Juno hadn't slept well in a very long time, ever since the failure of the Zodiac, she had been moved to the north eastern front were she had spent weeks fighting through the blizzard filled Winter Islands. She remembered scoffing at Lord Gemini's constant complaints about the difficulty of his campaign in the Winter Islands.
Her time there had taught her a new found respect for the Zodiac as she saw the meat grinder up close and personally. So many former Zodiac personal had died in monstrous battles for barren rock and she never wanted to see snow ever again.
She might not have been able to admit it to anyone but she was pleased and even joyful when the letter from Emperor Nuada came. War had worn her thin and she desired rest or maybe some brief escape from the battlefield, from the sounds of explosives and the sights of corpses that numbered in the thousands after every ghastly encounter with the enemy.
She took in a deep breath of oxygen as her muscles began to relax, they had simply felt stressed from just thinking about those hells that she had just left behind.
Juno looked to her elder sister, once this had been the great lion of Zodiac, but now, Juno wasn't sure what she was. Ulfhild sat besides her in their train compartment, focused entirely on the world outside as she looked into the lake over which the train tracks ran over with a keen interest in maybe trying to see the the giant Kop fish that gave this lake it's name.
Looking at her sibling Juno truly did understand her mother's difficulties with accepting the orders of the Emperor, It would do her sister good to not just be stuck at home with nothing but bottles of Blue wine to keep her company and to alleviate her sorrows... just thinking about lowered Juno's spirits more than she thought that would.
"Speak... " the voice of the spirit who's essence was forged into her spear... Lancelot whispered into her ear in a voice that both sounded close and distant.
The weapon might have been locked away in her trunk but from the moment that lady Nimue had presented her with the weapon, Juno had been bonded with Lancelot in more ways than she even doubted lady Nimue had imagined.
At first she had thought herself mad when she heard his voice whispering to her and she feared that he would torment her in vengeance for what Lady Nimue did to him but Lancelot did none of that. The spirit gave her actually helpful advice both in and out of the battlefield though this was sporadic and infrequent.
"Why are you helping me? " she thought asking the spirit of the knight but Lancelot did not answer.
She drew into her mind trying to think on what to say to Ulfhild but nothing profound came to her and so she chose a few simple words that she could string together.
"Ulfhild, I know that I haven't been the kindest to you since we returned, but thank you for coming with me." she said to her sister who's face remained impassive.
A empty silence followed and the two could not say anything as they simply looked at each other. Juno remained silent waiting for Ulfhild to say anything and she was sure that her sister was expecting the same as her but so far none of them had uttered so much as a peep.
Juno kept an equally impassive face but deep down inside her heart she panicked as thoughts like. " Oh Dia above i have just screwed this up, I forced her to come and she hates me!"
" I couldn't exactly leave you to screw up alone now would I. Besides, I am your superior officer, can't exactly let you go out there and dishonor our family without any proper supervision." if any other person uttered such words, they would have been scathing to Junos ears, but the sly grin on Ulfhild's faces put her panicked mind was put to rest.
"Of course not." she answered her sister before looking out the window to the great status of the great heroes of the Lunar empire that emerged from the lake and cast a vast shadow over the train.
Many of the status had stood here for more than two thousand years and once lady Nimue stood amongst them as another paragon of the Lunar empire, another embodiment of her legacy standing tall and proud for all to see, but now like the rest of her legacy it had been torn down and left in the mud by the very people to whom she had been a hero to.
"It's a shame really, I will miss her though." Ulfhild said looking out of the window to where the once iconic statue had stood.
"I would advise against saying that out loud, the opinion on her and those who support her is far worse than you could possibly imagine." she told her sister remembering the many insult's and side glances all those former Zodiac members received from the northern companies.
"Trust me, I know sister." Ulfhild answered before looking out of her window as a large Kop surfaced out of the waters. Its red and green scales sparkling under the rays of the middays sun.
"I still can't believe that she is gone." Juno stated.
"Same, she always felt impossible to kill, like a god... hell when finally became the Archetype-King she was the closet thing to a god that I have ever seen and then the Ddraig boy got her." Ulfhild chuckled at the end and Juno understood her point of view. The idea that the legendary Nimue at her height of power was struck down by some Avalonian prince was absurd.
"They are right... to hate us...aren't they?" Juno had tried not to think about it but in aiding lady Nimue they had turned upon the empire as the new world she created would be her above all and with the possibility of the end of all reality through her actions they had put every person alive in danger.
It was only because the Empire needed bodies for its toughest fronts that all of Zodiac was allowed to return into the Emperor's service. Of course the common folk were less forgiving or pragmatic than the Emperor.
Ulfhild's face tightened into one of annoyance but she remained silent as if deep in thought for a few seconds before she finally spoke. " Its best not to think about it sister.,"
And once again the silence returned to Juno and Ulfhild, and it rested upon them for the rest of their trip over the great lake. In the next two hours they reached the capital city of El-Mornag the city of the legendary king Lir and his wife queen Eibhlin.
The city was built around a mountain and it stretched for a area of hundred kilometers, with large walls of pale white stone walls surrounding it with hundreds of entry points of every kind around the city.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
When they first entered the city through its railway station, they were met with more recent constructions that got older and older the more you moved into the heart of the city, until you came across the few surviving original buildings laid down by king Lir and queen Eibhlin, themselves in the ancient of days.
For a highly populated and massive city, El-Mornag was surprising clean and very spacious. High buildings of marble, spiraling towers, open roads and large canals made the city a breath taking sight.
Juno had only seen the city in pictures and recordings, even serving under lady Nimue she had not gotten close to even its walls as the leader of Zodiac had avoided the city like it was the plague. It was no secret that the Emperor and the Lady had never liked eachother.
At the heart of the city upon the mountain was the Imperial House, the seat of power of the realm stood unlike the rest of it's environment that was part modern and part old in equal measures, the Imperial House was still predominantly made from the workings of King Lir and Queen Eibhlin.
Greeting them both at the Imperial House's black iron gates were two thirty meter tall status of both King Lir and Queen Eibhlin that stood as silent guardians to the palace, overlooking their city.
The two were allowed entry into the Imperial House by the gate guards after Juno showed them their clearance though they had tried to be difficult and they didn't even bother trying to hide insults to both her and Ulfhild. Looking at the smug guards made Junos blood boil, a month ago she could have had their heads for this, but now all she could do was accept this.
She ignored the snide remarks of their tormentors as her breath was taken away by the true heart of the Imperial House. The Emperor's tower, was a massive one thousand meter high tower covered in crystal plating that allowed it to glow under the suns ray's with a beautiful radiance, making appear to look like a massive beam of light descended from the heavens.
"A good day" a firm and familiar voice stated behind them and two turned.
They saw two young fae, one male and other female in a near similar style of dress. leading them was an older Fae male dressed in onix armor with a silver raven upon his chest. The man's face was one that was burned forever in her eyes. The last time that she had seen it, old man Libra was at the chopping block and this Fae, carried out the crowns sentencing.
A new panic gripped both siblings and as drilled into them both as military personal, they bowed to the black armored character out of fear and awe...but mostly fear.
"The Freya children. I am glad that you made it." the Fae know as the Black Raven stated with a friendly smile which Juno could not identify if it was true or fake.
"Yes, General Conall Ghealach, it is an honour for us to meet you, Sir." Ulfhild said for the both of them and Juno was glad that her sister was here because she could not think of a single word to utter to this man.
"Do not bow to me, that is the Emperor's right." the man known as the Black Raven said to them and they both obeyed. " Guards, leave us. I will take these two to meet the Emperor, my children and I have an appointment with him."
" Of course general." one of the guard's said as he bowed and the rest joined in walking off.
"Lug, Brig these are Ulfhild and Juno Freya. Their family has served the Empire well for more than a millennia." as he spoke, Juno noticed a glance of disgust from the Black Raven's children. " Now come along, we best not keep my brother waiting."
There was a long silence that covered all of them and none dared speak, not even the legend of a man leading them to the Emperor's tower. That didn't mean that she failed to catch the angry glances from the twins who trailed right behind their father.
" Don't you have anything else to look at?. Sod off already you judgmental brats." she thought as she was reminded of how it felt in the north to have everyone glaring at you and constantly having to worry that some hot bloodied "patriot" would attempt to punish the traitorous Zodiac's that had escaped punishment.
Soon they reached the doors to the throne room and the guards there looked startled at the sight of their chaperon and they quickly opened the doors looking absolutely awestruck though the Black Raven simply passed them seeming not to notice or care for them.
Within the throne room the first thing that they saw were the legendary moon thrones, a pair of three meter high thrones made of pale rock engraved with images of every Lunar emperor from the founding king Braden to the current Emperor, who sat upon the right throne with flowing robes of imperial purple.
The Emperor's crown was as white as milk glass and it rested upon a head of black hair. His beard was shorter than when Juno had last seen him and black in his hand rested the ancient blade of the legendary king Balor, Twilight. That pale dragon sword of legend, the weapon every child had dreamed of one day touching.
Standing under the throne were five others, three of whom she recognised quite easily, though their attire had changed into something that the public would consider more palatable.
Gemini or as he would be called now Alaric Diogenes, Virgo now known as Siân Rassexon as well as Mór Thean the former Taurus. It felt strange thinking of these Zodiacs not by their once venerated names but by average normal names.
The last remaining two people were an old elf whom she didn't recognize and the other was a young male fae who looked around the same age as her. He was dressed in purple and gold clothing witha diadem upon his head. The prince carried himself with an air of arrogance that Juno didn't like.
"Brother, nephew, niece and Freya's, welcome. We have been expecting you." the Emperor declared to the Black Raven who bowed alongside them.
"I am honoured to be summoned before you brother." the Raven said in full respect to the Emperor who warmly smiled back at him.
"Come my brother, family isn't allowed to bow before me... You four can rise as well" the Emperor said in an amused tone of voice as if he had thought of a truly rib tickling laugh and Juno just felt lost.
This wasn't what she had expected of Emperor Nuada to be honest. Her last two encounters with the man had been a venomous tirade against them in the Nexus of Narratives and a public trail in which he coldly condemned Libra and a few others to death via the sword of his bastard born brother.
"Father please, can we not drag this out more than is necessary. I would like to spend my time not sharing oxygen with traitors." the Prince, Balor Ghealach, heir to the throne spoke with a haughty disgust as he looked at them.
Juno balled her hand into a fist and she fought against her better nature which wanted to rebuke this pampered brat, but she knew that everything he did was bait. She had seen it happen a lot in the north, some fool would let the insults of others get to them and they would violently react to it, giving their tormentors an excuse to either execute them or send them to the vanguard as a meat shield.
"Forgive my son, he is quite impenitent a unfortunate quality that I hope he can grow out of, brother." the Emperor reprimanded his son with a cheeky grin as he spoke to the Black Raven while the prince looked ready to explode from his father's words.
"Perhaps it is best to stop teasing your son, it might make him burst into flames." the Black Raven said though it didn't stop him from smiling nor did it stop the young prince from glaring at him in barely veiled contempt.
"Of course, Conall of course." the Emperor replied before taking a deep breath and rising from his throne before speaking once more in a more serious voice."Some of you might be wondering why you are gathered here today?. The reason is for a mission of maximum importance to both the state and to your families. Zodiacs I am offering you a chance to redeem yourselves in the eyes of the rest of the Empire and leave a better legacy than the one which you willingly tarnished."
A cold silence fell upon everyone like a cloud as they tried to digest what the Emperor had just said. A chance at redemption sounded like a dream, what exactly would they able to do to wash away the stink of treason.
"My Emperor, just how would we even be able to do that?" Alaric asked what they had all been thinking.
"Watch your tone, Diogenes. When the Emperor offers you absolution, you accept it." Prince Balor snapped with an ugly sneer before turning to his father in a meeker voice. "The traitor does have a point however. How exactly are we to come close to making the whole public forget that their lives were near finished off by these so called heroes of theirs."
The Emperor smiled like a comedian about to deliver his gutbusting punch line. "Avalon has sent a warship to the east in a mission to grow allies for themselves against us. The leaders of this deplomatic expedition are their crown princess Ishtar Ddraig and the infamous prince Christian Ddraig."
Juno instantly felt a phantom burn upon the ugly scar that ran across her right eye. She touched the old wound and remembered the one being who she hated above all others. He who almost took her right eye, bested her in combat twice and did the unimaginable by being the one to deliver the killing blow to Nimue.
She hated everything about him from his face to his voice to the way everyone back home spoke about him like he was some sort of legend.
The Emperor smiled even further because he knew that name carried power over them. "You will do what did before. You shall destroy the war ship and capture the Avalonian royals as our hostages."
"Brother, forgive my impertinence, but would that not make Avalons stance against us even more viscous. Kidnapping their royals is how we ended up in this situation in the first place?" the Black Raven asked in equals parts suprise from what he had just heard and disapproval.
"I understand your position brother, but we can't afford to fight Avalon, their strength is our equal and if any state could destroy our Empire, it is they. Besides the two royal children in our custody will be a potent enough bargain chip to shock Avalon and bring them to the negotiating table. " the Emperor had lost his smile and his face turned grim and cold. "Our rats inside Avalons house know for fact that there are those who don't want their Kingdom to enter another war. Negotiations to save a now beloved princely hero and the crown heir herself, that is enough of an excuse for them to stand up and put pressure on their King and Queen to pull out."
Everyone remained silent for a few minutes, digesting everything that they had just said. "Destroy the ship and capture the Ddraigs. You will remembered as Heroes we ven afat you die."
Virgo or rather Siân Rassexon stepped forward and with grace she bowed before the throne of the Empire. "Thank you my lord, than you."
Everyone with exception of Prince Balor and the Black Raven bowed in respect and delivered supplications of thanks to their ruler. The Emperor then turned to the Black Raven and continued speaking. "Conal, you will lead this war band alongside Balor."
"I am your most loyal servant." the most legendary Fae warrior of this age said in full respect and for the first time, Juno felt something that had alluded her for more than a month...
.....Hope.