Black Mirror (Closed)

Corrine looked around in exasperation as the various Lords and Knights bristled and postured to each other. Once again she gave Nathan a wary glance for starting this mess, but was shocked to see him staring back at her with a calm calculated look. At that moment, like a thunderbolt, it gave her an instant of clarity.

Lord Frey was Black. Ser Loreia was Black. Ser Eoric was Black. Lord and Lady Drakeson were Black. She and Ben were Black. All the nobles arguing were Black. In fact, except for Nathan who now watched with interest not a single person embroiled in the argument was Green.

With a few subtle, and ultimately innocuous comments, Nathan had sparked a brushfire among the Blacks. Was it simply and object example or something more? With such conflicts simmering blow the surface, and brought to the fore so easily, how could they ever hope to champion their cause.

Nathan's look said volumes. 'Are you seeing what I am seeing. Do you understand?'

The Imp, Mushroom peered over Nathan's shoulder with a broad grin. He certainly saw. Perhaps he'd seen from the beginning. Perhaps he had even asked Nathan to instigate the whole situation.

She approached him, arms folded, though more defensively than reproachfully.

"Mushroom, leave us," she commanded, though her voice was gentle.

[The following is assuming he obeys]

"Nathan, were you paid to start this, or was it a personal project?" she asked, very quietly, her voice as calm as she could make it, though there was sorrow and anxiety in her eyes.

With a glance from Nathan, the Imp gave a grimace and jumped down from the box.  Mushroom walked through the crowd making pointed remarks, obviously trying to inflame the room further.

"You are angry with me."  he said softly.  "I am sorry you are angry."  However, it was clear he was not sorry for his actions.  "I did this for a number of reasons.  No, I was not paid, I was requested.  You are a clever woman, Lady Marsten, who would make that request?"  Nathan's gaze followed the Imp around the room.

"Did they make that request on their own behalf, or did that request come from someone else, and who would that be?"  If Mushroom had made the request, there would be only one man who would have given the Imp such a task.

"Tell me, would a few casual remarks have born such fruit had they not been planted in such fertile soil?"

"Why is it we are going to war at such a divisive and volatile time, Lady Marsten?  Does that not seem odd to you?  It is almost like someone wishes the Blacks and Greens to work together against a common foe."

Nathan glances about the room at the squabbling nobles.  He smiles, but his smile is a disappointed one.  "It would seem that the Blacks have much seething below the surface if such small insults generates such a reaction."  He glances at Corrine with soft blue eyes.  "One wonders how they will manage to work along side the Greens if so little sets them at each others throats."

"I'm not angry with you, Nathan. Only distressed that you decided it was a good idea to undo the hard work that you & I put into trying to bring about peace. If it had been a Green targeted, I suspect you'd have been quiet as the grave. I thought..."

She shook her head, fighting impotent tears.

"I never thought a friend would humiliate me so. Clearly I should have learned that I can trust no one. And now, I have to try and fix this mess. On my own. Next time someone asks you to do something like this, I would appreciate it if you'd decline. If you truly want us all to work together, try acting like it."

She hastily wiped a frustrated tear from her eye.

"Feel free to help me calm these people down, since it's peace you want."

Ben stands cautiously at his wife's side. Disapproval at the entirety of this debacle more than evident. A box full of tender. Fuel spilling forth from everyone's mouth. All that was needed was the spark. Well trained eyes flit through the tender to find the pieces of flint and steel. Hopefully before they meet.

Nathan looked at Corrine for a long moment. There was compassion in Nathan's eyes. He was sympathetic to her tears, but not moved by them.

"I am sorry you feel that way, Lady Marsten. I have always been honest with you. You know that I will always put my personal feelings aside for what I believe to be the greater good. If this has damaged our friendship, I apologize, but I would do the same again, and if I was aware of such serious rifts existed among the Greens, I would have done the same to them.

There is no peace unless it is earned. You cannot plaster over such things with wishful thinking and call it peace. An infected wound must be lanced and drained or it will continue to fester. Is it not better to get such conflicts out in the open? If I was seeking political advantage, would it not be more in my best interest to let such conflicts grow? The Blacks will be stronger for this day, and the weak will fall by the wayside. Do not think the Greens are getting any less of my attention. There are several that support the Green cause through selfishness and greed rather than idealism that are quickly learning their error.

Lord Drakeson called me a fool. Am I a fool, Lady Marsten? Tell me. When the Stranger finally comes for our good King, who would you have by your side to help you avert the conflict; the reasonable and just Lord Frey, or the dissident Ser Eoric... a man who has steadfastly refused to aid his Father in administering the lands he will inherit because he disagrees with his Father's politics.

Perhaps you believe a civil war is inevitable. Is it really peace you want this day, or is it merely the appearance of peace through forced civility? If tearing off a few masks now will save hundreds of lives in the future, I do it gladly and with no regret. Better a few harsh words and perhaps a bit of honesty now than the alternative when everyone is drawing steel.

You are angry with me because I baited them, but is that fair? They did not need to swallow the bait and ask for more. I basically called Ser Eoric unremarkable. I have been called much, much worse and with far less cause. There are others who would have done worse and with less noble goals. If there are chinks in the Black armor, would you prefer they be pointed out? Or would you rather wait till someone decides to stick a blade in.

Yes, I want peace, and after the Blackwood and Bracken negotiations, you of all people must realize that sacrifices must be made for peace. I have no problem sacrificing a few reputations for peace, even my own, and as much as I cherish our friendship... if it would avert great bloodshed, I would sacrifice that as well.

"Nathan, what in the seven hells do you expect me to do?" She asked, wearily. "I will be addressing this powder keg in fifteen seconds, so please be brief. And if the answer is another vaguery like averting war, I swear I might just leave everyone here to kill eachother and move to fucking Sothoros."

"Breath. Breath, dear. Nathan walks a fine line just being our friend." He lovingly squeezes her hand. "We can not expect him to be able to answer or explain all for us. Our goals do not always align."

As ever, Ben's hand grasping hers brings her back to earth, out of the screaming gale of her own panicked thoughts. She squeezes back uncomfortably hard.

"You are right. I'm sorry."

She looks back at Nathan, her shoulders sinking.

"I am sorry, Nathan. I don't understand your reasons for this, and I regret that. I will reflect, but right now, nobody is able to talk of peace or reconciliation while so many voices are raised in anger. I feel I must stem the tide first, lest the open wounds bleed out the good with the bad."

"To be honest, I do not know what Loreia was thinking. Her words go far beyond a few subtle taunts, and as a Knight her words are taken far more seriously than that of a whore."

Nathan thought for a long moment, his eyes lighting on Daveth Coldbrook.

"If you wish to leash the Shieldmaiden, you must look to her master. If he apologizes to Lord Frey, the matter will be dropped at least, if not forgotten."

He bowed to both of them. "Now, if you excuse me, Mushroom is having far more fun than is healthy for anyone." He gives Ben a soft smile. "You are right, Lord Marsten. I walk a fine line. Someday I may slip and it will take off my head."

With a small shrug, Nathan trekked off to corral the boisterous Imp currently doing a running commentary of the heated arguments while eating nuts and throwing the shells at the collected nobles.

Ben returns that smile. Under his breath he whisper to no one. "Or ours."

With a deep breath, Corrine clambers up onto a bench and shouts to be heard over the flurry of activity.

"Stop arguing, you fools! Can you not see this is what our enemies want? Look around! Blacks at eachother's throats, while Greens look on, assured in their triumph to see how fractured we are! Will you let agitators play on our old grudges and weaknesses until we destroy eachother and our cause, so they may march to victory over our corpses! Our King tried to use adversity to unify Black and Green against a common enemy. That has failed. Do not make this mistake any longer!"

She thrusts an accusing finger eastwards, over everyone's heads.

"Across the sea, there are forces that look upon the Seven Kingdoms with envious eyes! If we cannot even keep peace between ourselves in the face of a petty jibe, then we may as well lie down and beg them to plonk their avaricious, foreign arses on our thrones! Sort out your grievances in private and start acting like you care about more than your pride, or we will sleepwalk into a war we will sorely lose. Think on all the innocents who will suffer for this folly!"

Persuasion (Convince): 6d6k5 21

Ben assists his wife to her makeshift podium. He stands on the ground at her feet. His hand up raised to her leg to steady her should she lose balence or quickly pull her down should things go badly.