An Empire Divided

"Good morning Mrs. Ferlin" a sweet voice sounded as the double doors shut and the whooshing wind died behind them "it is a little chilly outside, how are you today" the voice came from a short girl, who was adjusting her cape as she walked towards the reception.

"Give me a moment dear, I'll be right with you" the response came from and older lady, behind the great library reception. The newly arrived took off her cape, revealing silvery blue hair that stopped at her shoulders, pale skin adorned with freckles on rosy cheeks completed the image, the short and young lady, nodded in response.

The older lady returned her attention to her companion. The older lady had a long coat over a purple dress, it was nothing special but somehow the older lady looked grand with it, the newcomer had always envied Mrs. Ferlin style, it always seemed so natural, just as like her sister and mother, 'How do they do it?' she wondered.

The newcomer took a glance at the Ciel Rouge Library and smiled. It did not matter how many times had she come to the grand library, she would never stop being amazed by it. Ever since the first time her father had brought her when she was very little, at that time she had thought the library had every book every written, thankfully it did not.

"Good morning" the short lady said to the only other people inside the library at this hour. Two men, sitting over large wooden tables, with several parchments and books on them.

"Good morning, Lady Lunebleau" replied the one closest to the entrance, the other one, gave an acknowledgement grunt, that made the short lady smile.

They both were part of the librarians and scribes working at the grand library beneath, madame Emeryn, Master Librarian of Ciel Rouge; Mrs. Ferlin, as she preferred to be call. There was always someone keeping watch of the library, it was even older than the kingdom of Loire, but it had been King Reynaud I, who had ordered the construction of the library as it was. A massive building at the center of the city, with the entire ceiling vaults made with a special red brick, from where its name was taken.

The short lady Lunebleau eyed as discreetly as possible at the young man talking with the master librarian. It was too early in the morning to come and visit the library, that had already picked her curiosity, but that Mrs. Ferlin was attending the man, that was rare.

The young man had simple clothes, a white shirt over grey trousers, not likely a noble, however the fabric was rare, and his clothes were well made, he was too young to be a scholar, an important trader perhaps? The short lady noticed his shirt had some kind of embroidery she had not seen before, that was it. He should be part of the Fey Danan delegation 'Why would a member of the delegation visit the library at this hour? was he bothering Mrs. Ferlin?' as lady Lunebleau was lost in her thought she let and involuntarily tsch sound, as she eyed at the young man.

"Thank you for your help, master librarian Emeryn, as much as I would love to have you all to myself, I would not like to impose and keep your expertise all for myself" the young man dedicated an enchanting smile to Mrs. Ferlin. The young man had a pleasant face but nothing special, or so had the young lady Lunebleau believed until she saw him smile, and Mrs. Ferlin seemed share her opinion, 'What? was Mrs. Ferlin blushing?' The young man took a glimpse at the curious lady, who turned as quickly as she could and looked at the ceiling as if it was something incredible, 'Had he noticed her?' the young lady wondered.

"Oww dear, you flatter this old librarian, and don't worry, miss Frey could certainly wait a moment" the young lady, miss Frey Lunebleau was now certain they both had noticed her spying "She will be here most of the day if I am not mistaken" the older lady gave miss Frey a look, the young lady had not seen, since the librarian had discovered a torn page on a book Frey had borrowed from the library when she was little.

"Thank you, master librarian Emeryn" The young man gave a curious bow to the librarian, took another quick glance at the young lady Frey, and went to a pink armchair, the chair was an eclectic sight on the library, but Mrs. Ferlin believed in comfort over anything else while reading.

"Frey dear, hiding again? and so early today", Mrs. Ferlin face was severe as she approached the young lady, who bit her lower lip embarrassed.

"I am sorry for interrupting Mrs. Ferlin, but I had to get away from my sister and cousins, all they talk about is the North Star prince from the Fey Danan delegation" lady Frey said trying to appeal to Mrs. Ferlin sympathy.

"I am surprised you are not the one talking about the delegation" the older Lady raised one eyebrow in curiosity "The Fey Danan Empire is whether we like or not one of the mightiest powers in the North, and seeing as how our orc neighbors have been behaving lately, this meeting is important, especially for us, my dear" Mrs. Ferlin was frowning, 'Great, first I bother her, now she thinks, I do not understand the situation we are in' Frey thought.

"I do understand Mrs. Ferlin, or I like to think I do, for the most part. I would love to talk about what could be achieved with the delegation, be it trade agreements, and alliance or the more pressing situation with the orcs to the east, the problem lies however with my peers' interest in the delegation" Frey explained trying to appease Mrs. Ferlin, who had stopped frowning.

"Meaning?"

"All they seemed to care about are the rumors regarding the Fey Danan prince" the old lady raised a single eyebrow as she looked at Frey "All they talk about is if it's true he has horns and tail as some fey do, or, if he drinks the blood of virgin maidens to bolster his powers and such" Miss Frey explained blushing a little as she recalled her cousin Danielle's concerns about the prince.

"Oh my, I am sorry dear, I sometimes forget how young ladies have, em, complicated points of view" she replied amused "Being truthful, if the North Star Prince, truly drinks the blood of virgins, your peers have a genuine reason to be worried about" the old lady smiled.

"Mrs. Ferlin, some of them are hoping for it to be true, that way, they could offer themselves to the foreign prince, and in doing so, the prince would feel touched by the gesture and change his ways driven by their selfless act, only for him to fall deeply in love with them" Frey explained embarrassed as she retold one of her peer's expectations with the delegation.

"Well, some ladies do have too much time on their hands, and tend to delve into the dramatics, we should at least applaud their creativity" Mrs. Ferlin said, with the best lady smile she could muster, clearly concerned about the youths of the kingdom, "Now I see why you came so early"

"Thank you, Mrs. Ferlin, I hope, I did not bother you before" Frey, said as she bowed her head a little, "I am sorry, is he is from the Fey Danan delegation? If you have an obligation to attend him, I understand", she hoped to chat with Mrs. Ferlin, she was incredible knowledgeable in almost any subject, and Frey liked her humor, but she might be obliged to attend the young man if he was part of the delegation

"He is indeed part of the Fey Danan delegation" the old lady nodded approvingly at Frey's supposition "however, he came here by his interest in the library not as a representative of the delegation and he is quite... entertaining to talk to for someone his age" Mrs. Ferlin smiled as she looked at the man sitting on the pink armchair. He was already reading the book Mrs. Ferlin had given him. The old lady turned her gaze from the man, and stopped to look at Frey, and her smile went wide "You now dear, you are right, I believe we should talk about the Fey Danan delegation, but as any topic, we should have different point of views for a conversation to be meaningful" Mrs. Ferlin, took Frey by the hand and brought her near the young Feydan man. Frey went pale as Mrs. Ferlin cleared her throat and the man turned to them.

"Mr. Nord, although I do find the Records of the Order of the Lily an incredibly interesting and accurate thing to read, we were hoping to discuss our views on the possibilities brought by the visit of your Fey Danan delegation to our kingdom and would like to know if we could borrow some of your time to have a complete view on the matter?" Mrs. Ferlin said casually, the young man looked surprised but just for a second, he looked at both ladies, closed the book gently, as his incredibly smile appeared once more, surprising the young lady by the incredibly change.

"It would be my pleasure Mrs. Ferlin, and miss..." he said turning his gaze towards Frey, she noticed he was tall, and even though his clothes were loose, he was well built, a knights or soldier built.

"This is lady Frey of house Lunebleau" replied Mrs. Ferlin, Frey greeted the young man with her practiced lady bow, Mr. Nord must have studied the courtesy of Loire, for he responded with and old and elaborate knight bow.

"A pleasure to be your acquaintance, lady Lunebleau, I am Nord Stern" he extended his hand, palm looking up, so that she would place hers, a very old knight's custom in Loire. His hand was large and callused but very warm and gentle, they touched just for a moment before she retrieved her hand. She could see why Mrs. Ferlin liked the man.

"Mine as well, Mr. Stern, are you a knight?" Frey wondered; he sure looked to have been built like one as she noted his broad shoulders.

"Please, lady Lunebleau, call me Nord" he said smiling, she nodded, "I like to think myself as one, yet technically, I am not" he finished. Frey was confused by his response, but Mrs. Ferlin looked intrigued.

"If we may inquire, from what of the Empire are you from, Mr. Nord?" Mrs. Ferlin asked, she seemed to understand something from his words.

"I was born on Danan, but I was raised in the north, Leven, to be precise" he looked at Mrs. Ferlin expectantly. The northern part of the Empire was made up the former Strauss Kingdom and the Leven Territory, Frey felt clueless about what the Feydan man meant.

"My, my, a Norkrieger then" Mrs. Ferlin replied.

"You astonish me master librarian Emeryn" said the young man happily. Frey looked as confused as before, Mr. Nord noticed it.

"Allow me to explain, lady Lunebleau" he said beaming "A Norkrieger is a word from the northern common, it would translate as a gentle warrior. Norkriegers are the northern equivalent to your knights, but they are unbound and well, not knighted perse"

"They are like wandering Knights then" the lady replied after considering his words for a moment, and the man smile grew wider.

"I think that is a more accurate and clear description of a Norkrieger, I will use it from now on, if you don't mind, lady Lunebleau" he smiled at her, he had a pair of turquoise and sapphire eyes, contrasting his pitch-dark, and the young lady could not help but smile back at his honest response.

"You are part of the delegation, Sir Nord?" The young Feydan man, Nord, had not missed how Frey had addressed him. After she knew he was something akin to a Knight, making the young Feydan smile had managed to grow wider somehow.

Frey felt very curious about this young knight who had come to the library this early in the morning. She did not mean, knights did read, it was just that the ones she knew were very stern on their duties, and the younger ones were always trying to show off, she could picture her cousin trying to impress every lady or girl in sight, especially if they were visiting another country, but she could not imagine them visiting a library.

"I am, lady Lunebleau, but I came here as a war advisor, I will not be taking part in the main talks" he said with a solemn tone. Both Frey and Mrs. Ferlin were surprised, he could not be more than a few years older than the young lady, he was much too young to be a war advisor.

"You have served on the Boreal glades" Mrs. Ferlin was making an statement. The Boreal glades were the border between the Glacial Orcs and the Empire. Glacial orcs were bigger than their mountain and hills brethren who often skirmished with the Kingdom. The young Feydan man, nodded.

"Master librarian Emeryn, as I said from the beginning, your knowledge is incredible" he made a small bow once more "I have been stationed on the glades for some time. It is one of the best places to look at the stars at night, enjoy simple but delicious meals, yet I am afraid it is filled with bad tempered orcs, and full of straightforward and honest folk" the Feydan said delighted at the old librarian, and smiling from ear to ear, and Frey was having no problem getting used to the that incredible smile.

"But please, even though I will gladly answer any questions you had about me, I am curious on what you wanted to talk about. I would love to hear your and lady Lunebleau point of view regarding our situation" Frey felt the young man was being honest, he seemed really interested in hearing them out, that had surprised her. He liked how polite he was, most people would refer to her as lady Frey, he did not, as she looked with curiosity to the young man, for a moment, their eyes met, did she blush? She wondered.

"Why don't we sit down and talk about them" He gestured at the surrounding chairs, both ladies nodded, Frey was glad to take a seat with his inviting smile, but she did not miss how he had taken their attention and took over the small space. He quickly pulled a chair for Mrs. Ferlin and a second later had done the same for Frey.

"Was there anything in particular you wanted to know about our delegation or that you were discussing?" He asked curiously, Mrs. Ferlin turned towards Frey with a strange look on her face, and Frey felt a chill down her spine.

"Some of lady Frey peers, were wondering about your prince" Mrs. Ferlin began in very serious tone and she looked directly at Frey, who was horrified and embarrassed thinking on what Mrs. Ferlin was about to ask the Feydan man. The young man, Nord looked puzzled but nodded "You see Sir Nord, some of the young ladies were wondering if some of the rumors regarding your prince are true" Frey was looking worryingly at Mrs. Ferlin, the young man looked stoic for a moment, then he smiled.

"I think, I know of which rumors they are worried about" he said looking at both woman, Frey could only respond with a half-smile completely embarrassed, Mrs. Ferlin however seemed delighted "The first concern your peers should have, is if our prince has a habit of drinking the blood of virgin maidens, am I correct?" he asked completely serious, Frey almost choked on her spit, Mrs. Ferlin smiled and nodded.

"Let me assure you ladies, our prince does not fancy, nor practice drinking blood of virgin maidens. However from time to time he tries to engage in conversations with them, with different levels of success, but you should not be worried about him, and if I may offer a little insight on him, he has an interest in reading, as I suspect you do as well, lady Lunebleau, you could tell your peers who are still worried to keep themselves from the library" the young man looked intensively at the already embarrassed Frey, her vivid silvery blue hair contrasting her rosy cheeks on her fair skin, but before she could reply he continued.

"Neither does he have horns or tail, I have noticed that tends to disappoint some people, but he does have a fey feature" Frey felt his eyes looking straight at hers a remarkable spark of joy in them with his grand smile "I think those should be the main concerns of your peers, lady Lunebleau"

Frey knew he must have heard her conversation with Mrs. Ferlin, for a second she had thought he may have been mocking her, but he was not, but rather the situation "I understand the concern, rumors travel quickly, and our country does not have the best reputation, that is something we are hoping to change" he delivered another enchanting smile to the ladies "We came hoping to find an agreement with you Kingdom, we believe there is much to gain from it for both of us"

"Did you offer the same courtesy to the Kingdom of Faerun?" Frey asked looking straight at the Feydan man, who stopped smiling, but his eyes remained set on hers.

"Lady Frey!" Mrs. Ferlin admonished instantly, Frey bit her lip embarrassed, Mrs. Ferlin was right, it was a very rude thing to ask, especially since the Feydan man had been nothing but honest and cordial to them, she had not been rude in the way she asked, but the question itself was rude, and yet it was something Frey had always wondered, the openness of the Feydan had made her ask about it.

"We invited, Sir Nord to talk with us, not to ambush him, apologize, Lady Fredy" Mrs. Ferlin tone was dead serious, Frey knew she had screw up, she looked straight at the Feydan man, to apologize, he did not seem insulted by her question, but rather relieved?... 'What a way to go, Frey'. Frey wanted to know if there was an explanation about what had happened, half the things most Loirians disliked about the Empire were plain prejudice about race and customs. Even the idea of the Empire being a belligerent country, Frey thought was mistaken, except for what had happened in Faerun, hence why she had been so direct about it. She needed to hear the other side of the story.

"It is alright master librarian Emeryn, I believe lady Lunebleau or any Loirian for that matter, has every right to ask as much. This is a very delicate and important matter, our delegation is well aware of it, I am glad, lady Lunebleau was open about it, only by resolving this issue, may we truly begin to trust each other, as I believe must of your concerns are the result of misconceptions " the Feydan man replied without taking his eyes from lady Frey, easing Mrs. Ferlin.

"We did, lady Lunebleau, we sent a delegation to the Kingdom of Faerun, we wanted to reach an agreement of no aggression with them" he answered in a simply, he was stating a fact, which in turn surprised Frey, not much Mrs. Ferlin.

"The war with the Realm of Zel was at its peak, the Empire was focused on consolidating its borders, with that in mind, the Empire reached the Kingdom of Faerun. The Empire wanted and alliance with Faerun, the King, his heir and a few close nobles had a very different agenda in their minds, they were already working with Zel. The loss of the Empress was the result of their work" both ladies were taken by surprise. Frey was frowning, that was not what she knew, Mrs. Ferlin however stood stoic at the Feydan words.

The Fey Danan Empire had been waging war with the Realm of Zel, for some time. The Kingdom of Faerun shared borders with both countries so it was only a matter of time before they could be dragged into the conflict one way or another, and the scale would tip one way or another.

What Frey knew was that without warning the Empire had advance on the border city of Lemus from Faerun, the result was a massacre so savage, Faerun's army had not muster the courage to rally against the Empire. The Empire marched unchallenged straight to the capital, were they seized the castle and ended Faerun's royal line.

Those where the facts know to Frey. Loire and Faerun had always been allies, as word spread of what had happened, the remaining nobles of the fallen Faerun called on their allies of Loire, and an army was rallied. The Empire however did not pursue the war, instead ceded a large part of Faerun to Loire, and tried for every diplomatic measure to stop any conflict for escalating.

The Kingdom of Loire did not press for conflict, as the war between the Empire and Zel had reach an end and were cautious to face the full might of the Empire. Faerun was taken over by the Empire and Loire, and for four years diplomacy had been played by both parts resulting in the delegation from the Empire.

"I am sorry if what I said contradicts what you take for granted" the Feydan said making Frey wake from her train of thought "We have brought proof of this, the King and your high officials have already looked at it, that is why our delegation was finally allowed to come" the Feydan man said with a solemn tone.

"I do understand your concerns, lady Lunebleau, any Loirian, would have them, especially after the Kingdom took in the remnants of Faerun. I am aware of our reputation, but as I told you, we have proofs that I hope will soon be made public, I understand if there is still some contempt for the Empire, but facts should be clear. Don't misunderstand me, we know how close you were with Faerun, we only hope that your decisions are not based on misconceptions" the young man seemed very sincere and preoccupied, as if he had a say in what the Empire decided.

"That is why, I would love to hear, any ideas you would like to talk about between our nations, lady Lunebleau. I appreciate your honesty regarding your concerns, only by voicing them can we have an opportunity to explain ourselves, so, if you have any other, please let me know. I might offer a different point of view if nothing else" as the young Feydan finished his explanation, he gave Frey and Mrs. Ferlin a very different bow, a Feydan one, Frey supposed. Mrs. Ferlin said nothing on the matter, yet Frey felt a real regret coming from the young man, she felt his eyes conveying something to her, and she was certain he was telling the truth.

The Lunebleau family was one of the original founding houses of the Kingdom of Loire. They had always been supporters of the royal family, and staunch defenders of the Kingdom. Their lands where on the east border opening to what was now known as the warring lands. Regarding the Fey Danan delegation, Frey's father had always been in favor of reaching an agreement with the Empire. The orcs on the warring lands, had grown in number and power, and orc raids would soon be at their door. If the Kingdom did not have to worry about their west neighbor, they could focus on the growing eastern problem.

She had heard her father saying, that the King of Loire understood the advantage of an alliance but feared it could be a ruse from the Empire, that had stopped the diplomatic relations to grow. Her father had been surprised, when news came regarding the king's acceptance of the delegation and wondered what had changed the King's mind. If what sir Nord, said was true, then the King and high officials had found the Empire's evidence enough.

The Feydan was right, Frey had been a bit warry of him from the beginning. Did the Empire deserve the benefit of the doubt? Frey eyed again at the young man. You needed to take all the facts into account before you could make any judgement. She would give at least this man the benefit of the doubt, and his charming smile and curious eyes, had nothing to do with her decision.