taste the sun

Emmett’s secret wasn’t exactly a surprising one considering his reputation. A reputation that was largely accurate. “Of course I’ve been paying them!” His eyes widened slightly. “If I didn’t, they would’ve hurt the woman and my child. I might not have been…involved in their lives, but I don’t want to see them hurt. I wasn’t going to take the chance. I have the money. I just - I’m tired of waiting to see if they’re going to carry out their threats even if I pay. It feels like it’s never going to end.”

“So they’re making threats in spite of you paying?” She raised a brow, well, that was simply bad form. “Give me all the information on the payment drop-off. I can arrange to have someone inconspicuously keep an arm on the drop,” she told him, it should be easy enough for her spies to follow whoever took the payment back to their employer.

This was the part Emmett had been dreading. It made perfect sense that Jia would want, if not need, more information to truly help him, but that didn’t mean Emmett was fond of the idea. Wishing that he had at least a few more glasses of wine in his system, Emmett took a breath. “Twenty odd years ago, I had a fling and the woman fell pregnant. My parents were horrified and sent her away - with plenty of gold, of course. About a year ago, I started getting letters from…someone…who apparently knew that the child was mine. Eventually, they began to threaten this woman and child’s life. I have reason to believe they’ll follow through on the threats if I stop paying them.”

Jia didn’t even feign surprise as he revealed his secret to her, as if he were merely speaking of the weather. It wasn’t so outrageous; she was surprised that the blackmailer had devolved to threats, though. “Have you been paying them anything up until now?” She asked, if he hadn’t paid, it wasn’t entirely surprising, but she wondered why they didn’t simply release the information. 

Politics were not one of Roman’s strong suits. He didn’t particularly care about the reasons behind a war. All he knew was that he liked the battle itself. If his King and Queen commanded there be bloodshed, he happily rode into battle and did the dirty work. For the time being, however, brute force was not an option. He had to play a game that he had never willingly played before in order to get what he wanted most. The first place to start, he foolishly thought, was with the ambassadors from his country. He needed to know if they all wished to sink the treaty, or if it was only the ambassador who approached him that had such a desire. 

Though he had stood up to foreign foes and struck down enemies with his sword, standing at the entrance to Jia Fei’s arrangements made his skin tingle with nervous anticipation. “Lady Fei,” he greeted, more curtly than he meant to, “I was hoping to find you here.” // @noble-intenticns​

“Sir Roman,” Jia nodded, raising a brow at the knight. “Well, I suppose you came to the right place,” she replied, gesturing for him to enter. She didn’t know much of the man, but her husband hadn’t thought much of him. Too aggressive. She wasn’t sure how well-suited to life as a guardsmen he’d be, but his connection to the crown prince had secured his place after his injury. “What can I do for you?”

As soon as she had left the dining hall after her breakfast with Sylvia, Elisa had gone straight to the archery range, and was thankful when she found it empty. She had only put her hair in a loose braid before taking her bow in her hands, not bothering to change into a more appropriate attire or even to put on gloves to protect her fingers. 

She had lost count of the arrows she had shoot when she heard Lady Jia’s voice, and only then did she notice the bleeding cuts on her fingers. Great, another thing Sylvia would criticize her for. “My Lady,” she aknowledged her presence with a small bow of her head. She had honestly hoped to be alone for some time, but it was true that she didn’t instruct Annette to not tell anyone where she might be. “Not at all. I was just practicing to relax and clear my mind.” And I might have also been envisioning my sister’s face in the bullseye.

“My Lady, it is very kind for you to worry. I’m afraid I was not feeling well yesterday, so I could not attend the banquet. But I do hope that you and all of our guests enjoyed it.” A man died Elisa, how can you even say that? “Please forgive my tongue, my Lady. I should not be talking like this with the tragedy that struck us last night”

Jia recognized the diplomatic tone, and the almost-automatic explanation for not attending the banquet, and she nodded with understanding as she hurried to apologize. “It’s quite all right, last night’s events caught us all by surprise, I’m afraid. I am still having trouble adjusting to it myself,” she nodded, although the tragedy was not so tragic to her mind. The man had been an adversary of hers, so his loss seemed to be her gain. “I hope you are feeling better now, the last thing the kingdom needs at the moment is another tragedy.”

Emmett wasn’t a fool. He knew it was dangerous to make such an open deal with anyone, but it was even more dangerous to make it with a Ryhulian ambassador. If things went south, she would be able to blackmail him too, and he highly doubted she would be satisfied with gold alone. Emmett licked his lips, never breaking eye contact with Jia. “Yes,” he said finally. His ex’s and child’s lives were too important to gamble with. If Jia could put a stop to the blackmailer and the threats, he would give her anything. “I would want an equal arrangement, and seeing as undertaking this task for me would be no small feat, you could expect me to do everything I can to help you. Information, of course, would be my speciality due to my position in this country.”

“Excellent, then I think we can move forward with this arrangement,” Jia nodded, sipping her drink thoughtfully. “Are there any more specific details you’d be willing to tell me about this... scandal? It would be easier to find out who knows what if I know what I’m looking for,” she pointed out, although she knew that revealing that information could make him vulnerable, she had to admit, she wanted to know.

The fact that she seemed semi-willing to enter into the agreement even if he didn’t tell her what he wanted in exchange for the information he could share was impressive. If nothing else swayed him, that did. Emmett drained his glass of wine and set the empty glass down. Leaning forward, he met Jia’s eye. “I’m being blackmailed. It’s not over anything illegal. A mere youthful indiscretion that my parents thought best to sweep under the rug has come back to haunt me. Unfortunately,” he clicked his tongue in frustration, a massive ball of anger building in his chest as he thought of the content of the letters. “Other people were involved this old mistake - people that this blackmailer has tracked down and is threatening to hurt. I need this person caught and handled. Discreetly.” 

Jia raised her brows at his confession. Although he hadn’t told her the specifics, she could guess at what sort of indiscretion the former Earl and his wife may have seen fit to hide for their heir. She wouldn’t do that though, since she supposed she ought to be glad he was sharing this much with her. “I see. That’s no small matter to take care of,” Jia pointed out, although she doubted it was beyond her capabilities. Her spies could track down something like this, she was sure. “I trust that if I should help you with this predicament... you would be open to helping me out in the future, should I need it?” She wanted to maximize her potential reward for helping out with such a big ask.

While Bea was generally a decent judge of character, she was also trusting, expecting the best from people until they gave her a reason not to.  She does not detect anything untrustworthy in Jia Fei at all.  “Well, I cannot speak for everyone, but I can understand the desire to preserve their innocence from the horrors of war.”  As someone who had never known what it was to be completely untouched by war, she had no desire to rob others of such innocence – though there was no better way to preserve it than by ending the war entirely.  “But thank you, that is consolation indeed.  This bloodshed has continued for far too long.  An alliance is long overdue.”

Jia nodded, they were in agreement about that much. An alliance was necessary, now she only needed to convince the current monarch of the agreed-upon terms. “Of course, but forgive me, I do not mean to bore you with such matters.” She smiled, nodding graciously. “I shall leave you to you your work, then? I can send someone to fetch the remedy when it is ready.”

“Money? Oh no, I am certainly not in need of money.” He took another sip of wine, his eyes sparkling mischievously, never breaking her gaze. Emmett didn’t gold. What he did need was an ally willing to help with the dirty work of catching his blackmailer. Of course, he couldn’t simply blurt that out. “I’d like to propose an arrangement. You help me, I help you, and while we do so, we get to spend time in each other’s company. As we discovered the last time we spoke privately, neither of us is exactly…open with the rest of the world. Perhaps a friendship,” he raised both of his eyebrows, not daring to say what he really thought spending time together would lead to, “would bud between us. However, I must warn you that what I’m asking for in exchange for this information…and any other information I will surely hear due to my position, is no small task.”

Jia listened carefully to what he was proposing, so it was no easy exchange he wanted, but an ongoing exchange. She swirled her wine around in her glass thoughtfully, mulling over his words. She wasn’t opposed to spending more time in the Earl’s company, either, and her lips quirked up slightly at the possibility they might strike up a friendship. “Will you tell me what it is you need help with before I agree, or am I to take all of this on blind faith?” She knew they’d need to trust one another for this relationship to work, but she always had a bit of difficulty trusting others.

“Your Highness,” Jia addressed the princess from a few paces back, dipping into a graceful curtsy as she spoke. “I hope I am not interrupting... your maid told me I might find you here. I was worried when I did not see you last night,” she had kept an eye out for the princess at the banquet, prior to things going to hell, and then afterwards she knew it would have been wholly inappropriate to seek her out. 

“They are,” she agreed, though it is obvious enough that she does not really need to say it.  “All of this fighting…I look forward to seeing it come to an end.”  She had never seen a need for such hatred, but she was hopeful that the two countries would be able to come to an agreement that would please everyone enough that the violence would stop.  “Six years – it is more of a scar at this point, I would say.”  She had had time to heal and move on, and she had, even if such a loss could never be healed entirely.

“As do I,” Jia smiled kindly. “I’m very sorry to hear about your husband, but if it is any consolation, it only makes me steel my resolve to bring about an alliance that will halt the bloodshed once and for all. I think sometimes, it is too easy for those who do not experience the horrors of war firsthand to forget about those who suffer.” She shook her head sadly, appearing very affected by her tale.

He took the wine with a grateful nod, though the triumphant smile never left his lips. It was rare to have a piece of information that a woman like Jia wanted and didn’t already have. He was going to make this enjoyable. “That depends on what you think knowing the names of a certain few Oscanian nobles who have proclaimed that they would’ve liked to kill that Ryhulian man themselves is worth.” Emmett drank deeply from the glass, noting the exquisite wine. Jia had good tastes. Leaning back in the chair, Emmett crossed one leg over the other. “Of course, they may have been over exaggerating, but with tensions at court so high, I certainly would want to know. After all, if they hate your country so much, who’s to say they won’t strike Ryhule’s royal family?”

Jia raised a brow, but otherwise did not let her interest in his information show on her face. She did like to know who was actively working against her. Knowing one’s enemies was even better than knowing one’s friends. “Hmm, that could be of some interest,” she nodded, sipping her wine thoughtfully. “But what would a man like you be looking for from me? Surely the Earl of the North has no need of money,” she wondered if he did have money problems. The North was a wealthy region, but if he had some sort of vice, like gambling, he could easily burn through his inheritance.

“Not terribly often, no, though I do of course use them when they are needed.”  She preferred to save her wares for when other people needed them, but she would never advise a friend to suffer needlessly, and as the court’s most trusted apothecary, it was not as if she could not afford to spare a few herbs for herself when she was ill.  “Yes, that makes sense.  It is always much better to be prepared.  That should not take me very much time at all then.”  Her smile became a bit tighter at Jia’s comment about her husband, and the irony of it, her gaze dropping for just a moment.  “Not very, unfortunately.  He died, actually – a border skirmish, several years ago.  He got caught in it and, well.  It happens.”  She had long since made her peace with what happened, but it still struck her as horribly unfair, and she would always love him.  Talking about his death would always hurt.  She cleared her throat, a somewhat sheepish expression coming over her face.  “I’m sorry, that was rather morbid.  I promise I do not always burden my customers with sad stories.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Jia’s sympathies appeared to be genuine, although this was the information she had sought from the beginning. “The border skirmishes are a terrible waste... I had hoped we could bring such conflicts to a close by now,” she shook her head, giving a remorseful sigh. That was all the information she needed for now, she knew that this woman would be a hard buy, and she needed to ease her way into it. “Not at all, I did ask. Has it been very long since he passed, or is it still an open wound?”

“If I am being honest, my Lady. I have ran out of ideas for trying to make my sister understand,” she sighed. If only Sylvia would listen. Things would be so much easier if she did. 

Frustration must have been evident in her face. Elisa wasn’t one to show this much emotion in public, less to someone who could very well still be a stranger. But something in the woman, maybe the fact that she agreed with her, made Elisa keep talking. “Sometimes I cannot help but be angry at her. She has the option of ruling two countries, the privilege of changing the life of thousands for the better. Even if it means losing her beloved, isn’t that the most noble of actions?”

“It is sometimes hard to admit it, but not all those who are blessed with power have what it takes to wield it,” Jia spoke carefully, well aware that if Elisa were to turn on her, these words could cost her much. But if there was no risk, there would be no reward. “Your feelings are understandable, it is very difficult to watch as someone botches a job that we know that we could do better.” She raised a brow at the princess. 

Appropriate had never been a word used to describe Emmett. He didn’t particularly care if anyone saw him slip into a woman’s room late at night. The gossip would be no different from the words that were usually said about him behind his back. The only reason he had come late at night was to take suspicion off why he might be in a Ryhule ambassador’s chamber’s during the day. At night, everyone would just assume he was up to his usual tricks. 

“Hello? Well, no. I admit, I do have ulterior motives.” He strode gracefully into her chambers, admiring the fine accommodations. “I come bearing the gift of interesting information. But like everything in life, it comes as a price.” Emmett dropped down into a chair, a wide grin settling over his features. 

Jia closed the door behind him, strolling over to the sidebar to fix him a drink. She considered for a moment, before she took out a particularly fine vintage of Ryhulian wine, pouring them each a glass. “Interesting information, you say? Perhaps you ought to give a teaser, to convince me it’s worth the price,” she smiled deviously, handing him a glass of wine before she took a seat on the adjacent couch nearest to his chair. 

Jia was always interested in any information, interesting or not, but she was also interested in what the Earl might want in exchange. Their last encounter had been more revealing of both their natures than she was used to, but she couldn’t lie and say that she wasn’t interested in learning more about him. Still, knowing he was not as entirely careless as he seemed also made her wary of what exactly he might want from her now. “And just what would you want in exchange?” She asked, sipping her wine.

It wasn’t rare for Emmett to hear gossip or information that others at court would find interesting. No - he heard plenty, even from the messes he called friends. What was rare was Emmett actually using what he heard or sharing it with someone other than his sister. This was a special occasion. After all, it wasn’t every day that he found himself with knowledge that some of his fellows wanted the Ryhule noble that had passed dead, nor was it every day that there was a very pretty Ryhule ambassador staying in the castle.

It was late, but Emmett thought that it was the best time to call on Jia. There would be less witnesses to him knocking on her chamber door. Only the guards that patrolled the halls would know that he had been anywhere near the area. When the door opened, Emmett was there, a coy smile playing at his lips. “It seems like forever since we’ve seen each other, Ambassador. I planned to say hello at the banquet, but there’s no doubt in my mind that you were very busy after the night’s tragic events.” // @noble-intenticns​

Jia was no stranger to late night visits, so she wasn’t entirely caught off guard when she heard someone rapping at the door. She was sitting at her writing desk, drafting yet another missive, carefully coded of course, for the royals back in Ryhule when she heard it, and she quickly set aside her quill and covered up her work before she rose to answer the door. “One moment,” she called out, as she drew on a dressing gown before she answered the door.

“Good evening, your lordship. Did you drop by just to say hello?” She smiled, stepping aside to hold the door open so he could come into her chambers. Perhaps it wasn’t entirely appropriate to invite a man into her rooms at this hour, but Jia had a feeling that whatever Emmett had come to see her about, it was not something she would like to discuss in the hallway. 

Morwena sat down in the plush chair opposite from Jia, adjusting the material of her robe to fall perfectly over her crossed legs. She did not often have people in her chambers — aside from her home in the North, her room at the castle was one of the only places she felt truly safe and which allowed her the kind of privacy she often craved. For meetings such as this, she would normally arrange them elsewhere, but this had been an unexpected call ( on both ends, she supposed ). And it was a good opportunity to try and garner some more details. 

She was careful to think before replying — these were sensitive matters, and though Morwena tended to be more blunt than diplomatic, she knew this was a conversation to tread carefully in. “From what I gather, that the court stands behind the princess and the proposed alliance. The nobles are incredibly loyal to the royal family, the Greenwoods included.” A bit of a stretch … there were a few dissenters such as herself — but there was no need to share that. She wasn’t against the two kingdoms finally having peace either, she just thought an arranged marriage was SILLY and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. “How do your people feel about the new terms the crown princess has proposed? I know they are not exactly part of the plan that was laid out originally.”

Jia knew better than to accept what she was told at face value, instead watching the lady’s face carefully for signs of deception. Even if she saw none, she knew that could just mean Morwena was a skilled liar, so she wouldn’t necessarily trust anything she told her. Obviously, she would tell her that the court was a united front. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t reveal something of use.

“As you may be aware, my people are incredibly invested in tradition. Our monarchs believe the best way to ensure a treaty is kept is to bind it in blood, through marriage. It is unlikely they would agree to formalize an alliance without such assurances,” she explained, that much was known. The royals of Ryhule wanted a marriage to seal the treaty, and it would be a hard sell to change their minds. “I imagine you might know the crown princess better than I would... do you think there might be any way to persuade her to change her stance?”

“I do – or at least, that is what my customers have told me, and I see no reason not to believe them.”  She lets out a soft laugh, turning to her shelves to gather a few herbs for her headache remedy.  “How frequent are your headaches?”  She needs to know for dosage purposes.  At Jia’s question, she nods once, then, on second thought, shakes her head, a slightly reminiscent smile forming on her face.  “Yes – well, somewhat.  My mother was an apothecary for many years, though she is now retired.  I fell in love with the craft myself, watching her work when I was a child.  As soon as I could afford to, I came here with my husband and opened a shop of my own.”