The Golden Cage

[Loyola]

"Well." Loyola was thinking what to say, it's hard to pick up words now. "You are mostly right, your highness. But we cannot change anything and we have to fight, otherwise they will wipe us out of the face of Sirius." She moved her plate away, her skin is becoming paler. Loyola cannot play or fake anymore. She looked up at Razgriz black hole and sighed desperately. Thouths and emotions are streaming through her, washing away the remnants of energy and will power. She's closing her eyes and breathing deeply, trying to find inner balance to keep up the conversation.

Finally she's opening her eyes and fixing her position on the chair. She's not looking nervous, but her look is also far away from being calm. Her eyes were disfocused for a few seconds, then she looked at Carlotte on the other side of a dinner table. Loyola is looking dry and exhausted, she's being silent for quite a long time. It's hard to read any emotions on her face, there's non. When tension from her silence have reached all possible limits, she finally spoke. Her voice is low, but powerful and piercing.

"I don't know why am I leading myself and my people into a catastrophe. I can't explain it, I do it and it's just happening. We both know how it will ended. " Loyola paused again, not for long, she's just trying to force herlself to continue. "One fact of your presence here will bring unimaginable destruction to my world. Even if we will transfer you right now, your Navy will put a lot more efforts to deal with us than before. " Her eyes are closing and she sighs. "And your highness is sitting before me, being concentration of this insane power and determination. And me, who can't change anything despite my position."

Loyola was waiting for Charlotte's opinion on this. She was absolutely frank and now looked even more weak and apathic. She didn't tell that princess is already depended on Cardamine and tied to Malta forever. It's her only card to play in this game, card that is suppose to save Loyola and Malta as the whole from catastrophe. Was it the time to tell about it to Her Highness? Loyola believed that it's too early, she's still hoping to gain princess' higher opinion. Even by the price of this verbal capitulation that just happened by iself.

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