It was barely two weeks after Yseult's first arrival, and Idelle was standing near the wall while Aelga chatted with a noblewoman from a city up near the northern border. After the visitor's condolences at the death of Aengus, they started talking of everyday occurrences that did not interest Idelle or her men much. Sabena was miming cutting her own head off out of boredom, safely out of sight behind the chairs, and Idelle was trying to keep in her laughter when someone knocked on the door.

Today they were visiting in a private room up in the living chambers, which meant that almost no one ever bothered them. In the audience chamber, other visitors were free to enter and join the conversation, but if it was in a private room, it usually meant Aelga was giving all her attention to her current visitor for the foreseeable future. The unusualness perked up Idelle's posture, and she crossed to the door as Aelga and the noblewoman waited in expectant silence.

The oak door swung open onto the hallway, where none other than Thellamy stood. Idelle hadn't seen him since last week, when she'd checked up on their almost-prisoners, and he only looked more miserable now. It seemed like each day that passed made his eyes more deep and his frown more tragic. He looked almost like a painting, beautiful but broken, but he still met her shocked gaze.

Placing her hand on her sword, Idelle pushed him back and followed him out. She closed the door behind her, not wanting to scare Aelga or the noblewoman. Sabena and the others would know what to do if Thellamy tried to use any magic against them, and Idelle would do her best to keep him from getting in.

"What are you doing up here?" Idelle hissed.

"Our requests to be heard by your queen have been rejected time and time again," he said, his voice just as soft as ever. "I thought if I came in person, it would be better received. I did bring the guards as escorts." He gestured behind him at a group of five sheepish guards, two of whom Idelle recognized from down in the dungeons. They didn't want to meet her gaze, but she glared at them all the same. The regular guards weren't technically under her command, though, since she outranked them, they usually had to obey. Yet, they didn't always listen as closely to what she said as they would to their own commanders.

"I thought Duke Torran and myself made it perfectly clear that neither of the Glastonbex prisoners were to be allowed out of their cells?" she snarled, still keeping an eye on Thellamy. Her hand never left the hilt of her sword, just in case he thought he might be able to be a hero for his country and attempt to attack Aelga.

The guards shuffled their feet and one brave one attempted to explain. "Sorry, sir... ma'am. We just..." he sighed and shoved an accusatory finger at Thellamy. "The magic-wielders wouldn't stop asking and asking and asking, all day long, if they could just come see Her Majesty. It got to the point where we just couldn't take it anymore. It felt like gongs banging in our heads." The guard pressed a hand to his temple, as if he could still feel pain there. "We thought if we just let out the boy, and we made sure to never let him out of our sights, it might be all right to let them at least talk to you."

Idelle rolled her eyes, wanting to rip into them a little more for such reckless behavior, but she knew it would do no good. Their loyalty was to their own captains, not her, and she didn't think it was very smart to berate the guards in front of Thellamy anyway.

"What did you and your queen have to say to Her Majesty?" Idelle asked, warily sizing Thellamy up. He was unarmed and skinny, probably no match for her if he fought with only hands. But, she knew, he had powers. And though there was no water or fire nearby for him to manipulate, if he was an earth druid, he had plenty of little pebbles and stones that he could pull from the walls.

"Queen Yseult grows weary in your dungeons. Her people will be missing her, and soon scouting parties may be deployed to try and find her. If they realize she is being held in your castle for so long, they may send troops to try and free her." He paused here, to great effect, and then continued. "She wants to know if Her Majesty has come any closer to making a decision, or if this has turned into an act of war?"

Idelle sighed, her fingers playing over the carving on her sword hilt. Her eyes flicked to the guards, who looked even more uncomfortable now, and she jerked her chin up to let them know they could get back to their duties. As they walked away, she grabbed the sleeve of Thellamy's black shirt and hauled him with her toward the door to the private chamber.

She never let go of him as he bowed to Aelga and repeated the same message. Whether he seemed harmless or not, he still had magic, and she felt better with her fingers bunched around his sleeve.

When he finished, Aelga frowned and didn't immediately reply. Idelle knew this was because the council still had made no progress at all on whether they should accept Yseult's offer or not. While more than half were shrewd enough to see how much of a sham her peace was, a few, including High Lord Reynard, were more than adamant about accepting her. To no one's surprise, Reynard was loud and insistent, talking over everyone and then suddenly refusing to talk anymore when people disagreed with him. He accepted no compromises or reasons, and merely repeated over and over that they needed to end the war. Idelle knew this was because he was almost entirely likely to be the one that helped Yseult murder Aengus, but she and Torran had still been unable to find any evidence that they could present to Aelga.

Unfortunately, this meant that Reynard's argument could stand, and when it looked like he wasn't going to get his way, he'd threatened to have all his friends pull their financial backing from the war. He knew almost every noble, and if he told them to, he might be able to take out almost all of the already pitiful cash flow that was keeping the soldiers paid and the supplies moving to the battlefields.

Which meant, Yseult sat in the dungeons while the council argued day after day. And now Aelga was faced with a deadline she had not wanted to come.

Finally, Aelga stood up and approached Thellamy. She stopped a few feet away from them, and this close they could see the genuine regret on her face.

"We need just a little time more," Aelga said, gently placing a hand on the arm Idelle was not holding. It was the briefest of touches, but it was more than many other queen's would have given to even their own subjects. But that was Aelga. Gentle and caring.

Thellamy seemed unmoved. "I understand. But the barons may not. You are leaving our army without a leader, and the barons will soon want to regain their queen."

Whether this was true, or whether the Glastonbex barons would love to take the throne from Yseult, it still stood that this was a political nightmare. Aelga's mouth twisted up.

"We cannot make a decision just yet, but I am willing to let your queen come and live in the castle proper until we do. She will no longer be a prisoner, but instead a political captive," she said. There seemed to be some sort of subtle nuance between the two that flew right over Idelle's head, but Thellamy seemed to understand.

"What are the terms of her living in the castle?" he asked.

"I cannot give them all to you just now, but it would involve her staying in certain quarters and agreeing to have guards escort her any time she left her rooms. She is allowed to send correspondence only once, to let the barons know her location and that they need not come for her, but we will look it over before sending it."

Thellamy bowed his head as he thought it over, and then finally looked back up. "I'll let my queen know what you're offering."

Aelga looked to Idelle, letting her know that the session had ended and Thellamy was to be let back out. As Idelle pushed him toward the door, Aelga walked back to the noblewoman, smiling softly and whispering reassurances. Sabena and two of the male Guards split from the wall, following Idelle out into the hallway as she marched Thellamy back to the dungeon. No one talked, at least not until they were nearly at the entrance to the cells. Thellamy paused at the top of the stairs, and while Idelle nudged him to keep walking with annoyance, he seemed like he had something to say.

"What is it?" Idelle finally asked.

"She's always like that?"

"Who?"

"Your queen. Is that how she normally acts?"

Idelle raised an eyebrow, annoyed at him for stopping and keeping her away from protecting Aelga. She didn't really process his question, just answered it. "Of course. Queen Aelga doesn't hide who she is."

He let out a little puff of air that might have been called a sigh in anyone who showed more emotions than he did. His black hair fell away from his shoulders and curtained around his face as he bent down. Since he seemed to be done talking, Idelle led him down to his cell, where Yseult was sleeping on a cot. The on-duty guard let him, not waking the queen, and he went and sat on a stool. Idelle watched him for a moment, but he simply sat still, his arms braced on his knees, hands folded together, head bowed and hidden by his hair. Bored, she turned to go find the captain of the regulars, to let him know the change of the Glastonbex's queen's confinement. It was going to be a nightmare to sort out the new arrangements, but if Aelga had ordered it, Idelle would carry it out.