Ellie looked at Theodore, the expression of fear or despair she had looked forward to was not shown, instead there was a smile. In her eyes Theodore was bluffing, in some desperate attempt to save some face.
The explosion had receded and the island had vanished. Ellie walked over to Leon and patted him on the shoulder, "Good job". Some guards came and escorted Leon back to the waiting room, "Now let's return to the hall and… discuss some politics".
As everyone sat down at the table again, the mood had changed. Theodore sighed. The continent had eight great powers. Four of them were allied with Westwood, and four of them with Snowbed. The powers could be seen as having equal strength. Especially since Westwood and Snowbed's strength were very equal, but it hadn't always been so. Westwood had almost been the ruler of the entire continent back when it was ruled by Theodore's grandfather, but his fathers rule had left the nation a shadow of what it once was.
The three that were allied with Westwood had pale faces. Ren's face was especially crooked. Ellie leaned back in her chair, "I think now is an apt time to discuss Fell". Theodore smiled, there was no other way than to lose a pound of flesh at this point. "Indeed, Saint". The ruler of Midden, a man named Fenrik spoke up; "Let us have fell, in exchange we will let Westwood adventurers enter Midden Lake".
Although Snowbed could demand Fell out the gate, it looked better on paper if there was a transaction of interests. Even if it was this lopsided. Theodore frowned, "Alright… but only if we get to keep the trade routes that go through Fell functional for two additional months". Ren looked at Theodore, normally Ren would scream that Theodore was an idiot for giving Fell away, but this time he would trust Theodore's smarts.
Ellie lifted an eyebrow. She wondered if there was something important behind those trade routes, why was Theodore making demands here. As if reading her thoughts Theodore continued, "The trade routes deliver important wares for civilians, the time it would take to re-route them would surely leave many starving". Ellie sighed and looked at Fenrik. "Yes, it should be fine if they follow standard border procedure". Theodore nodded. Ellie spoke up, "Alright, sign the papers provided after, anyone in opposition?". Theodore glanced at Ren, who was deciding whether to oppose. "Nay", was said by everyone.
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"You did great Leon". Ellie had just entered the waiting room where Leon was waiting. "That attack still takes a lot of toll on me", Leon sighed. "It will strain less as time goes, I'm sure". "Did you get what you wanted out of them?", asked Leon. "Yes I did!", Ellie smiled and sat down opposite Leon.
"Seeing their frustrated faces was exhilarating, they conceded some ancient texts, many resources, some political prisoners and most importantly, Fell". Leon looked confused, "Only that? Wouldn't you just ask them to surrender and give up or something?". Ellie smiled, "No, although Theodore is a smart man, if we pushed it that far he would most likely rather die fighting". "Theodore?", Leon frowned. "Ah, I meant Westwood".
Leon stayed silent. Ellie sighed, "Leon, don't be like this". Leon waved his hand, "Sorry, you know how my emotions get after I use too much magic". Ellie looked sharply at Leon, who averted his gaze, "Do I need to tell you that I don't like Westwood?". "No, no of course not, It's just…", Leon sighed. "It's what?" responded Ellie. "You told me when I confessed my feelings that you could only respond when you were Queen, but how much longer do I have to wait?", Leon met Ellie's gaze. Ellie blushed, "You know why, but let's talk about this some other time Leon, when you are fully rested". Leon smiled, "Alright Ellie".
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Theodore had just returned to his room. He sat down on his bed and picked up a worn journal that lay on his nightstand. This journal belonged to Theodore's mother, who had passed away when he was younger. She had been an adventurer when she was young, and her adventures were recorded in this journal.
"I still think she lied about this story", Theodore laughed to himself. The book was wrought with dangerous moments and thrilling adventures. Reading the book calmed Theodore down. He truly had conceded a lot today, and there was still two days left of the summit meeting. Although he wanted to leave, that would not show well for public opinion.
A knock came from the door and Lily peeked her head in, "Ashus, Hoenn and Tzarta are waiting for you in the office". Theodore sighed and stood up, "Thank you, Ms. Lily". He walked with Lily towards the office. As they got close to the office they could hear loud voices. "Ms. Lily, could you keep an eye out?". Lily nodded, although it was trusted in good faith that summit hosts wouldn't use magic to listen in, you could never be sure.
"… if we fucking bend over once we bend over twice, we have to resist!", Ren was finishing a passionate speech as Theodore entered the room. "Finally, you're here", Ren Ashus, Clay Hoenn and Kiev Tzarta were the people in the room, the three nation leaders who were allied with Westwood. Clay Hoenn looked akin to a scholar, while Kiev Tzarta was a large beast of a man. "Now explain why you agreed to give away so much Theodore, why didn't you resist more?", Ren stared at Theodore. Theodore had led negotiations on behalf of the others, which was why he was asking this.
"Yes, why was the only term you fought for the trade routes through Fell", Kiev spoke up. The three of them looked at Theodore. "First of all you three need to understand that we are in a losing position, I assume the only reason the Saint didn't showcase the wizard on one of our cities is because she didn't want to kill just to prove a point". Theodore walked over to the office chair and sat down before continuing, "But of course, she will do so if she has to".
"But how will we handle losing Fell?, asked Clay. The Fell mine was something all four powers shared and was an important part of their mana stone supply. "I sent out mail before the meeting today for all stored mana stones in Fell to be moved to nearby cities, although the contract I signed today gave immediate ownership to Midden, there was nothing stopping these stones from leaving". Theodore sighed, "I assume Snowbed didn't know the amounts of mana stones stored, if they did they wouldn't give us yesterdays hint about Fell".
The three leaders breathed a sigh of relief, lack of mana stones would be a problem for many parts of their countries. The reason that there was such a large storage of mana stones was because they realized that if they sold them all the global price would drop.
"The trade routes, although they are important enough for wares, and good for smuggling, the most important thing was that it showed me that they were willing to concede in some areas as well", Theodore stood up and looked out the window. "Any more questions?". The three looked at each other then Kiev said, "Yes, but we can wait until the morning, it has been a long day". They all left the office.
"Ms. Lily, are you there?". Lily opened the doors, "Yes, sir". Theodore turned around, "The ball that is held the last day of the summit, do you know if that blonde wizard is on the guest list?". "I don't know, I will go and check". Lily left the room and Theodore turned to look out the window. In the distance he could see the spot in the sea where the island once was earlier today. Theodore took a deep breath, if he wasn't careful from now on it could spell certain doom for Westwood. He could only hope for a miracle.