(OOG: Read the title. ^.^ I didn't pull it out of thin air. Important post #1.)

Despite the change of seasons - or rather, what Shevat's calendar claimed was a change of season - Aquavy was blanketed with hot, moist air, more reminiscent of Summer than early Fall. The terrible, sticky feeling that came with humidity made Cyrene wish for the cool, open air of the higher altitudes, and she silently cursed the Diablos gears for interfering with her country's ability to /move/. Shevat had been a mobile country for most of her life, and being locked in one place again after so many years, especially in weather like this, was simply unbearable.

With a faint sigh that she hoped did not reach her Ministers, she opened her silk fan. Why in the world had she decided to conduct this meeting outside, instead of in the cool, air-conditioned environment of her office? "What do you propose to do, gentlemen? Our hands are tied, as far as Bledavik is concerned. Solaris's handhold upon Aveh will have to be tolerated for now."

"And what about Kislev?" Levine wiped his forehead with a hankerchief, looking even less thrilled to be caught out in the afternoon heat than she. Between his heavyset frame and the weight of his state robes, she knew he must be sweltering. "Even if Parliament approves the breaking of the treaty, we cannot allow Solaris to hold the entire continent in their grasp. That is exactly what they've wanted for the last five hundred years."

"I agree." Minister Shan nodded to his collegue, toying with the end of a long, blonde ponytail. "However... we have not the manpower at this time to oppose them. If you recall, we planned this alliance with Kislev with the intention of using their military, and that is no longer an option."

Synclair, at her side, smiled humorlessly, seeming untouched by the heat despite his heavy attire. She envied that. "We cannot spare anything. I've done my best to muster our resources, but my conclusion is the same: we must reserve our military force within our own territory. Should Solaris decide to attack again, we will need every man we have to keep them at bay. Aveh and Kislev will have to wait."

Cyrene flexed the hand holding her fan and turned partially away from them, reaching out with her free hand to run her fingertips lightly over a red rose. One thing could be said about Aquavy's miserable summer temperature - it did wonders for her garden. Everything was in full-bloom. That was part of the reason she had wanted to spend time out here, even at the expense of interfering with this meeting... the other being purely political. Her Ministers were lovers of cool, dry climates, which was exactly what Shevat normally enjoyed; she knew the heat would unbalance them, and that suited her purposes at this time. Only Synclair seemed truly uneffected.

There seemed to be a pattern to these meetings she had with her ministers. After five hundred years of convening, discussing, and arguing, it all seemed to blend together into a blur. Something would happen, the cabinet would meet... for months, the topics would hardly deviate. Then something else would happen, and the cycle would begin anew. Unanimous decisions were unheard of; after a few centuries, everyone became so set in their ways that they sometimes disagreed simply on principle. Only Parliament /moved/... unlike her cabinet, its members constantly changed. There were no long-lived lords present in that body, with the exception of two minor councilmen. But they held no influence, unlike her Ministers.

Like Solaris, the power in Shevat was stagnating. Something would have to be changed... but unfortunately, with such special circumstances, she doubted she could find anyone else as well prepared to handle Solaris as these men before her... If they would just be willing to /move/ once in awhile... Synclair and Shan were better about that than the other two, at least.

"My queen?" came a soft inquiry, and she nodded. Minister Urien, this time - the quiet one. She still didn't quite know what to think of him - he rarely presented his opinions during these meetings, seeming satisfied to vote silently, and only speak when his department came into question.

"I have no intention of leaving Ignas to Solaris." Carefully avoiding the thorns, Cyrene plucked the rose from its branch, twirling it between her fingers. "I don't want to see them get their way any more than you do. However, with our situation as it is, I'm afraid they will just have to wait. Rebuilding our own country comes first, do you not agree?"

A slight turn of her head once again revealed the miserable forms of Levine and Shan, and she offered them a slight smile. Their discomfort almost amused her, though she herself was suffering from the effects of the heat as well. Levine especially; Shan had actually been more cooperative lately, and she wondered why. Sudden changes like that simply didn't happen without a reason.

Shan gave her a long-suffering look. "Please, my queen, if you must make sport of us, at least indulge our curiosity..." Levine threw him a sharp frown, and he shrugged with a smile reminiscent of Synclair. "Please, not another lecture on the rules of conduct. I do remember them..."

Cyrene breathed a short laugh, waving their conversation away. "Once Shevat's condition reaches green I'll consider your proposal, Levine. Until then, we simply can't spare the manpower. Kislev will figure things out; meanwhile, we will have count on our agents to conduct distant operations."

Urien bowed his head in assent. "I will support that decision. The conditions within our city are still a far cry from what they once were; we must improve our own affairs before we interfere with Ignas again."

Levine nodded somewhat stiffly, and Shan offered a small bow. Synclair followed suit, with a murmured, "As the queen commands."

Cyrene lifted the rose, and inclined her head to inhale its soft, sweet scent. Good enough for now, she supposed - all things considered, she thought the session had gone rather well, even if it was a bit long. Now she would just have to watch, and wait. "Meeting dismissed."

"That was quite unbearable. You do know that, don't you, Cyrene?"

She smiled grimly, still toying with the rose she had picked during the meeting with her Ministers. She had shed her heavy velvet robe and sat primly at her desk, thanking every diety known to her for the blessing of an air-conditioned office. She felt much better now that she was free of that confining drape of a robe, though she likely wasn't quite as comfortable or relaxed as Synclair appeared to be; it really was quite inappropriate for him to tip his chair back like that, but it wasn't worth the trouble of protesting. If it tipped and fell, he would learn his lesson.

"You looked fine, Synclair... I thought you were rather enjoying the heat." She flicked the rose at him and leaned back in her chair, smiling again when he let his chair fall to catch it. His reflexes were as sharp as ever, as she could see. "I thought Levine looked ready to strangle you for putting on such an aire..."

"I wouldn't put it past him." He shrugged, letting the flower dangle. "He has taken a more hostile stance in Parliament of late; something must have happened."

She sighed. "I've noticed a similar change in Urien, though it has been more gradual... But I'm afraid I'm never quite sure what goes on in his mind, even after all these years. He has become very adept at hiding his true feelings."

"He's always been like that. I remember his father as a harsh taskmaster... His home alone was steeped in more political intrigue than the entirety of Parliament. It is no wonder he turned out this way."

Cyrene could understand that situation well. Her family had been similar, although thankfully, she couldn't remember much of it. Most of her life had been spent in the palace, either serving the queen or serving /as/ queen, and she hadn't ever taken the time to return to her old family. Her father's political schemeing had been what ruined them in the first place - House Korine was still languishing in the lower ranks, thanks to his actions. At least Urien had been more fortunate.

"I'm curious..."

She raised her eyes to her guest again, raising an eyebrow. "About what?"

Synclair straightened and leaned forward, his eyes caught between gray and ocean blue. "Do you plan to honor the Festival's traditions, this year? The question has arisen in Parliament recently. What do you intend?"

"That has come up in Parliament? Odd." Cyrene dropped her gaze to the rose in his hand, tapping the edge of the desk with her fingertips. "I see no reason not to. If we tighten security and close the areas still under reconstruction, it should be safe enough."

His eyebrows lifted. "Then you will not close the gates to outsiders?"

"No." That would have been the logical decision, she knew, but something in the back of her mind refused to sit peacably with the idea. Maybe it was the Purine Festival itself; the event had always been intended to honor Sophia, and perhaps she was reluctant to break yet another promise... That young, radiant girl had left more of an impression than Cyrene cared to admit to herself; Shevat's betrayal was a stain on her memory.

"You /are/ obsessed." Synclair rose and approached the desk, gazing down at her with concern. "Is that the only reason you won't close the city?" She didn't answer. "My queen...?"

A stain - black and set in stone. "It will do the citizens good to have relief from the stress of rebuilding. If we are lucky, perhaps we will even find a few trustworthy travelers to aid us... For all Solaris's power, its agents are still few when compared to the rest of the world."

"And they are also quite a bit smarter." The rose twirled between his fingers, a flash of crimson. "Or at the least, clever. You know their spies will try to find a way in once the Festival starts."

"The ones we know are preferable to the ones we do not. A good set of records will provide us with the names we have to watch." She paused, her eyes still fastened to the rose - it was safer than meeting his gaze directly. He had grown to know her far too well. "But I do not think they will bother with us when they still have to maintain their foothold on Ignas. It won't be easy for them to keep both Aveh /and/ Kislev in line at the same time."

Synclair nodded; the rose halted its spin. "That's true... I can't say Intelligence needs any more aggravation, but I admit that I would rather see the festival go on. I just hope you're right, my queen... or it may cause us trouble, in the future."

"I know." Cyrene pressed her lips together, flattening her hands on the surface of her desk. She felt so frivolous for doing this, when she knew it would be safer to close the gates and conduct the celebration without the presence of Nisan's clergy... but it was tradition to allow them in, just as it was tradition to allow Aquavy as much of a taste of Festival Purine as they could get outside of Nisan. The nation may only remember Shevat's part of its history from the text books, but it lived on in her memory.

She wanted to honor the memories. Then at least she could do /something/ right.

"We'll do what we can." She looked up as Synclair's reply broke the silence between them and he took her hand, placing the rose - the stem now stripped of thorns - onto her palm and closing her fingers around it. "I should return to my office now."

He waited for her nod, almost as if asking for permission, and bowed with his usual grace when she gave it. She didn't want him to leave, suddenly; she wanted very much for him to stay. It was so /lonely/ to be the queen... Everywhere she went, she felt the weight of an entire nation on her shoulders. If she made a mistake, they would suffer for it. If this decision was the wrong one, Shevat would fall farther into trouble, not out of it. That responsibility was her life, but sometimes...

She watched him leave, her fingers still clenched around the stem of the rose. Sometimes... she would give anything to have someone to share it with.

(Summary: Cyrene decides to leave Ignas on its own for awhile, and to allow the annual festival to go on as usual.)