She's got the devil's eyes

She had tried to warn Castile once. Had told him anything that might affect her kingdom would always be a concern of hers. He had chosen not to heed that warning, however. Either that, or he genuinely believed her weak. Either way, he had made is lack of regard resoundingly clear.

So really, it should come as no surprise that his allies are discovering this and fleeing left and right. Whether or not it is with the help of her whispering in their ears is irrelevant. She only speaks the truth, after all.

He really should not have made the mistake of underestimating and dismissing her.

In that way, Ilma and Heartfire share a great deal in common. So, really, it comes as no surprise to the roan queen when the lovely former queen seeks her out. While they might differ a great deal in how they choose to attain their ends, ultimately, they each have the same goal. Heartfire merely has fewer qualms about using the more… unsavory methods of bringing that about. Still, she knows Ilma is an intelligent woman, despite their relatively brief acquaintance. And in the end, the only conclusion she could come to as that in some things, there is no middle ground.

Sometimes one has no choice but to choose a side.

For Heartfire, that had been simple. She had made the decision not to involve herself in the petty squabbles that had come before. But Castile, in his infinite wisdom, seems to have taken that as an invitation to set his sights on Nerine. A mistake on his part. He seems to have so easily forgotten just how long her reach truly is. Brawn is not the only strength (nor even the best, in her opinion) one can possess.

Ilma locates her easily enough. But then, she had already been aware of her arrival. Had moved to meet her even before the soft call sounds. Heartfire may not lay claim to the ability to see into the endless possibilities of the future, but she has an insight, and an intuition, of her own.

“Hello Ilma,” she offers in greeting as her easy steps bring her to a halt a comfortable distance from the pale woman. “I was wondering if you’d come.”

Perhaps they did not know each other well, but that has never prevented Heartfire from gleaning any information she could. And what she knows of Ilma had told her long ago she would never be content remaining on the sidelines. After all, one doesn’t rise to the role of queen if one doesn’t house at least some ambition in their heart.

and they'll cut you like a weapon

She's got the devil's eyes

She had never been a woman to sow discord without a very compelling reason. And now, she had been given that reason in spades. Unluckily for those who might oppose her, her time had not been spent in idle silence. There are many who no doubt believed it had been such, but they would be sorely mistaken.

And truthfully, what had those coming for her expected? After all, friends do not flee allegiances simply based on the word of a woman like Heartfire. She simply has the ability to locate cracks in those foundations and apply the appropriate amount of pressure.

The thing about doing that is that it inevitably does not just cause one crack to split wide, but instead creates a spiderweb of interconnecting fissures that spreads much wider than any one eye can see. And only a fool would not take advantage of such a thing.

Heartfire had always kept herself well-versed in the goings on of Beqanna as a whole, and so Ilma’s separation from her former home is no secret to her. There are those that had taken Ilma’s kindness as weakness, but Heartfire is not among them. Perhaps it took those with gentler souls a longer period of time to reach the threshold for action, but once reached there was no more righteously determined foe than one who’s generosity had been extended beyond their very limits.

“I can imagine,” she agrees wryly to Ilma’s comment about having things to process. Though she rarely discusses the things she is privy to, she knows Castile had not been especially kind to her.

And the lack of such things on Castile’s part, not just with Ilma, but many, many others, would ultimately lead to his downfall. Heartfire may not be particularly kind herself, but she does at least have an understanding of the art of not alienating those who could be one’s allies. And any olive branch she might have offered to Castile had been as handily swept beneath the rug as Ilma’s had. Just as many others had.

All of that, to bring them here. Two unlikely co-conspirator’s standing before one another, as different as the day is from night.

“You’re not mistaken,” she affirms easily. Of course, anyone who paid even a small bit of attention would know that. She had grown much less quiet in her dealings of late. “Though I think it is not so much a matter of whether I will have you as it is a matter of whether our immediate goals align.” Her lips twitch faintly at that, blue eyes gleaming as she peers steadily at her companion. “And if you’ve come to realize a warmonger could never truly understand peace, then I believe we’ll do just fine together.”

She pauses then, giving Ilma the time to formulate a response before pushing onwards. “I do think your suggestion would prove… beneficial. It would be good to know if any unrest might be brewing on that front.”

It went without saying that was the last thing they needed at this point in time. Not that she hadn’t the ability to bend such things to her benefit, but simplicities sake, she hoped it wasn’t necessary.

and they'll cut you like a weapon

She's got the devil's eyes

Though it had never been her intention to find the fine line between diplomacy and war, somehow she had at a very young age. Since then, she had walked that line as though it were a broadway and not a tightrope. Of course, her abilities had lent her a fair amount of stability when it came down to it, but eventually it had grown even narrower.

Fortunately Heartfire hadn’t the morals to prevent her from falling onto whichever side she deemed best. Nevermind the fact that she had been pushed ever so slightly. Of course, they had failed to recognize the skill that had kept her there so long, to their detriment. Castile might scream betrayal, but he’s the one who had proven the first betrayer.

“Peace and conquering only go hand-in-hand if your opponent is weaker than you are,” Heartfire replies idly. Her observation had not been made to illicit a response, but rather to provide insight. That was, after all, Castile’s greatest mistake. His erroneous belief that everyone must think like him. It was the only explanation why he, and Lepis, believed peace could be brought about by the might of one’s army. And their belief that Nerine was weak had inspired their latest transgressions. Castile had accused her of needing the support of his allies to defeat him. What he’d failed to consider was how she had won them to her side in the first place. Men like him believed only in the might of the strongest army, but Heartfire knew just how strong words placed in the correct ears could be. She didn’t need an army when she could open his own allies eyes to the truth.

“A pity, perhaps,” she agrees mildly, “but, as it happens, Castile no longer has support from them.” There is a faint gleam in her eye as she considers Ilma for a moment. It goes without saying they hadn’t withdrawn their support without help.

She grows thoughtful when Ilma asks if there is anything she would like to offer. After a moment she says, “You can offer them friendliness, of course.” A faint smile touches her lips briefly then. “And information, if they have the means and will to ask for it.”

and they'll cut you like a weapon