Two days had passed with Queen Elspeth helping cement the young King’s rule. They had weeded through the nobles and selected a small council to help aid in the reconstruction of the city and rebirth of their kingdom. It had been tedious work, with many arguments or threats being issued due to a candidate not being chosen for the role he wanted. They weren’t going to be able to please everyone.

The most recent one was an older man, Lord of a small estate somewhere east of the city to the Queen’s knowledge. The guards had to forcibly remove him after he had picked up the chair he was sitting on and threatened to throw it at them. They had taken a small recess after that and doubled the guard in the room. A mixture of the Queen’s men and the others native to this kingdom. A show of force to the newly forged alliance.

“Let's hope the next meeting goes better than that one,” John mocked, unmoved by what happened. Good.

“Well I fail to see how things are going to get any worse,” she replied, placing her goblet back onto the table and picking up the notes. “This Lord seems to have large enough lands to replenish the food stocks lost from the desolate fields surrounding this city, and his territory isn’t far. They don't have to worry about transportation as much.”

“He does. However, he has always been a supporter of my father. We should be wary.”

“The least we can do is hear him out,” she smiled, nodding to the guard as he opened the small oaken door, letting the next noble enter the room.

“Lord Gault,” he introduced himself with a quick bow. He was older than the Queen expected, much older. It was a wonder if he would survive another winter.

“Do you have children, my Lord?”

He paused briefly, concealing a small smile. He knew this question was already coming. “I do, my queen. They have followed in my footsteps and know everything I do. It is for them I do this.”

She beckoned him to take the seat before him. He had been standing outside for two hours as like most of them, waiting on the chance to plead their case and gain favour with the new King.

He sunk down on the chair with a thud as his legs gave way when he began to crouch lower.

She could see him much clearer now that he was closer. His old grey eyes stood out amongst his other features, although, the thing that drew her attention most was his hair. It was grey but covered in numerous bald spots and other areas that were full of thick hair. It looked rather odd.

“Why are you here if you are petitioning on behalf of your children?” she quizzed.

“Because your grace, if they were here, they would not be tending the lands you so desire, and that would be a poor waste of time.”

She smirked at the response, clever. She was sold already; he was already better suited to the task and owned up to the responsibilities. What she had read about him too made him the best person for the job. She looked over to John, by the look on his face he was still unconvinced.

The man began to get a little nervous, realizing how quickly silence overtook the room as the two royals spoke not with their words but with their minds. Noticing as much he began to talk. “I can understand your reserves, my King. Yes, I was a supporter of your father because he was my King. I will be honest; I did not agree with a lot of what he did, but I supported him, and that is to my shame. I'm old, what could I do alone to a man like that, even with the backing of my house there is nothing we could have done.” he paused, trying to regain his breath. “I promise I will support you too, like I did your father, my loyalty in that is unwavering. However, I believe you will be a much better ruler than he was.”

“Very well.” The King nodded, taking his quill, and scribbling something in the black ink on the parchment below.

“Thank you, your grace.” That had been the most relaxed meeting in the two days so far, it made a nice change. Jason moved with speed and stealth as the older man tried to stand. A strong hand quickly grabbed his upper arm, startling him slightly. He helped the struggling man to his feet and to leave the room. His slow, staggering steps made them all wonder if the man would even make it home at this rate. He had a carriage with him, but still, he appeared to be struggling immensely.

The door gently shut behind Jason. Queen Elspeth stood up and walked over to one of the side tables picking up a cool jug of water and returned to the table. She could already feel her hand numbing as the condensation on the container dripped and ran down her arm. She poured herself a glass and offered the King one too. “How many more appointments to go today?” she asked.

“Forty-three,” he said coldly, sounding almost as irritated as she was.

“Still so many?” she sighed, wiping the water droplets off her arms.

“I'm afraid so. This definitely isn't as fun as I expected either.”

“It rarely ever is,” she said, thinking back to her own coronation. At least back then all the foundations were settled. She had little to worry about. Everyone was prepared for her to take over minus a few people who were against it. She felt sorry for the young King who was not ready for this day, for it had all been thrown at him.

She was glad she stayed the few days so far to help. She knew she had more pressing concerns, but a new relationship with a powerful nation was going to help with what was to come. She sat down on her chair, slouching back and wishing with all her heart that it was more comfortable. The Queen had already spent three hours here today and ten yesterday. Her body was starting to ache and cease up.

“Send in the next,” the King ordered, hoping that they would all be as quick as Lord Gault. The door burst open before the guard had managed to get to it and in ran Jason, the colour drained from his face.

“What's wrong?” she knew him well enough to know it was something serious, his facial expression gave it away.

“Two messages have arrived for you, one recently and one hours ago. The messengers didn't want to interrupt the meetings. One is from your brother, and the other is from Aredd.” He paused before handing the letters over, they had already been opened. She could see that he had broken the seal meant for her and they hung loosely in his hands.

“You might want to read them in private.”

“It's fine, Jason.” She said, trying to show trust in the new king.

“My Queen, I insist.” He replied sharply. The speed in which he replied, the bluntness, she instantly knew it was severe. She looked at him, wanting to rip the papers from his hand and read them now, but he was almost pleading with her.

Dread began to clutch at her very soul, something must have happened, something dire. The beasts had attacked early and destroyed a city? Aredd had lost his army defending against them? She began to overthink every possible scenario as she quickly rose to her feet.

“Please forgive me.” She said, turning to face King John. He had a quizzical expression written across his features before she ignored it and followed Jason out of the room. She heard numerous moans and groans from the nobles waiting to speak to them both as she passed them, she didn't care. Maybe there was more than one witch, perhaps they have attacked her own people.

She walked at a quickened pace, forcing Jason to walk faster to lead her to a quiet room. Her heart was racing. Jason opened the door of a room and pushed it inwards. She had already snatched the letters from his hands and made her way through the doorway. She unfurled the first letter, from her brother. The other still gripped tightly in her clenched fist.

She read the first letter. Her brother’s mission to King Arbious had begun as a success until news spread of King Foxon raising the banners and preparing for war with them. “Forgive me, sister.” were the words written at the bottom. He was going to try and stop him. To prevent the war from happening by riding out to meet this king. He had no chance of doing this alone.

“Jason, we need to go stop him.”

“Ellie…” he paused, staring at her panicked features.

“We can’t let him go there alone!” She raised her voice, gaining attention from some of the nobles outside. Jason slammed the door behind him.

“The other letter. I’m so sorry.” She dropped the first letter to the ground and quickly scrambled to open the second one. What could be worse than her brother marching to certain death?

After a few moments, the Queen sunk to her knees. Her city had been taken by her Uncle. When she left, she had placed the council in charge for the few weeks she would have been gone. However, now her uncle reigned alongside some of the other nobles, with their armies stationed inside the city and the gates closed to block any access into it.

Tears began to well in her eyes. Everything she had worked for was being torn to the ground, defaced and destroyed all around her. This was the last thing she needed, especially as the entire world was in peril. She couldn’t control herself any more as the tears flowed down her face and onto the floor at her feet.

“I will fucking kill him,” she swore.

“We will get through this Ellie.” She didn’t know how or when, but Jason had wrapped his heavily armoured arms around her. She was sobbing down onto the cold metal of his shoulder plate, the tears sparkling on the armour like stars among the night sky.

Slowly but surely, she began to gain control of her emotions. She was a Queen after all. She would move mountains to get what she wanted. “I have to choose between saving my brother or my country…How is that a fair choice? My duty means I need to save my country, but how can I make that decision and condemn him to die?”

“I’m so sorry, Ellie.”

The pair sat in silence for some time, wrapped up in each other’s arms. The Queen’s mind got to work trying to think of any possibility, anything to try and resolve this.

She had no idea how long they had been sitting on the cold ground, Jason hadn’t let go of her yet. “Can you get the elves for me?” she asked, her voice too quiet.

“They are in the forest outside the city, but I already sent two of my guards to find them.”

~

It was only ten minutes later when Terandriell and Arianna burst into the room. They were definitely a sight for sore eyes. Terandriell didn’t seem to realize the urgency of the matter, he was somewhat reserved and seemed to be thinking about other things.

“What’s happened?” Arianna asked, her voice was soft, much softer than it usually was. She could sense the significance of the situation and was trying to act accordingly.

“Our ally King Arbious can no longer help us. Prince Arthur has joined up with King Foxon to march against us. My city has been taken by my uncle and everything is falling apart,” she said, entirely casually. The shock of the matter had already affected her, there was nothing else to be surprised by.

Jason watched her with a curious expression on his face.

“Terandriell?” she asked, trying to get his attention. “Are you listening?”

“Yes, sorry.” He turned to face her, briefly looking around the room to get his surroundings in check.

“Would your people be able to find my brother? You are better trackers and more skilful.” She swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat. What if they declined? she thought.

“Of course, we would be more than happy to help you.”

Jason looked at the queen, relief spread across her face as she relaxed into her chair.

“That just leaves the city…” Jason said, hoping someone had a plan. He had no idea how to take over the city without bloodshed, which would only make them all the weaker for the war to come. The four of them exchanged glances, unsure of what to do next.

“We need eyes on them,” Arianna said.

“Eyes on whom?” the Queen asked.

“The beasts. Can you get your commander to set up scouting perimeters, we need to know when and what they do. I will go find your brother for you.” She bowed quickly. The Queen smiled, glad it was Arianna offering. She trusted her almost as much as she did Jason, in the few weeks they had known each other.

“No,” Terandriell said. The Queen looked at his bright blue eyes, feeling instantly diminished as the word slammed against her. “I need you here. Besides, Yuri and Azura are better trackers. We can give them the stones.”

She nodded. A quick nod, polite enough to show she would listen to him but short to show her displeasure at being overruled.

Terandriell now turned his attention to the queen. “I will send the elves to stop your brother, do you know where the army will cross or is most likely to?”

“The Forsaken Bridge we call it. A single bridge that connects our lands to his. He doesn’t have the ships to take his armies by sea, not efficiently anyway. The other crossing will add days to their journey and is not entirely safe, which they won’t risk waiting. The bridge is where they will cross.”

“Good. I will rally my people. I will travel with you as will Arianna with a few others. The rest will travel West. I have a plan for your city.” He left the room before the Queen could even say her thanks or ask what the plan was. Arianna quickly followed him.

She felt a little more hopeful. At least they had an ally in this, even if it was just a small force.

“Let me go with them,” Jason said. “Your brother will need a friendly face.” He tapped his fingers playfully against the hilt of his blade, wanting nothing more than to kill King Foxon and end this for her.

“I need you with me to retake Saskinar. Do you think they actually have a plan to capture it?”

“If there is one thing I know, it’s that these elves always seem to have a plan for everything,” he laughed, trying his best to reassure her.

She smiled back at him and stood up from the chair, wanting to get some fresh air outside. It was a lovely castle, but it always felt quite clammy inside, and she had spent most of the last few days stuck inside numerous rooms, deliberating on the new council. The pair of them left the room. Jason whistled to get the attention of two of his guards and sent them scurrying off to prepare the men to leave immediately.

The queue of nobles was considerably shorter than the Queen expected. The King must have already decided who he wanted to complete his council, she smiled at the thought. At least something was going right.

Jason took the lead as they marched passed the remaining nobles. He barged into the room. “Forgive me, My Lord, we need a word with the King.”

The balding middle-aged man snorted in derision as he stood up from his chair, looking at Jason as if he was a worthless thing. Jason’s eyes grew cold as he stared at the man, a simple punch would settle things right.

Queen Elspeth walked in behind him, seeing what had happened. “My Lord, after careful consideration, we won’t be needing you for the appointed roll.” Furious, the man marched out of the room, rage burning deep within his eyes.

She looked up to see John grinning at the situation as the door slammed shut with a deafening thud. That felt good, she thought. Jason was less than impressed at Elspeth defending him. He was a warrior, capable of doing that on his own, albeit in a different manner.

“John, some things have come to light, and I am needed back home. I wish you the best in rebuilding your country, and I hope our two nations can remain friends, as we are.” She wanted to tell him everything that was going on but didn’t know if she could trust her new ally just yet. His smirk from a moment ago was wiped away and replaced with a frown.

“What’s happened?” he asked. He knew it was something dire, she wouldn’t just leave this suddenly.

The Queen paused, calculating, deciding. He was going to find out anyway if the news hadn’t arrived yet. “My Uncle has seized Saskinar in my absence.” She said plainly, trying her best to conceal her rage.

John abruptly stood from his cushioned chair and announced. “My people are with you on this.”

The Queen smiled, maybe she had put her trust in the right person after all. “You cannot, your brother is travelling to join forces with King Foxon’s army against King Arbious. Your forces will be needed at home.” A look of deep despair smothered John’s face, he had only just gained control of his kingdom, and it was already being threatened.