I debated, and finally because we aren’t allowed to lie, I said, “Yes, and no.”
“Please enlighten me; what do you mean by that, Princess?”
“The goblins, sluagh, and Queen Niceven’s demi-fey are part of the Unseelie Court. The ruler of the Seelie Court’s demi-fey is no longer an official royal, but a duchess.”
His smile flashed back to full brightness. “Then I deal with the high king and high queen of faerie as I was told.”
I nodded. “It’s the way most people in and out of faerie do it.”
He cocked his head to one side and studied me for a moment. “And how else might a person deal with the rulers of faerie?”
“I deal with the kings and queens of faerie as leaders with rights and merits of their own.”
“Do you encourage me to deal directly with the goblins and the sluagh?”
I laughed a surprised burst of sound.
“Isn’t that what you’re hinting at, that you want me to treat them as equal to the sidhe courts?”
“Not equal to, but important, but Goddess, please do not try dealing with the goblins by yourself. I would not want to be responsible for the diplomatic disaster that might follow.”
He frowned, just a little, as if he were fighting not to frown harder. “I am very good at my job, Princess Meredith; I think I could avoid offending anyone.”
“It’s not your offending the goblins I’m concerned with, Mr. Benz. I’m more afraid that they might injure you if there was a cultural misunderstanding.”
“What kind of cultural misunderstanding?” he asked.
“The goblins revere only strength and power, Mr. Benz. A human without magic or the martial arts training of a Chuck Norris would find himself treated badly.”
“Maybe that’s why the humans stopped dealing with the goblins directly,” Rhys said.
I glanced at him. “You may be right.”
“I don’t understand,” Benz said.
“I would like you to appreciate more of faerie than just our two courts, but culturally we are the closest to human, and the safest for you, so perhaps you should just ignore me for now. If I ever feel safe to return to faerie, perhaps you can accompany me on a visit to some of the lesser courts.”
Rhys patted him on the shoulder. “We’d keep you safe.”
“Surely they wouldn’t harm a representative of the United States government.”
We all laughed then, even Galen, and the demi-fey’s laughter was like the sweet ringing of chimes, or tiny bells. The sound alone made Benz smile. The demi-fey have some of the most powerful glamour and illusion ability left in all of faerie. It made them so much more dangerous than they looked.
Benz frowned again, looking puzzled, and smoothed his hands down the front of his suit. It was almost as if he knew that something had just affected him in a more than normal way, but he wasn’t sure what it had been. I was betting the ambassador was carrying some kind of charm against our magic. He’d need it.
“It is the last country on the planet that would allow your people to immigrate,” Benz said.
“That is true, but the goblins would not see it as harming you, but as your proving unworthy to deal with them as a representative of the government.”
“Are you saying that an ambassador to the goblin court would have to be a soldier?”
“Unless you’re willing to shoot someone when you step through the door, no, not a soldier,” I said.
“What then?” he asked.
“A human witch or wizard, though it’s a more patriarchal society, so a wizard would be better.”
“A wizard with military training would be your best bet,” Rhys said. He came closer to the ambassador and raised the eye patch that was covering the smooth scars of his empty eye socket. “The goblins took my eye, Ambassador Benz, and I’m a lot harder to injure than a human.”