“You found the trash, and decided to return it, like I asked.”

“No,” I said. “He’s coming with me when I leave.”

“When you leave?” Oren asked, and his laugh echoed off the wals. “Oh, my dear sweet Princess, you’re not leaving.”

“You haven’t heard what I have to offer you,” I said.

“I already have everything I want in this room.” Oren had begun slowly walking around us in a large circle. Loki turned with him, to keep his eyes on him, but I didn’t.

“You don’t have Förening or any of the Tryle kingdom,” I said.

“You don’t even have the remains of Oslinna. You may have devastated it, but it’s stil ours.”

“I wil get your kingdom,” Oren said, his voice right behind me.

“Perhaps,” I said. “But how long wil it take you? Simply possessing the Princess doesn’t ensure a victory over them. In fact, they wil only fight you harder.”

“What are you proposing?” Oren asked, and he walked around so he was in front of me.

“Time,” I said. “Give me time to get the people behind the idea so you can avoid the uprising that happened when you married my mother.”

“I quashed that uprising.” Oren smiled slyly at that, probably remembering fondly al the women and children he’d kiled.

“But you lost the kingdom, didn’t you?” I asked, and his smile faltered.

“What could you possibly do to guarantee me the kingdom?” Oren asked.

“I wil be Queen soon,” I said. “You saw Elora. You know it won’t be much longer.”

“And our embargo wil end,” Oren said, his words threatening.

“If you let me have the time from now until I’m Queen to get the people in order and prepared for the transition, we could do it,” I said. “I could get them on your side. If I convinced them I was ruling with you, not under you, they would go along with me.”

“You would not rule with me,” he growled.

“I know,” I said hastily. “I just need to get them on my side. Get them behind you. Once everything is in place, and you are the King over al of the Vittra and Tryle, they would bow before you without complaint. They would serve you as you desire.”

“Why?” Oren raised a skeptical eyebrow and stepped back.

“Why would you do this?”

“Because I know that you’re going to keep fighting, and eventualy, you wil win, but at the cost of thousands and thousands of my people’s lives,” I said. “I would rather work with you to ensure a bloodless takeover now than a brutal one later.”

“Hmm.” Oren seemed to think it over and nodded. “Smart.

Very smart. What do you want in return?”