~Mirandiona💎

I left Serana and Evyo about three hours ago. Three hours of searching for the messenger and nothing to show for it. The chances of the man still being in the city were next to none which left the next best option of having the guards go to the lowrise areas and start questioning merchants about the blockade.

My teeth felt like they were on the verge of breaking from the force of my clenched jaw. How hard is it to find someone that knows about the blockade?! I growled to myself.

"Your majesty, you need to calm down." Avar says standing just to the side of my desk, looking at the maps hanging on the wall behind me.

Heaving a sigh I hold back my irritation and turn around in my chair to look at the maps as well. Two of the three maps were side views of Skyris, both from the east and west, between the two maps was a top view that was split into two parts one half showing northern Skyris and the other half showing southern Skyris.

On the western coast were several markers near and around Kenysiz and throughout the Shattered Mountains region which spanned over much of the northern half of the kingdom.

"Any insight on how we can advance towards the blockade? We need to get food and water supplies over the walls before the people start dying." I divert his attention back to the matter at hand.

The older man heaves a sigh of his own with a solum shake of his head. "None that I can see, any approach by land crosses through too much of the rebel controlled territory. Approaching from the sea side crosses less land but also provides no cover for escape or anywhere to emergency land should we be attacked either coming too or leaving the city." He responds.

Choking back a growl I survey the maps before me. Tracing my eyes over each marker that represented a fort or village. Purple markers were used for the rebels, blue for the guards and red for advancement planing. There was far too much purple on the map for my liking.

"These merchants have to be getting into the city somehow." I mutter to myself. Pressing my hand to my mouth I scan the maps again for the umpteenth time.

Huffing out in exasperation I forcefully stand up and snatch an atlas of all the region's in Skyris off my desk. Pacing around the room I start flipping through it until I find the Shattered Mountains region. There has to be a way in. We're just looking over it.

Avar doesn't move as I pace, flipping through the book furiously. I ignore him in favor of scrutinizing each and every detail of the maps outlines on the pages.

My pacing is stopped short by a gentle knock on the door. Looking up I watch the door open slowly revealing Serana as she cautiously steps into the room. "Hey." She greets softly. "Find anything?" She asks, quietly shutting the door behind her.

The tension in my back and wings loosens at her tentativeness. Sighing I let my wings sag slightly. "No, the merchant is long gone and without information on how they're getting in the city were blindly guessing." I answer.

Looking at the other woman she seemed slightly muted and withdrawn in comparison to her usually outspoken nature.

Serana's eyes shifted over my wing to Avar. "I hate to ask, but can you go talk to my Nani? She's worried about the state of Kenysiz and I'm afraid my knowledge on the subject is a bit lacking." She asks just as softly as before.

Avar turns from the maps fully as his eyes flicker to me for permission.

I give a slight nod as I toss the atlas haphazardly onto my desk. "We aren't making any progress here." I mutter, disheartened by our lack of options and time.

The councilman gave a curt nod before turning to leave the room. In my peripherals I caught him pausing by Serana to whisper in her ear before continuing out the door.

Turning back to my desk I rest both hands on the smooth wooden surface, staring at the pages of the atlas like it would suddenly come to life and tell me what I was missing.

I didn't bother looking up as smooth bronze arms slid under my wings and around my waist. A cold nose pressed into my hair and against my back between my wingblades. Taking a deep breath I let it out slowly as a soft kiss was pressed to my skin.

I could feel as Serana took a breath to speak. "You'll figure it out. You are by far one of the smartest and definitely the most stubborn person I know. You'll get it eventually." She reassures, hugging me just a touch harder for a few seconds.

I hummed at her reassurance. "The question is will I figure it out in time." I respond dejectedly.

I felt more than heard her hum in return. There was a long moment of silence as I continued to stare at the book before me when Serana decided to shift and hook her chin over my wing and rest it atop my shoulder to view the maps with me.

She was silent for a long moment, contemplating the lines on the page as I was when she seemed to find something worth voicing. "What's that?" She asks, releasing one of her arms from around my torso to point at the bottom right corner of the map we were looking at.

"That's an underview of the map on the page." I answer without thinking on it.

"Oh. I've never seen a map from beneath a shelf." She comments with a tone of mild interest, resting her arm back around my waist.

I hum in response as my eyes trace the lines of the map again. Frowning I looked up at the maps hanging from the wall and noticed that none of them showed an underview like the atlas did.

"Serana," I called to bring her attention to me. "I think you just found the flaw in our strategy." I turned to look at her for a second.

Her brows were furrowed with confusion as she pulled back to properly look at me. "What do you mean?" She questions.

My heart started to pick up tempo as I slipped out of Serana's arms to round the desk and take a closer look at the map. "We've been looking at the maps in three dimensions. All of our planning has revolved around a top view and two sides, but not the bottom. We've completely looked over the fact that there is a bottom to each shelf just like there's a top." I answer excitedly.

"Okay, you've lost me." She admits flickering her eyes between me and the maps.

Grinning like a toddler with a mouth full of candy I round the desk again slide the atlas off, tucking it under my arm. "That's how the merchants are getting into the city. Walls only protect the sides and if you're on top of something you can only see above it, not below it." I explain practically giddy over the discovery.

Realization dawned on the other woman as I started walking backwards towards the door. "They're getting in by going under the shelf and somehow getting through it into the city." A smile was lighting up her own face as she started following me.

"That's what I'm thinking." I confirm, spinning around I swing the door open and start a brisk pace down the hall

As I pass the guards outside the door I pause. "Go find Katal and tell her to meet me in the barracks." I order before continuing on my way to the ground floor.

I didn't pay any attention to the 'yes, your majesty' they chorused as they ran the opposite way towards an opening in the outer wall.

Serana was half jogging by my side in an instant with the telltale click of Ovah's claws on the marble flooring just behind us.

By the time we reached the barracks I was huffing and my legs were a tad sore from the brisk pace. I hate walking. I grumble to myself.

Making my way through the building I find who I'm looking for sitting at a table with a game of kenna between them and Etria laying underneath.

"There you are." I breathe getting their attention. "Myka, I have a question." I state trotting up to stand next to the table. "You said you grew up in the low rise of Kenysiz correct?"

The woman was frowning deeply at me but nodded her confirmation nonetheless.

"Do you know of any way to get in and out of the city by going through the shelf?" I ask, my excitement was showing clear through my voice and judging by the looks on her and Treale's face it was written all over my expression as well.

"What do mean?" She admits with a small shake of her head.

Huffing our a breath I pause and search for a better way to word my question. "Is there some sort of tunnel that leads all the way through the Los Angelen shelf. Something that can get into the city from underneath where we can't be seen." I explain.

I watched as realization downed on her, waiting as she seemed to search her memory for anything important. "I'm not certain but I know there was a place in the Holwoor district that smugglers used to get illegal goods in and out of the city." She supplies.

My heart was beating at a breakneck pace as the information sunk in. There's a way in, but we need to know where. I was debating on whether or not to send a scout party to search for the location when a wet nose started nuzzling my hand.

Glancing down I spot Etria vying for attention. Shifting my hand I scratch the top of her head. Illegal goods. Cupping the vyx' face I press a solid kiss to her head and start towards the door.

On my way out I nearly run into Katal. "Your majesty-" She starts before I cut her off.

"We're going to the low rise section of the Zima district." I inform her, walking around the other woman to head for the exit.

"Wha- why?" She questions, spinning around to follow me.

"What's in the Zima district?" Serana pipes up trotting after me along with Katal.

"I'll explain when we get there." I call over my wing as we leave the building. Selina's going to kill me. I think as I start sprinting for the nearest platform and take off into the sky.

My wings were stiff from disuse but it wasn't long before I was flying normally if not a bit slow. Circling back around I head over the castle walls with Serana, Katal, and Ovah close behind.

Thankfully the Zima district wasn't too far from the castle. Diving down I zigzag my way through the bridges and people, nearly getting hit a half dozen times. Finally I spot a sign on the side of a bridge that read 'Canari'.

Spreading my wings wide I give a few hard flaps to slow my descent and landed with a hard thud in the middle of the road surrounded by merchant stalls and curious people turning to look at us as we landed.

Ignoring them I search the stalls for a familiar one full of animal cages. A loud whinny draws my eyes to the left down the street where I spotted bird cages just inside a large stand. "Over there." I gesture towards the stall.

Pushing my way through the crowd with a little more force than necessary I make my way to the stall. People finally seemed to notice Katal's armor and quickly split out of my way as Ovah began to snap his beak threateningly.

A low roar of murmuring could be heard from the crowed as they realized who I was. I paid no attention to the people around me as I reached the front of the stall and stepped inside.

I only got a couple of feet before I spotted a young girl no older than seven feeding a rodent not far from me. "Hello there." I call out to the girl getting her attention.

The girl's head shot up with wide eyes at my sudden appearance. She stared at me silently for a second before turning to call over her wing towards the back of the stall. "Nani, Vavi, there's a lady here with a guard!" She calls for her parents.

Walking farther into the stall I see the woman from all those months ago trying to calm down a chestnut prel that seemed startled. The man I remembered from before stepped out from behind a certain with a fake smile plastered across his face that grew even more nervous when he caught sight of me. "Your majesty." He greets hesitantly.

"How did you get Etria into the city?" I ask before he can say anything farther.

A look of confusion washes over his face as he tries to interpret who I was talking about.

"The vyx I bought from you a few months back" I elaborate. "Did you smuggle her into this city?" I ask again.

The man opened and shut his mouth a few times as he seemed to search for something to say that wouldn't end him in jail.

I made short work of the distance between in and grabbed him by the shoulder. "You're not in trouble I just need to know if you're a smuggler." I assure him, I could hear the desperation in my own voice but I didn't much care at this point. I need to find a way into that city.

He chokes for a moment before a strained, "Yes." escapes his throat.

I felt the inklings of hope storing in my chest. "Have you smuggled things into Kenysiz?" I ask next hoping beyond hope that I had found the solution to my problem.

"We have before yes." He confirms, I could practically taste the fear rolling off of him as his voice strained and his body quaked beneath my grip.

"Was it trough a tunnel that leads through the bottom of he shelf?" I goad trying to get him to speak more freely. "You are not in any trouble, I just need to find a way into Kenysiz. The people there are starving to death with no food or water. I need a way to get them supplies without getting my guards killed in a suicide run." I explain my intentions.

The man loosens at my explanation. "There's a tunnel towards the eastern side of the shelf. But you can only see it coming from the west." He confirms with a nod latching onto what I'm sure he saw as his salvation from being arrested.

Pulling the atlas out from under my arm I hold it up in front of his face. "Show me."

The man takes the atlas with shaking hands and steps over to a slightly cluttered table to flip through the pages. Katal was stepping around me and at the man's side in an instant to look over the maps with him.

Serana and I were right behind her looking over his shoulder as he flip to the map of the Los Angelen shelf. The underview of the shelf wasn't very detailed but it gave enough for him to put a cross over the location and to outline a jut that bordered the eastern, northern, and southern sides of the location marked.

As soon as he pulled back from the page Katal snatched it out from under him. "Are you sure this is the correct location?" She questions.

He nods quickly, pointing towards the map. "I am certain." He affirms.

I was taken by the breath that filled my lungs, it felt like I could breathe again after weeks spent being deprived of air. Taking a deep breath I let it out slowly before addressing Katal. "Take this to Avar, I want you to have a convoy ready to go to Kenysiz within three days at the most." I order.

Katal opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off by a glare. "Now General." My tone was not to be disputed.

The woman gave a curt nod and ran for the exit, taking off to do as she was told.

Taking another shaky breath I turn back to face the man and woman once more. "Thank you." I breathe, not having any other words to express my gratitude.

They smiled weakly in return as Serana leaned into my side and pressed her forehead against my collarbone.

Turning my attention away from the couple I wrap my arms and wings around the gently quivering woman pressed against me. Pressing my cheek to the side of her head, I close my eyes and let the shaking that had been rattling in my bones subside as the relief finally sunk in.

Opening my eyes again I see the man and woman watching us with almost slack expressions as tears gleamed in their eyes. The woman lifted a hand to her mouth in an effort to quell the expression I couldn't quite read at the moment as if she were embarrassed to have been caught with it.

"Are you okay?" A young girl's voice draws my attention down to see their daughter looking up at us with an expression of blatant concern written across her features.

Smiling at the girl's compassion I give a small nod. "We're happy." I assure her.

This seems to draw Serana's attention as she pulls back just far enough to look down at the girl with tear tracks on both her cheeks.

Without giving it a second thought I reached up and wiped the tears away using my thumb and he back of my hand. Before I could put it back down Serana reached up and captured my hand, turning her head to place a soft kiss in my palm before pressing it back to her cheek.

Ghosting my thumb along her cheekbone I use the hand to pull her forward and rest my forehead against hers.

We stayed that way for a long moment before I shifted and pressed a lingering kiss to her hairline. "Come on. We need to get back." I breathe pulling out of the embrace.

She nods in agreement but turns away from the door to face the couple. "Thank you again." Her voice was thick and raw but carried clear disputed the tears choking it down.

Shooting them one last grateful look I lead Serana back out onto the street where people were a few people were still gathered waiting for us to come out. Not paying them any mind I turn and hop up onto the bridge's guardrails and leap off to head back to the castle.

Remembering what Serana said about watching me fly I angled myself just so that I would pass through a shaft of sunlight and flash my wings at the spectators watching our departure.

As we're climbing back up through the web of bridges Serana clips my wing with hers. "Show off!" She accuses before beating harder and pulling ahead of me.

A smile pulled at my lips as I watched her fly ahead of me. Please let us be in time. I pray to Sapio and the Drace that we were not too late.