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I bid farewell to Krista before leaving. On her face is a strange look, and I wonder then just how long things can go like this between us. I push the thought aside, not wanting to get caught in the same frustrated loop as yesterday.
I walk briskly to my meeting. My subordinates salute me as I pass them by. Inside the castle, I turn down a long hallway lit by sconces along the walls.
They lead to an inconspicuous door which I step through, entering the meeting space. There, my lieutenant Selliss stands to greet me with a salute.
“Captain.”
I salute him back and join him by the center table, where several maps and documents lay spread out. They show our territory as well as the rest of Nagaland, with various points of interest highlighted.
“I’ve invited you here so that we may discuss defensive strategies for both the castle and the borders of Lodra.”
“So, do you think it’s true? These swirling words of war with Kario and Marzula?” I ask, trying not to give anything away with my own expression. Nothing is confirmed yet. We are simply taking defensive measures at this point, officially. Still, I’d like to know more about what my soldiers are saying.
The grim look on Selliss’ face is answer enough but he offers words, anyway.
“Do not forget the capital.”
“You seem to have new reports,” I notice. “Show me what else the intel team has pulled for us.”
“Have a look,” says Selliss, pushing the reports from the border guards my way. “Lots of civil unrest on the border towns both with guards from the other sides and between civilians themselves.”
“This is worrying,” I mutter, realizing that it’s spreading. War seems to be inevitable at this point, and the only question now is when.
I study the maps for a while, eyeing all of the villages where riots have been breaking out. “Selliss, do you remember the lore of Nagaland? Many years ago, before our lifetimes, there was a great war that almost destroyed each and every region beyond repair.”
“I do. The circumstances of that can not be compared, I don’t believe. If one of the same scale was to be declared now, I do not think that Nagaland can survive it with how far our weaponry has come.”
“All this over some humans. It hardly seems worth it.”
Selliss laughs, rearing his head back. I can’t tell if he is mocking me, but I don’t see the funny side of this.
“Well?” I ask impatiently.
“I’d like to hear you say that to the Prince,” he remarks. “No one can tell him that a human mate wasn’t worth all this upset.”
“Ah, I suppose not,” I reply uncomfortably, a sense of dread beginning to build inside of me. My original comment had meant to say that I thought it was silly the other regions were reacting so strongly to our actions. Selliss, I realize, is likely secretly in agreement with them.
I shouldn’t be surprised. The idea of humans having rights is fairly new here, only brought about when the Prince took a human mate and began demanding better treatment for them. Until recently, I probably would have been nodding along with Selliss.
“The other kingdoms have taken offense to how hospitable we have been in taking humans as mates. That’s unheard of elsewhere, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s punishable by death. Here, we have a Prince encouraging it.”
Krista’s face pops into my mind. My relationship with her reflects guiltily in my head. After all, she is a human, and I am Naga.
No, surely it’s not the same. We’re not even a serious pairing, it’s just sex…
“That can’t be the only reason. It’s not worth a war, anyway,” I argue.
“I agree. You’d think a war would be called for over something more severe like cutting trade ties or a straight assault, not something so trivial as the humans.”
As he continues speaking, I mull over Krista, wondering if I’m part of the problem.
It’s nothing more than a release.
“So?” asks Selliss. “Are you going to say something?”
“Hmm?”
He raises an eyebrow, grunting in annoyance.
