~Mirandiona💎

It was a good half hour after Serana had found me in the garden when I heard the sound of armored feet running down the path. Serana must have heard it as well. She was already climbing to her feet and picking up my sling before I could ask her to let me up.

Climbing to my feet as well, I face the direction the guards were coming from, off to one side of the pool.

I let Serana help me put my sling back on as the guards break through the cover of foliage and spot us. They seemed eager, a buzz of excitement and anxiety pouring off of them so strongly I could feel it from halfway across the large courtyard.

"What's got their feathers in a twist?" Serana asked, securing the sling across my torso.

I glanced over my wing at her to see the younger woman sporting a look of concern. "Good news hopefully." I sigh before turning to face the two guards. "What's happened?" I question before they've come to a complete stop.

They're both out of breath and almost doubled over from their heaving. After several moments one of them finally gains her composure enough to speak semi coherently. "The tavern was found, and the sapian weapon was located inside a small bunker beneath their drink stores." She huffs out.

My heart corkscrewed at the news. "Where's the weapon now?" I demand, my own eagerness rising to the surface.

"It was taken to the royal armory and put under lockdown by General Katal's orders, your majesty." The second guard answered. "The entire tavern staff and everyone that was present was taken into custody. All of the staff was taken to the eastern barracks and the rest were taken to the southern barracks for questioning." She informs, standing up straight again. "General Katal herself has gone to get the rebel in holding. Unsure as to why."

I didn't even bother to reply as I darted past them and made a beeline for the entrance to the garden. I had to find Katal and figure out what was going on.

Serana was close behind as I marched through the castle at a brisk pace. I barely even registered the cold as I crossed the castle grounds. My mind was solely focused on getting to the sapian weapon and destroying it if it could be destroyed or disposing of it if it couldn't. I would make certain the damned thing could never be used.

The guards in the barracks wisely dodged out of my path, giving me a wide berth as I passed. I went past the training rooms and turned down a hall right before the bunks to head for the cells and holding rooms toward the back of the building. My feathers bristled as I thought of the armory in the opposite direction.

There weren't any prisoners in the royal penitentiary aside from one, so it was rather easy locating which room she was being held in considering it was the only one with guards posted outside it. I didn't so much as glance at the guards as I bodily forced the door to the interrogation room open.

Every occupant in the room turned toward the door at my abrupt entrance. Myka was restrained to a chair that was designed to cause as much discomfort as possible without being outright painful. Her wings were forcibly bunched against the narrow back which had a metal bar fixed to it with her arms hooked over the bar at the elbow and chained there, forcing them behind her back and trapping her wings. The chain around her neck was still present, connected to Fyko who was hovering over her like a gryph waiting for the kill. The original interrogator was seated in front of her and Katal was between them and the door.

The general turned towards me and saluted. "Your majesty." She acknowledged curtly.

I didn't reply as my eyes darted towards the rebel sitting in the world's most uncomfortable chair.

That was apparently reply enough as Katal turned back towards the room's other occupants. "Myka was it?" Katal asked, before continuing without an answer. "I'm going to ask you this once and only once." She growls as she closes the distance between her and the rebel. "Can that weapon be destroyed without being set off?"

I saw Myka's jaw tick as she glared up at Katal. There was a split second of tense silence before Myka spit in Katal's face.

Katal jerked back in surprise before going to lunge. I barely manage throw myself forward and catch the General by her wing and yank her back before she can kill the other woman. "Easy Katal!" I shouted as the armored woman tried to shake my grip. "We still need her alive." I remind her.

I turned my own glare on the girl when her chin was grabbed and she was forced to look up at Fyko. "Myka, please. If you'll stop being so angry for two minutes you'll see that we're not the ones you need to be afraid of." He tries to reason.

The rebel bares her teeth in a snarl and yanks her chin out of his grip. "I'm not afraid, I'm angry!" She snaps back.

Fyko shakes his head with an exasperated sigh before straddling the woman's thighs and plopping down in her lap, making his face get very close to her's. "Why are you angry?" He demands with an annoyed expression, barely an inch away from her face.

Serana taps me with her elbow to gain my attention. Looking over my shoulder at her, I see the confused look on her face as she points at Fyko. 'What is he doing?' She mouths the question.

I wasn't entirely sure myself so I simply shrugged with a shake of my head before turning back to see what was happening.

Myka scoffed with a slight bare of teeth. "Like I'm going to tell you. I think I'll save my confessions for the Drace." She sneers in his face.

Fyko gives her a blank glare, clearly unamused by her snark. Myka suddenly jumped with a yelp and had the most shocked look before it turned into a bewildered glare. "Did you just pinch me?!" She accused with no small amount of outrage in her voice.

Fyko's blank expression held as he stared her down. "Yes I did. You were being mean." He confesses.

"Fyko." I called for his attention.

He turns and gives me an innocent look that wouldn't have passed a droc's scrutiny. "Can you stop flirting for two seconds?" I snapped at the man.

"Wha-?!" He doesn't get a chance to find his voice as I drag him off of the other woman by his ear.

When he opens his mouth to protest I give him a glare of my own. "Go stand in the corner until I tell you not to." I order with a healthy dose of venom in my voice.

He snaps his jaw shut and backs up into the far corner. The distance barely left any slack in the chain but I didn't much care.

Satisfied that the man had been properly cowed I turn back towards the rebel who was noticeably less pissy and more cautious. "Look at me." I demand as I noticed the woman's gaze ever so slightly aimed above my head. I gently grab her chin and pull her head down. "Look at me." I wait for her eyes to settle on mine before I start talking again. "If I don't think that weapon can be safely disarmed then I'm going to have a team of guards fly to the very edge of an outer laying shelf and dump it into the ocean." I inform her. "Either way this plan has failed. You have failed. Now whether you like it or not, your life is in my hands, and that means if you don't start cooperating and soon, then I'm not going to have any use for you. I don't much like keeping things that aren't useful." I sunk down to my knees and braced my arms against her thighs, leaned my weight on her.

Her eyes followed my movements, not once braking my gaze. She was scared but she wasn't about to start talk about the rebels. Maybe Fyko had the right idea. I muss. He's not intimidating enough to pull it off though.

A smirk pulled at my features and I let it grow as I saw the fear on Mykala's face morph into dread. "Why is it that you hate me so much?" I asked mockingly. "Is it because of some long lost love that you think you're avenging by fighting me?" I prodded at the tidbit of information I was given earlier today.

When she didn't respond aside from a barely there snarl I tried another theory. "Or maybe it's because I'm to blame for ruining your shot at wealth. Your one chance to get out of your shity little life." That gained a stronger snarl and a glare, but there wasn't that fire of hatred yet. "Or perhaps it's something else. In all of this I've never heard anything of your family. But you mentioned a 'him' in the ruins. I already know your previous match was a woman so that's not it. Another potential mate before her?" I question, but there wasn't a reaction. "No, your Vavi?" I ask next, that earned a reaction. There was a hatred in her eyes and pulling at her expression but that didn't seem like it was about anything other than the mention of him. That didn't fit the context I was looking for. "Or maybe a brother..." I trailed off as her jaw ticked and her brows twitched trying to morph into a scowl.

Myka's features were now far less expressive than they had been only moments ago. She wasn't letting a single expression betray her feelings.

Got you. My lips curled upwards in a wide grin that showed off my fangs. "A brother." I confirm.

Her jaw clenched and she bared her fangs at me. "He died because of your incompetence." She spat at me.

Staring her down I wait until she's settled back down before leaning in. "He died because the incompetence of my commanders, and the ignorance of my council. Both issues that are currently being addressed." I correct her in a low even voice.

She doesn't say another word past her gritted teeth. I meet her glare with a steady gaze. "What happened? Was he killed in the streets by a guard? Wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit?" I prodded. I was being harsh but I didn't have the time or patience to deal with her sensitive sensibilities. There were more pressing matters than her stubborn hostility.

Her lips pulled back into a snarl as her eyes narrowed in hatred. "He joined the guard like a bloody idiot." She hisses venomously. "I warned him not to. I warned him that he would be forced to do things he didn't want to do and that he would be executed if he didn't do as he was told! I knew it would be the death of him!" She was shouting in my face but I didn't look away or flinch back. "He died because he was apart of the damned guard! He was murdered in the street like fuckin' animal because he chose to take orders from you! Because he thought he could help with all of the stealing and rampant violence that has taken over the low rise sectors of Kenysiz! He died trying to do what you don't care to even acknowledge!" She was heaving by the end of her rampage and her eyes glittered with tears as her voice grew choked and strained. Her next words were quiet and fleeting in the silent room. "He died because of you." She accused.

I waited for several long moments to let her catch her breath and to be sure that she was done. When I spoke again, I looked her dead in the eyes with the most sincere and honest look I could. "I am not the one to blame for his death." I start. Myka opens her mouth ready to start yelling again. "Let me speak." I cut her off with a stern glare. When her mouth snaps back shut I continue. "I knew there was unrest but up until a month ago I was not given full knowledge of the situation. I have had no idea what the guards in the Shattered Mountains were doing otherwise Katal would have stopped them long before they got this strong. And if you're so distrusting of the guards and hate them so much why are you fighting for Helton?" I asked truly bemused by the situation.

My question seemed to throw her for a loop. "What are you talking about? He's the leader of the rebellion, our commander, why wouldn't I fight for him?" She snips back, a look of pure confusion painted across her features.

Frowning I glance over at Katal who gives me an equally confused and worried look. Turning my gaze back to the woman in front of me. "Helton is the acting commander of the guard in the Shattered Mountains. He's been in station there for well over five centuries." I inform her.

The look on her face could only be described as confused outrage. "And I'm a bloody babbo. Why would the commander of the guard lead a rebellion against himself? What purpose does that serve?" She demands.

Katal was the one to answer next. "A great one if that rebellion happens to get rid of every seat of power in the Kingdom. If Algrie were to be destroyed with everyone currently in it, the next in line to take power would be the longest reigning commander. That position is also being held by Helton. That's the way our chain of command was set up." She explains.

Myka frowns and shakes her head unbelieving.

Pushing myself to my feet I hold my hand out to Katal. "Give me your keys." I order.

She shoots me a confused look but reaches under her armor and retrieves her keys nonetheless. She wordlessly tosses me the key ring and stands back.

I turn motion for Fyko to come back out of the corner. He shoots me an equally confused look as he walks forward until he's standing in front of me.

I reach up and unlock his shackle. "Go get Treale. He should be in the western tower near the base." Fyko gives me an even more confused look and shakes his head as if he doesn't understand. Suppressing a sigh I try to jog his memory. "The man I had you pull aside out of Helton's guard. Serana's friend? The one you nearly cleaved in half." Realization lit up his features.

"At once my queen." He quickly bows before dashing out of the room to follow my orders.

Serana gives me an appraising once over with a raised brow. "What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?" She ask. Katal looked like she had the same question written across her features.

"Our guest doesn't seem to believe us." I motioned toward Myka who was even more confused and bewildered than before. "So I figure we should bring someone with a more personal experience with the subject." I explained.

Katal made an expression like she agreed while Serana gave me a dubious look. Talk about a role reversal.

Turning to look over my wing at the interrogator I flick my good wing to get his attention. "Your dismissed. Please return to your regular duties if Katal has nothing for you to do." I address before turning back to face Myka while I wait.

I watched Katal glance at the guard out of the corner of my eye. "Go take post outside the armory." She orders dismissively.

"Yes General." The guard salutes before turning toward me. "Your majesty." With that the gold clad figure moved toward the exit. Saluting Serana as they slipped out of the room.

Serana took a deep breath and held it for a second before blowing it out in a sharp sigh. I glanced in her direction as she walked over to the now vacant chair and plopped down rather ungracefully, giving away her more humble upbringing.

A silent chuckle rumbled in my chest at the look Katal shot her for her undignified poise. If there was one thing the high general engrained in me aside from my combat training it was posture. And she ground it in hard. 'Your body is like your weapon. Treat it badly and it'll be useless.' I couldn't even guess at how many times I'd heard those words.

I gave Katal a look, daring her to say something to the other woman. Leave her be. I mentally warned the general, trying to convey the words through my eyes.

We stood there in tense silence for several minutes before the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall. Everyone in the room turned towards the door as Fyko stepped through followed by a broad shouldered man with gray and green speckled wings.

Treale's torso was exposed without the silver guards armor which revealed a few shallow gashes still healing and several scars left from his short time with the rebels and likely from his life in Lockren.

His eyes immediately darted to Serana, then to my injured wing, and finally settled on Myka. A frown pulled at his features as he shot a worried look at Serana. "You summoned?" He asked turning slightly wide eyes on me.

I nod once before motioning to the chair Serana was sitting in. "Take a seat would you?" It was phrased as a question but he was smart enough to take it as an order.

Serana quickly got up, allowing him to take the seat across from the green winged rebel.

I stepped to the side so that they could both see each other unobstructed.

Looking down at Treale I start asking him questions. "What's your name?" I start.

He gives me a confused look for half a second before answering. "Treale." He states firmly.

"And where are you from?" I ask next.

He shoots Serana a confused look that she waves off. His eyes dart back to me as he answers. "Lockren." It was clear by the way he shifted in his seat and kept glancing around the room that he was nervous.

"Why'd you join the rebels?" Was my next question.

His next answer was shot out so fast I doubted he even thought about it. "Because my babbo's ass of a best friend wanted to join." He shot a glare at said best friend who was now sputtering with a gaping mouth.

"I never said you had to come with me!" She shouts in defense.

At that he scowls at her. "You basically kind of did." His voice was even but there was still a hint of camaraderiel anger laced through it.

That one statement made his Shattered Mounts accent very apparent. The fact that it was also clearly not a city accent wasn't lost on the green winged woman across from him.

She was glaring at him with a scrutinizing gaze. Her brows pinched and her expression focused as she tried to find a flaw that would label him as a fake.

"Who's the leader of the rebellion?" I continued before we could get off subject.

"Helton." He didn't hesitate now that he was loosened up by the banter with Serana.

"And who informed me that he was the one leading the rebels?"

"I did." He states firmly without a hint of remorse.

"How did you come to be in my presence to inform me?" My questions were directed at Treale but I was watching Mykala.

"I was brought here by Helton as a part of his guard. After Serana had disappeared they believed I would know something of the lavalieres because of my friendship with her. They brought me to Helton but he was already preparing a delegation to be brought into Algrie so my interrogation was done mid travel. To cover up the fact I was a prisoner I was given a guard's suit and dull weapons to play the part." He explains without so much as flinching.

"How was Helton able to form a delegation and bring them here? What was his position of power to be able to do so?" I was boring holes into Myka's skull as I waited for Treale's answer.

There was a noticeable pause before the answer finally came just as firmly as the ones before. "He's the Commander of the Shattered Mounts guard."

I watched as Myka's eyes flitted over the features of the man in front of her. Desperately searching for any hint that he was lying.

After several long moments her jaw clenched and dread washed over her tan features bleaching her a pale shade of white. "You're telling the truth." She whispers mournfully.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Treale turn to her with a bemused look. "What? Truth about what? Who are you?" He finally seems to realize that he should probably be asking questions of his own.