19.0

Zyrdicia awoke from her dream with a start. The cold uncertainty of her dreamworld melted away, vanquished by the cozy warmth of a fire in the nearby hearth. Demons dissolved in her mind, leaving her tucked safely in a nest of soft, silk sheets and fur. She sighed deeply, relieved. The pleasant aroma of spiced tea mingled with the fragrance of cedar burning in the fireplace. The room's curtains had been drawn to block out the midday sunlight. Warm, comfortable and safe, she felt a million miles away from the dreamworld. She rolled over, expecting to find body to cuddle against. A twinge of lingering pain between her shoulder blades reminded her that not everything in the dream was unreal.

The space in bed next to her was already vacant and cold. She pressed her face to the empty pillow and inhaled the familiar scent of its departed occupant, wondering how long she had been asleep. It could not have been more than a few hours. She remembered seeing the frost on the windows turn pink with the sun's first rays shortly before she drifted off.

"Sleeping beauty awakens." Dirk's amused voice came from behind her, across the room.

"Doesn't it take a kiss from Prince 'Harming' to awaken Sleeping Beauty?"

"Wrong story, I'm afraid. Wrong title, too. The prince in question is now king!"

"Hm. Then I get to play the role of the wicked queen instead. Shall we send a basket of poisoned apples to Castle Baaldorf?" Zyrdicia mumbled into the pillow idly, trying to remember the details of that particular story. Something about huntsmen and mirrors. . .

"Suitably delivered - by an army storming the castle's gates."

She turned and propped herself up on the pillows, ignoring the gnawing soreness of her upper back. Dirk had already shaved and dressed; he looked as though he had been up a while. He stood in the open doorway leading to his quarter's antechamber. She heard voices in the other room. He stood so that he could both watch her sleep and confer with whomever was out there. It looked as though he was trying to ensure personally that she did not fall prey to demonic visitors.

The thoughtfulness pleased her, though she was baffled by how she had felt the dark tendrils of the dreamworld with him so near. "Did you leave the room a moment ago?" she blinked, confused.

"Of course not."

Zyrdicia frowned uncertainly, weighing whether to get up. The bed was very warm. The sun was still out. Really, there was nothing more to consider. "Come back to bed! I want to cuddle."

A brief chortle of aborted laugher came from the sleeping chamber's antechamber. Dirk's lethal glare silenced it abruptly.

"Who's out there?"

"My seneschal and your assistant."

"What's so funny to them?"

"Your desire to --" Dirk grimaced as though he could not even say the word.

A spasm of coughing echoed from the other room. It only grew worse when Dirk glared this time. His glare turned to Zyrdicia. "You are never to use that word! Do you understand?"

"No," she answered earnestly.

"It implies-"

"-That we cuddle?"

"Precisely," Dirk answered, nearly cringing at the word.

"What about 'snuggle'? Can I mention that we do that?"

"NO!!"

"So the fact that you cuddle covertly is a state secret?" she laughed. "Like the number of your troops and your battle plans - knowledge of the northern sovereign's snuggling can't come in to enemy hands?"

"Exactly," Dirk answered stubbornly. In the other room, the coughing became less like coughing and more like outright laughter.

"Then I'm sure your secret is safe with Cai and Portia. Between them, they know far more damaging things about both of us."

"Speaking of which, we're discussing the details of the transfer of all of the arcanium profits into my treasury here."

Zyrdicia pulled the black, silk sheet around herself and sighed in feigned frustration. "Instead of cuddling I wake up to your latest conspiracy to rob me? Married less than twelve hours and already you're taking me for granted. . ."

"The money is mine after all," Dirk smirked smugly. "As are you."

With a curt gesture, he beckoned the servants to enter. As he moved across the room, Zyrdicia pointed at the table where the tea steamed on a silver tray. He paused glancing from her to the desired object. He arched an eyebrow in surprise as though he were not quite sure she had dared to try to silently command him.

Her eyes glittered expectantly. She lifted an empty, silver cup from the tray up into the air, and set it into his hand. "Please?"

"Please what?" he demanded.

"Please bring me some tea. I tend to spill things like that when I move them with my mind."

"Say 'please, my lord' and perhaps I will entertain your request," he suggested amicably.

"My what?" Zyrdicia burst out laughing. "Are you sure you don't want me to call you 'my master' instead?" she jeered sarcastically, still giggling.

"An excellent idea. You may use that title as well," he challenged, his lips curling in amusement. He poured a cup of tea, awaiting her response. The aroma filled the room. He glanced at her impatiently. "Do you want the tea, or don't you?"

"Fine. 'Please, my lord.' Or 'my master.' Or 'supreme overload of the universe' or whatever else you want to be called this morning," she complied, still laughing. She found the game inexplicably funny. "Now bring me my damned tea and sit next to me so I can cu-"

He glared at her sharply, silencing the dreaded word.

"Oops."

She smiled in silent thanks when he handed her the silver cup. He then sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. "Your obedience leaves much to be desired."

Zyrdicia ignored the reproach. She inhaled the steam from the tea, pleasantly surprised. The sweet aroma was unmistakable. It was a prized, very strong tea that only grew on the upper slopes of the Shadow Spires. It was expensive, rare and distinctly Lyrian. Someone must have had it imported for her. Her home city's influence upon this world was inexplicably comforting. If only we could import the weather, she thought idly, her mind wandering. Hm . . .maybe I can do that now. I wonder how to go about it . . .

"I was just explaining to-" Portia hesitated a moment, then grinned, "To your husband-or should I say your lord-or is it your master? I'm totally confused now."

"Me too," Zyrdicia nodded. She whispered to Dirk, "We didn't really do that last night, did we?"

A toxic glare was his only reply to the facetious query.

Portia continued, "I was explaining to him that there is -" She stopped abruptly when she realized Zyrdicia was not listening.

Zyrdicia peered at Dirk curiously. "Wasn't there something in the marriage contract about a duty to cuddle whenever I want?"

"Hardly. But there was, indeed, something about your duty of obedience."

"Just because I promised to obey you doesn't mean I'll actually do it," Zyrdicia grinned, nudging against him playfully. "Submission is something you have to earn on a daily basis, if you expect me to play along. Bringing me tea in bed is a good start."

Portia shot Cai an annoyed look. Not only had she been interrupted, now she was being ignored entirely. It was as though the pair had either forgotten their servants were standing there, or simply did not care. Portia cleared her throat loudly. The instant their heads turned toward her, she continued quickly, "As I was saying - there is a problem with the money."

"Problem?" Zyrdicia repeated wide-eyed.

"We have changed so many plats to gold bullion in recent months that it has altered the gold market. The cost of gold has skyrocketed - and it's purely a product of our economic interaction with Karteia. Now speculators are buying every ounce of gold on the market to try to catch the wave and profit off your need for it. Lyr is in a period of inflation anyway - that means that not only are we hemorrhaging plats every time we convert them to gold, we are also hemorrhaging plats by subsidizing the cost of consumer goods in this world. It's a disaster."

"I'm tired of problems," Zyrdicia complained petulantly. "I'm sick to death of them. I pay people to deal with them. Pay them more and make it go away. I want to play and enjoy myself. I deserve it after the month I've had."

"Of course you do," Portia reassured. "But you have to deal with this one personally. It's already been put off far too long."

Zyrdicia sighed unhappily. She usually foresaw these sorts of things well in advance. It frustrated her to have been caught by this one unaware.

Portia continued, "The cost of everything in Lyr is going up. Prices in the Dagonian market have been kept artificially low to stabilize the economy here. Your half of the arcanium revenue has provided the necessary cushion to do that."

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You were preoccupied with Baal," Portia replied defensively. "You wouldn't have listened. The entire world has been on hold since late-October, Zyrdicia!"

"Oh."

"Anyway, the accountants in Lyr want you to let the prices here float with the market."

Zyrdicia shook her head adamantly, "Out of the question. The accountants are too stupid to be of any use. They don't know the economy here."

"We've weathered inflation before," Cai noted defensively.

"Not like this. If I took the controls off the market, prices would be a nightmare in a fortnight. It was all carefully orchestrated to prevent that effect. It would take a whole cart-load of kolnas to buy a single bag of Lyrian grain if that happens. Everyone here is now dependent on Lyr's food supply. They would go back to being starving and unhappy. I'm too fond of being adored by them right now to choose such a course of action." She looked at Portia, "What else did they suggest?"

"That's all."

Zyrdicia took a long sip of tea, thinking. "The need to convert plats to kolnas is the root of the problem. We can manage the currency supply and inflation here quite effectively if Karteia trades in standard plats, like the rest of the world."

Portia nodded slowly. "That's a major undertaking."

"How much is all this costing me right now?" Dirk demanded.

Portia answered, "This week, on the order of twenty percent was eaten up by the metal trade. We could eliminate that loss entirely if you used plats."

"There's another advantage to changing the currency, my lord," Cai suggested quietly.

"And?" Dirk prodded curiously.

"The South's economy is already in tatters from the ruined harvest and chain of disasters. We could isolate them economically. If we had a separate currency, we could eliminate all black market trade to the South. No food at all would reach them. The financial pressure would complement your military attack."

Zyrdicia smiled, surprised at Cai. "Exactly! Why lay siege to just a castle when you can do it to a whole kingdom?"

Dirk was silent, weighing it in his mind. Zyrdicia set the tea cup on the bedside table and leaned forward so that her cheek rested against the back of his shoulder. She coaxed quietly, "You saw what I did in Dagonia. Trust me."

"You have asked me to do that quite often lately."

"Have you been disappointed yet?"

"On the contrary." In most things, she somehow always exceeded his expectations - and his expectations were impossibly high. He stared hard at her for a moment, pondering it. Using her to slaughter his southern enemies was one thing, but giving her so much power domestically was quite another. "I won't relinquish control of my economy to you."

She moved her cheek from his shoulder to the side of his neck and whispered, "But based on what I remember of last night, I now answer to you. Wasn't that the point of all this?"

"I'm pleased we are finally in agreement." He had no doubt, however, that she was merely using flattery to get her way. Her motives were unmistakably transparent.

"So you'll do it?" she coaxed.

"You are certain it will further the starvation in the South?"

"I promise."

"I will permit a new currency. A new coinage to commemorate my ascent to the throne would be fitting. But I warn you, do not to make a single decision about the economy without my explicit authorization. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," she smiled triumphantly.

Dirk glared at the servants still standing in the center of the room. "Is that all?"

Cai and Portia looked at each other nervously. Portia began, "Now that the betrothal and coronation are behind you, we thought..." Her voice trailed off.

"Well, Sire, we hoped..." Cai tried to pick up her sentence then lost nerve as well.

"That you would dare to bore me with sentence fragments?" Dirk mused sarcastically.

"We both need a vacation," Portia blurted out quickly.

"A vacation?" Dirk repeated, as though the word were foreign.

"Just for a few days, my lord. A week at most," Cai explained apologetically.

"A vacation from what?" Zyrdicia demanded, baffled.

Cai and Portia looked at each other. The answer 'from you both' hung silently in the air, unspoken. Portia sighed, "The last few weeks have been awful. I'm absolutely exhausted."

"The guests are leaving later today. The castle has never been as well ordered as it is right now," Cai pleaded.

"You are both going to be so busy with the South, you won't even notice we're gone," Portia added hopefully.

Zyrdicia thought a moment, intent on making up unnecessary work before granting the request. "Portia, you haven't audited the corporate divisions in years. Now that you have time on your hands, do that first."

"But-" Portia stopped. She knew better than to argue over a pointless request like this. Zyrdicia never cared about audits. Once or twice a decade she showed up to the offices and rummaged through people's brains. If anyone was disloyal or stealing from her, she killed him. It was that simple. The audit was completely unnecessary, and it would take weeks.

"If you do that, as far as I'm concerned then you can have your vacation. Just be sure Charles and Anthony stick around." Zyrdicia nudged Dirk expectantly.

"One week," he agreed reluctantly. "After the new currency is in place and we see the South prostrate with starvation."

Cai and Portia looked at each other uncertainly. They would both have to work like hell to earn the time off.

Dirk added, "Zyrdicia and I shall depart for Kirilia in a week. I expect the currency conversion to be well under way by then. In the mean time, increase the guards at the border. Search everyone passing through. If anyone is caught smuggling food to the South, see that they are nailed to a signpost along the road and left for the wolves. Burn whatever food the smugglers carry - be sure the fire is within sight of the border so that the southern peasants see it!"

"As you wish, my lord," Cai replied. "By your leave."

"Go!"

Cai took Portia's arm exited quickly. Both wanted to be gone before either of their bosses had a chance to have a change of heart and refused the request outright.

"When did they become so attached to each other?" Zyrdicia frowned when they were alone. She had never imagined Portia being attached to anyone but herself.

"Some time ago. It makes me mistrust them both." Dirk's expression darkened slightly. He suspected Cai's judgment and loyalty were clouded - and he was certain Portia's were.

"Why are we going to Kirilia?"

"To arrange to transport an invasion force to the ships and confer with my admiral about the details of the assault. And to meet this mysterious sea monster your demon friends have now placed at my disposal."

"It wouldn't be because it's a warm, tropical island with great beaches and we just got married?" she smiled, nestling against him.

Dirk's brow furrowed in confusion as though her remark seemed nonsensical to him. "Of course not."