Andreas mainly brought Kasper and Emelie to Gin just…so they could see what Miya did, at some point. She only told them the sweet stories—about her brother, sometimes retrospective things about the kitsune-advisor—and only told Andreas the harder parts. He knew she adored her brother more than anything, but he also knew that Toru Kuro-Masaaki was the only one who would still talk to her.


    He wished she could be here to see Kasper roll his eyes at his younger sister’s enthusiasm. He promised to make the trip as entertaining for the kids as possible instead. Emelie wanted to stay longer and despite his griping Kasper liked the warmer weather, so Andreas agreed to go to Gin’s capital.


    One could see the palace in the distance as soon as you entered the capital, but getting there required some navigation and prayers that the townsfolk could understand the shared language. Kasper and Emelie helped with their limited vocabulary until they struggled for long enough that a teenage girl with a speckled cat noticed and came up.


    “Um.” The cat in her arms caught Emelie’s attention and she let out a little noise. The girl cautiously proceeded using the shared tongue. “Are you going to the palace?”


    “Yes, we are,” Andreas said. “We’re visitors from Sólstaeur; Byen Roken, to be specific.”


    The girl perked up and she gave a quick bow, surprising her kitty.


    “I’m Nesshin Maeko, a friend of both princes. I can show you.”


    “That would be appreciated. Thank you.”


    She nodded and gestured for them to follow; without anyone else helping, Andreas saw no reason not to. The city seemed almost completely innocent.


    The girl weaved around the roads expertly, glancing back every now and then to make sure she didn’t lose her company. Once she led them out to the front gates, she murmured something about getting the royal family and disappeared.


    Andreas wondered if Kuro’s castle was similar from the outside, or if they were completely different. Miya couldn’t remember it well enough to describe it; she only had the chance to visit once every three or four years, and even then she only went to the capital to briefly chat with the kitsune-advisor.


    It only took a few minutes before the girl returned, bringing with her a trio that looked…surprisingly normal, admittedly. Aside from greater use of blues and white—and the woman’s silver hair—he could easily mistake them for a normal family.


    Andreas merely nodded his greeting while the rest bowed—Kasper and Emelie parroted off the traditional greeting, words Miya taught them years ago, which made the queen of Gin smile a bit when she stood up again.


    “Thank you for coming,” the queen said, straightening herself. She held her head high, but he couldn’t tell if it was a matter of keeping up appearances or their differences in heights. Emelie was nearly as tall as the boy standing next to the silver-haired woman.


    “I’m grateful to be here,” Andreas replied. He wanted to smile, but he didn’t know if it would come off as threatening. “I regret that I can’t say much in your own language; I only ever picked up cognates and simple statements.”


    “It’s all right—there’s a shared tongue for a reason.” She gestured to the man on her right and the boy to her left. “On the introduction side of things, I’m Gin-Kaiba Kyoumi, the queen. This is my husband, Fujita Sorai, and our son Gin-Fujita Rei; we have another son, Taiyo, but he’s…not here at the moment, unfortunately.”


    “I understand,” Andreas assured her. “And for our part, I’m Andreas Rokensen and these are my children Kasper and Emelie.”


    He managed to crack a grin and prayed to whatever god was listening that it had the right effect.


    “Otherwise known as the most blatantly mixed-blood family in all three nations,” he joked. “My wife Miya was from the Masaaki family—from what I understand, they used to live in Gin.”


    “Before Queen Tsujihara Seiko’s reign,” the king agreed. “Your children have strong blood in them. I can only claim some Sólstaeuric heritage, myself.”


    “The worst part is being too tall but too short at the same time,” Emelie noted cheerfully. “Otherwise? I like my first island genes, thank you very much! Straight hair is a blessing.”


    “Agreed!” the Nesshin girl chimed in. Her cat mewed as well.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The prince half-smiled for a second, which in turn got his mother to relax. The visible difference let Andreas know that they weren’t wary around him, specifically. Maybe they knew they looked average, and wanted to make a good first impression.


    “I would like to chat,” the queen said after a moment. “Not necessarily about politics, just…a conversation. Would you three—four, if you would let Nesshin come—like some tea?”


    Emelie perked up. “I’m okay with her coming if I can pet the kitty after we’re done.”


    “I don’t mind either way,” Kasper murmured.


    “In which case, I have no protests,” Andreas added.


    The queen murmured some agreement and silently led them into the palace.


    …


    They all sat down around the table, the Roken family on one side and the royal family—plus Maeko Nesshin and her cat—on the other. The queen set out all their cups and returned a few minutes later with the tea itself, carefully pouring it into each cup.


    “My mother hosted parties before she was married,” she explained wistfully. “As such, please expect the best hospitality one can offer. Rei and Nesshin can show your children around the city, Sir Roken.”


    “Just call me Andreas, please.” He added a little smile to show he had no ill will.


    She gave him a quizzical look in return before looking back at the next cup. “Are you sure? That’s…rather informal.”


    “I don’t mind,” Andreas maintained. “If I cared about formalities and propriety, I wouldn’t have married a princess of Kuro.”


    “...I suppose that’s true—but I’m only comfortable dropping the title, nothing more.”


    “That’s fine. I know Sólstaeur and Gin are quite different in terms of respect.”


    The queen murmured some agreement and continued pouring out the tea. She filled her cup last, gently placing the pot in the center of the table before sitting down. She gave a quick, soft prayer and nodded permission for the rest to drink.


    A few moments passed in silence as they sipped tea, then the queen hesitantly ventured a conversation topic.


    “I apologize if it’s sensitive,” she said softly, glancing at Kasper and Emelie, “But your wife, Roken—Kuro-Masaaki Miya, I believe—died a few years ago, didn’t she?”


    Andreas sighed, but carried on anyway. Kasper and Emelie weren’t greatly affected, but they had practice tuning out conversations if they didn’t want to hear it.


    “She did,” Andreas replied with a small nod. “She wanted to see her brother in Kuro; she never made it.”


    “One of the early ship sinkings?” the king asked.


    “Yes. I have reason to believe her ship was targeted out of envy, not least because King Shunji refuses to let Sólstaeur investigate.”


    “I could spend hours making a list of how he and I are at odds,” Kyoumi said, frowning. She shook her head and offered a sympathetic look. “Regardless, I’m sorry. I would have loved to speak with her if I had the chance.”


    Andreas gave a weak, sad smile as thanks while the king continued on.


    “My father died just last year due to Kuro''s antics,” he noted grimly. “Murdered on his way home after spending the summer with us. King Shunji has, unsurprisingly, refused to identify his killers. Even before that, King Gin-Mashimo Utaka and Kaiba Erize lost their lives in their own garden.”


    The prince blew on his cup and raised it up. “All that to say,” he murmured, “That we’ve all suffered recently.”


    “It’s nice to get some sympathy for once,” Kasper said while Rei drank a little of his tea.


    “Sólstaeur’s people want a mix of revenge and isolationism, depending on the person,” Andreas went on, looking at Kyoumi. “I know you said we wouldn’t need to talk about politics, but I wouldn’t be opposed to coming up with some kind of alliance draft.”


    “It wouldn’t anger anyone in Sólstaeur?” the queen asked curiously.


    “We work on a council system,” Andreas explained. “A majority would have to agree in order for anything to go into effect. I can bring it up, at least, even if it’s not approved by the end of spring.”


    He glanced down at his cup and lightly tapped the handle. The tea’s sweet scent reminded him of Miya—of what and who he’s lost. Sólstaeur’s freedom from Kuro was won easily enough, but that didn’t mean the end of conflict with them. They still wanted control.


    “Besides,” he continued, keeping his eyes on the steaming tea, “I’ve spoken to Kuro’s kitsune-advisor, Sukaru Yanami, in the past. She’s a reasonable woman; Miya described her as a hard worker who refuses to be unnecessarily cruel, and she’s prevented wars before. If she caught wind of an attempt to join Sólstaeur and Gin’s forces, she would end the war effort then and there—or at least give her best attempt.”


    The queen smiled a little, grateful and relieved all the same.


    “Thank you,” she said, her voice coated in several different emotions; a few of them conflicted, like happiness and fear. “My goal is, of course, to find a way to end a conflict before it truly begins. Should Sólstaeur accept the proposal and Kuro still aims to fight, however, it will be a relief to know we have someone on our side.”


    “Likewise, it would be an honor to make due on one of my wife’s greatest wishes.”


    Miya always hated Shunji’s penchant for violence—how he wanted to solve all problems by stabbing it. Even if no one else in Sólstaeur would like the idea, he would’ve still brought up the possibility and asked for votes.


    She had wanted her children to grow up in peace, and was taken away by a threat against it. Doing this would be as close as he could ever get to truly granting her desires as a mother.