Everyone was frustrated with the neighbouring kingdom that was pushing for significantly more advantage in what was usually a fairly straightforward arrangement that had changed little in centuries.
While Jareth had spent the day glowering at trade delegates as his advisors hammered out the details, Sarah had ensconced herself in the castle library with Bishop. They had been poring over the fine print of the deal in progress with the invaluable input of the fox shapeshifters who served as spies on behalf of the Goblin Kingdom.
Sarah thanked the tiny woman who was currently wearing the form of a dryad and waited until she left the room. “That explains why they’ve been pressing their hand.”
Bishop nodded in agreement. “But it doesn’t explain why they didn’t request our assistance.”
“Pride?” Sarah stretched her arms over her head to work out the kinks from her hours of research.
“Perhaps.” Bishop drummed his fingers on an open volume. “You’d think that if you were in need of bridge repairs your first thought would be to ask the kingdom with the huge bloody Labyrinth and legions of masons for advice. Instead there’s a nest of interconnected minor lords who are all adding their own inflated costs.” He pushed one of the reports across to Sarah. “I need more information to figure out if they’re hiring our kingdom’s expertise at a remove or are pushing their own substandard service.”
Jareth strode into the library and threw himself onto the chaise lounge, his arm flung across his eyes in an affectation of a swoon. “One more day of this and I swear I’ll bog the lot of them.” He did not react to Sarah’s soft snort of amusement at his antics and pointedly ignored Bishop’s outright laughter. “Tell me you've found something?”
Walking across the room, Sarah leaned over his chair and kissed Jareth soundly. “There has recently been a spate of significant damage to bridges on several important thoroughfares that have impacted the movement of people and goods throughout their kingdom. Nothing has yet been confirmed, but there have been whisperings of sabotage.”
Jareth swung himself into a seated position, pulled Sarah into his lap and kissed her neck before replying. “You suspect the saboteurs are offering to solve the problem for a not insignificant markup?”
Sarah ran her tongue around the shell of Jareth’s ear, grinning as he shivered in response. “There are two new members of their delegation.” He groaned as her fingers slipped inside his shirt and lightly caressed his chest.
“And it will be no surprise that they have relatives connected to the rumours we’ve been hearing.” Bishop shuffled the many reports on the table into a neat pile.
Stilling Sarah’s hand as it lay over his heart, Jareth displayed a predator’s grin of very sharp teeth. “It’s not that great a leap of deduction to guess who either.” He lifted her hand and kissed each of her fingers. “The prospect of tomorrow’s negotiations just got a lot more interesting.”
Exposé
Drabble:
Everyone was frustrated with the neighbouring kingdom that was pushing for significantly more advantage in what was usually a fairly straightforward arrangement that had changed little in centuries.
While Jareth had spent the day glowering at trade delegates as his advisors hammered out the details, Sarah had ensconced herself in the castle library with Bishop. They had been poring over the fine print of the deal in progress with the invaluable input of the fox shapeshifters who served as spies on behalf of the Goblin Kingdom.
Sarah thanked the tiny woman who was currently wearing the form of a dryad and waited until she left the room. “That explains why they’ve been pressing their hand.”
Bishop nodded in agreement. “But it doesn’t explain why they didn’t request our assistance.”
“Pride?” Sarah stretched her arms over her head to work out the kinks from her hours of research.
“Perhaps.” Bishop drummed his fingers on an open volume. “You’d think that if you were in need of bridge repairs your first thought would be to ask the kingdom with the huge bloody Labyrinth and legions of masons for advice. Instead there’s a nest of interconnected minor lords who are all adding their own inflated costs.” He pushed one of the reports across to Sarah. “I need more information to figure out if they’re hiring our kingdom’s expertise at a remove or are pushing their own substandard service.”
Jareth strode into the library and threw himself onto the chaise lounge, his arm flung across his eyes in an affectation of a swoon. “One more day of this and I swear I’ll bog the lot of them.” He did not react to Sarah’s soft snort of amusement at his antics and pointedly ignored Bishop’s outright laughter. “Tell me you've found something?”
Walking across the room, Sarah leaned over his chair and kissed Jareth soundly. “There has recently been a spate of significant damage to bridges on several important thoroughfares that have impacted the movement of people and goods throughout their kingdom. Nothing has yet been confirmed, but there have been whisperings of sabotage.”
Jareth swung himself into a seated position, pulled Sarah into his lap and kissed her neck before replying. “You suspect the saboteurs are offering to solve the problem for a not insignificant markup?”
Sarah ran her tongue around the shell of Jareth’s ear, grinning as he shivered in response. “There are two new members of their delegation.” He groaned as her fingers slipped inside his shirt and lightly caressed his chest.
“And it will be no surprise that they have relatives connected to the rumours we’ve been hearing.” Bishop shuffled the many reports on the table into a neat pile.
Stilling Sarah’s hand as it lay over his heart, Jareth displayed a predator’s grin of very sharp teeth. “It’s not that great a leap of deduction to guess who either.” He lifted her hand and kissed each of her fingers. “The prospect of tomorrow’s negotiations just got a lot more interesting.”