Page 79 of Tiger's Trek
The old woman giggled, dipped a finger into the pot, and tasted her stew. “Not quite finished yet. Needs a few more ingredients, I think.”
Veru threw down her bag. “Okay, let’s put all our cards on the table, shall we? I don’t like games.”
“And I don’t like cheaters.”
“The definition ofcheatingdepends on the rules. If you don’t define the rules well, it’s not my fault. I can see you’re one who likes to change the rules mid-game, according to your whims, to affect the outcome. You’re going to have to be”—Veru leaned forward—“very explicit; otherwise, we are allowed to win your so-called game any way we must. Our lives depend on it, after all.”
“Oh, please. Don’t be so dramatic. You haven’t been hurt, have you? Both of you look hale and hearty to me.”
“Nevertheless. If we’re going to negotiate, let’s negotiate properly. I want a contract.”
“Bah! I never put anything in writing.”
“You will this time.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because I’m going to offer something you want in exchange for something I want.”
“You don’t know what I want.”
“I certainly do.”
“And what’s that, young woman?”
“A lifetime of servitude.”
The old woman paused and sniffed. “You’d willingly offer up yourself and your young man to me for the rest of your lives?”
“Only”—Veru held up a finger to illustrate her point—“only if we lose.”
Yuga narrowed her eyes. “And if I lose? I assume the two of you go free?”
“Oh no. Not just that,” Veru said. “I think you’d better sit down.”
Veru had been trained by a master negotiator. Never ever do you go into a negotiation asking only for what you want. No. You go in asking for the moon and the stars and the sun and the planets and then when items are removed, you act as if each thing is terribly painful. In the end, the other person should believe they are getting a bargain when, in fact, you are giving only a fraction of what you were willing to part with, while they are giving away much, much more than they were ever wanting to give in the first place.
Also, never show your hand before they show theirs. They lay down their cards first. Never commit to anything until you’re sure you’ve seen everything. This one was wily. Veru would have to work at her best to beat her at her own game. If only Yuga was a man, Veru could use her other considerable “talents” to distract her. If she were doing this at home, it wouldn’t be Veru who was sent into this negotiation, but her mother, or Stacia. They always did much better when it came to women. But there wasn’t a choice. Veru would simply have to succeed. There wasn’t another option for them.
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to steady herself and remember all the rules of engagement her parents had drilled her in. She could almost hear her father’s voice. “Just remember: If they are not willing to pay the price you desire, then you simply stop the transaction. At the end of the day, you should always be seen as the one having the most valuable commodities. Thus, more traders will want to strike bargains with you in the future.”
Unfortunately, Veru didn’t think this particular situation was one she could simply get up and walk away from. If she could, she would have. She didn’t trust Yuga and would normally have tried to follow her instincts, but she didn’t see another way out of their situation. Taking a breath, Veru, having found a pot of ink, a quill, and some paper, began cataloging a long, long list of what she wanted from Yuga, including everything she could think of, citing all the items she’d come across while staying, as well as things she hadn’t seen. Obviously, she put down freedom for herself and Danik, but she also added changes of clothing for each of them, two weeks’ worth of food and supplies, money, transportation, information, a map, and even added the house, the stone pot Yuga seemed to love, and her cat, Maxsim.
It was when she thought to tack on the freedom of the knight, Zarya, and his brothers that she got into trouble.
“Aha!” the old woman said. “I knew you had help. That mischievous rascal Zarya must’ve been passing you victuals and wood through the window. I knew I should’ve bolted it down. Ah, well. Lessons learned.”
“You’re a miserable wretch. Has anyone ever told you as much?” Veru said bluntly.
Yuga laughed, and it was a dreadful sound. “Usually not when they want something as much as you do. In most cases, I deal with flattery.”
“I prefer honesty.”
“As do I. Though you aren’t terribly familiar with it, are you, my dear?”
Veru stiffened. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
The old woman snorted. “Come now. No need to pretend with me, Princess. I wrote the book on deceit. I may be practically blind and old, but I can see clear as day, and you, my beauty, are about the shiftiest little thing to ever have sat in that particular chair. In fact, the only way I can pin you down is to have Maxsim hold you in place, and that takes a powerful charm, believe you me.”
