image [https://i.imgur.com/TITPSzg.png]

Morning came and just as the sun peaked above the horizon, Graymoor of Two, a large group of guards, and some high ranking officers rushed into Castle de Belouis. They had great panic upon their faces as their pace was filled with immense urgency.

“Send out a message and gather together the Council! Tell them it is of the utmost importance. I will inform her Majesty.” Graymoor said to a few guards, wanting to waste no time during this situation.

“Yes Sir!!” They quickly trotted off in different directions and Graymoor began to head to the Queen’s sleeping chambers.

He arrived and gave the door a hearty knock, making sure that the Queen had heard it. A few seconds went by and Azhane slowly opened the door, still looking incredibly tired from the previous night.

“Graymoor? What is it?” She asked with a heavy yawn.

“We have a dire situation, Your Majesty! Please, get dressed and I will escort you to the meeting room.” He said with a look of rare concern.

“Dire situation? What do you mean?” Azhane softly questioned as she rubbed her eyes.

“We’re currently being invaded by the Lumen Theocracy and the Arista Empire. Our southern border has already fallen!” Graymoor replied, trying to get the Queen to hurry up. Azhane’s eyes went wide and she immediately turned around to get dressed.

Graymoor closed her door back and patiently waited for her to finish, standing off to the side. A few moments went by and Azhane, now fully dressed, walked out with a quickened pace as Graymoor swiftly followed after her.

They got to the meeting room and the loud chatter from everyone inside insinuated that something incredibly serious was happening. Once Azhane walked through the door, everyone bowed their heads as the room grew quiet. She took her seat at the head of the large, rectangular table and glared around the room with her piercing red eyes.

Zalthia and Asiah of Three entered the room shortly after and stood behind Azhane’s chair just as she began to speak.

“What is the current situation? Can someone get me up to speed?” She quickly asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this.

“Your Majesty, a few hours ago, our southern borders were invaded by the Lumen Theocracy and the Arista Empire. The full might of their forces broke through the south-eastern gate and the south gate respectively. They have already made their way about twenty miles into Volaire and it seems they are headed directly for Ariana City! At their current pace they would be here within a couple days at most!” One of the high ranking officers of the Volairen military reported.

The room filled with more loud chatter and worried panic as they heard this information. Another officer spoke up as he revealed more information about the situation.

“Also, we have gotten reports that Von Melrose and Varric Clover are both on the front lines, causing mass devastation to our forces stationed down south. They’ve even targeted a few of our hidden bases where we keep our reserves. Those soldiers were wiped out before they could even retaliate!” He said with great panic. This news got the room even more riled up, especially among the Council members.

“What!? How would they even know about those bases?? The only people that know of these locations are the ones stationed there. There’s no way they could do a preemptive strike on those bases!” Councilmen Dodrick wondered with great confusion. Just as the table went into another frenzy, Councilwoman Carolla added her thoughts.

“I’m sure Her Majesty knows EXACTLY how they know that information…” She said while shooting a cold glare at Azhane. The room quieted down as everyone stared at the Queen, wondering if she knew the answer.

“And what do you mean by that, Council member Carolla?” Azhane asked, firing back a glare of her own.

“Well, would you care to explain your sudden absence last night? I got multiple reports from the head maid and a few guards that you had a brief, yet heated exchange with the Boundless leader. Once the meeting ended you showed some hysterical theatrics before vanishing from the room… Where did you go, Your Majesty?” The room was deathly silent as all eyes were on Azhane, waiting for her response. She sat there for a second, pondering the question before giving a simple reply.

“I wiped out the Boundless compound and eliminated the Briddle…” Upon this confession the entire room exploded into an absolute uproar as everyone was shocked to hear this news.

“Your Majesty! You did what!? Have you any idea what you’ve just done!?” They asked and wondered with angered surprise.

“I’m aware of my actions, but I don't regret them one bit. He captured Carmen and I was not about to let them bring harm to my family…” She replied, not feeling bad at all for what she did.

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“But Your Majesty! Your interference with Briddle’s plans has potentially revealed all of our secrets to the world!! This nation is no longer fit to protect itself!!” One council member yelled, growing angry towards the Queen’s lack of care on the matter.

“You have effectively given us up on a silver platter! There’s no telling what kind of information the other nations have about us now! Your Majesty, Volaire as we know it could very well be done for thanks to you.” Councilman Dobrick said with a hostile cadence, showing very little respect towards his superior.

The Council continued to berate Azhane and began to question her leadership, bringing up issues from the past that had nothing to do with the current situation.

“Was all of this part of a bigger scheme, Your Majesty? I find it too coincidental that you would spread our military out across Volaire and then put us in a situation where we get invaded and can’t properly defend ourselves! Is it possible that you’re in cahoots with the Arista Empire?” Another Council member spewed as the situation clouded his angered judgment.

Azhane tried to respond to this accusation but was quickly cut off by another speaker.

“Council member Raiden, that would be treason!? Surely you don’t suggest such a thing?” Councilwoman Peora replied, finding his claims to be ridiculous.

“What else would be the reason!? We could have left the Boundless be and created friendly relations with them. It might have allowed more bloodshed, but at least Volaire as a sovereign nation would remain. As it stands now, this nation is done thanks to Her Majesty’s childish recklessness.” He replied, growing more furious with each word flying out of his mouth.

As they went back and forth, Azhane sat there quietly while her bloodlust stewed like a boiling pot. Her pressure filled the air and just as the conversations around the room hit their climax, she softly spoke.

“Enough..” The coldness of her voice silenced everyone in the room immediately. They stared at the Queen with slight fear and wondered what she was about to say.

“I understand your concerns and worries, however... I am still the ruler of this nation and I will not be talked down to like a child. Have you people forgotten who you are speaking to?” Azhane shot a death glare at the Council as her fiery red eyes scanned across the table. Everyone grew nervous and beads of sweat dripped down their foreheads as they anticipated what was coming next.

“I made a judgment call and it unfortunately had consequences. I will continue to make judgment calls and if you don’t like my decisions or actions, then you can leave… I have absolutely no need for individuals that don’t want to listen to my suggestions. I have no need for people that can’t come up with solutions in a respectful manner. I have no need for people that constantly nag and complain, whining like children when things don’t go their way. And, I most definitely have no need for people that don’t know how to shut up when I am speaking… If you find any of this to be a problem, the door is right there. Simply stand up and walk out of it, I will not care either way...” Azhane said with stone cold delivery, sounding like a completely different person than before.

The room was filled with shocked silence as no one had ever heard the Queen speak this way before. Usually she would just take whatever the Council threw at her and reluctantly went along with their decisions. This was the first time she ever put her foot down and addressed them with unwavering ferocity.

The Council members were stunned, but that faded away quickly as some of them grew irritated by the disrespect. Of the thirteen Council members, nine of them stood up as they glared at the Queen.

“If that is how you feel, Your Majesty, I have nothing left I can do for you. We have done nothing but guide you through this process, making sure your transition to the throne was as smooth as possible. But if you find our presence to be so annoying and unhelpful, I'll leave you to figure it out on your own.” Councilman Dobrick annoyingly replied, finding her previous statement to be ungrateful.

“I agree. It's clear that Her Majesty no longer needs our services. Your father would be ashamed of your actions so far.. Oh well, we wish you all the best of luck and for the sake of this nation, I hope you don’t plunge it into further ruin..” Councilwoman Carolla responded, glaring directly into Azhane’s eyes.

Azhane responded in kind as the majority of the Council left the room, officially retiring from their positions and leaving the Queen to figure out the future on her own. Of the four remaining members, an older gentleman stood up.

“Ah, Your Majesty. I do find it regrettable that my colleagues have felt the need to depart, but know that I will continue to serve you the best I can.” Councilman Omar said with a respectful bow. The others agreed and pledged their continued loyalty to the Queen.

“Thank you. I appreciate your service and guidance. Now please, let’s take a short break and reconvene in an hour. I need to think things over before we come up with a strategy to stop the southern invasion.” Azhane said with a tired sigh, feeling overwhelmed by this stressful morning.

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” The remaining Council members and military officers bowed before they swiftly walked out of the room, leaving Azhane, Graymoor, Zalthia, and Asiah inside. “Well then…” Zalthia said with a slightly confused tone, not fully understanding what just happened.

“Was that a mistake?” Azhane softly asked, wondering if her decision was wise.

“No, not at all, Your Majesty. If anything, I think they should’ve been put in their place a long time ago.” Graymoor replied with a hearty head nod. Azhane sighed again as great anxiety started to take over, growing more nervous about their current situation.

“The Council aside, what I’m most concerned about is how did Arista and Lumen mobilize an attack so fast? It feels as though this was all previously planned and thought out, like they knew last night would happen or something.” Zalthia questioned with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

“Indeed, I find it odd too. If this situation were to ever happen, I expected a conflict to occur months down the line, not mere hours after.” Graymoor replied, also finding the timing of everything to be quite peculiar. Azhane slumped in her chair, now feeling bad about what she did.

“It’s all my fault… I attacked Briddle, knowing that there would be consequences. I just couldn’t help myself.. Ugh.” The room grew quiet and tense as no one really knew how to respond. Everyone simply stared at each other, completely unable to quell the heavy mood that permeated the air.