"...Do you mean in terms of managing the succession, or in terms of whether she continues her current projects?"

"The latter."

"I don't want to- be near her."

"That's... Me successfully attaining the throne might make 'what she's working on' a moot point, one way or another. Politically, I can't allow her influence over the military like she has right now. Morally, I can't allow her current projects to continue."

"I'm hoping that she'll be amenable to retiring to a university somewhere, marrying her secret boyfriend who she still thinks I don't know she has, and working on... I don't know, civil engineering or physics or something else that's - useful but doesn't involve human experimentation. Nowhere near any position with power."

"Good."

"No matter what, you won't have to be near her, ever again."

Hug. "Thank you."

So many hugs! And hair pats.

She glances over at the team who brought her Kuwei as they snuggle. 

Is she ready to talk to other people now?

She is. 

"Thank you for rescuing Kuwei," she says in Kerch (her accent sounds like a native speaker's, albeit an upper class one).

"Didn't do it for your thanks. Though if you're financially grateful, that would be nice. And I might want to talk damages for kidnapping one of my people."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because I hate the slave trade."

Serious nod.

"We can talk damages. The easiest ways for me to express gratitude concretely would be in favors owed, promises of future employment, or tokens from my personal wardrobe." Also known as her bribery budget. "There are - very few things I can provide short of full royal favor that equal the worth of Kuwei."

"Let's not go that far. I can work with jewelry."

"Royal favor could be worth a lot," Feilan mutters to her, "Including for things no amount of money could buy."

"Which is exactly why I don't fucking want it. Shit comes with more strings than an indenture, and they run both ways."

She has her eyes narrowed a bit at Feilan, too. "You can count 'not declaring war on Fjerda' as my favor to you, then, Princess Kielo," she says, voice remarkably dry.

"...Fair enough," she says, to both of them. 

Fucking Helvar. As usual.

"I don't want anything from you because you're a princess. I'm not interested in running that kind of game."

"It's not a game to me. I want to reward you, because you've - rescued someone precious to me. If rewarding you means jewels, then I will provide you with jewels. If it means a writ of passage - which would exempt you and your enterprises from border controls, among other things - then I will provide that. If it means an understanding that I will return the favor if needed, because my honor demands it, then - that is what I will do."

"I'll take the tangibles. No offense, but you have two older sisters you haven't shoved out of the way yet. I'm not going to hitch to your wagon like that."

Nod. "Sensible, in a way." 

"I'll need to send back to my ship for the actual jewelry, though."

"That's fine. The transfer can wait until things in the city are a little more settled."

"Do you need anything else right now - ?"

"Not unless you want to participate in criminal enterprise."