05-25-2015, 06:06 PM
so you wanna play with magic?
Perhaps this will be the start of the wedge that divides them.
Camrynn feels the moment of shift in Pevensie, the moment when she decides to move ahead in her role as queen. But whereas Camrynn has always emphasized that they must move forward together, now Pevensie is moving forward with something Camrynn considers unwise, and it is quite clear that it isn't up for discussion. The black mare keeps her face carefully neutral, not betraying anything of what she thinks – and goodness knows she's an excellent actress, so there would be nothing to indicate to Pevensie that she's run afoul of her co-queen.
If it were just a decision made without consulting her, that perhaps she could live with. Likewise, if it were a bad suggestion made for discussion, perhaps. But as it is, it's an alliance with a kingdom that Camrynn considers weak (their numbers are so few, and their healing water is nothing to a kingdom with two magicians) that comes not from anything to do with the Deserts, but from loyalty to the Falls itself. Polite and neutral though her face is, Camrynn cannot believe what she is hearing. Pevensie is the queen of the Deserts, not the Falls – kindness is one thing, but to owe them? She owes nothing to anyone but the Deserts.
Neutral and entirely impassive, betraying nothing of what she truly thinks, the black mare nods. Not that it mattered – clearly the only way for Cam to have stopped the alliance would be to somehow restrain Pevensie with magic, or erase her memory. Both of which would seem rather contrary to the goal of supporting the Deserts and strengthening it at all costs.
And so the incident is simply filed away, the first – and, she desperately hopes, the last – such incident where Pevensie will run afoul of her.
The little mare is talking again, asking her about herself. It's small talk, and Camrynn knows it. She may respect Pevensie more than the average mare and therefore stay (more or less) out of her mind and out of her history, it's not hard to perceive the aura of distrust that seems to permeate her once-mother. Not that she doesn't deserve it; any reasonable horse would be a little wary after what had happened during the crown competition, how she'd suddenly aged so quickly. But shouldn't she have earned more than that by now? Once again, she is annoyed, but hides it well under her usual relaxed, placid exterior.
"Nothing new with me." she answers easily, lying. There's always something new with her, and if not with her, then with the world. "I'm terribly dull." she says, her voice the mock-mournful tones of one who complains without really meaning it. "I think the most exciting thing that's happened to me recently was Gumby jumping to catch a stick in the air, rather than waiting for it to hit ground." She snorts.
There is silence for a moment, Perhaps if Camrynn were less seasoned in politics or less goal-oriented in general she would let the conversation drag, find an excuse to duck out, and thereby risk Pevensie noticing that something might be wrong. But she is not; she is Camrynn, and diplomacy (and manipulation) comes as naturally to her as breathing. "You know, what you said about the Falls, that's got me wondering." she pauses again, her voice pensive and far off as though she's thinking. "What if we were to offer help to any kingdom that was suffering unfairly? Not an alliance with every kingdom, that's a recipe for disaster, but an agreement that if they are attacked without provocation, or otherwise suffering from an unfair raid or occupation, they can come to the Deserts, seek our help, and know that their requests will be considered?" she looks back to Pevensie now. "Of course, we'd have to consider how that would impact our alliances, but at least in my opinion, an alliance does not mean automatic support if one ally instigates a war." she pauses for a moment. "I don't know about you, but if the Amazons start a war of conquest, unprovoked or with some flimsy justification, I would not want us to support that." she is quite certain that her co-queen will agree on that point.
"Obviously, if we've agreed to engage on the side of the invaders – like if there were to be something akin to the Valley raid that occurred a few years back, where the raiders were clearly fighting evil – then the attacked can't expect us to accept their petition for aid. But other than that, we could at least offer to consider petitions. With Yael and myself in the Deserts, making sure the petitions are truthful wouldn't be an issue. We could even put it to the kingdom for a vote."
She pauses for a moment. "We talked in the meeting about whether we should be a kingdom that hangs back and creates a safe haven, or one that actively seeks out those who would do evil. Perhaps we can find a happy medium by being the kingdom that lifts up the oppressed, and strikes down those who are clearly oppressive. Or at least, we can try." she says the last part with a smile.
"What do you think?"
Camrynn feels the moment of shift in Pevensie, the moment when she decides to move ahead in her role as queen. But whereas Camrynn has always emphasized that they must move forward together, now Pevensie is moving forward with something Camrynn considers unwise, and it is quite clear that it isn't up for discussion. The black mare keeps her face carefully neutral, not betraying anything of what she thinks – and goodness knows she's an excellent actress, so there would be nothing to indicate to Pevensie that she's run afoul of her co-queen.
If it were just a decision made without consulting her, that perhaps she could live with. Likewise, if it were a bad suggestion made for discussion, perhaps. But as it is, it's an alliance with a kingdom that Camrynn considers weak (their numbers are so few, and their healing water is nothing to a kingdom with two magicians) that comes not from anything to do with the Deserts, but from loyalty to the Falls itself. Polite and neutral though her face is, Camrynn cannot believe what she is hearing. Pevensie is the queen of the Deserts, not the Falls – kindness is one thing, but to owe them? She owes nothing to anyone but the Deserts.
Neutral and entirely impassive, betraying nothing of what she truly thinks, the black mare nods. Not that it mattered – clearly the only way for Cam to have stopped the alliance would be to somehow restrain Pevensie with magic, or erase her memory. Both of which would seem rather contrary to the goal of supporting the Deserts and strengthening it at all costs.
And so the incident is simply filed away, the first – and, she desperately hopes, the last – such incident where Pevensie will run afoul of her.
The little mare is talking again, asking her about herself. It's small talk, and Camrynn knows it. She may respect Pevensie more than the average mare and therefore stay (more or less) out of her mind and out of her history, it's not hard to perceive the aura of distrust that seems to permeate her once-mother. Not that she doesn't deserve it; any reasonable horse would be a little wary after what had happened during the crown competition, how she'd suddenly aged so quickly. But shouldn't she have earned more than that by now? Once again, she is annoyed, but hides it well under her usual relaxed, placid exterior.
"Nothing new with me." she answers easily, lying. There's always something new with her, and if not with her, then with the world. "I'm terribly dull." she says, her voice the mock-mournful tones of one who complains without really meaning it. "I think the most exciting thing that's happened to me recently was Gumby jumping to catch a stick in the air, rather than waiting for it to hit ground." She snorts.
There is silence for a moment, Perhaps if Camrynn were less seasoned in politics or less goal-oriented in general she would let the conversation drag, find an excuse to duck out, and thereby risk Pevensie noticing that something might be wrong. But she is not; she is Camrynn, and diplomacy (and manipulation) comes as naturally to her as breathing. "You know, what you said about the Falls, that's got me wondering." she pauses again, her voice pensive and far off as though she's thinking. "What if we were to offer help to any kingdom that was suffering unfairly? Not an alliance with every kingdom, that's a recipe for disaster, but an agreement that if they are attacked without provocation, or otherwise suffering from an unfair raid or occupation, they can come to the Deserts, seek our help, and know that their requests will be considered?" she looks back to Pevensie now. "Of course, we'd have to consider how that would impact our alliances, but at least in my opinion, an alliance does not mean automatic support if one ally instigates a war." she pauses for a moment. "I don't know about you, but if the Amazons start a war of conquest, unprovoked or with some flimsy justification, I would not want us to support that." she is quite certain that her co-queen will agree on that point.
"Obviously, if we've agreed to engage on the side of the invaders – like if there were to be something akin to the Valley raid that occurred a few years back, where the raiders were clearly fighting evil – then the attacked can't expect us to accept their petition for aid. But other than that, we could at least offer to consider petitions. With Yael and myself in the Deserts, making sure the petitions are truthful wouldn't be an issue. We could even put it to the kingdom for a vote."
She pauses for a moment. "We talked in the meeting about whether we should be a kingdom that hangs back and creates a safe haven, or one that actively seeks out those who would do evil. Perhaps we can find a happy medium by being the kingdom that lifts up the oppressed, and strikes down those who are clearly oppressive. Or at least, we can try." she says the last part with a smile.
"What do you think?"
CAMRYNN
co-queen of the deserts, magical, mother of badassery
Cranky Cam is cranky XD