I watch the city burn, these dreams like ashes float away...
Lilitha had very little knowledge of kingdom politics, but she nodded politely as Leilan told her of his childhood, filing the information away in case the subject came up again in the future. “They put more faith than I do in the fairies and their benevolence. I won’t be chased out of my home, not on a flimsy promise of safety.”
She listened to his invitation, head tilting slightly as he spoke. “To clarify. This may not be a kingdom, but we would not belong to either Icicle Isle or Nerine. Taiga offers your lands no allegiance. I would be open to continued discussions and a positive relationship, but we would not function as Nerine’s or Icicle Isle’s herd land. Unless the we you meant was Beqanna at large, I need that to be very clear. We may lie in the same direction, but Taiga belongs to no kingdom.”
She felt no need to point out that there were other ways to reach Nerine than by land. After all, he was right. Most people would need to travel through Taiga to reach Nerine. She’d walked the new perimeters, and they stretched from coast to coast, with Nerine bordering them to the North as he’d mentioned, and four other distinct lands and a river sprawling across Taiga’s southern bounds.
She merely nodded and added, “I suppose we’ll see in time what the future holds. In the meantime, I intend to keep my land and her people safe to the best of my ability. I wish you well in doing the same.” And watched him leave, returning to the north from where he’d come.
...your voice I never heard, only silence.