When Cerys received the letter from her sister, she was ecstatic. She wouldn’t stop talking about it, wondering how her sister got married and she couldn’t even see her dressed as a bride. And then she got depressed, said it was all her fault because she left her family and now her sister probably resents her. Next, she started to badmouth her father, babbling about how he probably made Astrea marry some old weirdo. 

“We need to go there now!”, she screamed one day. “Rikka, we must go right now! What if we get there too late and Astri decides never to talk with me again?” 

“Love, she said that everything is okay. And even if we wanted to, we can’t leave here today. We need to put everything in order before going anywhere”.  

“So, we must work fast! I will get my suitcase ready!” 

It didn’t matter that it would take us weeks until we could leave the manor, and the journey itself would take almost a week. When the lands of the country were divided, the dukes took the cardinal points and the marquises the collaterals. Hence, we have the four dukes: Vilhjálmr in the north; Rhydderch in the West; Etxeberria in the East; and Conwenna in the South. The four marquises are: Arud, northwest; Argyris, southwest; Zubizarreta, southeast; and us, the Laukkanen, in the northeast. According to the letter, Astrea’s husband, the third prince, kept the royal’s summer mansion that is between the Conwenna and Argyris’s dominium. Basically, we’ll have to cross the country to get there. Try to explain that to your wife who hasn’t seen her baby sister in eight years. 

“Bowen! Let’s go see auntie Astri?”, she asked our six-year-old. 

“Who?” Bowen looks a lot like Cerys, but his personality is mine. His serious face makes him look like an adult, not a young child.  

“Aunt Astri, I told you about her”. She answered childishly, as if his comment broke her heart. 

“Doesn’t she live on the other side of the country? Mom, are you planning on running there or doing something inconsequent again?”, sometimes, our kids were too mature.  

“You’re no fun, Bowen”.  

It took a while to make her calm down and come to terms with the fact that we couldn’t leave everything and go to the other side of the country. And on the way there, she acted like a kid with the typical “are we there yet?”. However, when we arrived, she was exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep. She later felt frustrated because she didn’t give her sister a big hug. I already came to terms with the fact that my wife is a big ball of emotions, but she still makes my life a pleasurable unpredictability.  

“Love, let’s go to sleep. You can just give her an even bigger hug tomorrow”.  

“Okay, but just because I’m basically asleep already”.  

However, when she saw her sister the next day, she was uncapable of saying anything. I looked as she politely saluted her sister, in a distant and extremely formal way. I could see that she just wanted to throw away all that formality and jump into her sister’s arms, but she contained herself. We talked about this before, how she felt guilty for leaving her family, for abandoning her mother and sister to deal with a toxic and narcissistic father. But I could see in her actions that Astrea was much like her sister, be it her temper or personality. Cerys is much more bubbly and more enthusiastic, but they are both smart and stubborn women, with strong opinions about what they want and what they hate. And both want to just hug each other.  

When we arrived, Cerys main concern was her sister’s sudden marriage. Although Astrea tried to explain in her letter, Cerys was still not sure. Even in her sleep I could see her exclaiming get away from her. Cerys grew up in the Conwenna household, but she has been in the cold of the Laukkanen territory for almost a decade. Beyond her frilly exterior, she was fierce and overprotective. I could see her fight a terror and win.  

The next day, the maids called us for breakfast. We all sat at the table together, but not even the kids dared to speak. Repeatedly, I saw the sisters make a move trying to strike up a conversation. They never succeeded. However, I took my time to observe how the newlywed couple behaved to each other. It was normal for them, as hosts, to sit at opposite ends of the table; still, they chose to sit as close as possible. The expression on their faces was of joy when they looked at each other, and I saw their anxiety diminish with proximity.  

After that, the maids took the kids away to a playroom and the hosts invited us for a walk. The prince asked me to keep him company in the office, since the chair made it difficult for him to go through the fields. I understood that he also wanted to let them have some time alone to deal with their own issues.  

“Thank you, your majesty”, I expressed.  

“For what?” He asked.  

“For understanding the situation and letting them solve it all by themselves”.  

“I don’t know as much about the situation as you do, and I’ve just recently met Astrea.  Still, there are some things I must understand her conditions and pay attention to her needs if I want to have a good relationship with her. And she needs to talk to her sister. I’ll not try to convince you of my feelings or something like that. I believe it is neither the time nor place for it”.  

“Well, speaking as in-laws and husband to two strong willed women, I know that no matter what I do, they are the only ones capable of solving their own problems”. I answered. 

“Agreed”. 

“And they will never solve it if they don’t talk about it.” 

“And they will never willingly talk about it by themselves”.  

“Yes. But, right now, all we can do is give them the opportunity to talk it out. I’ll try my best to give them as many chances as I can”. The prince said, expectantly.  

“I’ll do the same”.  

For an outsider, this conversation was a simple interaction between in-laws. However, with a few lines you can establish a pattern of behavior, loyalties and ideals. With his positioning, he wanted to prove himself as a reliable and loyal husband, and that he would stay at his wife's side and help her in every aspect she could. My relationship with my wife is famous among nobles, and the public deemed us the “ideal couple”; hence, by putting himself as a good and trustworthy husband, he wanted to gain my confidence. His efforts, nevertheless, were not empty and, even though I understood the objectives behind his words, I could also sense honesty.  

“Can we talk a little about business?”, he asked.  

“Sure”. Let’s see his true face, beyond those pleasantries, I thought.  

“And, since we are family, I’d advise you to talk without formalities, if possible”. 

“If you wish”.  

“As you may expect, there are many reasons for requesting your presence. You have already been notified about the meeting with the Amin Trade Company. Also, the Moonrise Caravan is arriving tomorrow and shall join us for dinner. They alerted us of their visit just before your arrival, so we couldn’t tell you in advance”. 

Moonrise was not well-known by the great public, and few people had their contact; even fewer could work with them. If they got them in the game, the counterpart they would ask for should be big.  

“We are family now, at least on paper, aren’t we? You can get straight to the point”.  

The higher the stakes, the higher my apprehension. I wondered how much they would ask, and how much control they would have over us after it. 

“Well, there are many things we need to talk about. Even if I try to be direct, I can’t. But if you want, I can summarize it in four points. Firstly, we are very interested in the Laukkanen and your exports. You are responsible for all the mount for the army, but you receive no recognition for your efforts. Most of my life belonged to the military. I know the state of our troops and how they are treated by the Kingdom, especially the nobles. Although, according to the words of our First King, the army should be a meritocracy, only nobles can become officials and rise to high positions. As an abandoned prince, I joined as private, like a regular commoner. We barely had any rations, and all equipment was old and caused more damage to the users than the enemy”. 

“I’m aware of it. The North is a war-state territory, where life itself is harsh. The Kingdom doesn’t allow us to use the troops to keep us from the monsters, so our people became soldiers. As a militia, we are neither organized nor properly equipped. The only time we got to team up with proper soldiers, we realized their situation was not much better. And the Laukkanen don’t have enough power or influence to impact either of the situations”.  

The Northeastern territories had a bad relationship with the King. The horse trade we had with the military was seen as the great achievement of the Laukkanen, but we were constantly operating at a loss. The King pressured us for lower prices and sabotaged our business with other contractors. We became extremely dependent on the trade with the military.   

“I want to change that. The Amin family is strong not only in the Shah Empire but has ensured a trade route through more than fifteen countries. The Glæma Kingdom has maintained a protectionist and nationalist position for too many years, at the cost of our best enterprises. Our market has no place to grow. With the Amin at our side, we can expand the commerce of your horses, while guaranteeing some great sources of produce that is not controlled by the government”.  

“You want to open a trade route with the Shah Empire and use the Laukkanen as a pawn in this operation?” 

“You hate this idea?” 

“Not completely, but we have much to consider. The King is the biggest defender of that position, the protectionist and nationalist estate, and has blocked any venture with a diverse objective. The Laukkanen family already has a terrible relationship with the King Ambrosi, and none of the biggest houses will agree to this”.  

“The King Ambrosi, my father, is a man. He will die, and another will take his place”. He smiled when he said that. 

“And you wish to be that one?” 

“Well, that was supposed to be the last topic in this conversation. But yes. That is the final objective”.  

“And you want the Laukkanen to support you?” 

“Yes. And that’s why I would like to, firstly, strengthen the Laukkanen, and the Falk and Järvinen, if possible. At this moment, Astrea must be having a similar conversation with your wife. The Amin Trade and Moonrise Carvan are just one in a list of powerful partners we have internationally. Although I’m no longer highly regarded as I was as a General, I still have some great contacts in the military and noble families. Also, I oversaw all the negotiations when I was the Second General. I may not seem much right now, but I have a lot to show, not only to you, but this country”.  

“I’m not the kind to judge people by appearances. There is a custom in the northeastern houses that is poorly regarded by the rest of the country. However, we are extremely proud of it. The house heads will adopt children with great aptitudes, regardless of gender or social positioning, and make them prospectus with equal chances of becoming the heir. I was one of those kids. I grew up weak, malnourished and had no formal education. But I was also smart, with a talent for fighting, hunting, and negotiating. With no family to take care of me, I was an orphan living in the streets when my parents, Marquis Calle Laukkanen and Marquise Ritva Järvinen, adopted me and raised me with their children. I was taught to see the potential, even when no one else can. From what I see, your plan may be a good one. Still, I have my doubts. It’s my duty to protect my people, my land and, above all, my family. If somehow you put any of them at risk, then I must refuse”. 

“I understand, and I’ll do my best so all of you are safe and prosperous. My plans may seem hasty, and my objectives delusions. But I no longer want to see this country in the hands of foolish people like my father. People with no regard to whom they hurt and who they make suffer, if they can gain more power. The northeastern territory is just one of the many areas who suffered at the hands of a terrible government”.  

“Okay, so tell me what the second topic is”.  

“Thank you for letting me go back to my line of thought”.  

“Well, I’m interested. I’m also tired of the foolishness”.  

“If my first objective is to strengthen the Laukkanen by expanding its market, my second is to increase and diversify the product. The Amin family works with horses, but also camels and some magical beasts. The Moonrise Caravan is even more daring, focusing on taming wild beasts and researching their use. With this exchange of knowledge, we may also solve one of the problems of the North: the wild monsters”.  

“That is really a hard job, if not impossible. But, if you accomplish that, you will win not only the Laukkanen, Falk and Järvinen favor. And, I guess, that’s your objective: the Vilhjálmr”. 

“Correct. And thus, we enter our third topic. Astrea told me that we could trust you, so we’ll disclose everything. At this moment, the princess must be sharing this information with Marquise Laukkanen. Our marriage was not like other couples, being an aberration even among nobles. Our parents have planned a political marriage between the two of us, a way to not only strengthen the royal palace and the second prince, but to get rid of two hindrances, a.k.a. Astrea and me. Neither of us wanted that.” 

I expected theirs not to be a regular marriage, considering the timeframe and the parts involved. But as it seemed, it was even more complicated. As I gathered my thoughts, the prince asked for a second and went to a cabinet. When he got back, he had a handful of papers that he put on the table in front of me.