Once More 6

Once More

Vasilis

 The anomaly had only been gone a second before the doorway to the hall opened. 

"I thought he would never leave." A blonde, short-haired girl in a green dress, the same one who had been leaning over the ramparts to watch earlier, walked in. "Sorry, it's been tricky to talk to you with him around and it took some time for Leto to get an anomaly in here. His father appointed me to talk to you about what you need. Improve diplomacy skills, you know." She smiled easily and held out a hand. "You are Vasilis, correct? Prince Vasilis, if I understood Tern correctly. I hope we can understand each other a little better."

This was a complication he had not planned for. If he'd known Tern would be so foolish as to rush into the anomaly without him, Vasilis would have stuck to him closer. Now he was alone with a strange girl, and his only sure friend and ally was nowhere to be seen. Manners and diplomacy had never been his strong point—the only diplomacy Goblins understood involved invading any camps that came too close to their tunnels—but it seemed he was going to have to use what little he'd been taught.

There was something predatory in the girl's smile. His instincts told him that physical contact with her was a bad idea, but refusal to shake her hand would be rude. Doing his best to smile, he shook her hand for exactly the amount of time necessary to convey trust and politeness. There would be time for defensiveness and hostility later.

"Just Vasilis is fine," he said. "You would be?"

"How rude of me. My name is Arista."

The cousin, Vasilis thought. The less-than-savory one. Leto's employer. The would-be murderess. The one who sent the assassin after Tern in Reverie. For all intents and purposes, this is the enemy.

Vasilis kept his face blank, but he wished he'd reconsidered his decision to make nice. "Where is Ternnath?" he asked instead.

"Oh, with his father, most likely." She gave a pretty shrug. "I'm not quite sure."

"I'd prefer to know that for certain. Until the appearance of the latest anomaly, he was my guide in the castle."

Arista's next smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "That is something we can discuss," she said. "But I assure you, Ternnath is safe within these castle walls."

As much as Vasilis hated to admit it, it was probably unlikely Arista would harm Ternnath here. Not only would it be incredibly stupid to murder a Prince beneath his father's nose, but he doubted she liked getting her hands dirty herself. She'd dispatched Leto and the assassin to deal with Tern, after all, and if there was no way to prove it was an accident she would be a fool to do anything outright.

No, the girl was dangerous and clever, but not careless. Physically, she was strong—he could tell by the way she carried herself that she was skilled with weapons—but Vasilis knew he could still outmatch her in a fight even after six months without practice. Until very recently, war had been his entire life; the girl had started much later. If he needed to, he was sure he could remove her without even alerting the castle guards.

He crossed his arms. "I'm curious as to why you're here," he said to Arista.

"His Majesty thought it best that someone a little more… experienced… in the ways of diplomacy meet with you to assess your needs," Arista said. "I'm sure you agree that while Prince Ternnath has a good heart, he's hardly competent in something with such a delicate nature as this."

Vasilis curbed the urge to rise to Ternnath's defense. Arista was looking for Tern's weaknesses, and if Tern's earlier comments in Reverie were to be believed, a friendship was just something else to be exploited to the Prince's disadvantage. Of course, she was clearly looking for Vasilis's weaknesses, too, and it wouldn't do well to show her more than the barest minimum of his personality. If there was one thing he understood very well, it was another predator.

"So if you're here for diplomatic relations, what exactly are we negotiating?" he asked.

"Negotiating? Oh, it's nothing so serious yet," Arista replied. "This is just getting to know each other a little better. You see, there was a bit of confusion in regards to who you were, where you came from, and how exactly you know Ternnath. We were hoping to clear that up."

Ternnath had told Vasilis to reveal the truth, so he decided that was the best course of action. It would be best, however, not to reveal all of the truth. In times like these, he found it was best to adopt the demeanor of the Goblin Prince he used to be. He set his shoulders differently and fixed Arista with a cold gaze. The less he seemed to like Tern as a person, the less Arista would have to exploit against either of them later.

"My name is Vasilis, as I have said," he told her. "I come originally from a world called Reverie, where I was once addressed by the title of 'Prince.' I met Ternnath when a rogue anomaly sent him to my world. I assisted in returning him home. After he left, I was relocated to Earth and am known simply as Vasilis. I ended up here because another rogue anomaly appeared in my bedroom and dropped me here. When I learned where I was, I sought out Ternnath for help. As I had so generously helped him to return home, I assumed I would be granted the same favor. Frankly, I'm tired of running around this castle and not getting any answers or help. The best way to assess my needs, Lady Arista, is to stop wasting my time with such trivialities as small talk and actually take me to someone who knows how to send me home. Whether that is Prince Ternnath or the King or the Listener, I don't care. But I would prefer you drop the charade of concern and deal with me honestly one way or another."

Arista's smile hadn't wavered, but now there was a strange gleam in her eyes. Vasilis couldn't tell if it was anger, fear, mockery, or some combination thereof. "Oh, I do think we're going to understand each other very well, Prince Vasilis," she said. "And I have the feeling we're going to get along just fine. Let's get down to business, shall we?"