Chapter 19 A lesson in negotiation

❄Snow❄

Every bump, rock, and pebble were felt as the carriage shook and bounced down the road. Snow was inside the carriage with Lussuria and Arthur, while the other two lotus guardsmen were outside on the driver’s seat. They never had this problem on the royal carriage. Her mother probably chose this rickety carriage because they were keeping a low profile. Snow typically didn’t care about the bouncing that was inevitable with all carriage rides, but in this carriage even she couldn’t ignore it. Part of that had to do with the fact that Lussuria wouldn’t let her hear the end of it. Once her sister’s rant on how ‘beneath her’ this carriage had ended, the silence that followed was oddly satisfying. Lussuria calmed down enough to distract herself with one of her mage books and Snow was perfectly willing to let her be.

Unfortunately, Snow also figured she should ask her sister now on what her plan was to seek an audience with Mage Councilman Augnem, rather than wait for later.

“Lussuria?” Snow asked cautiously.

“What?” The level of displeasure contained in that one word made it perfectly clear that while she was calmer now, she was still upset with their travel arrangements.

“How do you plan on approaching the mage councilman?”

Lazerous had claimed that he would accept an audience but surely Lussuria couldn’t just stroll in and ask.

“Augnem? I’m just going to stroll in and ask.”

“I thought you said it would be complicated!”

“I lied. That guild has been begging me to join for months now. Oh, you’ll find this funny Snow, it’s something I learned yesterday. Did you know Augnem invented the Augment runestone? He was also one of the mages that tried to scout me out during the Lotus Celebration.”

“Why do you always have it so easy?” Snow pouted.

“Being the best isn’t easy. I may be a genius, but I still do my fair share of work.”

“Well, can give me advice on how to approach the other two?”

“Who are they again? The Knight Councilor and the Head Councilor?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, time for a lesson with your dear sister Lussuria. Negotiation tactics.” Lussuria closed her book and took out a black feathered quill.

“Pretend like this quill is the vote in council.”

Lussuria handed her the quill.

“Get me to buy it, or in this case vote yes on it.”

Snow examined the quill.

“Okay? We really need you to vote yes on this quill.” She held it up.

“No no no. First, if you go straight to negotiations, you will lose every time. Going straight to heart of the matter makes you seem desperate, especially if you’re the one going to them, and whoever you are trying to negotiate with will gain the upper hand. Try again.” Lussuria gave her the quill and Snow tried to think of what to say.

“This is harder than I thought, do you want me to make small talk first?”

Lussuria tried to think of a way to make Snow understand before she looked at Arthur in a fit of inspiration.

“Hm, Arthur?”

“Yes princess?”

“You try.”

Arthur seemed to be uninterested as his eyes remained fixated on the window. Until he stopped his watch duties to give them his full attention.

“Sure. Give it here.”

Snow handed Arthur the quill. To which he looked at it for a second, spinning it between his fingers before holding it behind him.

“Okay.” Arthur looked at Lussuria. “Greetings Princess Lussuria.”

“Greetings.”

“So princess, it is to my understanding that you are an incredibly smart person, who also has a superior sense of fashion.”

“Hm, indeed I do, thank you for noticing.”

“As wonderful as your outfit would merit, how would it sound to bring some diversity to it without going through the hassle of changing the whole thing, maybe adding something like an accessory?”

“Oh? What type of accessory?”

“I have this pristine Black Crow Quill. It’s unique as you can see because who wears quills? You can wear it as an accessory, and I can tell it would look exquisite on your person. You can pin it to your chest or put it in your hair. Not only that, but as a crow quill, it has a fine point and is capable of easily writing script. A fitting tool and beautiful accessory that compliments someone of your stature and intelligence. Would you like it?”

“Wow Arthur, I think I will take it.” Lussuria took the quill.

Snow couldn’t believe her ears.

“You just came up with that in like a few seconds...and it sounded so smooth? How?”

“Don’t just offer what the project or in this case what the quill is. Offer what they can do with the quill and what it could be. As a mage and someone who cares about fashion the quill would serve her two purposes.” Arthur explained. Lussuria put the quill in her hair, before giving her own assessment.

"Indeed, but it’s not just the argument you chose, you need to consider what type of person you are negotiating with. Is the person prideful? Ignorant? Stubborn? Those things matter and choosing the right words and the way you present yourself can have different effects for each type of person. Negotiating isn’t just using flowery language. It’s showing confidence, having a plan, and reading your opponent. This isn’t even considering the argument they will have and how you should break it down. It will seem difficult, but you have an advantage in that you know who you will be negotiating with. You can formulate a plan.

“I think I understand, I’ve read plenty of Sir Harper’s files and I know some of the Head Councilor’s past. I just need to figure out what their weaknesses are and how I should go about convincing them. I think If I think about the monetary incentive in the long run, combined with stability I can form some type of argument.” Snow didn’t realize just how many aspects there were to negotiation. She figured Lussuria was just a bookworm who used fancy words and her image to get whatever she wanted. But that wasn’t the case at all. She was very sharp, in almost the same way Gravis was when it came to battle.

Lussuria shifted uncomfortably at Snow’s awed gaze.

“Okay, well you’ll have plenty of time to think if this journey continues at this pace. Arthur, can you inform Crow to speed it up? I’m going to grow sores just sitting here at this rate.”

“Agreed.” Snow backed up Lussuria’s opinion. She typically didn’t care, but this carriage seemed to amplify the usual downsides associated with travel by carriage.

Arthur smiled and opened the sliding window at the front of the carriage. They could partially see Crow there holding the horses’ reins, with Ares sitting on his right.

“Hey Crow, they want you to go faster.” Arthur spoke, a smile in his voice.

“See? I told you we were going too slow!” Ares blurted out.

“How fast then? If I speed up, it will not be a comfortable experience.”

Lussuria lunged towards the window at those words.

“The longer I am in here, the more unhappy I am. As fast as possible!”

Ares laughed.

“See crow, her kids aren’t soft.” He turned his head down towards the window. “Don’t worry princess, I’ll make sure my good man here stops taking it easy on the job. “

Crow seemed to ponder something, before nodding in compliance.

“Okay. Hold onto your seats.”

The reins cracked as the horses were whipped with more force than normal and the carriage jolted forward in a new burst of speed as they picked up the pace.

⚔︎Gravis⚔︎

The Frost Queen stood on the highest balcony of the castle, overlooking the whole of the Regalian Kingdom as well as the snowy tundra that surrounded it.

Gravis appeared behind her, having come up the private staircase.

“Gravis, hello dear.” The High Queen did not look away from her view. “Come here.”

Gravis walked forward and joined her mother at the railing.

“What do you see?” Her mother asked her.

Gravis looked at the view in front of her and then back at her mother. “I see a kingdom that was just attacked and that now has sent two of its most vulnerable royalty over to a hostile kingdom as a gift to be killed or captured. Why would you send them?”

Her mother had still not looked at her, nor did she answer the question.

“I ask all you girls this question and I get such different responses. It’s very intriguing.”

“Answer my question, Mother.”

“Snow sees the city and its people. Lussuria describes the frontier and its borders, Lily looks up at the sky. You, however, always answer with the issues at hand. You have the heart of a ruler.”

“Stop trying to deflect: why would you send Snow and Lussuria over there? You KNOW they are going to be in danger.”

“I know.”

“THEN WHY?! You know they will be in danger, and you sent them anyways?!”

“They are plotting something Gravis, something big. Sending those two will no doubt flush out whatever conspiracy there is, growing in the shadows.”

“Those two and three lotus guards won’t be enough to stop a whole conspiracy, you are just tossing them to the wolves!”

“Warden Isabella will be there shortly, after her investigation, to clean whatever mess that emerges. They will be fine Gravis. Have some faith.”

“Then why would you refuse to let me go along with them? Why would you send Snow but not me?”

“The same reason you can’t join the guard. Why would I risk sending you? You are my heir.”

“So they are just expendable to you? Just like that? How could you…”

“I don’t make these decisions light heartedly if that’s what you think. I’ve weighed countless options. Do you think I’ve been lounging around ever since you and Snow were attacked here? We rounded up whatever survivors were left, and we got some real disturbing information. If I don’t figure out what it is soon, we and all we possess will be at risk.”

“But… they are my sisters, they are your children and you’re using them as bait…”

The High Queen finally turned and looked at Gravis. The light in her eyes was cold.

“Do you not think it pains me as well? I sacrificed everything to make this world safe, and still I am faced with threats where I need to send my own blood into danger to resolve. This is by far the safest option for everyone. You will be forced to make decisions like this one day and then you will understand.”