OOM: A Tale of Two Cities

[herr_bookman]

Pain never used to bother Autor, not really. He didn't dwell much on his or others'--there was no point wasting the time when he had so much work to be done.

But then Lohengrin flinched and Rabastan cried, so now the boy is looking back at other ponds he may or may not have made waves in. To his chagrin, he found a few. Even worse, he found some storms ready to burst.

So he put off his work and scoured the library for a solution. He devoured poetry after poetry book, history after history, and found nothing. As much as it irritates him, he's out of his depth. He knows he needs to turn to a person with experience in these matters.

Someone who knows him, but is disconnected from the situation. Someone who can't possibly guess who else is involved. Someone who happens to be walking right beside him at the end of a long day.

"Majesty Lemia?" he asks hesitantly, and then straightens his posture. "You have a great deal of experience in diplomatic negotiations, do you not?"

Comments

[gorgonfondness]

"I do," the former Guildmaster agrees with a nod. "But I'm afraid I don't remember much of it. Most of what I know now is based on observing Mia and wondering how I would do things differently."

[herr_bookman]

Ulp, Autor thinks. Maybe it would have been better to ask Mia instead? No, she attends the bar, obviously.

"I know I've said this before," he says, fidgeting, "but my condolences for your loss."

There's always a silence after that. Autor has to take a moment to rein in his horror and rearrange his thoughts.

"Given your observations, I was wondering, then, if you might entertain a theoretical question for me?" he says, shrugging. "Let's say you might have opened a trade route with one city--and really, the terms on that are so incredibly vague--and then you sort of, um"--and here he stumbles over his tongue a bit--"went sight-seeing in another one, as if you had enough resources to support both?"

[gorgonfondness]

Lemia gently arches an eyebrow at the young man.

"While it's important to keep good relations with many cities," she begins, picking up something else from Autor's words, "you cannot misrepresent your city or resources."

[herr_bookman]

Autor has the decency to flush at that. "Er. Quite right. Then how would one go about explaining the situation and making amends to one or both?"

[gorgonfondness]

The older woman's long fingers curl around the handle of the door.

"It's a very delicate task. The idea usually isn't to sever ties completely but it's a very real risk. It must be thought out almost like a trade: what is there to gain and what can you afford to give?"

[herr_bookman]

"Which is made all the trickier by the fact that these are both hostile," he says, smiling fondly at the thought.

Then the boy locks his gaze to the floor as he mulls over her words. "A trade... You already know what you can get. The trouble there is negotiating how much to give to each, and what is proper to take, I imagine."

"What would one do if, say, the second city has been under siege for nearly its entire life and has suffered severe structural damage?" he asks, and slows to a stop. "Clearly you're not that important, really, and your trade agreement is such a paltry thing, but what should you do if you're concerned that your withdrawal in this manner is just another blow upon a city hit by meteors?"

[gorgonfondness]

Lemia turns around in the hallway, resting her hand on the doorway to the staff kitchen. She closes her eyes for a moment, leaning against the wall but only slightly. Her lip quirks just a bit.

"This isn't quite the same but come sit and have some tea. I've a story, one of the few I remember from my youth, that relates to this."

[herr_bookman]

Autor blinks, hesitating at her answer for a second. Then he bolts into action, taking care to slip past her and ready a tea kettle.

He is her apprentice after all, not the other way around.

[gorgonfondness]

Lemia smiles and goes to take a seat at the table. She takes a moment to straighten her hair and rub some of the pain out of her hands.

"There's a tin of candied citrus peels if you wouldn't mind getting that as well."

She then folds her hands on the table.

"We were a strange mix, the four of us. And perhaps no two of us displayed that contrast better than Dyne and Ghaleon. It's amazing that they could be as close as they were, especially when you take into account one of our journeys to save another village from Eiphel's dark grasp."

[herr_bookman]

Autor dutifully follows her instructions and retrieves the tin, placing the lid to the side and nudging it towards the woman.

After checking the kettle again, he sits quietly and nods, waiting for her to continue.

This isn't in any book, I'm sure.

[gorgonfondness]

"We were by the sea and a dog was struggling in the waves, sure to drown. Ghaleon insisted we press on to the village and continued on our way. Dyne, however, didn't hesitate and dove into the ocean to rescue the helpless creature. In the end, both the dog and the village had been saved.

"If pressed to pick who had been right that day, it would be difficult to choose. While Ghaleon's action looks to be the right choice on the surface, I can't deny Dyne's understanding that every little act of kindness is significant."

[herr_bookman]

Autor stiffens. That... was unexpected.

"What if," he says sluggishly, "you perform what you think is an act of kindness, and it turns out to just cause more harm?"

And the tea kettle hisses.

[gorgonfondness]

At the sound of the kettle, a man in the hallway comments just loud enough to be heard: "Sounds like we can go get some tea."

Lemia puts her hand to her mouth in thought but, after a moment, she begins to tremble just a little.

It's brief, probably only a handful of seconds.

"For better or worse, all we can ever do is what we believe to be right."

After this, Mia and presumably the same man in the hallway are at the door.

"Are you all right, Mother?" she asks, going to Lemia.

"Should I get some of Draco's potions?" the man questions, staying at the door.

Lemia shakes her head and goes, "I don't think that will be necessary, Nash."

[herr_bookman]

Autor's gaze sharpens at her shivering, but he nods at her words. He tries not to let Lemia's reliving of her memories bother him, but it's similar to fighting a current with his hands tied.

She must be drowning.

He rises to attend to the tea, taking down two more cups for Mia and Nash, if necessary.

[gorgonfondness]

The Premier follows Autor's actions, letting Mia tend to her mother.

"It wasn't too bad," Lemia insists as her daughter holds her. "It felt kind of...out of nowhere compared to some of the others. I'm fine now."

[herr_bookman]

Autor serves Lemia her tea first, of course, as she seems to be in the most need and he knows how to prepare it. He plucks three of the citrus candies out and lays them on a napkin in front of her, just in case, and brushes his thumb over her fingers.

Then he turns to the man in the corner. "Were you looking for a cup?"

He'll offer a drink to Mia after her hands aren't occupied.

[gorgonfondness]

"And you are?" Nash asks.

"Oh," Mia goes, taking one hand to gesture in introduction. "Nash, this is Autor. He's a friend from Milliways."

She takes the seat next to Lemia and stays close to her while nodding to Autor that yes, she would like some tea.

[herr_bookman]

Everyone introduces me here, Autor thinks, a little annoyed. The shield of anonymity he enjoyed wielding in the past dissolved like gun smoke the minute he set foot on Vane and was taken in by the Ausa family. Now politically-minded women propositioned him on the street based on their recognition of his face, which made his morning run terribly difficult.

At least I have incentive to sprint.

"Nash," Autor says, inclining his head in greeting. "I was wondering when I'd meet Mia's Premier."

With a glance to Lemia, the boy turns abruptly and busies himself with making some approximation of a tea blend Mia might like. Something with berries, maybe?

[gorgonfondness]

Nash smirks at this. "Then I'm sorry I've kept you waiting so long. I imagine it must be thrilling meeting another member of the Five Heroes."

Mia softly giggles at this.

[herr_bookman]

Autor's first instinct is to snap back at that smirk with, "funny, I've met so many heroes lately that I've lost count," but another glance at Lemia softens his tongue.

He reins in a sigh and raises a brow. "Indeed," he says, and looks him over.

Then he saunters over to Mia and presents her with her teacup and the sugar bowl.

[gorgonfondness]

Okay, both Ausa women giggle at that. They've been in the same room for barely five minutes and Autor's already done with Nash's bull.

"He's already met Jessica and Master Mel," Mia explains to Nash while he regroups under Autor's scrutiny.

Nash takes another seat at the table and drums his fingers along his jaw with a sigh and the words, "Is a little recognition too much to ask?"

[herr_bookman]

"You're in many of the history books," Autor says, smiling, "written largely by brown nosers. And one of Majesty Lemia's students most definitely fancies you."

He turns away again, and messes with the kettle. "Congratulations. How do you like your tea?"

[gorgonfondness]

"Wait, what?"

The Premier slumps clean out of his hand, his head landing in the crook of his elbow.

"See? People do recognize what you've done and continue to do," Mia adds. "And you don't need to be so surprised whenever you learn that some people actually like you."

Lemia gestures to Autor and, when the young man is close, she whispers, "Nash seems to do that anytime he finds out someone fancies him. You should have seen all of the times he choked on his words back when Mia was sweet on him."

[herr_bookman]

Autor leans down to Lemia's side and, upon listening, wrinkles his nose. "Then why does he bother asking for recognition? Does he not realize that there will be people who fancy him in ways that he doesn't expect?"

He grins. "What a spectrum the Five Heroes are."

[gorgonfondness]

"Because, as you've already figured out, Nash is ridiculous," Lemia answers.