Rina gazed at the sleeping Furina, glanced at the carriage drawing ever closer to The Court of Fontaine and pondered for a few seconds.
In the end she stepped into the Inner Space beside the slumbering Furina. She gave her a gentle shake and just as Furina's limbs began to stir, Rina darted back to her own red sofa, tore open a bag of snacks, and began munching as though nothing had happened.
"Mmm… mmm." With those soft murmurs Furina slowly woke, saw herself lying in the Inner Space, and leapt up in fright.
"No, no, no—how did I fall asleep inside the Inner Space!" Furina's consciousness snapped back to reality; only when the carriage rolled to a stop and she found no one beside her did she exhale in relief.
"So… who woke me up?"
Suspecting the obvious, she jumped back into the Inner Space and turned her gaze toward Rina.
'It wasn't me! I didn't do it! Don't go making things up!'
Next morning, Hydro Archon's Office
"Ugh, we've got Neuvillette—why do I still have to be here? There's no trial today!" Furina rubbed her eyes, thoroughly annoyed at Rina.
'Hey! Don't tell me you forgot—we're meeting Neuvillette today to discuss the reforms!' Rina snapped, Furina had set the appointment yesterday and forgot it overnight.
"Oh… right." Furina remembered and gave Rina an awkward grin.
"Hmph!" Rina sat on the sofa, ignoring her.
Knock-knock-knock. Irene pushed the door open, stepped halfway in, and said, "Lady Furina, Monsieur Neuvillette has arrived."
"Understood—send him in." Furina instantly turned serious, straightened her attire and sat up straighter.
Neuvillette walked in slowly, sat before her and said. "Lady Furina, I'm here."
"Thanks to your suggestion yesterday, I examined Fontaine's current political structure and found real drawbacks—inefficiency, for one."
"Exactly." Furina nodded proudly. "An Archon's idea can't possibly be wrong."
Neuvillette found her reaction a bit much—praise her twice and she floats off—but pressed on. "Let's tackle the issue, I've drafted a preliminary plan."
"Namely—a Parliamentary System."
"Parliament? Don't we already have one?" Furina asked. after handling countless documents she had some grasp of Fontaine's politics.
"No." Neuvillette shook his head. "To be precise: a Pseudo-Parliamentary System."
"The old parliament held real power; the revised one will handle only trivialities—anything major must be reported to you and me for decision."
"So the current parliament will have almost no real authority yet still save us heaps of trouble?"
Furina was quick; she grasped his meaning at once.
"Exactly. Now, regarding its composition—"
"I envisage the Presidents of the five courts—Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, Maison Gardiennage, Maison Gestion, Maison Ordalie, and the Marechaussee Phantom—forming the parliament, plus an archivists to record and relay information, with the five Presidents rotating monthly as Speaker."
Furina turned to Rina to ask for improvements.
Rina pondered, found room for tweaks and told Furina to relay them.
"A-hem, your idea is excellent." Furina puffed out her chest. "However, as the Hydro Archon, Focalors, I have some refinements."
"A tool-institution though it may be, a parliament of only five is too small; I suggest two or three members from each major court. Grant the body discussion rights—though not decision rights—on certain state affairs so we can consider issues more thoroughly."
"Lastly, to prevent the parliament from hoodwinking us, the archivists must be someone we trust absolutely."
Having said her piece, Furina beamed at Neuvillette, her face begging for praise.
Neuvillette considered her points, found them sound and was genuinely surprised—he hadn't expected Furina to offer constructive ideas. After this encounter his view of her shifted.
"Lady Furina, your suggestions are indeed valid; I'll revise the plan accordingly."
"Then let's move to item two."
"Yesterday's trial used a Government Official as accuser—something I admire. Do you have any thoughts on expanding that into a new body?"
Furina hadn't considered it, but Rina had mentioned it once, so she borrowed the idea.
Furina: E-heh! If my other self thought of it, it's basically mine, right?
"Of course I have!" Furina lifted her voice. "I name this new body the 'Court of Supervision'—its job is to oversee the law. It will monitor the legality of trials, prosecute public-offender crimes and major criminal cases."
Neuvillette weighed the proposal, saw it would enhance judicial fairness, and recorded it for further detailing.
"The next proposed body is the 'Auditor's Office,' tasked with overseeing Fontaine civil servants' conduct and granted limited investigative and arrest powers."
Neuvillette lifted his glass, sipped the premium Fontaine water and continued.
"This body is needed because many disciplinary issues exist among officials. While the worst were tried yesterday, that doesn't absolve the rest. The office will deter civil-offender crime and speed up handling of official misconduct."
Furina agreed but added. "Neuvillette, plenty of civil servants have problems, especially at grassroots levels. If we arrest them all, Fontaine would grind to a halt. Better to focus on education and guidance; in this special period we can relax legal severity a notch."
Though it bent justice, Neuvillette had to concede the point.
A young dragon new to society pondered this lesson.
"Very well, topic closed. Lady Furina, anything to add?" Neuvillette asked slowly.
"Mm… actually, yes." Furina replied. "I'm establishing a department directly under me dedicated to investigating the Prophecy Crisis."
At mention of the prophecy her voice involuntarily dropped.
"A reasonable idea." Neuvillette said. He too knew of the prophecy, though he still wasn't sure how to face it.
Their talk concluded; Neuvillette turned to leave—he still had to refine the laws, consult others, and forge a complete new system.