Sometime in Year 2373

Elred crossed her arms, regarding the reflection in the mirror smirking at her. It was not her face.

"You meant to tell me I would only have to offer my service?" Elred narrowed her eyes at the river of mahogany red hair glistening in the mirror's surface. She had recently perfected the spell of connecting two mirrors across spaces so long as both mirrors were made from her magic. "Isn't that too...easy?"

The Sovereign, as she had introduced herself earlier, chuckled. Her green eyes sparkled with a malice Elred hadn't anticipated. When Elred first heard of a shadow organization called Synketros, she wasn't convinced they could give her what she wanted. But with her options limited and the timeline to her goal lengthening, she just have to risk it.

It had been simple. Elred simply went to the Gathering, a well-known tavern in territory of Avalora, and upon the information Garde gave her, it was also a well-known hotspot for mysterious and often illegal transactions. Elred wasn't fond of doing shady correspondence but what choice did she have? Raimon could come back at any time and Helinfirth was still a sitting fowl in silver feathers. They needed protection.

Elred wouldn't get one just from anywhere.

Now, the Sovereign, the head of Synketros, had been kind enough to agree for a consultation and perhaps, today, they could draw up some kind of agreement. The Sovereign heard Elred's demands and immediately responded with wanting Elred's service to the organization in return.

"Oh, serving inside Synketros won't be, I assure you," the Sovereign clasped her hands together atop her desk. A single quill stuck into a half-used bottle of ink peeked from somewhere to her left. Sheaves of parchments and bound tomes lay scattered on the shelf behind her. "How are you with a sword?"

Elred blinked. "What do swords have to do with serving you?"

The Sovereign scratched her chin. "I was thinking of putting you in charge of the same army I'm going ot be lending Helinfirth," she said. "And to do that, you have to be handy with one."

"Would it affect certain terms in our deal?"

"Not much," the Sovereign replied. "I would merely require you to undergo training with us for a few months or years, depending on your skill, and you'll be good to go."

"What kind of services would I be expected to deliver?" Elred asked.

The Sovereign hummed, touching one of her fingers to the corner of her lips. "One or two reconnaissance missions, possibly that one thing about the Aikoste that has been bothering me for quite a while, maybe a few deal closing from several factions in this island," she rolled her shoulders. "You know, simple things."

Elred chewed on her lip as she mulled about it. Would it be worth it? There's nothing to lose on her end. The Sovereign would have gained her deals and whatever she's going for and Elred would have gotten her army. That's the first step to her plan, at least.

As for what's expected of her, she had been closing deals since she was eleven, be it with picky Valkalin houses or leading families to continue to support Abshire with their products. It should be easy. The rest she could figure out along the way. This was one opportunity she couldn't throw away. Grab it by the neck wihle she could.

Elred raised her eyes to the mirror, meeting the Sovereign's light green eyes. They looked like murky ponds from the way the images translated from across huge distances. It's a long way to Akaron, that's for sure.

"It's a deal," Elred said.

The Sovereign's face didn't change. It still remained in its passive smirk, like she knew the conversation was ultimately heading to this point. "That's great," she said. "I expect you to be here by the next apperance of Leranna. I trust it's plenty of time to get ready?"

Elred ran a list of things she needed to get done by then. "Yes," she said. "It's enough."

The Sovereign waved her hand in front of the mirror, cutting the connection. Elred blew a sigh of relief, the silence without the semi-static voice from the other side ringing in her ears. Then, the door to her room opened and spat out her mother. She looked immaculate, as always, with at least ten glamours enhancing the color of her eyes and the smoothness of her skin. As always, the single line of a wrinkle sat on her forehead.

"Elred, dear!" the Queen said. "What are you doing in front of that mirror and not even having your fixed?"

Elred's hands immediately flew to her head and patted her locks down. Nothing seemed amiss. She turned to the mirror to find her reflection fine, not a lock out of place. "It's fine, Mom," she said.

"Without glamour? No, it's not," the Queen approached and waved her hand over and over in front of Elred's face. The warmth of her mother's magic settling on Elred's skin and scalp sent prickles down her veins. It's something one has to get used to when applying glamours. "You're not going to the ceremony the way I found you."

Elred slapped her mother's hand away from her face. "What ceremony?"

The Queen arched a perfectly-shaped eyebrow. "The presentation of your potential spouses," she said. "Were you not listening to the briefing?"

She blew a breath. "I was hoping we wouldn't need to go through all that in the first place."

"Why? Do you already have someone in mind?" the Queen asked with a conspiratorial grin.

Heat rose in Elred's cheeks. She had to force herself to cough out, "He's a member of the Garde and has been a good friend of mine for years."

Her mother heaved a sigh. "I think I know where this is going," she said. "You got it bad for that boy, huh?"

Elred smiled. "Maybe," she said. "I was planning on asking him once all this madness around us calm down."

The Queen snorted. "It's never going to die down, trust me," she said. "So, what's the name? So I could prepare the relevant documents and ceremonies?"

Elred didn't fight the smile bursting from her lips. "Savel," she said. "Savel Athera."

If this was the only instance the gods maybe were looking at Elred with favor, she's going to damn well make use of it. Her mother nodded, committing the name to memory. Then, she bid her farewells and was out of Elred's room in a few strides.

Elred sat on the bed with shaky knees. Savel's going to lose it when he hears the news.