Those who wanted to create a new nation met somewhat frequently, albeit only in small groups. Larger meetings only happened once or twice throughout Elina’s childhood—a meeting with most families who supported the new nation was the first one she could remember, and they held one shortly after Rene gave her blood to the gravestone in ‘celebration of the former queen’s engagement and marriage.’ All they really did then was complain about how Rene strayed.
To say Elina found it annoying that the traitor still garnered some kind of conversation would be an understatement. It’s been roughly fifteen years since she left the cause—even if the kind of comments directed towards Rene weren’t flattering, her name was brought up more often than those who actually did something.
Elina simply watched the other heirs and heiresses mingle and chatter in the main hall while those leading the effort—their fathers and mothers, with a few exceptions—actually prepared the place for such a large gathering. The exact number of who would come couldn’t be known until the day of; some of them decided to attend on a mere whim. She could tell who those were just by looking around—those who were acting as if this was a mere party, and not a meeting that would become history given some time.
They should all know by now that she was the one to bring the second omyn to the gravestone; Leo denied any involvement largely because Father’s first reaction was to accuse Elina of acting on her own. She was forced back to her territory with little contact with her family save for a few letters from her brother. She hasn’t been ‘exiled’ for very long, granted—November was still fairly new—but she still found relief in seeing her brother no more or less shy than usual. Even now, as she glared at the mostly-younger people, Leo sat right next to her.
Mother was the one to open the door to the meeting room and call out to the guests.
“All direct heirs, please come inside,” she said simply. She looked around before specifically frowning at Elina and Leo. “That means both of you. Come on.”
There were some murmurs—apologies or mocking goodbyes depending on the speaker—as the eldest few made their way into the meeting room. Elina couldn’t lead them—she was one of the farthest from the door—but she took the empty spot to Father’s left as she would otherwise. Oddly, some people only seemed to recognize her then.
Once the last person entered, Father stood and Mother took his place. One or the other must expect to be standing for the entire duration of the meeting.
“Due to the other head families’ patriarchs being unable to attend, I will speak today,” he said. He made his way from the seat to the empty center of the tables so everyone could see without turning around. “All things considered, I can’t say there’s a lot to discuss, but there are milestones we need to go over.”
There were some murmurs from those who were less familiar with the meetings. Elina stayed quiet, giving her father the respect he should have as leader.
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“Several years ago, the first of two omyn to bind their blood to the gravestone was made to do her task,” Father continued. “Just weeks ago, I was informed that the second omyn was found as well. This was done without my approval—I want to take a moment to point out how reckless such an act was.”
He still wanted to blame it on her? All she did was make due on a promise—he could never say he was able to do the same. Some of the younger members of the group seemed to agree with her.
“By request of the child’s mother, I won’t say exactly who this second omyn is—but I have no qualms with bringing attention to the person who brought him to the gravestone.” He looked right in her direction. “Elina.”
She stood up with an obedient calmness she used most often for events like these, putting in effort to make each little movement seem elegant. The looks they gave her were more curious than anything; once, they might have been admiring instead. At least the negative response made her braver.
Once she made it to the area in between the tables, Father looked around.
“It can’t be denied that this is a large step towards our goals. However”—he gave one more disapproving look to her—“the timing is…less than ideal. The new nation is set to be created three months after the ruler regains their memories; it’s already been half a month since, assuming the memories returned around San Asari’s arts festival.”
He smiled, something she only saw from him in meetings like these. “All we have to do is wait and plan for our move.”
Elina gave her father a curious glance.
“We’ve waited decades, just to wait even longer?” she asked. “Shouldn’t we make sure the process goes smoothly?”
“There’s nothing more we can do,” Father maintained. “And if there was, it would involve our supposed ‘leader’—the girl who is, may I remind you, living with the former queen.”
She bit her tongue instead of spitting out venom like she wanted to. She tried to warn him; the girl ending up with the traitor was ultimately his fault.
A majority of the guests seemed to notice—a few gave her looks that encouraged it—but Father looked away from her.
“It would be prudent to discuss plans ahead of time,” Father said to the guests. His gaze fell on Mother, and she nodded and stood. “I have records of the earliest legends—with the help of the other leading families, I’ve discovered how Dakari will meet its end. It’s still early to share this with everyone, but I would advise all who have gathered here to start preparing. We’ll be living in a new nation at the height of winter—we should be ready for it.”
Many of them murmured some kind of agreement. Father looked back at her, donning another frown.
“You can sit down now,” he said, somewhat quieter than before. “Make sure Leo has everything he needs, but don’t do anything without asking me first. Your moment of history has been made—let that be enough for you. It’s more than likely we will be the nation’s first true rulers; you can bask in glory or whatever’s been motivating you when that time comes.”
Elina still wanted to argue, but she decided against it. Acting out in front of others would only cause them to turn against her.
She gave an obedient nod and reclaimed her seat while Father continued rambling about whatever ideas he had for making the process as smooth as possible.