196 Two

"Why not?" Lycster asked. 

His question got the attention of both women. With their eyes on him, Lycster's heart palpitated. He should not have interrupted their conversation! Seeing the guilt written all over his face, Vy could not help but chuckle a little. 

But she wanted him to know that his question was validated. 

"Exactly right," Vy declared as she looked over to Lycster, "Why not?"

"Because then the Papillion will know that the Leader Atlas is a woman," Anja replied as she crossed her arms. 

"And what's the issue with that?" Vy asked. 

Anja was about to open her mouth to rebut, but she did not know what to say. 

Vy continued, "You said it yourself. You fight men in combat for the seat of leader every year, yet you're worried that the Papillion finds out you're a woman?"

"Because their leader is a King. The Papillion value tradition. They're not going to value my opinions, especially if they knew I was a woman," Anja explained in a huff. 

It was clear to Vy that she was upset about this fact as well. She might have taken the seat of a leader in her own right, yet Anja continued to doubt her own abilities. Vy was beginning to see why she had been picked for this mission. 

"So you're worried that they would look down on you because you're a woman, is that it?" Vy asked outright. 

Anja shook her head, "I am not worried that they would look down on me, I don't care what they think about me, believe me; I don't."

Anja pointed to the entrance of the tent and said, "I'm worried about how they would view my people. The very people I had sworn to fight for."

Vy understood her concerns. She assured the leader that she would find a better solution. In the meantime, Vy wanted to know everything about the Mothylek and the terms they would like to present to the Papillion. 

Anja explained everything to Vy in great detail and she took down notes as they went. Lycster sat quietly, listening to them speak without making a sound. Vy narrowed down their terms into three simple requests. 

The Mothylek wanted to be granted passage through Papillion as they needed to get to Mattenhorn Mountain. 

The Mothylek wanted the right to trade in the Kingdom of Papillion. 

The Mothylek wanted to be treated as equals in Papillion. 

"Treated as equals?" Vy asked as she knitted her brows. 

It seemed like an odd request. 

Seeing Vy's expression made Anja smile a little. 

"You'll understand when you get the full Papillion experience," she said with a grin. 

Vy got a little worried when she heard what Anja had to say, but she decided to keep an open mind about the entire situation. Seeing that they had been in discussion for quite some time, Anja decided that they should take a walk around camp. 

After all, Vy and Lycster had not seen all of it. 

"Leader Atlas," he greeted Anja as soon as he saw her. 

"I'm just going to bring our guests around the camp. You don't have to follow," Anja said swiftly as she guided Vy and Lycster along. 

Hallvard did not listen to Anja's orders, he simply trailed behind them from a distance. It was hard to ignore his presence, even from a distance. Anja paid him no mind, apologising to Vy on behalf of Hallvard's behaviour. 

"No need to apologise, Leader Atlas," Vy replied, remembering to use the proper term to address Anja. 

She admired Hallvard's loyalty to Anja, it seemed like he was more loyal to her than the people of Mothylek. Anja first brought them to meet the hunters. She explained to Vy that the Mothylek were not exactly nomads. 

They were made up of three groups of people that lived deep in the Moth Mountains. Every twenty years, their people would gather together to go on a journey to visit the Mattenhorn Mountain. 

That was their people's sacred place, where they would host a series of rituals to pray for a good harvest for the future and bless their children. This journey would take them over a year to get there. 

They would stay for a year, before heading back home. 

"So that means your entire journey takes three years?" Vy asked in amazement. 

"That's right," Anja replied. 

Vy took another look at Anja. The woman before her did not look beyond the age of thirty. That meant that this was likely her second trip to the Mattenhorn Mountain. 

"But if you've made this trip multiple times, wouldn't you have already had a pre-existing agreement with the Papillion?" Vy asked out of curiosity. 

There must be something she was missing, the pieces simply did not fit together. 

"That's because we usually go by a different route. However, that route has been completely cut off for us," Anja explained. 

Due to a landslide, the scouts Anja had sent out informed them that the entire route was completely covered. It would take them weeks, if not months or even years to clear out the path for them to pass. 

If the Mothylek had a choice, they would not have wanted to go through Papillion. The Kingdom of Papillion was one that valued tradition over anything else. The Mothylek, on the other hand, was completely different from them. 

Vy knew she had to see and experience the difference first hand, if she wanted to understand the situation they were in. 

"If you don't mind me asking," Vy said, "How did the previous negotiations go?"

Seeing Anja's expression gave Vy an idea of how it went. Anja already knew of the Papillion's traditional ways. Hence, she sent Hallvard to meet with the King. However, both sides could not come to an agreement. 

Furthermore, the King accused Hallvard of being disrespectful to the Kingdom of Papillion. Not only did they throw Hallvard out of the castle, but they also refused to negotiate any further. This worried Anja greatly, as they only had a limited amount of time left for them to get to Mattenhorn Mountain. 

They had to be there in a month. 

"What happens if you're not able to get them to agree to your terms?" 

Anja looked at Vy with determined eyes. 

"Then we will have to use force," Anja replied. 

Vy looked around the campsite. The Mothylek was made up of at least 20,000 people, maybe more. It definitely had not been easy for Anja as their leader to manage everyone. If they were going to force their way through, they would be bringing their elderly and children together with them. 

That was something that should definitely be avoided. 

"How much time do I have to work with?" Vy asked bluntly. 

Anja held up her hand. 

"Two weeks?" Vy asked. Two weeks would be sufficient for her to understand both sides and come up with the best solution. 

Anja shook her head, looking at Vy as if she was mad. 

"Two days."