169 The Grand Ball of Vanadis (1/2)
”You want what?!” asked a merchant.
The other merchants' eyes were also bulging while looking at Timothy and at Lucia beside him. The jolly celebration was interrupted by his sudden announcement and the guests began to congregate around them. The guards were alarmed.
”Like what King Timothy said, we want to hire your galleys” said Lucia
”Hire? Commandeer you mean!”
”You got it wrong citizen” Lucia tone was sharp ”We want to hire your galleys. You will get compensation”
”Compensation my arse! What if my ships are sunk? What then?” Said a fat merchant.
”Aye! And I bet their compensation does not amount much. My ships are better sailing with goods on their deck and trade in their purpose. We are not in the business of lending ships!” Said a noble who was also a merchant.
”We have rights! You may be our Queen but our ships are ours”
Timothy clicked his tongue. Their disrespectful behavior towards Lucia was starting to annoy him.
”Calm down gentlemen. Are you not talking to your Queen?” Timothy looked to the side ”And that's not the only thing we want tonight. Where is the ambassador of Borondi if I may ask?”
”Here I am Your Majesty” Answered a young man with thick eyebrows and curly hair in fine clothes.
”Ah. Let me be frank. We want an alliance with your nation”
”An alliance?” The ambassador frowned. ”Your Majesty, my liege did not send me here for an alliance”
”But we are offering you an alliance” Lucia said, nonchalant to the ambassador's protest.
”And why should I agree?”
”Because you will see that it is the best course of action” Timothy smirked ”An alliance will benefit both Borondi and the Union. Lutan is on the verge of declaring war against you. Having an alliance with us will prevent that. At the same time you could help us against our enemies”
”What are you saying!?” Exclaimed a noble in the group ”You are opening another war with Lutan! Six wars you brought to Vanadis. Don't make it seven lad”
”Lad?” Timothy raised an eyebrow ”I may be younger than you but I am still the consort of Vanadis and the King of Castonia”
The noble just lowered his head.
He again turned to the ambassador who was shaking his head.
”And you are still against an alliance I suppose?”
”Nothing against you personally Your Majesty. But this is a big decision for my nation”
”Just tell the truth. You don't trust that the Union will prevail against Calgari, Tulosa, Wismar, Inkit, Canton and Hadea”
”Yes” The ambassador looked at him in the eye. ”You are at war with six nations. You are surrounded by enemies. Wismar alone has an army comparable to Castonia. Add to that the other five nations you are also at war with and nobody would want to get involved in your squabbles”
”You don't believe in us” Timothy smiled ”But you must. Let me show you a presentation of our competence”
”A presentation?”
Timothy rose from his seat. He presented a smile ”There are other guests that are yet to arrive. Those sweet rascals surely took their time. They took detours before coming here. Some went to the front gate of the city, the others sailed to the harbor before coming, some even went to the sewer. Pardon their smell by the way. The sewer is not known for its fragrance”
The frowns on their foreheads were heavy. Timothy gestured for Abraham to open the door.
The creaking of the door of the great hall made the guests turn around. Several men in chains were permitted inside.
Timothy held Lucia's hand and both of them walked forward.
”These people tried a coup tonight”
The guests murmured loudly. Meanwhile Timothy was relieved to see William still alive and not in chains. He took a deep breath and continued.
”I know that many of you are confused. A coup? But the night has been peaceful. There haven't been soldiers running around the palace. The ball was marvelous. How could there be a coup? Well honored guests, that is because we knew what they will do tonight and we prepared. The threat they pose was negligible and the damage they did was even more so. They thought that their little games would succeed. They thought that flawed plans would work against us. They thought wrong”
”And are we safe now Your Majesty?” the same fat merchant who had a disrespectful tone earlier asked. He was now humbled, probably after seeing powerful men in chains.
”We are. Everything is under control. We are lucky that the Queen is smart. She saw through their plans. But imagine if the Queen failed to notice their plan. Vanadis would have been ruined. Danger lurks in every corner. Whether you like it or not we are already at war with six nations. Whether it suits your business goals or not, we cannot deny the fact that we are surrounded by enemies. Enemies from both the outside and inside. You think your petty coins can save Vanadis once the Wismar and Calgari attack by sea? No, they will loot the city and steal all of your gold. Only a huge navy could stop them. You think of wars as mere disruptions of trade. As you can see, war is closer to home than you think”
He looked at the merchants ”We need your ships”
And then at the nobles ”We need people to fill our ranks”
”We need your resources and you need us. Only the Queen and I can save you now. But we cannot save you if you don't help us first. We are not just some young couple who decided to be monarchs. We are the kind of people who can stop a coup while arranging a marvelous ball. You want evidence of our competence? Look at their chains. You want evidence of the danger we all face? Then you should see how high their confiscated swords pile in the garden”