Alain sat at the desk he and Sophie shared, in the large library of their Saint Aldwin home. He had his own elsewhere, a small study on the second floor he used on late nights, when dark thoughts (or one or more hungry mouths) kept him out of bed; but the library desk was for collaboration with his partner in crime. It was where the two of them, and sometimes Harper, had researched the mysteries of the Tree of Life and plotted the ultimate downfall of Ad Lucem, where they had given voice to the ideas that killed Maureen Rae -- and nearly Alain, too. It was less often now that their machinations seemed so dark, the stakes so nakedly dire, but the notes either of them left here were the notes they shared, even edited and responded to in the other?s absence.

A fire crackled about twenty feet away, orange light spilling past the tall shadows of a cluster of armchairs, and Alain glanced at the squat black baby monitor on the corner of the desk? then past it into the flames, their reflection dancing in his eyes as he traced the scars on his right palm. He inhaled for a deep sigh -- it hitched painfully, right beside his ribs, and he muttered something in Newbreton French about a hockey player and mooses in heat as he turned his gaze back to his notes.

Q&A sessions, propaganda posters, and other political materials from this year, and from years past in RhyDin. He brushed the tattered pieces of a golden beer label off of a poster of a clenched orcish fist, and tipped the bottle back for a long drink.

Sofia could be impossible to clothe but the Saint Aldwin designers that she had preferred knew her taste well enough by now to know that there were three fundamental rules. No floral ever, it must be edgy, and if it could be sexy while covering the worst of her scars then it would score bonus points. Tonight?s gown was a black sleeveless piece that had swirls and whirls of gold embroidered into grand patterns on the fitted bodice and a skirt of draped black tulle. And at the end of the dinner that the Leroux family?s annual dinner to support the Sonja Refugee Foundation, the gown was generally decided to be both appropriate and stylish.

When Soph had smiled for as long as she could and thanked the host and hostess as many times as she could manage, she quietly suggested to her security team that a reason should be found to get her out early.

And, thus, it was not painfully late when young Sir Nathan opened the front door for her. ?Thank you, Nate. For everything tonight. Get some sleep.? The door shut behind her.

The house was as grand as one would expect given their titles but, for some reason, she never had any trouble finding Alain within the house. That little pull inside of her always guided her in the right direction. It was a compass needle that she was well attuned to heeding.

She stepped into the doorway, setting a hand on the woodwork to peel off her heels one by one. ?If you don?t have another bottle, you?re sharing that one.?

Alain heaved another sigh, this one more careful than the last and accompanied by the edge of a smile; the bottles in the six-pack rattled as he hauled it up from underneath the desk, setting it within Sophie?s reach. When she drew near to grab one, he beckoned and leaned out of his chair for a kiss.

?Kids are asleep. They were little angels tonight -- if peeing on the nanny is angelic.? He tipped his beer back again, and took that moment to study her. The brown lines around his eyes were faint enough that he?d only been sleeping poorly for a few nights. He set the bottle down and gave his bearded jaw an idle scratch. ?How was the dinner??

He didn?t speak to the new notes on their desk? not yet.

Sofia groaned as she sank into his lap after that kiss, reaching for a bottle. The bottle was tilted towards him. She, of course, could open it herself but? well, this was easier. ?If I had to explain to Monsieurs Leroux or Copet one more time that I know nothing of regulated taxes I was going to lose my mind. In the end, I finally reminded them that I was an art history major and they nodded sadly as if they felt it had been a wasted period of my life.?

?Art history with an eye to stealing priceless relics and slaying demons. They can go to hell,? Alain laughed as he took Sophie?s bottle, ?and take their sympathy with them.? He popped the cap off with an opener mounted underneath the desk, just out of sight, and passed it back to her. ?Taxes? are part of the price of building a society that lifts up the wretched. But if I wanted to talk Christendom and moral imperatives with Monsieur Leroux, or Monsieur Copet? I would have canceled my very thrilling meeting on a??

He made a face, dug a small black tablet out from underneath a leatherbound journal, and swiped through a few things until he found it. ?...microclimatological impact assessment on our current and alternative seven-year infrastructure development plans.? He dropped the tablet onto the desk, grinned up at her as he slid an arm around her waist.

?Have you been watching the politics in RhyDin? The latest election??

?Fascinating,? she murmured sarcastically, stealing a kiss from the corner of his mouth as she blindly took the bottle from him. The pair of questions caused a moment?s hesitation. RhyDin. The only reason she went to RhyDin anymore was to visit Rhovniks and then she never went south of New Haven. ?God, no. Are they still trying to govern themselves??

He waved a hand to say ?so-so,? and added, ?There have been some successes? Things under Ebon?s administration have been quiet, if nothing else. But this election, it?? He paused, finished his beer, then reached past her to grab a summary: a write-up by a junior SPI analyst, one Simon Ygabe. Siblings had a habit of following fallen agents into that agency? He left the write-up in front of her. ?A faction called Humanity First tied for first place in the primaries. They?re running on a platform of advancing human interests, and for partial-humans to have a ?second-class? role, while they are less specific about full nonhumans. Officially they claim to support a hands-off role for the governor?s office, that it holds no meaningful authority; however, they claim to have some success in segregating another planet, dividing the sentient species there into separate colonies? with, of course, no word about the effects of such mass displacement, nor the means by which people were motivated to move.?

He paused. ?RhyDin will always make impulsive choices? but I worry about how it affects us. Many of our asylum-seekers, especially escaping slaves, come to us from RhyDin. These people could? complicate our railroads.?

The entirety of it caused Soph to take a long swallow from her bottle before setting it down to reach for the report. Her eyes scanned over it, brow creased, even as she spoke. ?That?s utterly bizarre. They are claiming to be hands-off and, yet, also claiming that they have success subjugating a population? For ****?s sake. This is exactly why we do not live there anymore. Well, that, and, you know, trying to run a country.?

?I?d like us to increase the garrison at the New Haven Lodge -- call it a training regimen, pair Seamus with a parkour instructor, and transfer a few out to the Bretland Lodge for survival training to legitimize it -- and begin converting one of the old properties in Dockside or Old Temple into a new lodge. Someplace with a basement? the closer to our embassy, the better.?

He reached for another bottle. ?It will turn a few heads? It would need to be by my leave and yours. So, barring that? I?d at least like to prepare embassy staff to deal with asylum-seekers, mock up a declaration of non-extradition and put it before SPI?s political analysts. See what they make of the impact it will have on a potentially hostile RhyDinian governorship.?

?You wish to plop Seamus down into the heart of this madness?? She breathed in a breath and released it slowly, knowing it was an unfair question. The report was plopped back down onto the desk, though her gaze lingered on it for a couple moments. ?You won?t be able to half-*** this. If you wish to increase our visibility then? we shall need to increase our visibility within the city.?

Alain was visibly careful with the long inhale before the sigh. Sophie knew the damage Maureen?s people had done to him when they seized the Tower. He wanted to drink, to finish another bottle already, but let it dangle from his fingers as he weighed her words. ?Seamus knows the city well? but as Knight-Captain, I need him at the New Haven Lodge. The new lodge? I was leaning towards Parr. He knows the area well, he knows Fio??

He slid his eyes over to her. ?If we?re to be visible in RhyDin, visibly invested, how do we sell it to Drasill?s public? Charitable initiatives of some kind? Business??

?I don?t know, Alain,? she murmured as she sunk in further against him. Her bottle remained on the desk, nearly forgotten. The contact, though, was causing the tension to drain from her form. ?Isn?t this part of what becoming a developed, powerful nation means? We cannot afford to be isolationist. If people like Leroux and Copet are concerned with the tax burden of seeing to our current citizens, can you imagine what that burden would be like if we were inundated with refugees? If we are lucky, our visible presence alone in RhyDin will be enough to make the citizens of RhyDin listen to their better angels.?

?Unfortunately,? she continued, gently, ?this requires their better angels, as the American President Lincoln called them, to be present and be vocal. So, Lord Sovereign, are you prepared to be one of these better angels??

Alain rubbed his jaw again, brown and white whiskers scratching audibly? and then he cut a sly look at her. ?Careful, Soph, or your proverbs will go to my head. We call on Fio, Jaster, we make ourselves visible, rotate some knights, make a few statements??

He tipped his head, and his beer towards hers in salute. ?If we?re lucky, we nip this **** thing in the bud. To our country? and the plight of those beyond our shores.?

She reached for her beer once again, shooting him a flicker of a confident smile. ?And to the better angels of our nature. May God allow for them to prevail.?