Marquis Lyns didn’t accede to Regina’s demand that he officially acknowledge Kiara as his heir ahead of his unborn baby son. She hadn’t really expected him to.

In retrospect, she knew that her approach might actually have done more harm than good, causing him to get defensive and putting him into a mindset of having to defend his prerogatives. And his concerns weren’t unjustified; obviously, his and Cernlia’s independence were suffering a little.

“You know,” she mused aloud, “I didn’t intentionally sabotage him. But even if I had, given everything else I’ve been doing for Lyns, it would still be a net benefit for him.”

“Definitely,” Max agreed. “He could be a bit more grateful for all the help.”

“Yeah.”

“You know, it’s not too late to look for some other relative of the king — I hear he’s got two bastard sons — and press his claim to the throne.”

Regina turned, frowning at Janis and Max. He was currently walking beside the drone she was riding, while Janis was on a horse diagonally across from her. She met Regina’s gaze without hesitation and looked innocent. It might have worked if she couldn’t tell through the psychic link that Janis was only being half-serious.

“No,” Regina told her with a shake of her head. “Let’s not go that far.”

“Right,” Janis agreed, “we did put a lot of effort into Lyns.” She paused almost imperceptibly. “And we want to help Kiara, not push her further out.”

“That we do,” Regina assured her.

They fell silent and she concentrated on the road for the moment. They had finally left the Delvers’ headquarters, and Regina could tell that she wasn’t the only one a bit relieved by that. She had just started to get comfortable with the place when Galatea mentioned Madris’ concerns, and agreed with them, which had not helped. As it was, Regina was already keenly aware there were going to be troubles and challenges with trying to integrate the Delvers and satisfy their expectations. She didn’t know how she was going to handle these cultural issues.

She rather suspected that it would be impossible to meet all of the expectations they must have from idealized legends and mythology about the ‘Ancient’ world.

Regina chased those thoughts away and instead closed her eyes for a moment as she focused on her psychic senses. She’d kept them open all day already, following Madris’ advice. She’d suspected the dark elf Delver would be a demanding teacher, and she didn’t mind that she was right. They’d barely started and she was already learning a lot.

Madris’ mind was easy to find. She could pinpoint it even in the midst of an army. It had a weight to it most people’s didn’t, but more importantly, the other psychic just felt different to the open, untrained minds of the others, like a stone in a river.

They didn’t use words to communicate. Regina made a request, Madris responded, Regina replied with a concrete suggestion, and a minute later they met in the middle of the moving group. Regina had maneuvered her mount and her companions so she had some free space with Madris, who seemingly melted out of the crowd. Regina could recognize a subtle application of her psychic abilities that cleared a path for her without making people notice.

“Hive Queen,” Madris greeted her with a nod. “There is something I can do for you?”

“Perhaps,” Regina said, a bit hesitantly. She felt uncomfortable asking her for a favor at all, even if she was pretty sure Madris would agree. But she gathered her nerve and continued. “I’m sure you know of my association with Lady Kiara Lyns? You did visit the marquis’ army once, as I recall.”

Madris hummed in agreement. “A rather conflicted man,” she observed. “And a bright daughter. Yes, I’ve met both. I take it there’s an issue?”

“Presumably,” Regina replied. “She’s in protective custody, which I’m pretty sure is just house arrest. I made a few demands and I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to talk to her today, but Lyns isn’t going to give in and the conflict won’t be solved that easily.”

“You want me to check on her,” Madris surmised before she could continue the explanation.

“Yes, please. I’d be interested in your assessment of the state of his army as well, and the political landscape of Cernlia. Essentially, I want to know if there’s anything I should know about. Kiara and I are friends and, frankly, I’d much rather have her in charge than some random guy. Is that a problem?”

“Why should it be?” Madris shrugged carelessly. “I’m sure you know this, but we Delvers don’t particularly care about the Cernlians’ conflicts. Some of us might favor one side or the other, but for the order in general … if you want one of them to win, there’s no reason to object.”

“This is more about the dynamics within one side than the actual civil war,” Regina muttered. “But anyway, that’s good to know. So you’ll do it?”

Madris smiled wryly and half-bowed. “If you want me to, I can hardly refuse, now can I? Don’t worry, Doctor von Woltan, I’ll handle it. I do expect you to keep up your lessons, though. Perhaps a bit of distance will be a useful teaching tool.”

Regina smiled gratefully, but didn’t thank Madris again, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate it. She watched as the dark elf ambled away, her eyes lingering on her for a moment. It was still surprising to realize that Madris was one of the Delvers she trusted the most. Or even one of the non-Hive-members. When had that happened?

Well, when we looked into each other’s minds, obviously, the thought came as if by itself. Regina hadn’t thought much about what she’d seen there, partly because it was private information and most of it didn’t seem relevant to her normal concerns, but she did understand. She’d almost surprised herself with her knowledge of dark elf culture when Galatea had brought the topic up, and her recent lessons had only made her more able to understand what she got from Madris. She wondered for a moment what Madris got from her — just information about her Hive or something regarding her old life? — before deciding she’d ask at some later point.

The next part of their trip passed in silence, and Regina was a bit distracted. She still spent a lot of time in the psychic link talking to her drones and just generally seeing to the affairs of her Hive. Being away from the base and on the road almost offered a welcome reprieve from some of it, although she did want to get back to it quickly. Not that it was that big of a deal, but if she was back at their base she’d be able to do a few things better. And besides, she wanted to inspect their new construction herself.

The rebuilding and restructuring in old Nerlia were proceeding pretty well, all things considered. She’d shuffled Green and some of the other collaborators into positions of authority where they’d hopefully do more good than harm. Marianne Neralt was effectively overseeing them at the moment, although she didn’t have an official title to that effect yet; Regina still wasn’t certain about that, and it didn’t help that Janis and others from her hive were with her now instead of present there.

At least they had enough food that no one was going to starve over the winter, or even go very hungry. They had a few packs of War Drones building houses, some random buildings in addition to what the government (such as it was, and it still felt weird to think of it like that) was planning. Of course, building factory cores or schoolhouses was the easy part. The hive’s printing presses were working around the clock now and the Workers were putting up more of them, and they still didn’t have nearly as many books or written materials as she’d like. And books were just scratching the surface, there was so much more. They couldn’t even start with all the infrastructure she’d like, like electrical lines and heating systems, even if they were building water towers and laying pipes.

Regina was halfway through a report by Mister Green, noting that he’d managed to dial back the groundless phrases and waffling she’d noted before, when Via contacted her again.

She stilled, then let her mount pick its own way and notified the drones she was currently talking to that she’d be absent, before she focused back on her. Via? You’re getting to Kiara?

Yes, my Queen. They’ve let me wait for a bit and insisted on a security check — not that it did much, I wonder what they even think they’re looking for — but I’m about to see her now.

Good.

Then Regina fell silent, just watching and prepared to take over. Via was led into what she recognized as Kiara’s private rooms, although there were still a few knights standing around guarding the door. She recognized Sir Willard at least, who she was pretty sure was loyal to Kiara.

The young woman herself looked a bit worse for wear, but Regina inspected her closely and she didn’t appear abused or injured. Just tired, judging by the dark shadows under her eyes, and taking less care with her appearance than usual, but she couldn’t exactly fault that under the circumstances.

She smiled and got to her feet when Via entered. “Lady Via! A pleasure to see you again.”

“Likewise, Lady Kiara.” Via returned her smile, then looked around. “We’d prefer to speak in privacy, though.”

Something unspoken passed between Kiara and the guards, but it seemed to end favorably. “Through here, if you please.” Kiara guided Via into the bedroom of the suite. Not that it was a large one, she only had this bedroom, a living room and a smaller side chamber. The men stayed outside, though, and Kiara shut the door behind Via firmly.

“I’m glad to see you,” Kiara said, collapsing onto her bed as she gestured at the chair. “I wasn’t sure Father would let anyone in to see me at all.”

“Well, Regina did have to make a point of it,” Via answered, settling into the chair.

Kiara froze for a moment. “Indeed?” she asked calmly.

Via asked Regina a silent question, and she agreed, shifting mentally and taking over Via’s motor functions. She straightened up, deliberately letting her facial expression change. “Indeed,” she said drily. “It’s me. I may have made a few demands of your father. Unfortunately, he has not followed them and confirmed you as his heir yet.”

Kiara just stared at her for a moment, before she let herself slump backward against the wall. “You know, I knew you could do this, but it’s still a bit strange to see you simply take over a drone. Via isn’t hurt, is she? I admit I’m rather fond of her.”

“Of course not,” Regina assured her. “She doesn’t mind this at all. Also, she’s fond of you too.” Don’t bother complaining, she added mentally to Via. It’s true.

I will if you make it sound like I’m interested in her the way Janis is, Via complained. I just find her decently interesting.

Putting it that way wouldn’t help.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Regina asked.

“No, not at all, Your Majesty. I think my father overreacted a little. I was actually going to try and mediate the conflict.” Briefly, Kiara explained about a dead follower and a meeting with some of her more senior supporters, which apparently led Lyns to arrest her.

Regina nodded slowly, considering the information. “Well, I think it’s commendable that you were trying to deescalate this conflict with your father,” she said. “Do you think he’s going to counter-escalate?”

“Well, he has not hurt me yet,” Kiara shrugged. “I can’t say.”

“So, trying to appoint a mediator is off the table?”

Kiara shook her head, then paused, frowning. “I am not sure,” she said slowly. “I thought not, but perhaps … It might not hurt to try, would it? Even if he refuses, I would at least show I am open to talking things out properly. It would acknowledge there is an issue and might seem disrespectful, but at this point, I’m not sure that matters so much.”

Regina smiled. “Sounds reasonable. Would, say, someone from the Delvers work? I’m sure Gwen Cern would agree if I asked her.”

Kiara tilted her head thoughtfully. “That might be a good choice. She would hopefully be reasonably neutral and her bloodline is respected.” Then her face fell. “On the other hand, she is a woman — she would be expected to favor my position by default. And her cousin might stir up a fuss.”

Regina sighed. She supposed Gwen wouldn’t really be neutral, anyway, given her arrangement with the Delvers, she would follow Regina’s wishes. “Well, we can float the idea, I guess. I’m afraid I’ve got nothing else.” She’d really prefer this to be settled amicably, but she had to be realistic about what she could manage.

Kiara nodded, seeming a bit down, and they sat in silence for a short while.

“How are my family doing?” she finally asked, clearly making an effort to keep the conversation going.

“Quite well. Your mother’s pregnancy is really starting to show, and June is making good progress with her magical studies.”

They talked for a few more minutes about her, dodging the heavier subjects. Kiara relaxed a little, although the tension never really left her. Being shut off in her rooms, uncertain when she could come out, would do that, Regina supposed. The conversation trailed off after a few minutes, though, with neither of them very interested in talking.

“Hive Queen Regina,” Kiara finally asked, straightening up, “can I ask, if this does not go well …”

Regina stood up and smiled Via’s smile at her. “Kiara, I will give you the help you need, that I promise you.”

That elicited a relieved smile from the girl. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” You’re my friend. “I’ll try and visit or talk to you again tomorrow. Take the time to rest and try to relax.”

Regina receded to let Via exchange goodbyes with Kiara and leave the room, already turning her attention away, although she still contemplated the conversation they’d just had. At this point, she really only had herself to blame for getting drawn further into this, but she couldn’t regret it.

She focused on searching out Madris and updating her on what she’d learned. The dark elf was already gone, quite a few kilometers from her current position, but that wasn’t much of a hindrance. With her psychic skill, talking to her over this distance was almost as easy as if she was standing next to her, although in a different way than if she was contacting drones of her hive.

Regina hoped that with time, she’d be able to have something approximating this ease with non-psychics, too. It would take a lot of training and hard work, though.