Path of the Hive Queen

Regina thought that Janis had handled these abrupt negotiations with the gnomes rather well. Which was also why she would let her take point in the real negotiations coming the next day.

Like Janis, Regina didn’t have high hopes, especially after hearing their position laid out, but she also understood that she couldn’t refuse to negotiate with the gnomes. Even if they were boring and aggravating and didn’t move from their position, she would have to indulge them for at least a while.

In that case, judging the proper length of time would be the difficult part. If they actually negotiated in something resembling good faith, of course, the situation would be more complex. Regina still hoped for it, but she didn’t fret about it. It wouldn’t help anyone.

So, while Janis and the advisors present with her among the army gathered to assault the pass and the city prepared for the negotiations, discussed tactics and diplomatic moves to show their strength and frame the talks correctly, Regina tended to the business of the Empire. She also used it as an opportunity to judge the mood in the Empire and what people would expect from any such talks with the gnomes.

Not that she was going to cave to the pressure of public opinion on the matter, but she supposed she should at least know what it was.

Of course, what she got from both her own observations, talking with the drones in the capital and a few pointed conversations with others, was that opinions were split. The common people were largely just hoping for a fast and smooth end to the war. Some of them had discovered patriotic feelings for their new country and were talking about the glory and pride of the Empire and the need for the gnomes to be put in their place after the insults done to it. Regina supposed it might be connected to another sentiment, some were looking forward to the spoils and other benefits expected from winning a war.

For the people at court, the latter two sentiments were more strongly expressed. Maybe nobles were just more concerned with pride. Unlike most, who talked about it with the same air Regina would have expected of people keeping up with news reports of a war waged in some other country and only relevant because one might want to join a demonstration or consider which party to vote for, here some people actually appeared keenly interested in the details.

Still, most people were overwhelmingly more interested in the Empire’s founding itself and all the changes it brought with it, which she supposed was an answer in itself.

When the day of the negotiations dawned, Janis started preparing for it early, doing a quick round of the upper command staff of the army and talking briefly with almost everyone. Meanwhile, other soldiers, mostly drones, set up a pavilion for the talks. A location about midway to the start of the pass had been decided on, not quite at the base of the mountains. Since there was nothing here or anywhere close by, they could only choose a spot with a nice view and set everything up themselves. At least the Imperial side was the host and preparing the amenities, which gave them a limited degree of control over the proceedings.

The gnomes had kept word regarding their delegation. Only ten people approached the agreed upon site in the morning. That meant they had less attendants and scribes or whoever else they might have brought otherwise, and it looked like every one of them was of a decently high rank, given their clothing and levels.

Regina watched and listened to the greetings and the initial pleasantries at the start of the negotiation. It was not particularly interesting. The gnomes were reasonably polite, at least they addressed Janis and the other Imperial delegates with their proper titles and didn’t throw around insults or anything. But something about it still rubbed her the wrong way. They were less impolite than she’d feared based on previous interactions and the entire start of the war, but that didn’t mean they really showed respect on anything but the surface level.

“Perhaps we might proceed to the subject at hand?” one of them suggested when everyone had sat down and gotten ready around the conference table.

“Of course,” Janis agreed. “Regarding the first point on the agenda …”

They started arguing about guarantees and truce days and other things that Regina would have thought should be easy to sort out, but apparently weren’t. The gnomes insisted on, effectively, a truce that lasted until they broke off negotiations or confirmed that they’d failed utterly, which Regina obviously didn’t want to do. Janis, in contrast, only proposed a truce on the days they were actually negotiating. That led to accusations of them being deceitful and maneuvering to prepare an ambush as soon as they stopped talking.

In the end, it took hours for a reasonable compromise to be reached; they would observe a truce for the length of the negotiations and the following two days, and either side could withdraw from negotiations at any point, starting this countdown. Regina didn’t want to contemplate that this might actually count as a fast agreement in terms of diplomatic wrangling.

They also resisted any attempt to move the location of these talks. In a way, that was only common sense. Neither side trusted the other enough to invite envoys to one of their homes, and given the geography, holding talks in a neutral country wasn’t a viable option. They’d remain here for a few days or however long it took.

They probably still want to buy time, she considered. It might not be their only motivation, but it’s definitely one of the reasons for this.

The Cernlian and Nerlian courts and the offices Regina had built were sending a few people south to participate in the negotiations, on the off-chance that this was actually a serious attempt and avenue to peace. Until then, Janis and her commanders had the field, but they conducted themselves well.

After a short break, they started talking about the actual core topics of these negotiations. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean it went any better. Both sides were too determined not to give any ground. And frankly, Regina didn’t see why she should. Their points were reasonable. Sure, she knew most people probably thought that of their own arguments, but still — the gnomes couldn’t expect to murder her drones, attack the hive several times, starting a major continental war, and then just figuratively pack up their toys and go home.

Unfortunately, she didn’t see any real will to concede or repent in them.

They were willing to make some concessions on the treaties and other measures that would be in place after a peace was reached, in their proposal, at least after negotiating for a while. She was pretty sure they could manage a one-sided treaty forbidding the gnomes from entering any military alliances or mutual defense pacts with other nations. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t help reach Regina’s actual goals — she didn’t want to have to fight another war against them, after all.

She hadn’t been willing to simply defend her borders and leave the Gnomish Confederation alone at the start. And now they occupied a not insignificant portion of the nation’s territory. Territory that the gnomes wanted them to give back with very little to show for it, in the end.

I don’t know what they expect, Janis said to her, frustrated, during another break when afternoon was turning to evening. They don’t seem to want to give up anything. When I brought the suggestion of formal vassalage or protectorate status into play, they basically laughed it off. Then they say their economy is too battered and they don’t have the means to pay substantial reparations. Hell, they barely even seem to consider it reasonable that they might have to pay any reparations!

Regina sighed. I think it’s like I said earlier, they just want everything to go back to the way it was, except with their new regime in charge of their country.

Probably, Janis agreed bitterly. I’ll try and see if I can get them to see some more sense regarding the occupation.

Do that, Regina encouraged. I’m not particularly interested in territorial gain on its own, really, but it might be a good indicator of their actual limits and how far they’re prepared to go. Maybe you can use it as a bargaining chip.

Sure, Janis replied, but Regina could sense in the unspoken part of their connection that she thought they were doing that already so it wasn’t exactly a new suggestion.

I’ll let you get back to it, Regina replied with a bit of amusement. She didn’t mention that they might need any leverage they could get when it came to forcing the gnomes to officially recognize what happened to her envoys.

The negotiations continued, but Regina could no longer focus on them. As soon as Janis got back to the bargaining table, Max mentally prodded her to get her attention and brought her attention to June, who was approaching her apartment.

Regina mentally withdrew a bit from the psychic link, blinking her eyes open and stretching her arms and legs as she stood. Then she strolled into her living room, which Ira had recently redecorated using some of the gifts that had arrived from people across the Empire and beyond looking for favor. The most prominently displayed ones were a few antiques and reproductions of art and crafts made by a few drones. As a result, the room had a rather different style than the rest of Kiara’s palace. Regina was currently only wearing a pair of linen pants and a t-shirt altered to accommodate her wings, but it was only June, so she didn’t bother getting presentable.

“Master,” June greeted her as she entered, unsurprised at finding her here. She did have good magical senses.

“Evening, June. The negotiations with the gnomes are still ongoing. I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for a lesson right now.”

“I didn’t come here for that,” June replied with a shake of her head. She glanced at Regina for permission and then sat down on one of the armchairs in the room. “You remember when we had that scrying ritual to find John Cern and talked about what he was doing?”

“Yes, I recall you offered to look for information from his friends and acquaintances,” Regina responded. She hadn’t honestly expected her to have much success, but maybe she’d been wrong about that.

“Yes, and I found a few that I think might be good leads. I’ve tried to gain their trust, it’s slow-going but I think I’ve made some progress. Although I kind of had to play on our connection,” June smiled a bit sheepishly.

“Does that have anything to do with why you’ve come right now?”

“I may have alluded to some things happening today,” June admitted, looking down and fiddling with the hems of her sleeves. “It would be good if you could give a few orders accordingly.”

Regina sighed. “June, what does that mean?”

“Nothing big!” her apprentice assured her. “I just needed to convince them that I’m valued and have access to high-level information, for them to seek my favor. Like the palace guard patrol patterns changing today.”

Regina pinched her nose. “Fine, I can make that happen. I have to say, I’m not particularly happy about you forcing my hand like this, though.”

“I know, Your Majesty, I’m sorry.”

“Alright. Who’s ‘they’, anyway?”

June rattled off a list of names and titles, each one making Regina frown more heavily.

“Wait, Zephyr may be involved? Are you sure?”

June shook her head. “No, he’s just one of the men I’ve been trying to get a bit closer to, to investigate. I don’t know if he’s involved in anything like that botched assassination attempt. Honestly, I doubt it.” She hesitated for a moment. “And he is pretty knowledgeable about rituals.”

Regina regarded her for a second, then nodded. “Alright, feel free to get more information from him if you can.” Having June establish a closer relationship with the de facto Cernlian court mage could be beneficial.

“What about Edmund of Whitedale? He’s Earl Whitor’s son, right?”

June frowned. “I’m not sure about him, either, but he seems like more of a suspect. Some of his responses when we talked were a bit odd. But maybe I’m just reading too much into it. And maybe it’s because he feels compelled to sympathize with Lewis Breaksword.”

“Lewis Breaksword?” Regina asked.

June seemed surprised that she had to ask. “Yes. Lewis of Cernlia, or at least that’s what he calls himself. He’s one of the late king’s bastard sons.”

“Ah.” Regina tugged on her mandible. “And he’s come out of the woodwork?”

June nodded. Clearly, this was the most important piece of information she had. “It seems so. I haven’t seen him and I haven’t found out where he is, yet, but people have been talking about him. There’s been more whispers. He’s probably doing something.”

Regina regarded her. This was a topic that presumably affected June a lot more than her. “Do you think he might contest Kiara’s succession and try to get her throne?” she asked cautiously.

June shook her head. “I doubt it. We only met once, when I was a kid, but by all accounts, he’s a reasonable man. Or at least not an idiot. He has to know that trying anything would mean a huge risk with little chance of success.”

“Maybe I should suggest to Kiara that she could invite him to court and give him some prestigious position,” Regina mused. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, after all. Even potential enemies. And maybe he can be placated.

“It would probably look good politically,” June agreed.

Regina leaned back in her chair and watched her for a moment. So far, it seemed more like June had been going around beating the bushes and trying to see what fell out. Not the worst strategy, but who knew if she’d found anything that really related to Cern and whatever little conspiracy he might have been a part of. Still, she wouldn’t stop June.

“Now that you’re here,” Regina said, “we could also try something else. Having psychic abilities would help you a lot, and I’ve been wanting to attempt teaching you anyway.”

“Haven’t you tried before?”

Regina shrugged dismissively. “That was more of a cursory test to see if you had inborn psychic talent,” she said. “What I have in mind is more focused on your actual magic. My own skills have improved, too. First of all, I’d like to see if I can share what I sense with you.”

June was eager to try, predictably, and they were soon in the same position she’d been in with Ira recently. Regina was going to try the same approach. Of course, since she wasn’t connected to June in a psychic link, she had to use her own abilities to establish a connection with her.

June let her connect to her mind easily, and Regina tried her best not to look too deeply. Her anticipation and nerves were clear. Instead, Regina focused on her sense of the minds around her and funneled it to June.

The girl gasped. This is what you see all the time?

More or less, Regina agreed. I’ll withdraw now and I want you to try and hold on to this feeling, okay? Try and stretch your senses, your magic, to feel the same thing.

Slowly and carefully, she withdrew further into her own mind, thinning the connection to June. Finally, it snapped so far she could no longer receive anything June might try to communicate to her, and she instead focused on passive observation.

“I think I got something!” June gasped. She bounced a bit and smiled at Regina. “Only for  a moment, but it was after you were gone, and I was focusing on my mana senses and trying to recapture what you showed me, and I think I sensed your mind. And Max’s outside the door, and a few others, it was a lot.”

Regina smiled back. “Good work,” she said. “That’s a great result for a first attempt. We can build on that. From now on, our lesson plan has expanded.”

June grinned at her, and she didn’t have to be psychic to tell she was excited at the prospect.

Regina felt relieved. It was at least a foundation to work on. Clearly, June still didn’t have a particular talent for the ‘psychic arts’, but that didn’t have to mean she lacked the capability entirely.

Maybe she could teach June enough to be useful.