Page 47 of Stranger's Choice
Sebin shifted his weight from one foot to another.
She looked back at him, surprised to find him so nervous he couldn’t hide suppress his reactions. Auraelie smiled. “Why don’t you explain what’s going on a little better while I make some tea? I’m guessing Heolin also wants an explanation.”
She didn’t wait for an answer before going over to the kettle.
She heard Sebin walk over to the cushions. “I needed to talk to Heolin alone. You,mehta, have been avoiding me, though. I didn’t want anyone to realize how much I wanted to talk to you, so I was running out of options. Inviting you to watch Auraelie dance gave me the opportunity for a private word while also ensuring that the entire court saw that I had angered you.”
Auraelie glanced up from measuring different teas into the mugs in time to catch the look Sebin gave her. He looked stricken. “I didn’t mean for you to even have to get into those clothes, Auraelie. You were just the excuse, and no one would know what happened once the door shut. But Lhashiki heard me invite Heolin.”
“And so she took it upon herself to make sure I was dressed correctly for the evening’s plans,” Auraelie finished for him.
She poured water into the mugs and carried the first two over to the table.
“This was all a ploy to get me alone?” Heolin asked.
Auraelie grabbed her own mug and returned to the table. Heolin sat on her side. She pulled a cushion from the pile around Sebin and sat on the short end of the table between the two men.
“Alone and publicly mad at me,” Sebin agreed.
Heolin leaned forward. “Why?”
“Because I need your help.”
“I’ve told you, I am not in charge of trade agreements.”
“I don’t care about trade. That’s just a convenient excuse. I am interested in change.”
Heolin took a sip of his tea, his eyes never leaving Sebin. “Change? Changing what?”
Sebin lifted a hand and indicated Auraelie. Heolin looked at her, his head cocked to the side.
Auraelie looked back and forth between the men. “Me? What do you mean?”
“You are an example of everything I want to change.” Sebin told her. “The treaty between the Emperor and the oracles needs to end. The Emperor’s Will, as it is at present, needs to disband. And the government needs to do more than collect taxes.”
“Why do you care?” Heolin asked after a moment.
“A woman was given to me, for lack of a better word, with the expectation that I will rape and impregnate her. I can’t ignore something like that. I refuse to sit back and tell myself that I made the right choice and therefore my conscience is clear.” Sebin sipped at his tea, then placed it gently on the table in front of him. “Moreover, I was approached by rebels hoping to overthrow the Emperor before I ever set foot in Pynth. I did not come for them—I did not know if I even agreed with them—but I do have those connections. I have also made connections among the dissatisfied imperial courtiers since arriving in Kalitalo.”
“If you try to overthrow the Emperor, you will start a civil war.” Heolin scowled. “I agree that we need change, but war is not the answer.”
“The Kalitalan rebels want to overthrow the Emperor. That is not my objective, though it may be the only way to bring about change. If your people join with the rebels, then we have more options. Outside of Kalitalo, the magical races hold more sway than imperial officials. Earth and wood sprites help the humans living near them grow enough food to survive when the Emperor’s taxes increase. The shapeshifters ensure enough game is available in their area. The water sprites help river traders and fishermen.”
Sebin leaned his elbows on the table and propped his chin on his hands. “Back in my kingdom, we have lords and ladies who own large tracts of land. They oversee the people living in their lands, making sure they prosper. People can go to their lord and petition for things like new wells or hunting rights. The lords and ladies, in turn, can petition the king if needed. They can rely on the royal government to coordinate projects that cross holdings. The magical races are the lords of this land. But you don’t have any support from the Emperor. You work in isolation and have to rely only on your own resources and magic.”
“You want to make us lords?”
“No. I want to establish an Assembly. A ruling body that can take care of the day to day running of the empire. It would have human and magical members. You would have to vote and reach a consensus before acting.” It was an idea he had been working to bring to Moial for years. They had a Council filled with nobles, but he hadn’t yet convinced his father to approve a second body of legislators made up of commoners.
Auraelie set down her empty mug. “How would people be appointed to this Assembly? If you want to end the imperial-oracle treaty, then the magical races need some guarantee of their continued safety. We can’t risk the Assembly becoming all human.”
Sebin smiled at her. “That will probably be the hardest part to arrange so that all parties are happy. My initial thought is that we can divide the empire into districts and each district can have one human and one magical representative, however those representatives are chosen.”
“The magical races are not all one people,” Heolin added. “The different races will want to ensure that they always have a representative of their own. We learned the hard way that we can’t rely on one race to make the decisions we would want.”
Auraelie frowned in concentration. “Apart from the earth and wood sprites, the races keep to themselves. If we used Sebin’s idea of dividing the empire into districts, we could base each on the territories of the magical races.”
“You need to make sure the districts don’t ignore human concerns, either.” Sebin cautioned. “If the area under the influence of one magical race has a higher population than another, the humans of that district will feel cheated.”
Heolin stood up. “You’ve given me much to think about,dyela. I will reach out to the magical races beyond Kalitalo and see if this is a plan we could support.”
