"I don't understand why Whiteoak can't make this meeting," Chief Acorn Goodweaver told the group upon his late arrival. "I thought it was all arranged."
Lily Sandduster concealed her dislike for the engineer and her annoyance at his inability to be punctual. She chose her reply carefully. "I'm sorry, Chief Goodweaver. As I said earlier, my father has been asked to speak at this evening's celebration for the returning raiders. He's asked me to lead the discussion while he prepares his thoughts."
"What about the others?" Goodweaver asked. "There's only the five of us. That's hardly enough to make any decisions."
"This meeting is to inform, not to decide. I thought it best to keep it small and minimize attention to our absence elsewhere."
Lily gazed at Whiteoak's inner circle of supporters gathered in the Sun Room, a stone chamber high in the Heights where a fissure in the rock face allowed the late afteroon sun to stream in. Though unique in the colony, the room was cold and drafty and shunned by most ants who preferred the warm earthy chambers of the lower levels. Her father liked to use the room for meetings; the lofty cold walls conveyed a sense of importance and majesty that magnified his own considerable presence.
Her supporters sat in a circle about a low stone table before Whiteoak's great desk of carven bark. Lily resisted the urge to take a seat behind the desk, knowing it was important to sit as one of the conspirators. "Play to their egos," her father had told her. "Don't flatter them, but show them the respect they think they're due."
The hard-faced engineer sat rubbing his twisted right arm, the result of a tunneling accident years earlier. He was not satisfied with Lily's response. He saw Whiteoak's daughter as little more than a figurehead. Why was she wasting their time if they wouldn't be deciding anything? Only the fact that most of the others were present kept him from feeling insulted. He was an important ant and had things to do. "Why don't we postpone the meeting? We don't have much time time anyway, we're all expected at the celebration."
Lily arched an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting I am not capable of leading this discussion?"
Emerald Bentweed spoke up quickly. "No one here thinks anything of the kind, Lily." She threw a cautioning glance at Goodweaver. "We are confident in your leadership, otherwise all our meetings are pointless."
Lily allowed herself to be mollified. Her fathers words warning her of her temper came back to her. She knew he was right, and silently cursed herself for the lapse. She looked around the room at her father's advisors. Besides the chief and the elegant Councilant Bentweed, only Colonel Broadleaf and her father's advisor, Sirius Fairweather, were present. Lily still didn't see what her father saw in the thin ant with the lazy eye. "Don't underestimate Sirius," Whiteoak had advised. "He's one of the queen's few mistakes, and we must capitalize on every one if we're to achieve our ends." Lily glanced out of the narrow crack that let in the warm rays of the setting sun. Sirius was once a friend of the queen's family. Though that was long ago and his services to her father have since been invaluable, Lily did not entirely trust him.
Sunny Broadleaf leaned nonchalantly against a wall, the only ant not seated. Entertained by the tunnel engineer's petty expression of annoyance, Broadleaf declared with a touch of sarcasm, "Doubtless Whiteoak will be escorting the delightful Lady Riverside this evening."
Emerald laughed, but Goodweaver made a disgusted noise. "A waste of time," he said. "We don't need her. Whiteoak got her the Granary position, he can get someone else if she doesn't do what she's told."
"Hardly an easy task," Sirius said. "We cashed in many favors to get Lavender appointed Chief of the Granary. Who else would you suggest for the position? Who else has the experience and is yet so easily manipulated?"
"Carissa Sanddust--"
"Doesn't have the experience," Sirius interrupted. "And would too obviously be a family lackey, reducing her political effectiveness. Lavender also helps to counter Chief Deeptunnels, where Carissa would not. If you'll recall, the queen wished to consolidate the position under the harvest chief, and she'd have done so if Whiteoak had not argued successfully for the separation of the two positions." Justin Deeptunnels, the Chief of the Harvest, had steadfastly refused their advances and veiled bribes. He bitterly opposed Lavender's appointment to Chief of the Granary. "Coddling Lavender is distasteful, but, as it happens, necessary."
"I agree," Emerald said. "Lavender's support is critical for the food-token law to pass. Let her tongue wag for us for a change. She has many friends in her circle, and they'll all follow her lead like so many dull-witted workers. With the food-token law in place, we'll be able to annonymously pay off certain parties useful to our cause, and Lavender is essential to that plan. So we coddle her."
Colonel Broadleaf nodded his agreement. Some of the tokens would go to General Bramble, who had a large family and was overly partial to his many daughters. He would not suffer any of them to go hungry during rationing. For such favors the general would give substantial latitude to Broadleaf's authority and advice. Broadleaf thought little of the general who had achieved his position largely through political maneuvering, and everyone present knew the colonel coveted the general's position. The promise of that position was Whiteoak's main hold on the young colonel, the only other East River ant capable of rivaling the military abilities of Colonel Watershome or Captain Dahlia Hightunnel. Broadleaf looked steadily at the tunnel chief. "Whiteoak doesn't do things for trivial reasons."
"Yes, yes, I know that--"
"You see the need, Chief?" Lily asked, her voice offering just a hint of sweetness as she used the title he liked so much. For most of the colony, Justin Deeptunnels was the only ant known simply as 'Chief'.
"Yes. Sorry."
Broadleaf and Lily exchanged glances. Both had their doubts about the reliability of the engineer. Broadleaf allowed his eyes to linger on Lily. Though not beautiful, Lily was moderately tall and fit, and she took care to make herself presentable. Broadleaf loved to look at her diaphanous wings. He'd long heard the rumor that a birth defect prevented her from fully extending them. The colonel had never seen Whiteoak's daughter fly, so perhaps the rumor was true. It mattered little to him, and he thought her no less attractive.
Emerald decided it was time to raise the issue that had called them together. "The chief is correct, we have little time before our engagements at the festivities this evening. We understand there's news of the queen's illness?"
"Yes," Lily began. "We now know the queen is terminally ill. My father has long suspected this, but we know for certain now. We think she won't survive another month."
Various looks were exchanged around the room.
"How was this information obtained?" Emerald asked. "Is it reliable?"
Lily nodded. "It's reliable, but the source is unimportant. It raises some issues, and my father believes there may be an opportunity here."
Emerald and Acorn expressed surprise, for it was general knowledge that the queen was expected to recover, but Sirius had already guessed the queen's illness was worse than commonly known. He recalled Princess Hyacinth's presence at the last Council meeting. She had the Baton and was therefore sent by her mother. The queen was sure to know Hyacinth would be useless in Council, so Sirius had decided the wily queen was sending a message to Whiteoak, a message no one else was likely to understand: I'm dying, and though you expect to manipulate my eldest, my youngest will be watching you. Sirius thought Hyacinth capricious and irresponsible, but she was not stupid. In time she might even become very capable, a possibility he and Whiteoak had discussed. Having Timothy Flintspur escort the princess was also a shrewd move by the queen, Sirius thought. Timothy was a rising star, as the recent raid so spectacularly proved. Their affection for each other was obvious. A match between the two would be a strong combination.
Sirius said, "This does raise possibilities."
"How unfortunate for the crown," Broadleaf said, delighted to have his own suspicions confirmed at last.
"Ha! It's amazing news," Chief Goodweaver added. "So in just a month or two we'll only have the daughters to deal with? The situation is so much simpler now! Which princess will she want to succeed her?"
Broadleaf shrugged. "The dumb one's the oldest. It would be unusual if the eldest didn't succeed to the throne."
"The queen will certainly want Hyacinth on the throne." Emerald said. "She couldn't possibly be so foolish as to let the other one succeed her."
"That's bad for us, right?" Goodweaver asked. "Is there anything we can do about it?"
"The queen can select whoever she likes, even someone not her daughter, but the Council must approve the succession," Lily said. "That's the law, dating back to the Covenants. But the Families have the right of approval of successsion through the Council."
Sirius listened idly to the conversation, but his mind was working on the problem of who informed on the queen's health. Only a few could know. He doubted Princess May Blossom knew, for the knowledge would devastate her and May Blossom could never hope to conceal such a thing. That suggested the information was limited to a tight, trusted group. Princess Hyacinth probably knows since she attended the recent Council meeting. She would certainly guess otherwise. Dr. Ragweed has been attending the queen, and one or more of his assistants might know. One of the field surgeons might know, particularly if they had been called in as a consultant. The queen would want Mesquite to know. Foxtail Lightkeeper might know as well; Foxtail and Mesquite were quite close. The queen's chambermaids might also know....
"It would be better for us if the eldest succeeds," Broadleaf was saying. "Whiteoak could manipulate her much more easily."
"A thing of that importance would require a full Council vote," Emerald observed. "Most councilants are tired of a strong queen, so many will favor the weaker choice. But with Curry gone, we don't have a full Council. If we can install a councilor favorable to our cause, at least for this vote, we can all but guarantee our favored selection. But if Mallow Shellblower is made councilant, the vote would almost certainly approve the queen's dying wish and we might have to deal with the younger one, who would be more difficult."
Sirius dismissed unlikely candidates. Foxtail probably wasn't told-- though very loyal to the queen, he was known to be loquacious. Mesquite wouldn't have told members of his family or assistants-- he was too careful, and the ant himself was incorruptible. The queen was savvy, and would have asked Dr. Ragweed to keep the information to himself rather than share the information with an assistant or pull in a field surgeon for another opinion. The queen would have had the sense to dismiss her chamberants during Ragweed's visits. Hyacinth was not a gossip and too smart to be easily tricked. Sirius concluded Ragweed was the informant. His mind came back to the conversation at hand. "The Feast of Founding is just over two months from now, isn't it?"
Goodweaver stared with contempt at Sirius. "What? What's that got to do with anything?" He did not like Whiteoak's skinny advisor, and thought the ant should be paying better attention.
Emerald sat up. "Ah! Yes, so it is. Not quite two months."
A sour expression crossed the chief's face. He was not used to being uninformed. "What's this about the Feast?"
"My father proposed delaying the vote on Curry's replacement until the Feast of Founding," Lily said. "Obviously he did so knowing the queen will likely be dead by that time, and no longer able to influence the Council's vote. The Feast was just a cover, playing on colony patriotism. With the queen gone, we'll have a better chance of defeating that pompous Mallow and putting someone favorable to our cause in the seat."
Emerald continued for Lily, "And with someone favorable in the seat, we can control the vote and determine which princess succeeds the queen. Whiteoak must have suspected the nature of the queen's condition for some time."
"Yes, I see..." Goodweaver said, comprehending the situation. He admired Whiteoak's fast thinking and cleverness in Council.
"Hyacinth may be a fool," Lily said, "But our tasks will be easier with her idiot sister on the throne, however short her reign may be."
"Yes, though personally I don't believe the younger one will be able to stand in our way." Emerald said. "She's nothing compared to her mother, and barely larger than a child. No one will respect her. Head Councilant Hightunnel is another matter. He'll be our real opponent with the queen gone."
"The queen will have given this a great deal of thought," Sirius said. "I don't think she'll fight for an unorthodox succession. There's too much risk of failure in council. She's always avoided uncertain fights, focusing instead on the ones she's more likely to win. I think she'll let Princess May Blossom take the Baton, and instruct Princess Hyacinth to advise her. Princess May Blossom worships her sister, and will do what she says. We should consider this possibility." he said to Lily.
"I disagree," Emerald said. "The queen would have to be insane to want that moron on the throne under any circumstances, especially in these times."
"The queen is unfortunately not insane, and I think you underestimate Princess May Blossom."
"You must be joking. She spends her time with children. She cowers whenever the most junior councilant looks at her. Underestimate her? I think I'm being fairly generous in my judgement."
"Nevertheless, that is my opinion." Sirius replied.
"Based on what?"
"Observation."
"What about Hyacinth appearing in Council with the baton? I think that points to her choice."
"It may have been intended to be misleading. Princess Hyacinth's appearance has merit in either case.
"My father will weigh both possibities carefully," Lily said, heading off further argument. "Clearly it's preferrable that the elder daughter becomes queen, and we'll work toward that end. However the situation turns out, there are two parts to our plan. First, most in the colony would agree that neither princess is an optimal leader for the colony. It will be our task to convince the colony that a better choice will be required in the days ahead. But as we know the colony is 'blessed' with two prime choices. Therefore, we must remove one to make our alternative candidate more prominant. As the one most likely to be troublesome, the clear choice for removal is Hyacinth."
Several in the room raised their eyebrows in astonishment as they digested this.
Emerald was incredulous. "Kill her? You can't be serious. That's treason of the highest order."
Sirius spoke up. "By having this meeting, we're already involved in treason, and the Covenant lists only one penalty for convicted traitors. Let's hear what Lily has to say."
"I did not say 'kill'," Lily continued. "We have no desire to kill anyone. There are other ways to remove the princess from power. My father suggests that when the time is right, a new mission to West River be proposed, this time with Hyacinth taking the part of Councilant Toothwort in leading the mission. Given the reception Shellblower received in West River, my father believes that the good princess would be imprisoned just like Shellblower."
"It was a stroke of fortune for us that Curry Toothwort perished on that first mission," Sirius wryly observed. "Perhaps the bandits will favor us again."
Lily's eyes snapped to her father's advisor. "Are you implying my father had anything to do with the councilant's death?"
Sirius remained unperturbed by Lily's stare. "Not at all. I'm suggesting that where fortune struck once on our behalf, it might be possible to arrange for fortune to strike again. That way your plan would be less reliant upon the whims of those in West River."
Goodweaver nodded. "I like that idea. We might even profit from the exchange. Few would give anything for an ant, but an ant-princess? That's different."
A trace of a smile crossed Broadleaf's face. The thought of Hyacinth as a slave amused him.
"We'll do nothing of the kind," Lily said firmly. "I've already told you we will not condone murder or kidnapping. My father is an honorable Councilant, and as much as he desires to replace the current regime with a more competent ruler, he would never agree to such actions. We simply need the princess removed where she can have no influence. West River would not dare to kill a princess, and my father believes we could ransom her back after matters are settled here in our favor. We might even benefit by initiating a campaign to have her returned from West River. We'll speak no more of having anyone killed."
Sirius lowered his gaze briefly. "As you wish. How would Whiteoak convince the princess to take on such a hazardous mission?"
"He would not," Lily said. "He would see to it that Hyacinth thought it was her own idea. She's a known pacifist. Should the elder sister become queen, my father believes that the initial suggestion should be for the new queen herself to make the attempt--"
Goodweaver scoffed, "Send our queen? That's insane!"
"I absolutely agree," Lily said. "Hyacinth would never allow her sister to go, but she might go in her place, if for no other reason than to prevent her sister from going. Her interest in West River itself is well known, but mainly we think that by volunteering her own services she would remove pressure on the queen to lead the mission. We think she'll protect her sister at any cost."
"Very interesting," Emerald said.
Goodweaver nodded. "Yes, I see now. That's clever, if it works."
Emerald asked, "What if Hyacinth is queen?"
"We'll still see that she considers the idea," Lily said.
"The queen can't possibly do something like that," Goodweaver said. "It's unheard of."
Sirius said, "You don't know Hyacinth. She's very altruistic."
"And naive and foolish," added Emerald. "Of course the council would oppose the idea, but we could not prevent a willful queen from doing such a thing."
Lily nodded to Emerald. "My father said the same. Clearly your advice will be invaluable on this point," Lily told her. "My father believes it has a strong chance of success."
"You spoke of a second part to your plan," Emerald said.
"Yes. As I stated earlier, we must convince the colony that a better choice will be required. With the queen dead and Hyacinth out of the way, the idiot sister will be on her own. Doubtless she'll make enough mistakes in time to demonstrate her incompetence to everyone, but if we act fast, we could take advantage of the transitional period and convince the Council and the colony that we need new leadership immediately."
"Discredit her?" asked Emerald.
"Yes," Lily said. "We immediately begin turning up the pressure on her in Council and in her other public affairs. My father believes that worry over her missing sister combined with extreme legislative pressure will cause her to make mistakes and embarrass her before the colony. Frustrated and afraid, she'll readily accept his advice. She might even be persuaded to abdicate without additional pressure to do so."
"Hightunnel would surely advise her otherwise." Emerald said.
Sirius shook his head. "Only to a degree. He's head of the Council and represents the Families. If he demonstrates too much favoritism in a crisis, he could discredit his own position, and Whiteoak might succeed him. He won't risk that."
"So how would we discredit her?" Goodweaver asked.
Lily replied, "I hoped the group might contribute ideas. You are all experts in your fields and realms of influence."
"I suggest we work to discredit not the princess, but her main supporters." Broadleaf said.
Goodweaver sat on the edge of his seat, greatly interested. "How?"
Broadleaf shrugged. "Smear campaigns, sabotage, calling attention to embarrassing family affairs. There are many ways to do these things. Talk among the workers in the fields will do most of the work for us."
"This is where our investment in Lavender would pay dividends," Emerald said. "No one can spread rumors as effectively as she can."
"Yes," Goodweaver said. "Yes!"
Sirius saw the enthusiasm growing in the chief engineer. Goodweaver's hostile rivalry with the harvest chief was renowned. Sirius imagined an unending series of clumsy attempts to wreck harvesting operations. "I would caution everyone that this should not be an invitation for unleashing our personal vendettas. We must act according to a central plan, and wisely, always aiming toward the common goal."
Emerald nodded and looked at Lily. "I agree. It'll require some thought."
"Good then. Please consider what we might do and meet with each other as necessary. And please be discreet," Lily said. "Now, I suggest we adjourn, since the festivities will begin soon. I thank you all for meeting tonight.
Broadleaf escorted Lily along the cool stone passage leading down toward Victory Hall. "I think we need to watch our chief engineer more closely," he said.
"I was thinking the same thing earlier. I fear he might do something on his own, something over-zealous. We have to make sure he doesn't wage a little war against the Chief. What do you suggest?"
"One of his assistants is ex-military. He was discharged from Watershome's command for dishonorable actions, minor stealing or somesuch. I helped get him the position with Goodweaver, so he should be feeling grateful."
"Ask him to keep an eye on our engineer friend?" Lily asked. "To what end?"
"Our leverage on the good tunnel chief is limited. If we could discover something about him that he'd rather not have made public, it could tame him if he goes too far."
Lily thought a moment as they walked. "It would have to be done carefully. We don't want Goodweaver feeling desperate and running to the wrong people."
"I'm sure it could be arranged tactfully if necessary," Broadleaf said.
"Talk to your ex-military friend then."
"It'll be done," Broadleaf said. "We should also do something about Flintspur as well."
"You've been talking with Fairweather. He's fond of bringing up that subject."
"We've talked, yes. We're in agreement, Flintspur could be a problem."
"You worry too much with him. Father doesn't worry about him, why should you?"
"With respect, I think your father underestimates him. He's changing. His popularity hasn't gone to his head, which surprises even me. And he's a good officer."
"You admit that?" Lily asked, glancing sideways at the colonel.
"I'd be the first to admit it. Timothy and I were friends in part because we both admired and respected each other's abilities. Don't be misled by his clowning around and jokes. He's very serious inside, and dangerous to the cause."
"To our cause, or to your cause?"
"They're the same, Lily."
They walked a while in silence. Lily spoke, "Do you think he'd ever join us?"
"There was a time when I thought we'd never be on different teams. He's grown strong in some ways, but weak in others. Tim's too much the romantic. He'd risk the entire colony in the hope of saving one ant." Broadleaf shook his head. "No, I don't seriously think he'll join us."
"All right. I'll speak to Father about him."
Ahead came the sound of many voices as they approached the great hall. "I'd be honored to dance with you tonight," Broadleaf said abruptly.
"And why should I dance with you tonight, Colonel?"
"Because I'm the only one worthy of you, and I'd hate to see you sitting out all those dances for lack of other worthies."
Lily laughed as they entered the busy Victory Hall. "That would be a sad thing. We'll see what surprises the night holds, Colonel."
Sirius remained seated in the Sun Room as the others filed out, looking out the narrow split in the rock wall. The sun was now very low. He knew children would be playing outside as the older ants prepared for the celebration. Whiteoak would have his speech long-since memorized. Mesquite would be showing the visiting termite ambassdor around the colony. Musicians would be readying their instruments. The scent of fresh food would be in the air. Yet Sirius remained seated looking out at the reddening skies, thinking on the meeting.
After a time he got up and stood beneath the fissure, looking out. The sun was nearly on the horizon, with the evening star hovering nearby, just over where West River lay. The evening star wandered about the heavens, unlike his namesake which never moved from its place among the other stars. He wondered why the evening star moved yet never strayed far from Sun. Sirius believed it to be the same bright star that often appeared near Sun in the morning at different times of the year, though most thought otherwise. Sirius' star-gazing hobby was well-known throughout the colony and it did little to enhance his reputation among those concerned with important matters.
As the sun touched the horizon, Sirius walked to the far side of the chamber, where Sun cast a golden V of light from the opening in the opposite fissure. With a small stone, he made a little mark at the base of the V. A faint wave-like line of similar marks stretched along the wall, broken by intermittent gaps. Taking a fancy carved stylus from Whiteoak's desk, Sirius noted the date on a pad of small leaves he kept with him. The shining V of sunlight began to rise and fade until the glow from a potted mushroom became the room's primary lighting.
Sirius was gratified that Whiteoak had adopted his suggestion about a second mission to West River. Whiteoak would not credit him with the idea if it was successful, but neither would he blame Sirius if it was not. Whiteoak was always professional, a thing Sirius greatly respected. Whiteoak was also clever, Sirius thought. Clearly Whiteoak had known the nature of the queen's illness for some time, and wisely kept it to himself until disclosure served his purpose. Very likely he had known the queen's condition was terminal prior to the recent council meeting and was not surprised to see the queen's daughter with the baton. He may have been expecting such a thing.
Yes, Whiteoak was clever and many things were now going their way. Sirius wondered if Whiteoak really would succeed in placing his arrogant daughter on the throne of East River. He shrugged off the idle thought, for he didn't really care. It was irrelevant to his own goal, the dream that became possible when Whiteoak made him his advisor after years of careful maneuvering for the position. Sirius hoped the queen proved as tough as ever and lived longer than expected, for otherwise he had very little time.
Sirius looked at his little marks on the wall and wondered again what they would eventually tell him.