Much as it hurt his pride to do it, King Roender decided to offer one of the two things he knew Leader Tormech was interested in.
He sent a message by way of a white flag delegation to the border leading to Tormech's lands. His oldest son, Torr, insisted on handling the negotiations and Roender reluctantly agreed.
Torr's argument was that, if he were to be an ambassador to one of the many countries his father intended to set up an embassy, then he needed to be able to handle things like this and he couldn't learn if he wasn't given the chance. It was sound reasoning and the only way he would have allowed another son to be put in danger.
Torr left early in the morning with a detachment of troops twenty strong. His father had already set up the meet with Tormech. By midday they had arrived at the meeting place on horseback. They hadn't wanted to give Tormech a chance to steel one of their high tech choppers.
When they got to the meeting place they were met by an equally large group of well-armed soldiers with Tormech's second in command leading. They were on foot.
To be polite, Prince Torr and two of his guard dismounted and moved closer to the other Kat.
"Greetings Prince Torr. I am Commander Linzt, second in command to Leader Tormech." The lean black-furred tom introduced himself.
"Greetings. Shall we dispense with all the niceties and get to the negotiation. Where is my brother?" Torr asked flatly.
"As you wish." Linzt said gesturing behind him.
A group of soldiers moved aside and there stood Cymric. He looked tired but fine and had a bland expression on his face. This was to prevent their enemies from using emotions against them, a lesson learned very early in life.
Torr nodded. "King Roender is willing to give you the formula for increasing crop size. No weapon's designs will be offered so don't bother to ask." He said firmly.
No expression showed on Linzt's face but his mind was angry and resigned. He could tell by the stubborn set of Torr's body that there would be no negotiation. They had lost their bid when they failed to get the consort and must settle for what they could to save face. Leader Tormech had given him firm instructions to try for the weapons but would settle for the formula. He was going to use his own judgement and agree to the formula. Arguing because he had been instructed to do so, was, to his mind, counterproductive and doomed to failure before it could be tried by the very stiff stance of the eldest Prince.
Nodding gravely, Linzt said, "Agreed! Same time exchange?"
"Agreed!" Torr said gravely signaling his aid to his side.
Linzt gestured to the guards holding the prince, to bring him forward. They marched Cymric forward until they were next to the second in command. Leaving him beside Linzt's aid de camp, they returned to their original positions. Cymric stood quietly beside the aid waiting patiently.
Torr took a disk from his own aid and extended it to Linzt just as the second in command shoved Cymric lightly forward. Cymric slowly and carefully walked forward until he stood next to his brother.
They stood silently as Linzt put the disk in a portable player and read the contents. Seeing it was what they had been wanting he shut the player off, removed the disk and put it safely inside an inner pocket of his uniform.
"Thank you! The exchange is concluded." He said then gave a hand signal for the troops to turn about and return the way they'd come.
Sighing in relief, the brothers hugged each other tightly. A horse was brought up and they all mounted and began the trip home.
"Tell me! How is Ulysses?" Cymric asked in concern.
"On the mend, thank goodness. He was near death by the time they got him to the hospital." Torr said.
"You know, I really had trouble believing a male that big and powerful would, not only be pregnant, but fragile and it was even harder to believe when I saw him fight off Tormech's soldiers, that is, until he faltered and began to turn really pale and clutched his chest in pain. It gave me a fright, I can tell you." Cymric said, still remembering the last sight he'd had of the dying consort as he was being led away by Tormech's soldiers.
"Yes, I know what you mean. I had some trouble with that image too until I saw them bring him in. Ulysses looked blue under that dark fur. Tanlir looked like a sheet and there was such bleak terror in his eyes." Torr said remembering that terrifying moment when he saw Ulysses being rolled in on a stretcher and looking so bad. But it had been Tanlir's eyes that had held his attention. It had sent shivers down his spine.
"There is absolutely no doubt that their bond is stronger than any I've ever heard of." Cymric said in wonder.
"Oh yes! Most definitely." Torr said solemnly in agreement.
"How long will he be in the hospital?" Cymric asked.
"At least until tomorrow." Torr said. "Tanlir hasn't left his side. Mother visited him yesterday and said Ulysses had awakened and was alert if very tired."
"I can see it's going to be an uphill battle to keep Ulysses from losing his kitten or his life." Cymric said shaking his head worriedly.
"Oh yes! And he still intends to return to Megakat City when the investiture is over. He is a very stubborn Kat." Torr sighed in some annoyance.
Cymric snorted in agreement then changed the subject. "So how did you manage to talk father into letting you handle this rather tricky affair?" He asked, eyeing his brother appraisingly.
Torr smiled broadly. "By reminding him that he was grooming each of us to be ambassador's in different countries. How was I to get practical experience if I wasn't allowed to actually conduct a negotiation? I asked him. He was surprised and had to agree I was correct. But you could see he wasn't happy about two of his sons being in danger." Torr added ruefully.
"I bet he wasn't but I'll be the first to tell him you did a magnificent job. Staying firm was the right tactic to take with Linzt. I got the feeling he's not always happy with Tormech's policies." Cymric observed.
"Hmmm, now that's something that might be worthwhile to explore. I think we should advise our father about this. Enough dissension in Tormech's ranks and we could topple a bothersome tick off our back." Torr said.
"I agree!" Cymric said, nodding his head.
In a hospital room, Feral was just waking from a nap when his mate Tanlir dropped by.
"I've great news, my love! Cymric is free and on his way home as we speak." He said with a wide grin as he leaned over and gave his mate a warm kiss.
"That is good to hear. What did your father have to give for him?" Feral asked as he worked the controls on the bed to let him sit up.
Tanlir frowned. "How do you know he gave up anything?" He asked.
"It was the only thing he could have done since he wasn't about to go to war and since their culture is more militaristic than yours, a stealth mission would have failed." Feral said plainly.
Tanlir shook his head. "You think too much like a warrior rather than the law enforcement officer you are, Ulysses." He said sadly.
"Unfortunately, if I didn't, my city would be burnt, swamped, or taken over long ago." Feral said shrugging indifferently.
"So true! Well in answer to your question, my father gave Tormech the crop formula. It's good for his people so its no hardship to share." Tanlir said with a smirk.
"Hmm, surprised he accepted that and didn't try for military hardware." Feral said skeptically.
"Actually, Tormech's aid de camp made that decision especially since my brother made it very clear that the formula was the only thing on the negotiation table." His mate said. "Tormech is really unreasonable so it's a good thing he wasn't at the exchange."
"Sounds like that country could use a more level head." Feral said archly.
"Everyone's in agreement on that. Commander Lintz would make a much better and more humane leader." Tanlir sighed in agreement.
"Perhaps a casual word of sedition could accomplish it, that is, if his people are tired enough of Tormech." Feral commented lightly.
Tanlir cocked an eyebrow at his mate. "You really are devious, you know that?" He said, shaking his head.
"When I need to be, otherwise I'm always above board in all my dealings. Saves on confusion and ones reputation." Feral snorted, a glint of amusement in his eye.
Tanlir just laughed.
"So good to hear laughter after such a harrowing incident." A familiar voice spoke quietly as a regal female walked into the room.
"Hello, Mother." Tanlir said warmly, turning to give his mother a kiss on the cheek when she came to stand next to him.
"Good Day to you both!" She said pleasantly. "It appears you are doing very well today, Ulysses. Have the doctors said when you can leave?"
"Well the doctor said this morning, that he wanted to see some of the test results done on the kitten and on my blood volumes first before releasing me. I've not heard anything more." Feral sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh, well surely they will tell you something this afternoon. I know its trying to be confined to a bed on such a fine day but resting now insures fewer problems later." She admonished gently.
"I know!" Feral sighed again.
The Queen just patted his paw in commiseration.
Suddenly the door opened and in walked the doctor that had seen Feral when he'd been admitted with his own personal physician, Dr. Taglion, entering behind him.
"Good day, your majesty, your highness." Dr. Mandor said then turned to his patient. "Commander, I'm pleased to say everything looks well with your kitten and your blood volume is back to normal. Here are your release papers, you may get dressed and leave. I sincerely hope the rest of your visit to our fair land will not be as stressful. Remember, you must rest frequently and not over tire yourself during this critical time." He admonished his patient as he handed him some papers. He smiled farewell and left the room.
"I second that instruction. You were very lucky this time." Dr. Taglion said gravely.
"I know it. Though no could guess I'd be the victim of kidnapping here." Feral grunted, sitting up.
"That's certainly true. I'll leave now so that you may get dressed. I'll be waiting in the limo to give you a ride home." The Queen said with a smile as she too took her leave.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Feral was up and swinging his legs off the bed. Tanlir smirked at his mate's unseemly haste but hardly blamed him. He went to the closet and got Uly's clothes and helped him dress.
In less than ten minutes, he was properly attired and heading out the door. Tanlir and Dr. Taglion walked on either side of him as they went to the elevator and took a car down to the lobby. The press was outside the door and flashed many pictures of Feral as he and the others climbed into the limo.
He sighed in relief as they sped off for the palace. As he rested back against the seat, he watched the beautiful countryside go by. This little incident had nearly cost him his life and it had been sobering to realize just how weak he was. Being pregnant was not a cause for celebration for him, only severe restrictions on his activity, exhaustion, and constant medical monitoring. He would be eternally grateful when the kitten was born. He didn't plan on having any more anytime soon no matter how much his mate might want them.