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If Tidas hadn’t of caught it, then Marco could’ve demanded more people from the Highlands if the threat of war was eminent. Or if Alcon loss a massive amount of mages in a battle, Marco could refer to it as a dire situation, and indoctrinate twice the number of mages agreed to, or possibly more.

Not being a fool, Tidas knew that his brother had written it in such a way as to leave the treaty open to ‘interpretation’. Meaning that during Marco’s rein: he could indoctrinate every mage within the totality of Alcon, which technically included the Highlands. So long as he had another law or order dictating the requirement of it.

It wasn’t easy to catch since it was oddly buried within the section pertaining to the trade agreement section. Marco was trying to pass off mages as a service or good to be bartered. Tidas was furious that he had Obviously tried to pull one over on not just him, but the Highlanders as well..

“Murdoc may have missed it, but Amara Definitely would’ve caught it. Do you realize that you could’ve just jeopardized the entire peace pact?!” Tidas nearly screamed at his older brother when he had found the attempted alteration of the agreement.

Magnus was reading over the section as Tidas chewed out his brother, and said; “I don’t see what your point is here.. How could a few sentences ruin the treaty?”

Tidas grabbed the paper and pointed to the section heading; “Do you see the title of this section? It pertains to the trading of livestock! People are Not livestock! The Highlanders value their citizens more than anything. Seeing not only the Blatant lack of respect for their people, but the attempted general manipulation of the treaty-”

“Oh, for the love of the gods,” Marco drawled as he huffed in concealed contempt of his youngest brother; “It’s not uncommon for the drafter of the contract to write it so that all inferences and interpretations are left to their discretion.”

Tidas was trying very hard not to lose his temper as he took a deep breath, and replied; “But this isn’t Just a contract, it’s a treaty of peace, and the establishment of a shared economy-”

“Tomato, tamato,” Marco quipped, but Tidas kept talking; “Did you think that Murdoc would sign it without reading it? That his people would let him? Or that he would feel pressured to in front of everyone?!”

.....

Marco shrugged as he plopped down into a chair; “I was hoping so, but alas: you’ve ruined it for me. Whether you agree with the terminology or not, a treaty Is a contract. It only makes sense that I give our kingdom the upper hand.”

Tidas stepped towards his oldest brother like he really was going to punch him when Lawrence moved in between them; “Marco, you’re being an ass on purpose. Knock it off so we can finish this, and go eat.”

Marco nodded to his brother as he commented; “Fine, but this will make my future relationship with the Highlanders strained from the start. Is there no way I can convince you to accept the pre-drafted sheet?”

Tidas glared at Marco, who put his hands up in a defense manner as he answered himself; “Alright, I won’t ask again. Although I do find your loyalty to the Highlanders over me quite disturbing..”

He knew that he was being baited, so Tidas calmly replied; “Don’t mistake my Honor as a decent human being for loyalty to another kingdom. I am loyal to Alcon: always.”

Marco had to hold back a sly grin; “But not to me..”

Magnus sighed heavily as he finished making his final read of the completed treaty; “Enough, you two. You’ve had similar arguments like this, and there’s no point in discussing it now.”

“No, not now...”

Marco had spoken so low that only Tidas had heard him. The oldest and youngest locked eyes for a moment, and Tidas had to do a double-take.. ‘Were....Were his eyes solid black a second ago?!’

Tidas watched his oldest brother get up, walk over, and start to melt the wax for their father’s official seal with unconcealed shock. Lawrence cleared his throat, making his brother close the slight gape to his mouth. As the Ruscovic King looked between his brothers with worry, Magnus silently watched his sons with a heavy heart..

Marco had always been overly reserved, but the three used to at least get along for his sake. Now, Lawrence was the only one who made attempts to maintain his relationships with his brothers. Magnus knew that he only tolerated Marco now, but at least he still tried to put his father at ease on occasion..

‘I may have ruined that now.. I know that he’s still angry at me over taking Karena’s side.. He has every right to be. He may be my bairn, but Lawrence is a fine King.. I need to give him due credit for that..’

Magnus walked over, and patted Lawrence’s shoulder; “What are my sons doing for lunch?”

“Working,” Marco replied instantly, knowing where his father was going.

Lawrence flashed him a small smile; “Shasta and I were going to eat with Skye, Tidas, Nicolas, and Maevis. Why?”

Magnus shuffled his feet slightly; “Marie was supposed to eat with me, but she suddenly took off to Dragonhorn for some reason or another.. Would you mind adding another to your party?”

Lawrence looked at Tidas, who grinned and answered; “It would be a pleasure for you to eat with us, Father..”

Tidas looked over at Marco as he gathered up papers; “Would you care to reschedule for tomorrow?”

Marco looked up with slight annoyance emanating from him, but not actually at Tidas as he replied; “Tomorrow, after the announcement about the Spear. We can talk then.”

Magnus perked up, hopeful to hear that his sons were talking to each other civilly without being ordered to. Lawrence, on the other hand, wasn’t so na?ve. He glanced between his brothers, but decided to ask a more pertinent question..

“What about the Spear? I thought the RMC was guarding it?”

Tidas smiled at Lawrence; “We are currently, but it needed to be assigned to someone while Skye and I are in Sai. Father named her the Guardian of the Spear, but we can’t take it with us to another kingdom. Far too many problems could happen, so we’re leaving it here with someone I trust completely.”

Lawrence quirked an eyebrow; “Shasta?”

Magnus chuckled; “That was his first suggestion, but Marco made a valid point: she’s not completely a citizen of Alcon anymore. After Skye gets properly trained, she’ll replace Shasta as a Pillar, allowing her to move to Ruscovic. With their trip to Sai taking an undetermined amount of time, it’s best if the Spear stay with another.”

“Did he agree to it?” Marco asked out of the blue.

Magnus nodded; “Aye, he did. I think that man would do anything right now to stop Skye from being angry with him..”

Tidas looked at his father with wide eyes; “Genie?! How can Genie train Skye to be an Alconian General?!”

Magnus chortled before replying; “It’s not like a General’s responsibility changes much from one kingdom to the next, laddie. Sai, Alcon, Highlanders: we all have troops to command, and Genie himself holds a similar rank to yours.”

As understanding overtook Tidas’ features, Magnus continued; “He can send a message after Skye’s training has been completed if their stay in Sai takes longer than six months from their arrival. That way Shasta can go to her kingdom without waiting for an extended period of time.”

Lawrence scoffed; “Six months isn’t a long time to you?”

Magnus shrugged; “I didn’t like any of my wives as much as you do Shasta.”

Tidas’ expression deflated; “Those are our mothers that you’re talking about..”

“...I said what I said. Thry may have been your mothers, but as far as wives go.. Let me give you lads a piece of advice: have something in common with your woman! If not, then expect very dull-”

As Tidas and Lawrence grinned like lovestruck fools, Magnus scoffed, then smiled as he said; “Aye.. I don’t see you two having any dull moments with your wives. I’m happy that you boys have found happiness..”

Magnus turned to Marco; “What about you, laddie? Do you still love Karena?”

With an utterly emotionless expression, Marco replied; “Love was never part of our relationship. The treaty with Meccano was critical when I married her, but things have changed now.. I don’t even like her as a person anymore.”

“Well, don’t hold back: tell us how you really feel about it,” Lawrence muttered, but no one had heard him.

Tidas was going to say something about the feeling most-likely being neutral, but Marco practically scurried out of the door. Before he left, however; Marco told Tidas to meet him in his RMC office at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. That they could speak before they handed the Spear over.

As the remaining three MacArthurs sent the treaty to Murdoc for his approval, Lawrence asked; “By the way: who did you get to babysit the Spear? I thought Skye was the only one who could touch it?”

“Barehanded, aye, but he won’t need to. The only time that the Spear would be removed from where it is now is if a disaster happened. Or if war broke out, and the city was invaded.. Then again I don’t see him sitting around protecting a stick if that happened.”

Lawrence squinted at his brother as they headed for the door; “So who did you get to handle such a ridiculous task? Since my future wife couldn’t?”

Marco had been stopped by a servant in the hallway as soon as he had exited his father’s parlor. An urgent message had arrived for him that had brought a wide smile to his face.. ‘Good.. They’re all in position.. Everything is ready now..’

As the thought crossed his mind, Marco heard his brothers talking. His grin grew wider as the information from this morning was verified again. Just as he had predicted so many months ago..

Tidas smiled at Lawrence as the three MacArthurs headed to Tidas and Skye’s quarters; “Who do you think? Zas, of course..”

************

Skye, Shasta, and Maevis were just putting their materials away when the men showed back up. Magnus smiled to himself when he saw how Skye and Shasta lit up upon seeing his sons. Only one person had ever made him as happy as the women before him made his sons..

‘Oh, Sorcha.. How happy you would be to see your lass.. She reminds me of you more and more..’

“Oi! Maggie! Get over here! Peg just got back wit the food! If ye be wantin’ ta eat, I suggest that ya move yer arse before it’s all gone!” Skye bellowed from the table near their bookshelves.

Magnus laughed to himself; “What am I? Chopped liver?! Save some for your king!”