Albert knocked and entered the King's study "Your Majesty, Princess Ignis is here to meet you".
Adrian looked up from his documents and smiled when Ignis entered the room followed by Domi. Ignis noticed that even though Adrian was formally attired, he wore a casual look. His eyes were tired and hair messy, as if he just walked out of bed, but nevertheless, he looked more stunning than in the banquet.
He stood up and led the Princess to the sofa and settled on the opposite chair. Domi stood behind the Princess, as Albert poured some tea.
Adrian placed some letters on the coffee table, all bearing the seal of the Princess of Land of Frye.
"You mentioned in your first letter that you have to dethrone your father, King Jasper, and for that you need my help. In exchange, you will help me to become the Emperor of the Empire Astras. I must say, you got me curious from your first letter itself"
Ignis was sitting straight like a rod, with no expression whatsoever.
"Let me be clear about something. First of all, I am not interested in the Empire. Second, even if I want to take over the Empire, why would I take your help? As per what I have found out, forget the Empire, no one respects or values you even in the Fyre Kingdom. In fact, associating myself with someone like you will only degrade my reputation. I - "
"Sorry to interrupt, Your Highness, but you are really being rude right now. " Domi interrupted.
"Oh.. so your dog knows to bark?" Adrian asked mocking a surprise on his face.
"I assure you Your Majesty, my dog knows to bite as well" said Ignis. "So I - "
This time Albert interrupted "My Lady, you cannot speak like that with Your Highness"
" - request you to stay calm and maintain decency during the negotiation" continued Ignis.
"Believe me Princess, I am being as decent as possible. I applaud your bravery for coming here, but, I fail to see any benefit for me or my people. The Empire is not something I seek. Does it make sense to you? Shall we close our negotiation here?"
"What are you seeking then?" Ignis asked.
"What?"
"If not the Empire Astras, what are you seeking? I might help you reach your goal. I am quite proficient when it comes to devising a plan" Ignis shrugged.
"I am not seeking anything from anyone. I just want you to leave the Land of Aqua and return to your Castle. I am sad for letting you go empty handed, but, it is what it is" Adrian sighed.
"Please be patient, Your Highness, I feel like you are being defensive right now. I have not even started presenting my points yet. How about we start this discussion again tomorrow?"
"What do you mean by defensive? I am just stating facts" Adrian started getting frustrated.
"You are getting frustrated, Your Highness" she pointed out, staying calm.
Adrian stared at her in disbelief. She was calm and composed from the time she entered his room and for unknown reasons, he was getting agitated. He flipped his hair back with his hand.
"Let's start again tomorrow, and henceforth, I don't want you both included in the meeting" he pointed to both Domi and Albert.
*** The Same Evening ***
Ignis was standing near the window, looking at the bright moon, a roll of parchment in her hand.
"My Lady, will you be alright tomorrow on your own?" Domi asked, her eyes filled with concern.
"Of course, this is not new for us, right?" Ignis smiled warmly at her friend. "Also, thank you for calling out the King. I would have lost my control, if it wasn't for you"
"But, it was disappointing, we couldn't stay in that room for more than ten minutes."
"That doesn't matter. We need to make sure that we give him logical reasons to accept our proposal and also make him tired mentally to make decisions in haste. The more we prolong the negotiation, the more chances of the favor tilting on our side"
*** Next Day ***
"Good Morning Princess" Adrian chirped.
"Good Morning Your Highness" Ignis replied, he looked extra radiant today.
"So Princess, tell me, do you have anything else to offer, other than the Empire?" Adrian asked.
Ignis sighed. He is not offering even a cup of tea today. How impatient.
"Your Highness, in my first letter, I offered you my help to take over the Empire. In my second letter, I promised you a device, that will provide you with unlimited elemental power. In my third letter, I promised you some information that will help you keep the Land of Aqua safe from future invasions. And, in the last letter, I informed you about my departure from Fyre Land. In all these letters, I asked you to contact me through the merchant guild if you ever want to ask anything.
"I understand if you do not have any interest in taking over the Empire. But aren't you curious about the other two offers? Also, let's say, you don't want to do anything with me, why didn't you inform me about your disinterest beforehand? Why did you send escorts and personally welcome me into your estate? It seems pretty obvious to me that even if you do not want my three offers, you still do need something from me and I would like you to go ahead and ask for it. As you know, I am desperate for your help. But if you still declined to help me, I would need to start executing another plan. I sincerely request you to think rationally"
Adrian leaned back on his seat and stared at Ignis for a long time. She could feel the whirlwind of thoughts going inside his head by just looking into his dark icy blue eyes.
"Princess, let's say we do get your Kingdom back and you become its Queen. What happens after that? What happens to us?" he asked carefully, pointing to both of them.
Ignis didn't expect him to ask about their relationship.
"Well, this relation will be contractual. Once, we both fulfill our responsibilities, we are free to go our separate ways. We can divorce an - "
"DIVORCE ?! " he repeated in disbelief and let out a loud thunderous laugh.