"What a story this will make!"
1:00 AM
With a heavy
sigh, Brianna slipped out after him. She adjusted the golden circlet on her
head as she walked rapidly to catch up. Her gown of softest wool had been
colored a deep blue and it set off her brown hair. She had to look her best for
the ambassador to listen to her.
“Ambassador,”
Brianna called out, seeing that he was moving rapidly.
He whipped
around, his face red with anger. “What do you want?” his voice was gruff.
Brianna
swallowed her fear. She must have courage for the sake of her people and her
father. “Ambassador, I fear a grave error has been made.” She stopped a few
paces away from him.
“Indeed there
has,” the ambassador sneered. “The king will regret this.”
Brianna
swallowed again, her mouth dry. “Good sir, that is why I have sought you out. I
think you and I might be able to reach an agreement that will satisfy both the
needs of your country and Taelis.”
“You?” the
ambassador chuckled dryly. “You are a woman.”
“I am also a
princess, oldest daughter of the king.” She pulled herself to her full height,
but still felt small. She was not tall, even for a girl, and this man was a
head above most men.
The ambassador
crossed his arms. “I fail to see how that can help me. You are still a woman.
Unless you are proposing an alliance by marriage, you have nothing to offer.”
Brianna shook
her head. “What I offer is help to get you the trade that our countries both
desperately need.”
The ambassador
smiled, amusement playing over his features. “I see. Do you have a handful of
grain that you want to trade for a bit of wool?”
Brianna
sighed. Why could she have not been a born a son, or at least taller. It took
so much time to convince people she could help. “I am offering you the trade
you wished. I know where there are many bags of grain ready and waiting to be
loaded onto carts in exchange for a fair amount of wool.”
The amusement
had diminished somewhat in the ambassador’s face. He did not quite believe her
yet, but he was desperate to make this trade. “How are you able to offer me
this and your father was not?”
“My father was
able to make the trade,” Brianna said softly. “He simply did not wish to bother
with it this day.” Her father never wanted to deal with anything that had to do
with business. “Do you wish the grain or not?”
The ambassador
threw back his head and laughed. “I have never made a trade with a princess.
What a story this will make!”
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