OF IRON AND CROWNS | FOUR

"GAVE THE GUEST quarters one last sweep," Ronan Tang announced, entering the meeting room where everyone was gathered. "They're ready for use."

Rhysa Jiang tilted her head. "You're certain?"

Ronan bristled. "What, you don't believe my judgement?"

"I must say," Rhys shrugged, "not completely."

Dominic Tang, besides Rhys, raised his hand. "Oh, shut it you two. Ryan? Irina?"

Ryan spoke from his spot on the day bed. "That's good, that's good. Everyone's ready. Everything's more or less in place. And we still have one week to go."

Irina said, ironically, "One week for everything to go wrong, am I right?"

Ryan scowled. "Don't be like this. Everyone has been working so hard for everything to be in order, and look at us. We've finally done it. Bie na me sao xing." Don't be a killjoy.

"Bu shi wo sao xing," Irina glowered. "Shi wo xian shi, biao ge." It's not me being a killjoy, it's me being realistic, cousin.

Myrina stayed quiet, the way she usually did when more people were around. Justine leaned against a column, watching everything happen and go down. Justine was generally a more reserved person too.

Asteria shook her head. "And here we go again."

Danna murmured, "Is anyone surprised?"

Iolanthe Mi, who'd returned the day before and was visibly exhausted, collapsed in a corner and said, "No. Absolutely not. If you're all just going to waste my time bickering, I'm leaving. I'm not needed here anyways. Not my line of work, planning weddings."

Irina glowered. "You're staying, Mi. Don't try to wiggle your way out of this. I'm not liking your newfound attitude."

"It's not newfound," Io smiled blandly in response. "It's always been there. I just never showed it, that's all."

"No," Asteria mused, "you've never been this bad before. It's just the past two years. You're far too old to be in your rebellious stage still, you know. You're nineteen. At your age, Danna was already—"

Io raised her hand, cutting Asteria off. She sneered, "Yeah, let's not start down that path."

Asteria was clearly upset by that, but Danna seemed perfectly fine. It wasn't a path she wanted to stray down either. This room, this room was filled with misunderstandings. It'll all have to be cleared eventually, before it was too late. Before it started seeping into their daily work. While the political situation of Sai had stabilised in the past years, their personal group, their personal relations had deteriorated. Their little group had fractured and broken into little pieces. Tian xia wu bu san zhi xi. Nothing lasted forever, but... would it be selfish if Irina said she wished it did? That things could go back to, oh, five or six years ago, when everyone was well, when even during the periods they were scattered across the surface of the earth, they'd all unite together.

And they'd actually unite. Not to argue, not to bicker, not to pick petty fights, but to work together. Solve cases. Deal with problems. Make everything better. Their adolescent dreams, the naiveness of wanting to make the world a better place than they found it. Raw ambition in their souls that had now been replaced by a wary jadedness. When they were willing to do anything to achieve their goals, to meet their vision of how things were supposed to be, rather than sitting in rooms that no longer felt homely.

Maybe it was time for change. Irina wasn't ready to let go, though.

Here she felt powerful. She felt in control.

But she could build up her kingdom from the ground again.

Ryan cleared his throat. Everyone fell quiet. Irina glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Before she'd always been the one who had to do that. He preferred staying in the background, out of the spotlight. These days he was standing up, inserting himself into situations. Being a leader.

Good. He'd need to do that. But Myrina was wrong. He still needed her help.

There was no one else. Asteria was not truly a politician. She was a spymaster. Her methods, while viable, would not be perceived well by the populace and the rest of the world. Danna was an agent. Justine was a soldier, a general. Cassalyn Diao could, but she spent most of her year in Arecia or travelling around, and she was unfamiliar with Irina's part of work. Myrina, who'd followed her dutifully for the past seven years, knew everything Irina did. She knew how to do it.

And given such a position, Myrina would not have to fear being bullied by her relatives or society at large without Irina around to shield her. And she could protect others with that power too. People like Naeva, picked on by the vultures of court for being powerless and wealthless.

She could do so much. But the idea of power terrified Myrina, because she thought it meant living in the spotlight. But you could have both. It was difficult, but it was achievable. Especially with the friends Myrina had.

Malcolm Man, one of Ryan's best friends, a colonel in the Saian navy and the source of aforementioned Naeva Li's anguish, spoke, "Are we sure the Meliqueans won't try something?" Despite everything, Malcolm was a good man. He didn't truly mean to cause Naeva. He was, still, but it was due to his own idiocy regarding Naeva's feelings. Because he thought she could just live through all the scandals like he did. He had no idea what it felt like to be a woman without protection in this court.

North Cheng, another one of Ryan's friends and a strategist, winced. "I don't think they have the courage," he began, "but I can't be sure. Truly cannot be sure. Rhys? Dom? If they strike, it'll be through the Falcons."

Rhysa Jiang leaned backwards, long legs swinging into a crossed position. "Security's maximised. Even stronger than during the engagement party—we all remember what happened then. The Meliquean posse has been reduced to a mere fifteen people. And among that number, they can't sneak in that many agents. Besides, they know we'd be prepared after last time. And with me and Ronan around, they'd have to sneak in new agents. No one from seven or eight years ago. That's going to be the newest crop, far more unskilled."

Dominic Lang, her partner, continued, "Not worth the risk. The only way they can stop the wedding is by assassinating either Prince Stephen or our dear friend Irina here, and they know both are impossible. Creating some small fiasco isn't going to stop the marriage from going forward."

Irina nodded in agreement. "I don't think they'll really try anything. Still keep an eye on them. Our guests for this time are pretty much the same as last. The Hrishnans, Caershireens, Arecians, obviously, Dumahians, Cheonuangese, Asayamans, Kon Rians, Gira, Novokuluga. And Wheldrake." Wheldrake, fresh out of negotiations with Arecia for their full freedom and escape from their banner. But both countries seemed to be on decent terms. With Wheldrake's sheer size, there was nothing stopping it from becoming the next Caershire—which until recently had also been Arecian territory. Best to keep good relations.

"Wheldrake will be... interesting," Justine said.

"Shouldn't be problematic though," Ryan offered.

Myrina tilted her head. "The negotiations with Arecia have gone wonderfully. Caershire, Arecia, Wheldrake. Put those closer together. The Dumahians and Hrishnans are neighbours and friends. Cheonuangese and Asayamans are our neighbours, and also somewhat friends—"

Io interrupted, "Some disruption within the government of Cheonuang, though. I think Melique has been trying to offer them benefits."

"I heard," Ryan nodded. Irina had as well. It wasn't something worth worrying about yet, but it was definitely a thing she had to keep an eye on. Cheonuang and Sai shared a border. It would be disastrous if the Meliqueans managed to set up a base of operations there.

Asteria frowned. "Is it causing... disruption? I thought it was quite minor an issue."

Io lifted her shoulder in a one-sided shrug. "It's what I heard from my sources from the Cheonuang government. A small party wants to take the benefits. They'd been suppressed so far, but if they gain support... the Cheonuangese people feel oppressed, Ast. By both the Saian and the Asayaman. They've always felt like the underdogs. If they think Melique stands a chance, they might just take it."

"Deal with that after the wedding," Irina said, her mouth set in a thin line. "And make sure we keep an eye on the Cheonuang and Meliquean delegates throughout the whole thing. Keep them apart. Limit private conversations. We cannot take the risk Cheonuang allies with the Meliqueans."

"Send me there after this if necessary," Io said, crossing her arms. "I can probably do something about it." Io was quarter-Cheonuangese and spoke the language perfectly. And she'd recently reconnected with her mother's side of the family there. Well, her grandfather's.

"We'll consider it," Asteria tapped her finger against the table beside her elegant oak chair, "The Kon Rians have remained very neutral in the past while. Let's keep them that way. The Novokulugans..."

Everyone fell silent for a moment. The Novokulugans had been steeped in civil war for the past decade or so. Until now it had mostly been balanced. But now it was clear that unless there was urgent intervention, the old Imperial Novokulugans were going to fall. The Kozlov regime—of which Danna's paramour Aleksandr Volkov was a member–was going to win within the next year or so.

They'd invited the old Imperial Novokulugans, who were old allies. But Sai knew sending their armies over would do nothing but offend the Kozlov, of whom the Caershireens supported. The Caershireens were not all that fond of monarchies. They'd usually remain silent about it, but the slightest scent of rebellion in the air and they'd fan the flames.

Not her words. Asteria's most persistent suitor, a lieutenant in the Caershireen army by the name of Maximilian Harlande, had said so himself. And he was the grandson of a Caershireen legend.

Danna said, stone-faced, "Aleks is coming."

Alarm flashed through Myrina's eyes. "Would the Imperialists recognise him?"

Danna shook her head. "He'll disguise himself. Besides, even if they catch him, he could just say he snuck in. Look, he was here without any hiding last time and the Imperialists said nothing about it. He openly announced himself as Aleksandr Volkov of the Kozlov."

"Well," Justine pointed out, "anyone worth their salt was invited to the engagement party. But the list of invitees for the wedding is much more limited, just in case. It'll seem very odd if a Kozlov is in alongside the Imperialists. Tell him to be careful."

"He will be," Danna said stubbornly.

Ryan glanced at Irina, as if asking what she thought about this. She let out a sigh and shrugged. As long as Aleksandr Volkov kept it on the downlow and it didn't become her problem. It would simply be awful if she was still dragged into some kind of ridiculous situation on the day of her wedding.

Io scoffed. "It's almost as if Volkov is your bloody pet, Danna, you bringing him everywhere."

Danna raised her chin defensively. "We get little enough time together as it is. There's not a problem with me wanting to use every opportunity we can meet."

Io opened her mouth, but Asteria cut in before she could do so, something like fury in her eyes. Asteria, Danna and Io had once been thick as thieves. They were students together at Lady Kuroki's School for Girls, where the baroness trained her young female students into top-notch diplomats and in some occasions, spies and operatives. They'd lived and worked together for many years, but lately their relationship was deteriorating quickly. Danna's attitude was nothing new. The girl had always been like that. But Io still somewhat served as a glue for all of them, especially when Asteria and Danna disagreed about things, which was often.

But now Io was becoming worse than Danna. The change had occurred last year, after they'd come back from Melique. But it wasn't because of that—Danna hadn't come back in the three years she'd left for Melique, but Io had come back at least two times. And she'd been fine during both. But it was between that last trip and the engagement party last year that something had happened.

Broke her, almost.

Irina had asked, but everyone had remained tight-lipped, or genuinely had no idea. She was leaning against the latter. Their confusions seemed true, and with something like this they'd had no reason to tell. Danna knew. Most definitely. But they were all fools if they thought they could pry answers out of Daneira Pang. Irina was not in the mood to try.

Asteria began, "Gira."

North hummed, amused, "Naeva's specialty?"

Malcolm blinked, nonplussed. "What?"

North's eyes darted to his friend. "What, don't you know? Your fiancee is quite close with the Girans. She's quite an expert regarding their affairs. And they love talking to her too."

Malcolm straightened slowly. "I... I was not aware."

No, because in his head, Naeva was an air-headed young girl who wasn't capable of much. Somehow Malcolm had deluded himself in all these years to continue thinking her of a naive child, even though she was clearly grown and scarily intelligent, especially regarding money and finances. Both of which were Gira's specialty.

If the marriage truly did not go on, Irina wondered if it was possible to send Naeva to Gira as an ambassador. A few years away from Sai would allow the gossip to die down. If Naeva returned with more confidence, power and a rich husband—very abundant in the nicer parts of Gira, which was half of it–in hand, she could very well start from a new slate.

She'd mention that to someone before she left. Most definitely not right in front of Malcolm, who would be very offended and very shocked. Irina was not in the mood to explain the fact that his fiancee was an intelligent and educated young lady rather than some wild, nymph-like adolescent girl. Which Naeva never really was in the first place. Perhaps when she was much, much younger, but she hadn't known Naeva then. Malcolm and her brother had been childhood friends, so they'd have known each other since an early age, most likely.

People's ability to delude themselves and lie to themselves always marvelled Irina. So many people would rather fool even their own head than face the truth. Cowardly, cowardly behaviour. Very disappointing too.

But no one ever said anything about it because they'd all silently agreed that it was their own business. And that it was theirs to solve.

They approached far too many things with that mindset, in Irina's honest opinion, but it had so far also saved her ass regarding many of the things she did that her friends wouldn't necessarily approve of. So it was fine. She'll put up with it for now.

"Yes, yes," Irina waved her hand dismissively, "let Naeva deal with the Girans. We coexist with them wonderfully right now anyways. They've been mostly respecting our jurisdiction. They can do what they want as long as it doesn't break any of our rules. Wonderful."

"That's everyone." Ryan looked pleased with himself as he brushed his hands. "Okay. Next topic, then. Is there a next topic?"

Irina said, slowly, "I went to a dress-fitting earlier."

"Oh," Asteria straightened. "How was it?"

"Heavy."

Asteria shrugged. "Expected. But it looked good."

Myrina cut in and answered for Irina. "It looked wonderful. Madam Huang has outdone herself. It is the most beautiful dress I have ever laid my eyes upon."

Ryan raised one brow at Myrina, turning to Irina. "Is she exaggerating?"

To Myrina's credit, she didn't even flinch. She used to do that every time someone made a barbed comment at her, but these days she just seemed used to it. Myrina was toughening up. That was good, that would be useful when Irina was gone. She'd been in a position much like Naeva before Irina had taken her in, practically a social pariah. Irina had never quite gotten how much of Myrina wishing to become a priestess was due to her religious piousness or because of the things she'd suffered in society and at home. Myrina's childhood hadn't been very pleasant either.

Irina said, "No. But it's heavy. So I despise it."

Ryan looked exasperated. "It's encrusted with gems and crystals and gold and god knows what else. Of course it's heavy and you know exactly why it's heavy."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Ryan promptly gave up at that point.

"When's your fitting, Ryan?" Asteria asked, tilting her head slightly. Ryan had his own ceremonial robe to wear for the ceremony, being a close relative and the Crown Prince of Sai and all that. It wasn't as important as Irina's, but still.

Ryan said, "Tomorrow afternoon." He lowered his head thoughtfully. "I'll have to make it quick."

"One week before the guests start trickling in," Irina murmured. "We keep willingly hosting these massive events," she said, "why do we do this to ourselves?"

"It's a good chance to show off." Danna flexed her fingers and shrugged. "And we have the wealth to spare, not to mention a palace the size of a small city. Who else is going to volunteer but us?"

"It's not as if the Arecians aren't hosting a wedding of their own," Myrina murmured. "It was just the engagement party, really. Consider it charity."

At that, everyone in the room scoffed. Rhys, to whom the most happened to over the course of the party, along with Ronan, audibly choked. She said, "It was one hell of a charity party, countess."

Myrina smiled. "It was, wasn't it? With Diego Contreras and all."

"It was, it was," Rhys nodded. "But let's never, ever talk about it again. Thank you. It's for my own sanity."

Myrina stared down at her own hands, having used up all her words. Everyone knew better than to force her to speak when she was in this kind of state, so they quickly moved on. Danna began discussing a bakery downtown where the pastries were the best she'd ever had. Io and the Wolves began discussing a tax fraud case they'd recently solved together—Irina had kept up to tabs with that, they'd done good. Quite a few corrupt officials had been rooted out, and it would serve as a reminder and warning for anyone who attempted or was doing the same.

Irina mostly listened. She was tired, too tired to speak, almost, and her mind was wandering all over the place. Ryan was still energetic on the other side of the day lounge, but Irina simply propped her head on her palm and watched proceedings unfold. A mere spectator. She usually hated this role, being kept out of the loop, but in moments like this it was the most she could do.

Her neck still hurt from the crown. She had no idea how she'd get through the entirety of the wedding ceremony with it. Perhaps she'd ask for something to help with the support of her neck. Maybe the Empress, who had to wear crowns and diadems like that regularly, would have a tip or two.

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. So many perhaps in her head. It was a world of infinite possibilities—and she was getting extremely off-track.

It was another half an hour before everyone stood up and slowly filtered out. Irina left midway through the exodus, when no one would question it. Myrina and Irina lived in the same Palace, Ning Yu Gong. The Peaceful Jade Palace. Irina lived in the zheng dian, the central palace, while Myrina had taken up residence in the pian dian, the side palace. Myrina was prepared to follow Irina into her section of the Palace, but Irina shook her head. "I'll be fine on my own."

Myrina said, doubtfully, "You sure?"

"I have the other maids to take care of me. You can take a break tonight, Myrina."

Myrina still didn't look certain, but she curtsied and went into her own Palace, the sliding door shutting behind her. Irina let out a quiet breath. She wanted to sleep now, but she couldn't yet. She had some correspondence to respond to, and there would be no other chance to do so. She had to write them now.

She entered her Palace. After Myrina, the person usually serving her was Bing Yi, a fifteen year old young girl. She was the daughter of a minor official, as most maids in the Palace were. Bing Yi appeared from one of the rooms, curtsying. "Your Highness. May I help you with anything?"

Irina glanced around. "Get... get me a basin of warm water and a warm cloth. My neck is sore, and so are my feet."

Bing Yi understood immediately, because she had been at the fitting too. She visibly winced. "Of course, Your Highness. Would you like me to prepare a room for you?"

"The office, please. I have work to do there."

"Yes, Your Highness. If you'd just wait there, I'd have everything prepared for you in a moment." Another curtsy and Bing Yi left to prepare what Irina asked for. Irina slowly moved into her office, slumping into her chair, but quickly picked herself up to sit properly. She reached for the letters that had arrived the day before, quickly rereading them before beginning to write her responses.

After a while Bing Yi came in with two basins of water. One was set at her feet, and Bing Yi pulled Irina's shoes off so that she could soak them. The other, she dropped a towel in and began to dab it around Irina's neck.

Irina let out a sigh. Finally. Rest. Or some degree of it, since she was still technically working. But the soreness of her neck was dampened by the hot cloth, and she wiggled her toes in the basin.

She asked, raising her head, "What's our schedule for tomorrow?"

"Your Highness is to check up upon your Princess Manor to ensure everything is to your liking. That should take up half the day, and when you return, the Emperor and Empress have requested your presence along with the Crown Prince's for dinner."

Irina raised her brow. "So simple?"

"Most events have been squished for the days after, or when the Arecians arrive. The rehearsals, for example, require the presence of Prince Stephen." Bing Yi's Arecian was not the best. Instead of Stephen, she pronounced each syllable with far too much force. It was something she had to work on, probably, since Bing Yi was to accompany her to Arecia for at least a year or two. Though a prolonged period surrounded by Arecian speakers would probably be enough to improve her skill with the language.

"No," Irina sighed, "we've just already completed most of what we need to do. It's the others' turn now. They all need their fittings, and the tailors and modistes can only do so many a day. And obviously since I'm the bride, mine was put first. The decorations for the Palace seem to be going well." She was seeing bits of decoration go up every day. The Palace looked extremely festive.

"Yes, that is also it, Your Highness." Bing Yi paused for a moment. "Is the water hot enough?"

"It's perfectly fine. Continue with what you're doing. I'm almost done with my correspondence, and then we can go to sleep."

"Of course, Your Highness."