I didn’t know what to think when His Majesty asked me to attend a private meeting with the little lady of Grimwood. I was even less sure what to think afterward. The revelations we heard in that little conference room were incredible. Was it possible she was lying about any of it? Absolutely, but did that make sense? If the creature she brought into the room with her wasn’t really Worgin, why lie about it? Worgin wasn’t all that important politically. He’d certainly be missed by the scholars, but nobody else would pay him any mind. With what she’d said about immortality, we couldn’t treat him as Worgin anymore anyway. She could just as easily have told us that he’d died, and we’d have been none the wiser.
The king had sent the royal physician to treat Worgin, but she’d returned promptly, saying he was dying from old age. That woman detested wasting time. If she thought a patient was beyond help, she felt her time would be better spent on someone she could save. It was a bit harsh, but not entirely incorrect. In times of war or disaster, doctors treated the patients with the most severe wounds or symptoms first, but if any were too far gone, the doctors would just move on. Far better to save the next man than waste time on someone who would die no matter what. Then again, I supposed death was inevitable for us all. I’d heard that in some cultures people didn’t believe in doctors at all, and just let death come as it would.
I turned to His Majesty after our guests left the room. “What do you make of it, sire? Can she be trusted?”
“What reason does she have to lie?”
“About Worgin, certainly none. Regarding the air, however—”
“It certainly could be a ploy to keep us from asking for lumber. Then again, I’ve heard these towers of hers can house people, so perhaps we could make use of them for that purpose. That way, we wouldn’t need as much wood.”
“The idea makes me uneasy,” I admitted. “After all, she controls what happens inside those towers to a large degree. She could easily hold our people hostage if we’re not careful.”
“She doesn’t really seem the type,” mused the king. “After dealing with my brother for so long, I’ve gotten pretty good at detecting lies. She doesn’t strike me as a schemer; I personally believe we can take her at her word. We should discuss her proposal with the rest of the ministers and my advisors. Let us adjourn to another conference room, as this one is ill-suited to such a large group.”
As the king instructed, he and I relocated to a larger conference room, and were soon joined by the other ministers and advisors. The meeting was contentious, and lasted far longer than it should have. From fairly early on, everyone was in agreement about putting a wall around the Grimwood. Our real debate was over how many more towers the girl should be allowed to place within the borders of the kingdom beyond that. She’d already demonstrated how she could potentially strangle a city in Finnelbraugh, and many feared she would do the same to the entire kingdom if she could. One wrong move, and we’d all be her hostages. Objections were raised one after the other, but the king put an end to them with one simple question:
“How would you propose we stop her, then? It seems to me that she could do whatever she pleased, and we’d be powerless to prevent it. Far better, then, to negotiate as equals, and obtain terms favorable to the kingdom. If we object or refuse too strongly, she may do exactly as you suggested and strangle this kingdom with an abundance of her towers. Therefore, I’d like to ask her if she would request permission before placing a tower in our kingdom anywhere outside of the Grimwood. In exchange, I’m more than willing to cede the entirety of the Grimwood region the kingdom currently claims to her. Truthfully, she could just wall it off and take it anyway, so we’re not really losing anything.”
With this logic thrust in their faces, the ministers and advisors began to see Lady Grimwood in a new light.
“It’s true, she’s actually being quite generous and polite to even bother negotiating.”
“She must truly value peace.”
“What an astute ruler.”
“I wonder if she’s married?”
That question caused quite a stir, and they spent a few minutes speculating about her prospects. The king put a stop to it after the discussion started trending toward his eldest son, who was currently in the nursery.
In the end, it was decided that we would cede the Grimwood to her in exchange for the wall, and require her to ask permission each and every time she wanted to construct a tower inside the kingdom’s borders. If she agreed to that, our troubles with the monster-filled forest would be truly over.