Servant of the Empire Page 0,104

Queen's price. When the negotiation concluded, Mara dabbed moisture from her brow with a small embroidered cloth and released an almost imperceptible sigh.

The cho-ja Queen noticed all. 'Lady of the Acoma,' she boomed in her friendlier tone, 'it would seem to my eyes that you are nervous, or if not that, then recovering' from some discomfort. Has our hospitality failed to meet your needs?'

Mara recovered with a start. 'No, Lady Queen. The hospitality of the hive is never at fault.' She paused, took a chance, and answered honestly, 'I confess that I was not sure of protocols when I came to buy this boon of warriors.'

'Boor?' The Queen reared back in what might have been surprise. 'You are my friend, it is true, and were you to come asking favours, I would consider them, of course.~ The fact that you visit here often and take pleasure in our company and aKairs is a welcome diversion, never doubt. But when it comes to bargaining for workers, warriors, or services, such things are commodities for trade.'

Mara raised her brows. 'Then your kind do not require an army for protection.'

The cho-ja Queen considered this. 'We interact within the Empire, and so are a part of its politics, its Great Game of the Council. But thousands of years past, before the coming of men? We bred warriors then to establish new hives, to protect us from predators like the harulth, and to hunt game. Now, if there are conflicts, they are between the houses of men who have purchased alliances. The cho-ja of themselves do n