Free Paying the Price by Julia P. Lynde Page B

her tunic. She opened it very carefully. "It stayed dry," she said. "Thank you for preserving it."
    She pulled the treaty out. Before she gave it to me, she ordered me, "You will treat this with the most care possible."
    I nodded. If it were a real treaty, she wouldn't have had to order me.
    She handed it to me. It was a single sheet of parchment paper. "There are addendums," she said. "But that is the basic agreement."
    I looked at it. It was written in Tendarian. "I can't read it."
    "Please look at the signatures at the bottom."
    I wouldn't have recognized Queen Fridara's hand, but there was a signature and seal that purported to be hers. I readily recognized Linara's signature and seal. They looked authentic, although without my magic, I couldn't verify. I told Dareena that.
    "Do you think it's fake?"
    I thought about it. "No. What would be the point?"
    "Will you trust me to translate it to you?"
    I nodded. She moved to sit next to me and pointed with her finger. She read each passage, first in Tendarian, then gave me a translation. Assuming she was offering an honest translation, it was a treaty. More importantly, it was a fair treaty, to everyone except me.
    I was actually mentioned by name. I was clause four.
    The first part of the treaty discussed the basic terms. It was an agreement to an immediate and permanent cessation of hostilities. Then I was discussed, then the reasons for the war was discussed with an acceptance of blame on both sides. Tendaria offered small reparations, as it was agreed their forces had crossed the border first, but the reparations were small.
    Clause four required that I stand trial in Rendarin for my war crimes. No details were offered.
    "Do any of the addendums refer to me?"
    "No. All other agreements about you were verbal."
    "Do you believe the treaty will be fully ratified by both sides?"
    "It has already been ratified by Norinia. It was agreed to by Tendaria, and none of the addendums are going to be a problem. They are just details."
    "So it will be ratified if I arrive in Rendarin. What are the chances that won't happen? If, for instance, one of your warships is attacked and suck by a pair of Norinian warships?"
    She went back to one of the clauses and reread it. It basically said that it is understood by both sides that not all forces involved in the conflict would receive immediate notification of the cessation of hostilities, and that both sides would defend themselves without being the aggressor, retreating from conflict as much as possible.
    "So your sunk ship won't change things."
    "No."
    I looked at her. "I won't forgive my sister or anyone else in Norinia. Ever. They stabbed me in the back. They should at least have had the decency to talk to me."
    "I don't care," she said. "I care only that you go to Rendarin."
    "I will cooperate. I don't promise to be pleasant."
    Dareena's smile outshone the sun. "Thank you."
    "If you are lying, it is your soul that will rot."
    "I am not lying."
    I got up from the sand and brushed myself off. "Let me know when you figure out how to get there." Then I walked away, back to my spot on the beach.
    Dareena followed me. I turned to stare at her.
    "I had the impression you had a plan," she said.
    "My plan involved building a boat. So, build a boat."
    "We have no tools," she said.
    "Then it may make it take a while."
    I sat down in the sand, staring out over the ocean. Dareena sat down beside me. "Meorie, it's a real peace. Surely you understand how important this is. Did you lie when you said you would give your life for peace?"
    "No."
    "Do you think I am lying?"
    I sighed. "No."
    "Will you please help me make this peace happen? Not just cooperate, but actively help."
    I sighed. "I think I can make a boat, but I got the impression from you Norinia was much closer than Tendaria. I was planning a boat that would get me to Norinia."
    "How could you make this boat?"
    "It's a moot point. You would need to allow me to use my magic."
    "You can make a boat