"Why not take more than a few days?"

Dyssia's hands clench and unclench at her side.

"Surely you've earned peace, have you not? No, no, wait, let's not use that framework, it's not about earning or deserving, it's your [i]right[/i] to live in peace."

Still, she doesn't reach for the scrolls, except to start to roll them up, shutting off the dizzying array of numbers, of information, of statistics, folding down charts and popups until they neatly slide back into the scroll case.

"There aren't any bars on this cage, Lawgiver. No chains, no collars, no whips or crops. Anyone who does not wish to be here can be off-planet in hours, if not minutes, soaring off through space to wherever they wish."

Which, side note, kind of a disappointment? What self-respecting empress doesn't have a scantily-clad harem?

"No chains in here but the ones you've forged yourself."

She doesn't slap her, but god does it feel like she has. Like the words are the cruelest whip she could use, even while not twitching a muscle.

"And those chains do not bind me, Dekal. I'm not the type to sit inside a bureaucracy and tell people what to do, how to think, how to be. Put the Skies on my shoulder and I'll let it drop."

Her voice is pleading. Stop this, Dekal. See sense.

"Just leave. Come with us. Don't. See the universe. Just stop sitting here, holding up the Skies, and telling yourself your sacrifice is making things better."

[Unfortunately, this is a 5,1, and Wisdom for appealing to emotions is +0. [b]6[/b] on Talk Sense.]