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"OOH!"
🕑 Added 2021-11-18 03:27:14 +0000 UTCRebecca suddenly squealed. "I just had the best idea! I absolutely LOVE what you're doing with your ensemble, Raccoon Monster! Rags and tatters are SOOO witchy-chic! It just occurred to me, I could open a boutique that sells artificially aged clothing. Just imagine, stockings with holes already in them. Dresses that are faded and worn. Nobody's done it before! Everyone would be talking about it, and that already gives me an idea for the name: Cool Subject!"
"I helped come up with the idea, so I get half the profits," Burnside stopped rending her garments just long enough to declare.
"Sir, I'm worried that your followers are so easily distracted," Vernier murmured.
"Shush!" I shushed her. "Go keep an eye on them while I talk to Ash. I'm about to go into some delicate negotiations and I need complete concentration."
"So far, I can't give you a very good performance review," I stated into the mug. "Our original agreement was that you would supply me with information on this Zandar character, look for her, and spread stories of my deeds to help me build up a following. Instead of doing that, you blinded me to the outside world and helped run off the few followers I already had."
"That's not entirely fair," Ash protested. "I did in fact pursue the specified tasks. Unfortunately, your closing statement was very vague and open ended. You said you didn't want to know what I did. The phrasing made it seem like you were giving me leave to take whatever action I deemed necessary, and carry it out as I saw fit. You may not realize it yet, but the current situation you're in is very necessary for the both of us. Plus, I was not under any official obligation. There was no contract signed, no pact agreed upon, nor any oath sworn. As it stands, what I have been doing for you thus far has technically just been a few personal favors rather than anything official."
"Why are you so obsessed with contracts and oaths?" I sighed. "It's un-elfly, I tell you! An elf's word is his bond!"
"That certainly is true," Ash admitted. "But what word, exactly, was I bound by? You never made me promise anything."
"What about your sense of honor?" I blurted.
"Really, Your Highness," Ash replied icily after a short pause. "You knew from the start that I was Unseelie, yet you naively assumed I would do what you wanted without being compelled by any sort of binding oath or contract. You never actually told me not to betray you, so you can't really act surprised that I did. One thing you have absolutely got to learn if you ever hope to be Emperor is how to keep your allies on a short leash. Trust is a luxury that a monarch cannot afford. Never assume your friends have your best interests at heart. Always make sure that they do, and always eliminate any opportunity for treachery as soon as you can."
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Comments
Rick2tails
Burnside nipples are the only ones Id be thinking about for certain
Major Matt Mason
Slippery Jim diGriz called... ;D
Major Matt Mason
I'm trying NOT to think of the nipplage. Unless, of course, it's our fave shortstack maniac trash panda. ;-)
Walter Reimer
Or the Irish author of 'How to Vote the Graveyard,' Mack O'Velly?
Walter Reimer
Think of the nippleage!
Major Matt Mason
But not in shredded clothes. Brrrrr.
Of course. Ash insists this is why the Unseelie are destined to rule the world. They're more pragmatic than those hopelessly idealistic Seelie slobs!
You're thinking of that great Scottish political philosopher Nick Mac Yavelly.
Major Matt Mason
Ash's first name isn't Niccolo, is it? And seconded on Burnside in shredded clothing. ❤️
Rick2tails
ash is making some true points mixed in with his own self serving of course.also I want to see Burnside in shredded clothing ;)
Simone Spinozzi
knowing this comes from ash i would try and do some experiments like pulling and slacking the string while keeping the hand on while he is talking and/or letting go of it... ...all of this as if "by mistake" while gesticulating when talking/listening. That way one can check if Ash can listen through it and the string pulling is just a misdirection and he can actually listen in without truly needing the string pulling, and therefore lulling our protagonist into a false sense of security.
Merle Blue
What an Unseelie way to look at it...
