[Lauchenoiria]

Councillor Rosemary Arnott sat in a hospital waiting room alongside Carolyn Greenwood and Xia Chiu. When they arrived at the border, they’d made it past the Kerlian checkpoint without incident; all she’d had to do was show her face. The Zongongians took a little more convincing, but when they saw the state of Olivia and Reena, they’d acquiesced, at least for the time being. Rosemary couldn’t help but notice that the guards at the entrance to the waiting room were reluctant to allow any of them leave, however.

Ping. She picked up her phone. Mum: WHAT are you doing???? Get back here now!

Patel will kill me, she replied.

Mum: Not on my watch. Call me.

Rosemary sighed, and stood, aiming to head outside to make the call. The Zongongian guards had other ideas however; when she asked them, they firmly denied her permission to exit and blocked her way. She sighed once more, sitting back down. So, they were being detained here. Great. She dialled the President of Kerlile.

“Rosemary, listen to me, you need to come back to Kerlile right now,” her mother said upon picking up the phone.

“That wouldn’t be…” she glanced at the Zongongians, and switched to speaking French. “That would be dangerous; the Patels will seek vengeance against us for the rescue of Reena, and the others will likely be arrested for their roles in the affair.”

“No, they won’t,” her mother replied, in English. “A quirk of our laws; the Private Property Act meant Nirmala could detain Reena, but it also means once you left their property they no longer have any right to do anything about it. The Act makes the Family estates basically their own de facto jurisdictions.”

“That’s… this is why I didn’t want to be on the Council, you’re all insane,” Rosemary grumbled in French. The Zongongians could, of course, translate it from the recording they were undoubtedly making. It was better, however, to delay that.

“Return, please,” Rebecca Arnott said through the phone. “I guarantee you things will be worse otherwise. Firstly, we will be down another vote on the Council. Secondly, the Women’s Party will become hostile to Zongongia: and I don’t need to remind you how much we need the access they grant us to trade routes. Thirdly, and most importantly; if we do not find a way to pretend this incident never happened, it could force the Patels into starting a civil war.”

“Mum, I can’t,” Rosemary whispered. “I don’t think they’re gonna let us.”

“Ah. That explains the French. You’re being detained?”

“We’re at the hospital where they took Reena and Olivia, in a waiting room. They wouldn’t let me leave to make a call though. I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Okay, let me contact the Zongongians on my end. Reassure them about our intentions. Which, in case you still don’t believe me, are merely to resolve this peacefully and quickly. After all: Pierre, Greenwood and Chiu are also motivated to do so. With Georgiou, Hart and Hale we have the votes regardless of the others. Rosemary, what you did was foolish, but it is not too late to resolve it.”

*

Prime Minister Ivan Kristensen of Zongongia felt the colour drain out of his face at the report from his intelligence services.

“There are how many Kerlians?” he asked.

“One Councillor, four Daughters, and a number of medical personnel that accompanied the two injured Daughters to the nearest hospital to the border. Though the medical personnel are not requesting to remain.”

The Prime Minister wiped the sweat that had begun to collect on his brow. He tapped nervously on his desk, in tune to something he couldn’t quite remember. “Taking in the Robinsons was always going to be a mistake,” he sighed. “I tried to warn King Osvald of it, but he wouldn’t hear anything. He sees this as a chance to resolve his family issues, and win points against the republicans that accuse the royals of racism.”

“I would counsel against allowing them to remain, especially the Councillor,” the spy advised. “We do not know how the Matriarchy will react, and with all those new Xiomeran missiles, the situation could quickly become… problematic.”

“Don’t worry,” Kristensen replied, “I have no intention of hosting some kind of Kerlian government-in-exile. How high up are the four Daughters?”

“Two are first-in-line, one is second, and the last is eighth or ninth, we are uncertain. That latter is Reena Patel, the one in critical condition in the hospital. The other injured one, with the single gunshot wound, is Olivia Pierre, whom I’m sure you’ve heard of.”

“Great, Olivia Pierre is all we need. Is her mother still attempting to assassinate her?”

“No, we believe they have reconciled.”

“That’s something, at least. But they can’t stay here. Reena Patel, perhaps. She’s that far down, and clearly seriously injured. Not the others though.”

“A wise choice,” the spy nodded. “How would you like us to handle it?”

“Wait until Olivia is ready to be discharged from hospital, then give them 24 hours to work out where they want to go. This is the last thing we need. After the postal workers, people are demanding a response. This will only add fuel to that fire. What they fail to understand is that we are in no position to respond. Especially with those missiles, but even before. Forces of Balance, our military hardware hasn’t been updated since the 90s!”

Knock, knock. One of his aides stuck his head around the door. “Sir, the President of Kerlile is calling you.”

“Rocks, that’s all I need!” he groaned. “Fine, best not keep her waiting.”

*

Meanwhile, back in Kerlile, the Patels had been busy. They knew they would not have any legal recourse to go after the perpetrators of the raid once they got away the first time. And that their families would shield them, even if they punished them privately themselves. So, they took matters into their own hands.

A Kerlian male of Haesanite descent was found dead in New Fanshe Region. He had been severely tortured before his death, and then his body was hung from a lamppost in the middle of the city. An investigation led to the discovery that he was one of Xia Chiu's lovers, and the most likely father of the baby she presently carried.

Two twenty-one-year-old women, students at the University of Grapevale and close friends of Carolyn Greenwood were discovered missing their heads in the university dorm kitchen they'd shared with Carolyn.

A firefight broke out at the entrance to the Pierre family estate after masked figures attempted to kidnap 13-year-old Camille, Olivia's favourite sister. Twenty-seven people died. Camille remained safe. Councillor Pauline Pierre was not, however, pleased.

A gas leak, an unfortunate accident, blew up a town hall during a Reform Party meeting of the branch members Rosemary Arnott personally met weekly. If she had been there, she would have been among the dead.

And on the boundary of Primrose and Hartwood regions, a number of security personnel gathered on the northern side. And that number was large enough that, if one really thought about it, one might prefer to use the word "army".