15min fic #8
Aug. 12th, 2004 12:25 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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yrae
Title~ Training
Author~ Annarti
Disclaimer~ Property of the 'narti *nods*
Notes~ 15 minute fic, word 8. Yep, that it is. Why are all these things ending up so Nol-centric? Oo
~ ~ ~
“Well, Nolryn, what would you do in this situation?”
The prince blinked a few times to work himself out of his daze. The Llayan ambassador had a habit, as did most Llayans he’d met, of droning on and on, talking a lot without saying anything. Nolryn couldn’t understand how his father put up with the man.
He shuffled slightly in his chair before mumbling, “What situation was this, Majesty?”
He could see the king struggling to repress an exasperated sigh. As soon as the Llayan ambassador left, he would be lectured yet again, there was no question about it. “His Majesty King Keldirande,” Mithé answered with strained patience, “has proposed that we lower our import tax on wood by two coppers per wagon.”
“Well, shouldn’t it be obvious then?” the prince answered, “Why would we agree to lowering the tax?”
The ambassador smiled with infinitely more patience than the king had shown. “In exchange, Llayad would sell Raykin wood for a considerably lower cost, Highness. For example, Raykinians are currently buying pine for five gold pieces per wagon. If his Majesty would lower the import tax by a mere two coppers, Llayad will in turn lower the price of pine by two silvers per wagon.”
Nolryn frowned and tapped a cheek with one finger. “There’s a catch,” he said succinctly.
The Llayan ambassador blinked, unprepared for the prince’s blunt comment. “No, Highness, I assure you, these are the terms of the agreement.”
Nol glanced momentarily at his father, but could read nothing from his stern expression. “I still say no,” he said finally. He hated being put on the spot like this. He knew exactly why his father did it, but that didn’t make him any more comfortable.
The ambassador sighed; Mithé’s face was still unreadable as stone. He rose and laid a hand on the Llayan’s shoulder. “We’ll settle this tomorrow morning,” he said, then showed him out of the room and returned silently to his desk, looking intently at his son.
“Do you think you made the right decision?” he asked finally.
Nolryn nodded. He was asked this every time he was invited into Raykinian politics. “The only way the treasury makes money is through taxes,” he explained, “not through cheaper produce. The treasury doesn’t buy the wood—that’s done by the carpenters, so we would be losing money over it.”
The king nodded, but Nolryn still had no way of knowing if his decision had been a good one.
“It may help for you to listen at our meeting tomorrow,” Mithé told him, then grinned. “There may be hope for you yet, my son.”
Author~ Annarti
Disclaimer~ Property of the 'narti *nods*
Notes~ 15 minute fic, word 8. Yep, that it is. Why are all these things ending up so Nol-centric? Oo
“Well, Nolryn, what would you do in this situation?”
The prince blinked a few times to work himself out of his daze. The Llayan ambassador had a habit, as did most Llayans he’d met, of droning on and on, talking a lot without saying anything. Nolryn couldn’t understand how his father put up with the man.
He shuffled slightly in his chair before mumbling, “What situation was this, Majesty?”
He could see the king struggling to repress an exasperated sigh. As soon as the Llayan ambassador left, he would be lectured yet again, there was no question about it. “His Majesty King Keldirande,” Mithé answered with strained patience, “has proposed that we lower our import tax on wood by two coppers per wagon.”
“Well, shouldn’t it be obvious then?” the prince answered, “Why would we agree to lowering the tax?”
The ambassador smiled with infinitely more patience than the king had shown. “In exchange, Llayad would sell Raykin wood for a considerably lower cost, Highness. For example, Raykinians are currently buying pine for five gold pieces per wagon. If his Majesty would lower the import tax by a mere two coppers, Llayad will in turn lower the price of pine by two silvers per wagon.”
Nolryn frowned and tapped a cheek with one finger. “There’s a catch,” he said succinctly.
The Llayan ambassador blinked, unprepared for the prince’s blunt comment. “No, Highness, I assure you, these are the terms of the agreement.”
Nol glanced momentarily at his father, but could read nothing from his stern expression. “I still say no,” he said finally. He hated being put on the spot like this. He knew exactly why his father did it, but that didn’t make him any more comfortable.
The ambassador sighed; Mithé’s face was still unreadable as stone. He rose and laid a hand on the Llayan’s shoulder. “We’ll settle this tomorrow morning,” he said, then showed him out of the room and returned silently to his desk, looking intently at his son.
“Do you think you made the right decision?” he asked finally.
Nolryn nodded. He was asked this every time he was invited into Raykinian politics. “The only way the treasury makes money is through taxes,” he explained, “not through cheaper produce. The treasury doesn’t buy the wood—that’s done by the carpenters, so we would be losing money over it.”
The king nodded, but Nolryn still had no way of knowing if his decision had been a good one.
“It may help for you to listen at our meeting tomorrow,” Mithé told him, then grinned. “There may be hope for you yet, my son.”
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Date: 2004-08-11 05:05 pm (UTC)(obviously the reason they're all so Nolcentric is because you're worried about going Yancentric because~~ then I would slash them some more >D And the twins have their own huge~ them-centric story~ so they're not needed X3~