Diplomacy on Empty Stomachs
Heat floods through her limbs, leaving her feeling jittery. Sevika’s ears are hot and she can feel her heartbeat in her throat. She had wondered about the summons she had woken up to the entire walk to the keep. Now her hands sweat and she finally has her answer. She swallows her dread and forces herself to meet the unwavering gaze of the Warrior Queen. So she was to be punished. She should have expected this. Noxus was never known to be forgiving.
Brown eyes sweep over Sevika’s tall frame in a calculated way that leaves the fifteen year old feeling uneasy. Like the Queen’s eyes were looking straight through her.
“So child,” Ambessa begins, “Would you like to tell your Queen why you decided to waste valuable time and resources?”
_________
Feeling battered and bruised by lunchtime, Sevika walks stiffly alongside a chatty Mel. Kino was walking ahead of them a few paces, long legs carrying him much faster than the two girls. Mel seems unbothered, bombarding Sevika with questions the moment her Queen Mother is out of earshot.
“I told you already,” Sevika mumbles impatiently, “Her Grace shamed me for wasting resources and said that she would be ensuring that I “stay busy.”
“But what does that mean Sevika?” Mel shoots back, clearly exasperated.
“I don’t know alright!” Sevika’s raised voice makes Kino look over his shoulder at the two girls. She drops her eyes to her feet and lowers her voice to a harsh whisper. “I have no idea what your mother wants with me” insists. Mel does not speak again until after her brother’s attention returns to himself.
“I don’t believe you,” Mel says simply. Her pace quickens, forcing Sevika to speed up to keep pace with her.
“Well maybe don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to,” Sevika hisses just loud enough for the other girl to hear. “Believe me or not, all I know is that I got dragged from bed , dragged by the Queen, and then was dragged into a hours-long training session to supposedly keep me out of trouble.”
She looks at Mel, the girl's green eyes watching her with a calculating intensity that reminded Sevika of her Queen Mother. “I was supposed to be helping my parents in the forge today,” she groans. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain any of this to them!” Her eyes widen in realization, “Ah, shit” she cries out, earning another pointed look from Kino. Sevika raises a sheepish hand in acknowledgement.
“Language, I know. I’m sorry!” Sevika calls ahead. The young man quirks an eyebrow but says nothing before turning forward again. When she looks back over at Mel, she’s sporting a nearly identical raised brow.
“I’m so fucked,” Sevika moans, misery clear on her face. “How am I going to make up for these hours?”
“Sorry,” Mel says when Sevika doesn’t continue. “What hours?”
Sevika shoots the princess a quick look. “My forge hours. Apprentice smiths have to log a certain amount of hours in the forge. We don’t get paid for these hours. So I’ve picked up a fair number of shifts to cover for a favor here and there among the other apprentices.”
“I was supposed to be working my own voluntary hours today,” she says miserably. “My mentor is going to be so pissed. He always works the morning shifts.”
She catches Mel looking at her with an odd expression.
“What?” Sevika asks, if the girl was going to keep asking questions she may as well say them out loud.
“Do you simply not have enough time to work your assigned hours?” Mel squints at her, sizing Sevika up. “Are you just a procrastinator?”
Sevika snorts indelicately. “Hardly,” she says. “But I’m going to work paying shifts before giving my time away for free.” She shrugs, “I may have called in a few of those aforementioned favors to arrange the “waste of resources” as your mother called it.”
“I had everything accounted for until I got summoned this morning.”
Mel looks at Sevika strangely enough that the taller girl says something about it.
“What?”
“Don’t your parents work?”
“Of course my parents work,” Sevika says, adopting a frown. “Work so much they wake up tired from the day before.”
“So why are you working?”
“Why does anyone work?” Sevika snaps, starting to get annoyed.
“No need to get snippy with me,” Mel retorts. “I’m simply trying to understand.”
Sevika heaves a sigh and Mel doubles down. “I’m serious Sevika, I’m trying to understand why the daughter of two royal smiths needs to work.” She puts a hand on Sevika’s sleeve, urging her to a slower pace. “Is my mother’s stipend so little that a family of three cannot live comfortably?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sevika says, looking at her feet.
“Doesn’t it?” Mel challenges.
“You and your endless questions,” Sevika groans. “Just drive one of those dull practice swords through me, now.”
“Are you really not going to tell me? Maybe I could help?”
Sevika stops walking altogether, hand snaking out to grab Mel’s wrist.
“Absolutely not!”
“Sevika.”
“I’m not kidding Red,” Sevika hisses. “Stop pushing. Keep your nose out of my family business and I’ll keep mine out of yours.”
“And just what does that mean?” Mel’s face is a polite mask but her eyes burn as she flicks them pointedly to the wrist Sevika still holds in her hand. Sevika drops her hand like it’s a hot pan. She takes a step back, rubbing at the beginning of a nasty bruise on her arm.
“You don’t want to get involved, believe me.”
Mel crosses her arms, “Maybe you don’t know me very well,” she says smoothly.
Sevika throws her hands in the air. The flame of her irritation is fanned by Mel's insistence for answers. “Why do you even care?” Her face feels hot. “We’re not friends Mel. I don’t want anything from you. And I don’t need your pity.”
“Ladies.” A third voice makes both girls jump. They had been in their own little bubble, bickering like children. Kino had doubled back for them. He sweeps his light brown eyes over first his sister, then Sevika. “Is something the matter?”
Silence follows Kino’s pointed question. Sevika shoots him an irritated look, saved by Mel’s quick recovery. “No brother, nothing is amiss. Sevika was simply telling me that she does not wish to be my friend” a perfect little pout punctuates her words.
“That is NOT what I said,” Sevika growls. “And you know it!”
“Right,” Kino claps his hands together. “We need to get food in everyone before the two of you start a civil war.” He steps between the two girls, sweeping his arms out to usher them both forward. “No more chit-chat, onward!” Sevika fumes silently as they continue towards breakfast. She manages to duck away from the royal siblings after breakfast. Mel had been debating some diplomatic issue with her brother when they rounded a corner far enough ahead of Sevika that she could doubleback and slip away unseen.
She would have to see the both of them early the next morning for training. Sevika needed some time alone before checking in at the forge and then at home. Her feet carry her towards the Queens Gardens on instinct. She’s crunching down the gravel path and into the shade of the greenery. Every step she takes once surrounded by the tall hedges clears her mind a little more. She hadn’t meant to snap at Mel. But she could not let the Princess get caught up in her family’s mess.
Sevika swallows guilt, realizing how mean she’d been to Mel earlier. The girl had only wanted to help. But what was Sevika supposed to do? Tell her that she was ten and five, working herself overtime to make sure her family has food on the table? Admit that her father’s gambling debt ensures she sleeps on a couch older than she is? There was no way she was going to let the Princess anywhere near the mess of her family finances.
When she leaves the green labyrinth behind her, Sevika has resigned to apologizing to Mel when she sees the girl next. She shakes her head, laughing to herself. The last thing she needed was to make an enemy of the royal family. And she would be sitting down with her father soon. He needed to start being honest with her. If she was old enough to keep the house afloat financially she deserved to know everything.