“No, I do not,” Alvere said evenly. “But I ask, did you hear of the attack on the Vauphani camp which prompted that attack?”
“No,” she said, hesitant and curious.
“As I suspected.” A long breath. “Lady, please understand I do not wish for this war, I—”
“Then why did you start it?” Horn said, hard and cold.
I felt Alvere’s calming breath. “Lord Horn, I hope you will listen to my full story. If you do, you will see, not only did I not wish for this war, but Vauphan did not start it either.”
“That’s a lie,” Horn said, voice growing heated.
“Horn, let him speak.” This from Silvermane, who didn’t sound convinced, but again seemed willing to listen.
“Thank you, Lady. From what we have gathered, most of those in Elista have heard the following about the war: That Vauphan was either planning an invasion or had already attacked. Your Panther House responded to these actions or expected actions by pre-emptively seizing Vauphan lands, or defending themselves then claiming those lands to stop any further attacks. Does that sound right to you?”
“It does,” Silvermane said.
“And when did this start?”
“About a year ago, if I recall correctly.”
“What if I told you the war began closer to three years ago?”
“That does seem a bit preposterous.” Lady Silvermane laughed. “I would have heard something in such a case.”
“Indeed. Then let me begin my tale a bit more recently. Were you aware that a mistweaver, sent by your government, attacked and killed my mother and father?”
“Legs is a mistweaver?” Silvermane gasped. “Your sister… I…”
“Lady, no, that is not the case,” Dove said firmly. “You believe my sister killed the king and queen of Vauphan?”
“Why, yes,” she said, as if it were the obvious truth. “She was sent to spy and went rogue, killing the royals.”
“And in this matter, would you admit that I may know more than you, as to the events?” Alvere asked. “I was there that night. I saw it with my own eyes.” That was a bit of an exaggeration, but close enough to the truth.
“Yes, of course,” Silvermane acquiesced. “You say it was a mistweaver? And… not Legs-the-traitor?”
“That is indeed the case,” Alvere said evenly.
“I find that hard to believe,” Horn said with a scoff. “A mistweaver? You speak of fairy-tales.”
“My Lord, respectfully, a mistweaver did indeed attack my parents, and she was not sent by Maverick House, as you may believe. No, in fact, it was Lady Legs who stopped the mistweaver, saving my life.”
A silence hung in the room.
“I find that even harder to believe,” Horn said after a moment. “Mistweavers are legends for a reason. They were nigh unstoppable. And you want us to believe a novice Noble stopped this mistweaver?”
It was hard to believe. Even I had trouble believing it some days, and I’d been the one to do it!
“Legs had help.” Another small lie. “Others from her House were there and together they defeated the mistweaver. As you say, they were at the palace to spy, of that I am aware. I was not impressed by that, but I was willing to forgive, given they saved my life from that same mistweaver. If we can start with this as fact, does that change anything of what you might believe?”
“What you say is hard to believe, Your Majesty.” Silvermane sighed. “But for now, we shall take your word on this. Assuming this to be true, what followed?”
Alvere’s shoulder’s fell in a heavy sigh. He’d cleared the first hurdle, if only just. “Follow my logic for a moment if you will,” he said. Then he launched into an impassioned argument. “If indeed it wasn’t House Maverick who sent the mistweaver, but who stopped it, then…” He let that hang for a moment. “Then, who sent the mistweaver?”
“Perhaps they were acting alone.” Horn’s voice was hard. He still didn’t believe any of this. “Your nation began a war and perhaps they sought to end it in one go.”
A sudden shift in Alvere told me he felt his tenuous hold on the two before him slipping away. “This is silly,” Ursa said finally. “Lady Silvermane, are you aware of my spirit-gift?”
