Chapter: 657 – Mother-Daughter Tea

Tala and Lea sat in a side room of the House of Blood’s Platoiri hold, servants having just departed after providing a lovely tea service.

This ‘side room’ had vaulted ceilings and open walls, looking out onto an incredibly maintained garden, only magical sound isolation between them and the view.

Lea was still looking around with obvious awe at the ostentation of the hold.

To be fair, the sanctum had some of that, but given it had been made for an Eskau specifically—rather than to represent the House as a whole—the sanctum was effectively the ‘military outpost’ version of this splendor.

Tala was grateful for the servants, as they had gone above and beyond to fulfill her rather simple request for private tea with her daughter. There were three types of tea—chamomile rose, green mint, and black oolong—all perfectly brewed and contained within tea pots linked to the ambient magic in the hold to allow them to maintain the ideal temperature. Cream, honey, and three types of sugar were each in containers that regulated either temperature or humidity to maintain each ingredient to best affect. In addition to the obviously magical nature of the containers, they were clearly meticulously crafted both to highlight what they contained as well as be genuinely lovely.

As an example, one of the cast iron teapots was covered with what Tala recognized as chamomile buds, roses, and a myriad other distinct looking herbs which she was sure represented the full makeup of that particular brew. With that in mind—and similar depictions on the other two tea pots—it was obvious that they had a distinct tea pot for each type of tea that they might serve.

When Tala had been there last, she had been more focused on escape, but she remembered the beauty of everything. Now though? It was far more… available to her now. She was here by choice, and her position was hers not one seemingly held by some false personality.

The food served with the tea was just as fantastic and expertly put together, running the gamut from little sandwiches of a half dozen different types to various tarts and jam filled cream cakes. To add to the sheer overwhelming nature of it, she could detect magic and reality threads tying each individual tray, pot, jar, or plate to somewhere over near the kitchens, and Tala was absolutely certain that the servants would be made aware if she and Lea were coming close to running out of any particular treat, drink, or accompaniment.

That, of course, brought to mind the last item, a simple silver plate with embellishments on either side. At the moment, the side that faced up showed ‘Service Please.’ The other side bore the engraving of ‘Privacy Please.’

They would need that privacy for the discussion to come.

You know? I think some of this seems so new since much of the hold was damaged in the invasion on our last day.

-That’s right! I hadn’t considered that. It certainly explains why we don’t remember things quite this way.-

Tala took a deep breath, followed by a long sip of calming tea, and finally a nibble of a blackberry tart. Rust, I’ve missed good food.

-…You have good food every day.-

I know, but I don’t really think about it much any more.

-Do you want to?-

You know what? Maybe, yeah. I think I’m getting so used to the good things in my life that I hardly think about them any more. When was the last time that I really reveled in an evening with Lyn and Ron? Rane and I almost never take dedicated time together, and Lea is often just sort of along for the ride.

-I can help you be more mindful?-

I’d appreciate that, thank you.

-You are most welcome. Now, in the spirit of that request, you are here for a hard conversation with Lea.-

Tala sighed, nodding to herself. She knew what she had to do, and she needed Lea to come along for it. Tala was going to be doing what amounted to a controlled burn in order to make things safer going forward, and she needed Lea to understand that this use of fire was purposeful.

-You’re getting lost in the analogy.-

Right, thank you. Tala took another soothing sip, flipped the privacy plate, and smiled. “Lea?” She kept her tone gentle and maternal. “Dear?”

Lea jerked, her focus drawn back almost violently. “Yes, mom?”

Tala smiled. “I know there is a lot to take in, but we also have much to do.”

The girl frowned. “Right, the two Houses.”

Apparently, the two newest Houses—that of the Fated Clash and Frost Lance—had been trying to make space for themselves by pushing against the awe and fear the rest of the houses—both Major and minor—held for the House of Blood in the wake of both Tala and Eskau Meallain’s demonstrations of power and dedication.

The House of the Frost Lance had been the most blatant about it at the welcome ceremony, but the House of the Fated Clash had barely been any better.

As to why it mattered? Well, Tala’s ‘final penance’ for Be-thric’s death—which amounted to legal shuffling to allow her to act as an Eskau before being given a new role in that vein—was to deal with these two Houses as she saw fit. There was the unspoken addendum that how she did so—and how effective she was—would be conveyed to the House of Blood’s Pillars, likely affecting their stance on her assuming the position of Eskau of War.

Beyond that, she had the regular duties of an Eskau to attend to—though, not standing ceremonial guard for the Revered City Lord. It would include standing as judge and arbiter for some squabble between champions of Major Houses, and being placed as next in the cycle to close a void hold…

But that was for after. The champions weren’t scheduled for days yet, and there were at least three other Eskau before her on the void hold list.

“That’s right, the two Houses. I want your thoughts on the matter.”

Lea frowned in thought before asking, “Do you want me to give you my opinion or offer options as a gated? Or as an arcane would?”

Tala held up her hand. “Remember, Lea, ‘arcane’ is a pejorative.”

“Right… sorry. Then, as the other Houses might?”

“Let’s hear each.”

Lea gave her a flat look, then sighed. “Very well. I believe that gated humanity would approach this diplomatically. We would attempt to ply the two Houses with the benefits of working with us and hope to change their view of us going forward. If they attacked, we would then crush them.”

“And the likely results of that? Would they attack?”

“That is unlikely. They would be most prone to take the benefits, seeing it as their due, and not really change their view. If anything, our actions would lower us in their esteem because it would be tacit proof that we saw ourselves as beneath them as well. We might be ‘safe’ in a sense, but it would be the safety of fragility, simply hoping that no one deigns to break us.”

Tala grunted in agreement, giving a half smile. “Go on, then.”

“Most Houses would send a champion to challenge those two, or find a way to clash with them in some other way—whether martially, economically, or in some other manner—and therefore show them the error of their assumption of superiority.” Lea gave a half smile, took a sip of tea, and continued. “Eskau Meallian would assault them directly, likely causing a good deal of damage in order to force them to withdraw from the city.”

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Tala huffed a laugh at that. “Indeed. And what do you recommend.”

The girl’s eyes hardened. “They challenged you and attacked dad. We should put them in their place.”

Tala arched an eyebrow. “That was only the House of the Frost Lance.”

Lea shrugged. “Exactly. We make an example of them. Offer them a subservient deal, and when they say no, crush them. Then, offer the same deal to the other House.”

“The Fated Clash?”

Lea nodded. “Exactly. Make the offer public each time, that way the implied threat the second time cannot be missed.”

Tala regarded her daughter critically, not sure if she was proud or concerned that Lea had come to the same conclusion as Tala, herself. “Maybe you’ve been having too many lessons with Lisa and Eskau Meallain.”

Lea grinned back. “I’m remembering your stories, Mom.”

“Oh…” Tala shook her head, smiling at her daughter. “Well, I can see that I suppose.”

“So…? What will you do?”