M'lissa sent off a transmission to Midalah just as a knock sounded on the door to the guest
quarters she was using in the palace on Shardakour. "Come in," she
called.
Her aide, Telyn Saffir, entered with a
polite bow. "Good morning, m'lady."
"Good morning, Telyn."
Telyn kept a frown from her face at the
informal greeting. "How was your evening, m'lady?"
"It was very pleasant,
how was your evening?"
"Uneventful." She
looked at M'lissa. "If you have time, we should
review the events of yesterday."
"Certainly. I just
finished a transmission to Midalah, so I have plenty of time now." She
motioned to a nearby chair, which Telyn took, sitting primly.
"So where shall we
start?" M'lissa asked, watching her with a
smile.
Telyn eyed her. "Forgive me for
being forward, but... what were you thinking when you stood in front of the Shardakouran court?"
"Offering the opinion
of an outside, and more open-minded, observer," she said. "Was I
wrong?"
"Your highness, there
are times and places for outside opinions. Nebula is merely a trading partner,
not a member of the Shardakour Confederation."
"Perhaps, but they
seemed to have no issues with what I said or my standing up to speak." M'lissa said, "So no true harm done, right?"
"This time, your
highness," Telyn said in a voice that reflected
her disbelief with how casual M'lissa was about the
situation.
"So what are you
suggesting?" M'lissa asked sincerely.
Telyn shook her head. "The
information I sent to you on Shardakour detailed just how formal this society
is, m'lady. Surely you must understand just how
important it is to abide by these same formalities."
"Of course I
understand. Are you suggesting that next time I speak only if spoken to?"
"Or at least ask for
recognition," Telyn said.
"All right, I will
attempt to hold my tongue when in court and in formal situations unless I am
asked my opinion or such."
"And even in so-called
information situations," Telyn told her.
"Again, please forgive my forwardness, but... there are times to let your
hair down... with the queen of Shardakour, after court, that was not the
time."
"You mean, when I
removed my shoes?" the princess asked. "I assumed it was okay,
several others seemed to follow."
"Assumptions, your
highness, will cause only difficulty here. More kept their shoes on - and did
not make note of the fact that they run around barefoot at home." Telyn carefully keeps disapproval from her voice.
"There are times to volunteer such personal information. That was not
it."
M'lissa nodded, "Alright, I will try
to behave. Is there anything else that you would advise against?"
"Observe, my lady, and
learn from those more experienced in this arena than you."
"But at the same time
we don't want to seem unfriendly? How do you balance such strictness with
openness?"
"Openness?" Telyn
looked at her. "You're a politician. Surely you know that being open is
not the best way of things." She sat forward. "There is a difference
between being open and sharing too much."
"It depends on the
situation and how open one is." M'lissa sighed,
"I will be more careful with my actions while here in the future."
"I would not want to
see you in any difficulty."
"I know, Telyn, and I appreciate that." M'lissa
nodded, rethinking through the past days. "I'll need you to draw up a
contract of sorts for when we are able to finalize the embassy on Nebula."
"Of course, the
preliminary paperwork is well underway," Telyn
said archly.
"Good." M'lissa smiled. "Thank you for keeping me on
track."
"You're quite
welcome." Telyn returned the smile.
"So what's on the
agenda for today? More negotiations and dinners?"
Telyn nodded. "And then more negotiations."
"All
right. I think
I'll take a walk before they start."
"Of
course. Enjoy
it, your highness," the aide said.
"Would you like to
come with me?"
"No,
thank you, your highness. I have reports to work on."
"Remember, Telyn," M'lissa cautioned,
"work is good, but you should get some leisure time in."
"When
work is done."
"Sometimes work never
seems to be done so you have to make time."
"I'll keep that in
mind."
M'lissa rose to her feet. "Well, I
will see you in negotiations, Telyn."
"Enjoy your walk, your
highness." Telyn rose to bid M'lissa
farewell.
"Thank you," M'lissa said as she left the room, leaving Telyn to return to her temporary 'office' to continue her
work.
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