fitting it into the information he had already learned, before he nodded. "She likes gardens?"

The Lady shook her head. "No, she thinks they're unbalanced. There's not enough Wild in them... but the Earth, she can heal it, or give it the balance it needs... and it will take from her until it is sated."

Drakos flipped through a couple more pages before stopping, narrowing his eyes at the picture depicting her fighting, laying on the ground with a foot to her throat as a male Feysha screamed at her, he lifted the book and tapped the paper.

Reyani sighed, glancing to the Duke who murmured something, before turning back to him. "She won that fight. That's Sencha... it was in a tournament, it was one of the most amazing and terrifying fights I had ever seen. The King hosted a tournament before his War Council, the Feysha joined, as an introduction to the Kingdom, because Verana was brokering an alliance between Clairval and the Feyshan Wild, and there were a lot of Humans with doubts."

Drakos flipped through pages, seeing more fights, more odd instances of this little winged princess of the Vayans, who had not been with Vayana for very long, it would seem. The tactician in him wondered if a second heir would cause instability for Vayana though he smothered the thought for the time being.

They spoke of the ship wreck, surprising Drakos with the knowledge that most of the damage had been caused by the Princess. Though, as he thought back to watching her fight, with more speed than a Rulin and a primal lethality that most of Drakos' fighters could match, he knew he shouldn't be.

Then he asked what their stake in this whole thing was.

Reyani translated his words, before turning to give him a long look. "You do know that Irlen is using your territory to hide the rest of their ships, right? Verana won't move on them until your peace is a bit more stable, for fear of upsetting it but she needs to bring in an army to seize the ships to free the rest of the Feysha. It is why most of us came with Oliver for this. We're hoping that if all works out well, we will be able to assist her. "

"No. I was not aware of that." Drakos paused upon realizing that though he had given the Princess permission to violate the sanctity of his borders, she would not overstep and bring a force large enough to subdue the humans. He frowned as he mulled that over, then finally looked up to them. "Clairval does not seem to be loyal to Vayana, despite your close relationship with their Princess."

He waited for the translation and saw the dangerous, dark gleam in the Admiral's eyes, and heard the tone in what he answered. He expected censure from Lady Reyani for whatever that cocky smirk was signalling but her look was steel as she turned to him. "Don't misunderstand us, your majesty. We have no vested interest in the outcome of Rulin and Vayan hostilities. But Veranandein is our friend and even if we have to act outside our Kingdom's authorities, we also possess the capabilities to provide her a great deal of support on our own. In this, our allegiance is with her."

Drakos hadn't expected so firm a stance, not when they had afforded him the deference and respect they had, for people who were not trying to exacerbate an issue. So her bluntness surprised him and he blinked at her for a few moments, before grinning and offering a nod. "She has a way of moving outside the lines of protocol and enabling those around her to adjust their line of thinking, doesn't she?"

Reyani laughed and shook her head. "No, your Majesty. Verana doesn't give two shits about protocol. She doesn't move outside the lines, she destroys them, and leaves the rest of us wondering why they were so important in the first place."

Drakos raised a brow and inclined his head, wondering how the talks would go if the Princess was going to attend. He'd very much like to see how the dynamic between the three members of the royal family played out, but he doubted he would get the chance.

***

Kerendian watched the man across the table, both of them listening to their representatives repeat the same grievances that they had been talking about over the past two days. Initial greetings had gone relatively well, seeing as how both sides had expected the other to use this as an attempt to kill their respective Regents.

The Rulin kingdom, beyond historical grievances that would never be addressed until peace allowed their people to heal, demanded more land within the neutral territories than they had cause to demand. They wanted fully equal recognition of their nation and their King, something that had been a sticking point for so long, Kerendian knew it was a dead issue. There was never any thought that these talks would lead to a united Vayana and a subdued rebellion. There had been a thousand years of fighting and separation since they could claim such a thing.

They wanted to implement tithes on the humans within their territory, a border that was guarded but only loosely enforced and more than a mere truce between them. They wanted a guaranteed commitment from her people to help fight the Cassaei, creatures who had so far only ventured as far north as the neutral lowlands between their two mountain ranges.

Various demands for repayment through exchange of gold from past actions were also brought up, but they all knew that that was something neither side would budge on. There were some things left unspoken, left to the king to demand but Drakos wasn't speaking them yet. She wanted desperately to ask King Drakos, if the concessions between them were so small, why had they been killing each other so vehemently for so long. They hated because of a betrayal felt on both ends, blurred by history and soured by pain and loss.

Vayana wanted more territory within the neutral territory than it had a right to demand. They wanted a solid, nearly impermeable border and a high ranking member of the Rulin Court to serve as hostage del facto for the first ten years of the truce, all demands that Kere knew Ruling would not agree to.

They had very little interest in the activities of the humans, as long as they remained small communities that did not affect them. They didn't want taxes or tithes and because they didn't want them, they did not agree that the Rulin Kingdom should have them.

There was an unwillingness to commit to the battles with the Cassaei, though no outright refusal. She also had a demand, half hidden in myth and rumour, which she would make if the talks proceeded far enough. But talks were going nowhere and Kere was tired of letting the bickering court members try to assuage their egos by being unreasonable to their enemies.

They were butting heads merely for the point of butting heads and she was having a hard time believing that this same man across from her had been so willing to speak with, allow concessions of his territory to and assist her daughter with only a request for a blade that could light in flames.

She met Drakos' eyes for a moment seeing the same frustration mirrored back at her. They both frowned as the conversation lulled and Kere raised a brow as she addressed the table. "I would like a break. I think we all need to stretch our wings."

"Agreed." Drakos said easily, the first time a Rulin had agreed with something a Vayan had said since these talks had begun. She simplified the matter by standing at the same time as him, inclining her head and turning to stride down the ship.

Her Court representative immediately flew to the ship that had been reserved for her and her party, where Pharos and the boys were waiting idly and Janzel and Vasha turned to follow her, but she shook her head. "Give me a little space."

"How much space, Regency?" Janzel asked softly.

Kerendian paused, looking back at the two of them, seeing Byzan speaking with Drakos, the other two Rulin Court members having already left this ship as well. "Enough. Nothing is going to happen, not today."

She also knew that Sencha was watching from nearby. Though he had been there to translate for Lady Reyani when she had difficulty, they hadn't spared each other even a greeting through all of this but she felt his calm, dangerous presence.

Kere knew that he could move faster than the Rulin could appreciate.

So Janzel bowed and Vasha gave her a worried look, but inclined his head as well, and she turned back to walk to the back of the ship and look out at the water. Silently, she watched the endless movement of the waves, perfect grey mimicry of the solid sheet of clouds above them.

Drakos stood beside her after a few minutes, far enough away to be respectful, but close enough for his soft words to be heard. "Our peoples are so good at fighting one another that we can do it when there is nothing to fight about."

She smiled and continued watching the waves. "You know approximately how much Vayana will give you, just as much as I know what Rulin would give me, as well as what Rulin actually requires from me. What games are we playing at?"

"Rulin will never be part of Vayana, ever again." He said simply, somehow saying it without stubbornness. "We have stood on our own for far too long. You have your bloodlines, and we have ours. We have both lost so much from the other's hands, that even with peace we will never be one people."

"Is that reason to lose more?" She shook her head, watching the ocean for a long moment. "The borders, as they are, they are fine."

Drakos nodded thoughtfully. "We need them to be permeable because we hunt the Cassaei through them."

She had figured as much and merely inclined her head.

"We will not be paying you any reparations." She said simply, still not looking to him, though she saw his smile through the corner of her eye.

"Nor we you." Drakos' deep voice rumbled with a chuckle. "I'm not going to say we need you in the fight against the Cassaei, but it is a fight I think you're already involved in."

She narrowed her eyes, turning to look at him with a firm look. "I can not speak for my daughter, nor can she completely speak for the Kingdom of Vayana. There are things she does not fully understand, or recognize, when it comes to all this."

He turned to face her as well, his smile growing wider. "She speaks well for you though. And I think here separation from all of this history is what allows her to accomplish what she does. She's not bogged down by the weight of our history."

She could see that he wanted to ask more about it, but it wasn't any of Rulin's business, where her daughter had come from. Kere had not explained it to most of the court, though there was no need for a Queen to explain where her children came from.

A child of the Queen was the Queen's blood. It was so much more complicated and such a pain in the ass for a King, though in Vayana the wings were all that people really cared about.

"Our main concern with the Humans is what they've been doing to the Wild, to the Feysha while we have been too busy watching you." Kerendian said after a long moment of consideration. She was not unmoved by the atrocities of what had happened to Verana's, Sencha's, people. Vayana would not stand for it.

Drakos nodded, turning back to the water, silent for a moment before elaborating." They have grown to believe they have unadulterated control over the lands we have allowed them to live in. If they will have a nation there, the nation will be subordinate to us. This will all come up when we respond to their refusal to release the Feysha."

Kerendian frowned, looking sharply at him. She was surprised that he cared about a handful of forest sprites who could do nothing for his kingdom. "What do you mean, respond?"

"It has come to my attention that they have used your respect for our fledgling peace to build a belief that they can act with impunity to the Princess' demands and have amassed the remainder of their ships within my territory. No matter what the outcome of the next couple days, unless we are immediately digressing into war with Vayana, I will bring down the fury of the Rulin Kingdom to ensure that the Humans know exactly who allows them to eke out a living on my shores. I have already had messengers advise their settlements that we consider those ships abominations and that we will not defend them against the Cassaei if their harbours contain even one. My hunters have been instructed to do what they can for those who cooperate, but to only kill the Cassaei once the Human villages has been destroyed, if they do not." Drakos did not elaborate how he got the information.

Kere watched the man for a long moment, a new level of respect burgeoning in her mind for the Rulin leader. It was easier to see him as a heartless enemy but it was not the truth. Rulin, or this King of theirs, were more than vicious, cruel fighters.

"King Drakos, you are my peer. Let us be completely honest with one another. I want the Crown jewels back." Kerendian said finally, turning to look at the water once she said the words, falling silent to let the man mull over her words and everything contained within.

"No." He said finally, grinning as he glanced at her. "Not all of them, anyways. The one for the King, you can have, it's a gaudy, awful thing that you're welcome to, and most of the jewels you can take as well, ornamentation doesn't find much use in my Kingdom."

His words surprised her, and she found herself unable to respond in any way other than. "But?"

Another grin, a casual shrug, and she could see the charm in this man, who so often only displayed an iron exterior. "The female regent's crown, I intend to give it to my Queen when we are married. Which brings me to what I really want."

She tensed, gripping the railing hard as she growled. "I do not make a point in exchanging any of my people like property."

"Nor do I expect it. In Rulin, marriage is always the woman's choice. I would not accept a bride who was forced into bondage as marriage." He snorted and offered a shrug. "But for every ten children born in Rulin, nine of them are male. You and I both know that our people once did intermarry, with no ill effects. Our kingdoms will be joined in truce and allegiance, but also in marriage. She will be, most preferably a high ranking member of your court but sometimes the fates have other plans. In Rulin, rank is earned through military service, so I do not care about your nonsense of bloodlines."

"And if you aren't intending to force someone to marry you after being traded like a piece of property, how do you expect to accomplish this?" She asked idly, shaking her head and staring out at the water, wondering if this was one thing that would push her people over the edge. She was Regent, but Vayana would have a hard time swallowing any of their people being sent to Rulin.

"Well, once we have a settled allegiance and our Courts can intermingle with ambassadors, trade envoys, Councils, and various other mutually beneficial interactions that lead to better understanding and more communication, you can leave the rest to my considerable abilities in charm and seduction." He chuckled, his grin dark but genuine. "But the Regent of Vayana will not prevent, and may possibly need to discourage, any official talk against it."

"Only if, after all of this, if all this fails... and we become enemies once more, you will guarantee the safety and freedom of the woman who has chosen to marry you." She said after a long moment, facing him again, her expression fierce, meeting that cold, metallic gaze with her own form of ice and steel.

She protected her people to the best of her ability and would not take unnecessary risks with a single life, for as far as this man's words could carry him.

Drakos frowned, but inclined his head finally. "If my Queen chose to leave me for her own people, I would escort her myself across the battlefield to see her to safety. But not my children."

Kerendian understood the absurdity of this hypothetical scenario with an unknown person, in the event that all this resulted in only a brief delay in hostilities but she appreciated his stance almost as much as the thought of such an awful choice for this unknown, hypothetical mother.

She wanted to argue, but in the end, she wouldn't have expected anything else from herself and finally inclined her head. "I will not guarantee you a wife, but if these are your intentions, they will be supported by me or my son after me."

"May your reign be long and peaceful." He offered wryly, before inclining his head."First, we must let the children play."

She glanced back along the ship towards where they had been meeting, letting out a slow breath and shaking her head. She was done with the children playing. "They'll be happy with working out the amount of Vayan warriors supporting the fight against Cassaei, exactly how porous the border will be, who gets to draw the line on the map, and how much the taxes for the Humans will be."

His laugh was loud, deep and it carried across the ship, drawing the attention of those who had been pretending not to be watching and listening, hoping for any indication of what the two Regents had been talking about. "And I thought the Princess had gotten her dislike of protocol from her father."

Kere raised a slow brow, smirking to him. "Oh, you have no idea."

Kere offered Drakos her hand and the two of them shook on it. And that, apparently, was how two people could end a millennia of war.