"Oh good!" [b]Tsane![/b] said. "Because now you've accepted the idea that [i]ruin, destruction and war [/i]are what you are going to [b]get [/b]if you do not comply with my perfectly reasonable demands for courtesy and hospitality. As the representative of the Civil Church and Princess Heron -"[1]

[1] Tsane was awful at pretending to be Princess Heron. She was extremely good, however, at pretending to be the Hero of Ages disguised as Tsane. That fire in her eyes, that unending determination, the confidence that there was nothing she could not bring to an end - all of it made her seem less like a mere handmaiden and more like an unconvincingly disguised comet. 

"- I am going to get to the truth. Your argument hinges on [i]would[/i], and would is a question of [i]motive[/i]. Is it impossible she gained a new one? After all, I just told you that the Fire In The Wood has returned - how would you describe Ms. Espoir's resistance to poison? The False Fire is still at large - does your companion have a heart of stone? Your organisation has been around for centuries, dutifully serving the lands of Thellamie - we heard such words from the outraged monks of Shindenbutai even as the mark of the Demon Queen burned upon their hearts and their teeth curled into the tusks of boars. You tell us that you deal with tasks beneath Heron's notice - well, you are now the [i]subject [/i]of Heron's notice as she deals with threats above your station."

"Is there something here you need to keep secret?" asked Kalentia quietly. "Or are you trying to defend something? Because I am a healer; if I go in I would pose no threat."

There was kindness, but also firmness there. She wasn't contradicting Tsane. They had a duty, and some things could not be taken on trust.