(OOG: I hope Mariko is still in character. ^^ I hope the little details are right too - my computer doesn't like the Yahoo site. ^^ It knows better.)

"And Minister Levine is treating you nicely?" Cyrene folded her hands beneath her chin, trying to appear relaxed so her young companion would not be so tense. It didn't seem to work, but it was worth the effort to try. "I've been told that he has been spending quite a bit of time helping you advance your studies to the political standard."

Mariko shifted in her chair, looking up once before her eyes flew back to her books and papers on the table. "He's been very nice... I don't think I'm doing very well, though. My grades weren't all that great in school..."

The girl was /still/ nervous... Was it rank? Circumstances? Or a little bit of both, perhaps? Cyrene remembered feeling more than a little intimidated by the queen when she had first began her service as a handmaiden... but that had gradually disappeared as she realized that the people she was working with in the palace weren't that different from her. Even the /queen/.

Then again... "I'm sorry I haven't had much time to spend on your studies myself, child. That is one duty I certainly shouldn't neglect, now that you're in my service." The girl's nervousness was probably partially her own fault; how could she be expected to get used to accompanying a queen if she was never /around/ the queen? Something would have to change, soon... "The political climate in this place isn't the best at the moment, I must admit... but that isn't any excuse."

"It's okay... don't worry about it." The younger girl gave a quick half-smile, still staring at her paper. "It's not like I couldn't tell."

Cyrene raised an amused eyebrow... but the amusement faded quickly. "Tell me... Have the rest of the representatives and lords been treating you well? And my staff...?" Any other time she might have been grasping at straws, but... despite Mariko's heritage, the fact remained that she had a pre-established image as a 'Lamb'...

"Oh, they've been fine... Most of them don't even pay attention to me. But the maids are nice."

Well, thank god for small blessings. The last thing she needed was the House factions going after the poor girl so soon... She would need more training before she could successfully withstand wahtever plans they might try to tangle her into. Evasion was an art when it came to the political forum.

And unfortunately, the mere act of breathing the air in the palace seemed to have some sort of consequence in the tangle of conflict Shevat had turned into over the last few months. It was ridiculous... Things hadn't been this bad since Shevat had broken off ties with Solaris... and that was almost before Cyrene's own lifetime.

What was it about this time, this era, that bred such dynamic events and conflicts? It had been the same five hundred years ago, during the alliance with Nisan against the Mother Country. There must be, had to be an explanation of some sort. It was like a mirror of the past, if a somewhat warped reflection...

Even down to the queen, and her handmaiden.

"That is an advantage, child... take care that you keep it. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that gaining their notice would be more than a little uncomfortable." She leaned back in her chair, folding her hands onto the tabletop instead. "I speak from experience."

"You don't have to worry about me." Mariko seemed to burrow into her seat, although she couldn't have done more than shift. There was such an air of meekness about her, and Cyrene wondered again how she had survived the harsh teasing in school with such an attitude. Although, she admitted, that very teasing was probably what had influenced her in the first place.

"Perhaps not, but I will anyway." The queen offered her a little smile, to assure that she meant well. "I've dropped you into this mess of a government, after all. Now... has Alda given you all that you need? Have your accomodations been to your satisfaction?"

The girl shrugged uncomfortably. "Well... nothing seems wrong. I can't really complain, though..."

Cyrene tilted her head to regard her young charge, contemplating just what she could say. It seemed that nothing would really make her comfortable - at least not for the moment. "You have status now, Mariko. What you think about your condition matters, here."

"My queen?"

The voice interrupted before the girl could reply, and Cyrene looked up, startled. Synclair's tone didn't bode well. "Yes? Is there a problem?"

"Perhaps..." He nodded politely to Mariko, then continued. "If it isn't a burden, my queen, I'm afraid we need to call a meeting."

Cyrene stood slowly, her limbs suddenly lethargic. No, this definitely did not sound good. But she couldn't let it show - especially not in front of Mariko. She would learn the news soon enough, and she didn't appear to be in the condition to take on her full responsibilities, just yet.

"I'm sorry, Mariko. If you'll forgive me, I have to take care of things - I'll speak with you again, later."

The heavy doors of her study closed with a heavy click, seeming to seal Cyrene's doom before she had so much as turned around to face the men who had followed her. Not only Synclair this time; Minister Levine, head of military command, had fallen in behind them on their way from the library to her rooms.

The situation looked yet worse... and she still didn't even know what they wanted from her yet.

"Well?" She spread her hands, eyebrows raised as they paused to look at each other. "You haven't requested this meeting for tea; what new emergency has arisen?"

"Not an emergency per se..." Levine began, folding his hands behind his back. He looked rather uncomfortable - anticipating an outburst of some sort, perhaps? "Merely confirmation of something we've been suspecting for some time. We need to know how you'd like us to proceed."

"Another war is raging over Bledavik as we speak," Synclair continued smoothly, filling in the gap after Levine's request as if he had planned this, and it was a script of some sort. "Solaris has gone on the offensive, and Kislev is losing ground slowly but surely. Reports are sparse - word has it that one of our agents has been captured, but we do not know for certain - he has been silent for a bit too long, however."

"I see..." Another battle over Bledavik? What was this, the third in the last two months? It was a miracle the city was still standing, much less worthy enough for Solaris's full attention. What was it they wanted so badly, aside from the influence it gave them on Ignas? There had to be something else to it.

Cyrene turned away from them and headed for her desk, lacing her fingers together apprehensively. This was not good... She had known Solaris would take the city back some time, but... this soon? The dead would be piling up like the grains of sand in that accursed desert... The Diablos took lives without consideration, Kislev had decimated what was left, and now Gebler was grinding the remains into the ground.

All because she had refused to help them in the first place. 'Best that Shevat remain distant from the surface-dwellers' - that had been her mantra for the last five centuries. Despite Roni's eventual forgiveness, despite the ignorance of his descendants as to her deeds... Shevat had severed its ties with its former allies.

Solaris had the upper hand now. She could have moved in after Diablos, and aided the victims... could have taken Solaris's place. But along that line of thought, she should have tried to help them when the Omega ship had first appeared over their city. But no... Instead, it had been, 'save Shevat, save myself'...

"My queen?"

"I want to be notified as soon as the battle is over. I'll decide what to do when we know the conditions within the city." Cyrene turned just enough to see them over her shoulder. "We can't do a thing for them if we don't know what is going on..."

Levine raised his eyebrows sharply, glancing again to Synclair. "The outcome is hardly in question, my queen. Aveh couldn't stand up to Solaris /before/ the Diablos--"

"I am quite aware of that," she replied softly, slicing through his sentence with a sweep of her hand. "But we cannot undermine their power if we don't know what is going on, can we? Shevat cannot risk direct confrontation right now - you know that. It's time to fall back on our usual tactics, until a better course of action can be determined."

"And what about Kislev, if I may ask?"

She turned her eyes to Synclair. "That... I will take care of as soon as we can establish contact with one of their representatives. We've not had much luck, with Nortune languishing in Solarian hands as well."

Levine bowed, the courtesy silent and stiff with apprehension, before he headed for the door. He was worried, and rightfully so; their alliance with Kislev would be demolished after this, and once Solaris was done with Bledavik... But what could she say to reassure him? Nothing about this situation looked good...

"Jorun..."

He bowed, more deeply and gracefully than his collegue had attempted, and gave her the reassuring smile she wished she could have given them. "Don't worry over the possibilities yet, my queen. Solaris may have the strength to crush the Lambs, but they too were weakened by Diablos." His chameleon eyes glinted in the light from the patio doors behind her, absorbing white light and reflecting blue. "I'll have information for you as soon as I can set up a secure channel to the city."

Cyrene nodded to him, and he withdrew, closing the door quietly. She wished he could stay, but that would interfere with his work... and it likely wouldn't help with the rumors her staff seemed to enjoy spreading, either.

Bledavik was being decimated by warring forces as she stood there; people were dying, children were losing their parents, or dying themselves. Solaris cared nothing for age or station on the surface - to them, they were all just 'Lambs'... Lambs to be slaughtered. And no one would save them... Not even the Queen of Shevat.

A sigh escaped her lips as she padded to the glass doors, step languid, exhausted.

What was to become of them now...?

(Summary: Cyrene pays a visit to Mariko to be sure of her safety, and then receives the news of the Bledavik attack from Synclair and Levine.)