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“You two and Rukia can take my quarters, and I can move to one of the basic guest quarters. I’d rather you and our daughter have as much security around you as possible, and only your father’s quarters are more secure than mine. You three will be fine in my rooms, and there’s enough space for Rukia to still have her own room.”

Mei smiled softly at Hang; “The room we had added to be Rukia’s nursery when she was born.”

“Yes,” Hang replied with a nod; “It’s small, but it will offer you two a bit of privacy while still keeping her close.”

Mei’s smile stretched; “You are too kind, Hang. You do not need to be.. Considering..”

A pained expression traversed his features for a moment before he spoke in a strained voice; “I just want all of you safe.. In truth, this is most likely my fault. I’m so sorry that my work has put you at risk.”

“I dinna think it’s you specifically, Hang.. I think this may be my fault,” Skye stated at she stared at the dome.

The assassin’s body had been searched, then taken away. They hadn’t found anything on him but a partially charred picture of a young girl. Skye held it in her hand as she stared ahead, and said; “Ima pretty sure that Ahriman hired him..”

“How do you know it was him? And why would he go to the trouble of hiring someone? Ahriman is more than capable of doing it himself,” Genie replied, knowing full-well what he’d just said.

Tidas scoffed; “Skye can handle Dark magic-”

.....

“Not against someone who kens what he’s doin’,” Skye replied before Genie could; “Yer Uncle was akin to a wounded animal, but Ahriman is a trained soldier...and guard.”

“I know what you’re gettin’ at, I just don’t understand it. My brother-”

Tidas had tried to continue, but Hang cut him off; “What about your brother? And which one?”

Tidas sighed; “My oldest, Marco. Ahriman is one of his personal bodyguards.”

“So what is he doing here in Sai?” Mei asked.

Skye and Tidas shared a look before they both turned away. Skye went back to looking at the now-crumbling dome as Tidas explained their guess: he was there to cause the collapse of the Republic..

“Sai is the only kingdom of it’s kind. All others are ruled by monarchs of some form, even in the Fae Nation. If Sai can continue to function and prosper as it has, then the people of other kingdoms might think it’s better.”

“It tis,” Skye cut in, earning a soured expression for it before she added; “What? Tis true..”

Tidas shook his head lightly before continuing; “The Republic of Sai is probably the biggest threat to my brother’s coming rule. You elect your officials by the votes of all of your people, and they can only serve as long as they’re voted in..”

“My Father is a fair and generous ruler, but my brother will not be. His personal policies will strip the general populace of their personal rights, and make them slaves in every way but name. If Sai stands, the people of all oppressed nations will fight knowing that they have a blueprint to a functioning system to go off of, after the dust has settled.”

Hang perked up; “But if we fracture ourselves, or revert back to an empire like Tokuga wants, then all is well in Alcon.”

“Exactly,” Tidas replied; “I don’t know how, but my brother seems to always have access to vast amounts of money. I’ve tried to find his source over the years, but every time I think I’m close, I get dead ends.”

“Your brother is probably the one doing that,” Genie interjected.

Aye, making things dead is a disturbing talent of his. But his money is how he gets away with it all. That, and his hold on my Father.”

Genie quirked his eyebrow; “Doesn’t your father refer to him as his head advisor?”

“Aye,” Tidas replied with a grimace; “With the way my Father leaves the everyday runnings of the kingdom to Marco now: he’s basically already king. But that’s not where the money is coming from. I’ve checked the palace’s finances, and there’s nothing amiss there.”

“Why do you think your brother will be a bad king?” Mei asked.

“He willna be a bad king, Mei, he’ll be a cruel one,” Skye responded with a dire tone.

“I’ve told ya some things, but ya canna understand unless ya meet him. He’s cold, calculating, and doesna care about anythin’ else except what he wants. And he doesna care what methods are used ta have his ends met..”

“Whenever someone like that gains power, it Never turns out well for the general public, and Marco Is that type,” Genie added as Mei listened.

“What about Tidas? He’d make a fair king,” Mei stated absentmindedly.

Tidas shook his head; “I don’t want to be king. If it came down to that, I’d rather Alcon adopt Sai’s governing structure. All I want is to live my life with my wife, and enjoy my time with my family.”

“Those most suited to lead hardly ever want to. They understand the responsibility that comes with it, and are naturally too smart to want it.. But that just makes them all the more suited for the job,” Genie stated as he stared at Tidas.

He frowned as he replied; “So you think I know better than a Senate would? Come on, Genie. I don’t know enough about economics and such to rule. Marco and Lawrence were groomed for that, not me. But I’ll win any battle or war you put me in front of.”

“I think we’re getting off subject a bit,” Hang commented as the two exchanged a small grin; “I think Tokuga hired the assassin to stop our meeting about him.”

“That’s probably part of it,” Tidas said; “Considering that my brother would most likely prefer him sitting on a throne, versus a senator’s seat. He could control both him, and Sai easily if he were the one to deliver said throne to him.”

“So that’s where you think the weapons came from then?” Hang asked.

“I can’t say for sure, but aye, that’s where I Think they came from. But I can’t know for sure without seeing Marco’s records.”

“Well that’s never gonna happen,” Skye commented as she turned towards them; “If Ahriman’s about, then it’s safe ta say that Marco’s involved, at the the very least. With that in mind: we need ta be extra careful. When is the hearing for Tokuga?”

“If everything goes as planned, the day after the New Year celebrations,” Hang replied; “But that also complicates things..”

“Why?” Tidas asked.

Genie and Hang exchanged a glance before he replied; “The Maze unlocks on the New Year...and it’s the only time it’s open without using Tokuga’s entryway. There’s usually a celebration around the temple’s entrance, which is hosted by Tokuga. If he finds out what’s happening the following day, he might try something crazy, like take you two hostage after you emerge from the maze.”

Skye chuckled; “Let’em TRY ta fuck wit us..”

Tidas shook his head; “Hang on, Skye. We’re diplomats here, not soldiers. We could cause some serious problems for my Father if Tokuga lies, and the public’s opinion is manipulated. We need to have a solid entry and exit plan-”

“Ima so sick of tiptoeing around the bad guys,” Skye stated, cutting her husband off mid-sentence; “Tokuga, Marco, their lackeys.. Ima so sick of havin’ ta ‘look’ like the good guys even though we are!”

Skye held up the charred picture of the girl; “Do ya think this lass is gonna care about all of this bullshit?! No! The only thing that matters ta her is that her Da’s not comin’ home Ever again.. If it weren’t fer men like Tokuga and Marco, then this girl’s father wouldn’t have died today..”

A dark tone edged Skye’s words as she added; “Why can we just end them now, and be done with it? Why do we gotta wait fer them ta ruin lives before we act?”

Tidas walked over to her, and gently squeezed her shoulder; “Because if we kill them without them doing anything wrong, then we’re no better than they are..”

“The fuck we’re not!” Skye yelled; “You would never rape, and I would never kill just fer the fun of it! Or fer personal gain! They Would! We are Very different! That whole line makes No sense! How are we any better if we Let Them do whatever they want?!”

“First of all,” Genie started with a neutral tone; “That child’s father was going to die abruptly some day, anyway. His line of work alone assured that, so don’t feel guilty just because you found a picture.. Everyone in the line of death carries pictures of some kind..”

“Secondly,” Genie’s tone hardened slightly; “Can you outright prove these crazy theories?”

Skye glared at him; “Crazy theories?! You ken they’re not!”

Genie shrugged; “Prove it. Or are you expecting hundreds of thousands of people to just go off of your word? People that don’t know you, or trust you?”

“That’s not the point-”

“That’s exactly the point!” Genie yelled back at her; “How can you justify killing Anyone without solid proof that they deserve such a harsh judgement? Just because you know the truth does Not mean that everyone will believe you! There are Many that would love to manipulate the situation! And make You out to be the monster!”

“So? The people I love understand me! They ken I’d never kill just ta do it!”

“No, just for convenience and to satisfy your sense of righteousness,” Genie replied with a slight huff.

Skye looked at him incredulously; “Are you DeFending that bastard?!”

“No, but this is the exact type of pushback you’d get, if not Far worse. He is the next king, after all. I don’t think even Magnus could let you off with a slap on your wrist for killing his first-born Son.”

Genie and Skye stared each other down like they were ready to come to blows. Tidas stepped in between them, and eventually got them to calm a bit. It helped that Mei convinced Skye to go see Rukia, who was no doubt having a fit, and Hana was left to manage her on her own.

As soon as they disappeared, Tidas looked at Genie with a tired expression; “Why would you push her like that? After what she’s just gone through?”

Genie kept his stance as he replied; “Because she needs to understand that the power she wields isn’t always the answer..”

“You two wish Alcon to have it’s own government, right? Well, who do you think passes judgements here? We have other court systems that handle criminal charges, in their respective jurisdictions. The officials research and assess the circumstances and the crime, then come to a conclusion, and pass a sentence based on each individual situation.”

Genie motioned with his hand; “A single person cannot be the judge and jury, too. That’s not how this works. And if Skye really thinks that she doesn’t need the people on her side when taking on someone like Marco, then she’s not as smart as I thought she was.”

Tidas wanted to argue, but he knew that Genie was right. He also felt like his priority should be his wife at the moment, so he did the only thing he could think of..

Sticking his arm out, Tidas handed the charred picture off to Genie as he said; “I’m too tired to argue right now. Just take this, and make sure that the child’s guardian has enough to make the girl’s life comfortable. I will cover the expenses. And since I finished up sorting and outlining the paperwork for you two, I’ll be retiring with my wife for the next day.”

A confused expression passed across Hang’s face as he asked; “Why pay for the girl?”

Tidas turned to walk away as he replied; “Because cold-hearted, professional assassins don’t carry pictures of their kids with them on jobs..”