Virginia
How she wished for a glass of water, wine, anything to restore the moisture that had left her mouth at the conversation's turn. Surely he did not expect her to answer his questions. Had she ever seen a man burned alive? The memory of a dream so intentionally suppressed resurfaced at the question. A field of singed flesh with a molten crown and flicker of recognition. Dry breath caught in her throat as the room stood still for a moment. Perhaps she had hardened at last under the pressure into a crumbling piece of coal before the chance to become a diamond. The steady rise and fall of her chest and beating heart seemed to slow nearly to a stop as control was momentarily snuffed behind an image of a broken man. 

Her sister fancied the flame, though her fascination had found new frontiers in the recent decades. What specifically the interest was, she did not know. Or she had not. Of course the specifics of this referenced conversation never made it her way. Delsandra would have had to tell her as much herself. Hearing the words from an ally... No, hearing them from *This* Ally was enough to merit a silent prayer of thanks that she had kept dinner light. 

As the details of the dream replayed in her mind new connections were made then disregarded then pondered again all within the span of the moments it took for a semblance of composure to be regained. The lump in her throat was swallowed as eyelids fluttered momentarily to reset the gaze that had been fixed on the true face of the man from the dream.

"I have not, Your Majesty, and I would like to think that neither has my sister." What else was there to say? She would not assert anything that could not yet be proven. While she trusted the man before her the fact that he remained the King of a foreign nation was not to be forgotten. The subject of their conversation had shifted to her sister and future queen. Bringing up a meaningless dream would add nothing and avoiding the topic would get them nowhere. 

"I," She pause

D, seemingly contemplating her words further before speaking again. "My intentions in aiding your efforts are perhaps not quite all I first indicated." There was the confession. The continued explanation followed before a chance to answer was offered. "All that I have said thus far is the truth and I have no intention of seeing any of our people suffer at the hands of our enemies. However, while I can not speak for my father or sister, I hoped to show our ally that...," That what, that she had also seen behaviors to cause concern? "...My loyalty is to the people of Thyseer, not just the crown." There the words were. Were her sister to hear them they might have been treason, but she hoped the Alynthi King understood.
Alva
*She seemed shocked by the proposal that she would ever have seen a man burned alive - though it was a rhetorical question, he hoped, she seemed to think he was seriously asking her. The look on her face was disconcerting - which could mean any number of things. Perhaps she **Had** Seen one burned alive, and was attempting to cover for her sister, or worries herself about it. In any case, it seemed as if she was much more affected by the question than he really had intended.*

"...I apologize. It was meant to be rhetorical." *He attempted to mend whatever had broken with a calm tone, reassuring her he had not meant anything by it but to illustrate a point. Perhaps he would have to be more careful about the mention of such topics around those that hadn't seen battle on the scale he had. There were far too many people who hadn't seen war, and therefore didn't realize how much worse it could become than just one person burning alive.

As she began to speak again, he listened closely to what she said, and what she did not say. Her intentions in aiding his efforts were not as they had been? It was perplexing, but the clincher was the statement that she was not just loyal to the crown of Thyseer, but to its people. There was much implied in that - that either the crown of Thyseer was not loyal to its people or that the people were not loyal to the crown. It was a concerning development, much greater in magnitude than any conversation about Delsandra.*

"...Do you mean to say, Princess, that the crown and the people of Thyseer are not in accord?" *He asked quietly, assessing the situation as best he could. She had said that **She** Was with the people. Therefore, not in accord with her family.* "The last I heard of His Majesty, the man was well-liked by the populace of his kingdom. There was little unrest within Thyseer, at least from some of my sources."

_ _
*Then what was she proposing? That she might be able to subvert her family's choices, whatever those might be, for the good of the world? Things must have been a good deal worse than he had gathered for this offer ever to have been possible, or even a thought in her mind. That was her family she was telling him about - doubtless she had greater reason to trust them than she did him. This meant either he was a last resort or this was a ploy - and there was reliable enough information for him to think this was no ploy...*
Virginia
Certainly she did not mean that the crown and people were not in accord. He was right, all loved the King and he cared deeply for the people of Thyseer. Though once upon a time the same might have been said for her sister, in recent years there had been no sign of such compassion or care. In fact, one might argue that even sanity seemed to me lacking at times. Just how much could she say without endangering the alliance completely, though? It seemed as though her words had begun a train of thought in the King's mind that she was not sure would end in her favor. There were always risks to be taken when putting oneself in a position of vulnerability. That was what she had done, after all.

It was not only the words that left her exposed. The effects of the long day had certainly taken their toll and though thus far she had managed a semblance of composure as thoughts began to fill her mind her fingers formed a fist gripping the fabric of her dress. 

There was little unrest in Thyseer, this was true for the country at large. However, there was great unrest within the castle when it came to the activities of her sister. Though her father would deny any wrongdoing, she had seen and heard enough to understand that her concern was well placed. Concern might not have been the right word. It was fear. There was helplessness. True helplessness as staring into the face of a dragon with no hope of survival. 

The clenched fist began to shake as her grip tightened. Though the urge to latch her jaw shut to avoid the chattering that was certain to escape, she had to say something. 

"My father is well-loved, and he in turn loves the people of Thyseer deeply." This was the truth, observable and stated. "It is not," Her jaw clenched for a moment before continuing, "Above all he cares for his family, however, and I believe this to be the reason that he does not share our concern." *Fear* She reminded herself. 

"In theory he understands the importance of this alliance for the futur

E of Thyseer, but I have not found a way to turn his attention from what happens within his borders to what happens within his castle, let alone what might happen with the world at large." She shook her head. "I believe he sees that he has his family and people within Thyseer so he need not care for anything beyond that." His love blinds him. He loves the people so but will leave them to the whims of Delsandra. Yes, the fear was well placed. 

"I hoped that my stay in Alynthi might draw him here at the very least to casually visit if there was no official business to be done, but it seems that I have failed at even that." Glassy blue eyes turned upward to meet the man's. "Your Majesty, it is not the actions of my father that I fear," That was the right word, "It is what follows."