Wooden swords clanked in the training grounds near the mansion of Blood Denegis, drowning out the chaos of the house. Kael and Lune had begged their parents for freedom all day. And at last, they'd escaped the prison their home had become.
"Focus, Kael, you are barely doing more than blocking," said Lune, visibly angry.
"Give me a second, Lune. I'm thinking over here."
"For Vita's sake," she groaned, lowering her sword. "What is it? We've barely been at it for twenty minutes."
"I've been thinking about Blanc, and where he could have gone," said Kael, lowering his gaze.
"I heard you made him mad. What happened?" she asked.
"Well, I only asked him to play with us and maybe tell us the story he started last night,"
To Lune, this did not sound bad, not a reason to get angry, "But, this seems fine, no?"
"Yeah, well, I thought so too. But…"
"But what?" she asked, waiting for an answer.
Kael sighed, seeing his sister's impatience. A normal trait of hers that corrupted even her swordsmanship, making her very aggressive.
"He looked mad, or too lost in thought, I couldn't tell. Have I done something, I wonder?"
"I don't think so," Lune replied, thinking, "But, can you blame him? With everything going on, I would be the same, but he took that problem away from me and took it onto himself."
Kael looked confused at his sister, "Aren't you happy about that?"
"Well, I am, really am, he saved me once more, but… now he is the one who has to suffer."
"I guess so," Kael thought, tilting his head, "But you don't have to blame yourself for that, it was his choice."
"I know, nor should you then. He probably was stressed, that's all." Lune smiled before sighing, "Now I don't feel like training anymore. Let's take a break."
"Yeah," Kael nodded, as they walked to a ground patch shaded by a tree near the training ground, "But where could he have gone with his bow? The Forest?"
"It would be stupid to think otherwise," Lune said, taking a seat in the shade.
"Was that an insult?" Kael asked, offended.
"Most definitely," Lune nodded.
"And what does that say about you, dear TWIN sister?"
"Nothing," she shrugged, "you didn't share it with me."
Hearing her, Kael clicked his tongue, sitting next to her, "You think he will be back soon?"
"Yes, he doesn't leave for long if he is alone, I think he only went to take his mind off everything for a little bit," concluded Lune.
"Let's hope so," Kael sighed, lying on the ground and watching the leaves swaying around in the wind.
No other words were spoken between them for the next few minutes as they stood in silence, only Lune humming a song or two as she played with the grass.
Kael thought of many things. Blanc, the future, the colossal army on its way. But little of it made sense to him. And wouldn't, for some time.
He was a kid and was treated like one. He did not mind it, not in the slightest, most of the time. It meant more hours for the books he loved.
But in such chaos, he couldn't read, couldn't focus, couldn't help.
Maybe, for the first time, he wanted to understand more than just, It will be alright, little love, as his mother kept saying since yesterday.
The silence between the twins did not stop their talks, as shorter conversations could be had between them, without a single word spoken.
Neither of them could understand it, but they could somewhat tell what the other was thinking or feeling.
This bond between the twins could soon be tested as at least twenty highly decorated Wardens passed behind them, walking towards the back of the mansion.
Behind them all, there was a woman, younger than their mothers, perhaps close to Sera in age.
She had red hair, which fell long and straight behind her shoulders as she walked.
Despite her hair, which reminded the twins of fire, her face and the way she moved felt cold.
Her clothes were made of pure white, slightly shining in the dusk of the sun, covering her entire body from the neck down.
It was charming, even beautiful to Kael's eyes, as he was entranced by the sight of her.
But what entranced him more was the mystery she carried around. A woman that was part of an order just as mysterious as her. He did not know what she truly was.
With a glance from Lune and without a word spoken, Kael understood what she meant and what he was also thinking.
Message received, sister, he thought, nodding.
So there they stood waiting until they all passed them. And once they took the corner of the mansion, the twins followed, moving slow but fast, trying to catch up.
As they looked around the corner, they spotted the Wardens and the Daughter assembled before their father and older brother, Valar. Who was there, perhaps, as a witness.
The guests took their positions while the Daughter stood quietly to the side.
"Gentlemen," Elion started, nodding.
"Patriarch!" the Wardens saluted.
"Lady," he added, doing a quick bow towards her.
"Patriarch of Blood Denegis, a pleasure to see you so soon," she bowed as well, the pleasure she mentioned above not quite reaching her words, "And Lord Valar, a pleasure seeing you in good health."
"Thank you, Daughter," bowed Valar.
"I bow to you, Sirs, Daughter, for gathering here on such short notice, but as you perhaps heard, there are issues that need our immediate presence. This has been a secret for a few days, but let me be the first to confirm. Daughter, I doubt you haven't heard anything about it from your order."
"I have," she nodded.
"Thank you for the silence, then," he smiled at her. However, his smile faded. Making his face grow colder.
Elion looked over the gathered men. Their eyes were sharp, their chests proudly armored with the sigil of the Blood.
And for a moment, he almost envied their ignorance.
But they had to know. Now.
"Loyal Sons of Denegis, the High Monarch is dead!"
Murmurs could be heard from the very well-decorated Wardens, "My Lord, has he been assassinated? Who would have the power to assassinate one such as the High Monarch? He is considered a -" said one of the Wardens, before he got interrupted.
"Fredrick, He has not been assassinated. The High Monarch decided to leave us of his own will," said Elion.
"My Lord?" replied Fredrick.
"He killed himself, my Good Sirs," Elion replied as he looked away for a breath, the weight of those words catching up to him.
Panic erupted in their ranks as they heard the words of their Lord.
But panic soon turned to confused anger, before one of the other Wardens spoke, the Warden a common sight for the people of Blood Denegis, "But my Lord, why only tell us now? We should've been told this days ago!"
"Ponca, what would such knowledge serve you with, seeing as you all panic now?" asked Elion.
"Well, I… I'm not quite sure, My Lord. But such information should not have been withheld from us or the people of your Domain," thought Ponca, sweat building on his forehead.
"It would have been a mistake to tell the common folk of such catastrophic information too early," interjected the Daughter.
"Indeed," Elion nodded, "My Wardens. Silence was necessary. Look at your panic. Now imagine that in tens of millions across the Empire. No heir, no successor. Two things would have followed. Chaos... and civil war between the Noble Bloods or the common folk." he paused, as the soldiers calmed down.
"They would never, My Lord," said a few voices between the Wardens.
"But they already did," countered Elion, "We don't know who and why, but someone, who had been close enough to the High Monarch, told the wrong people. Who the wrong people are is still unknown, as unknown as whether they are from the Empire or outside of it. But they had enough influence to turn the Iron Line towards the Noble Bloods. And at this current moment, they are heading towards us as well."
"By the Vita…", "Fuck, fuck, fuck," and many more such reactions could have been heard from the Wardens as they processed the information.
Elion did not stop them or tell them to control themselves.
After all, this might have been the only time they could have to break down before they had to pull themselves together and fight.
"Judging by your reaction, you know the Iron Line well and what it's capable of, as we all do. That's why you're only hearing this now. The Noble Bloods did not say anything to their domains just for such an event. Imagine fighting against an army on one front and trying to calm down the population of a full domain from collapsing, running away, or killing each other for gains. WE HAD TO create the illusion of order. That is the reason why!"
Feeling his last words, and not being able to disagree that this was the best option, they stood at attention once more.
"Any other questions?" asked Elion.
"No Patriarch!" they responded.
Elion nodded, "Good. The Iron Line is less than a week away. Prepare all your men and tell your generals to train, and request all the soldiers to do maintenance on their armor and weapons, understood?"
"Yes, Patriarch!"
"And men, do not fret, our time has not come, nor will it come, as we will not face them alone. As we speak, five Noble Bloods are coming this way. Three to aid us with over a hundred thousand men, and two to make alliances that will offer us a surprise for our enemies. My beloved soldiers, let's show these rebellious bastards what one of the best armies of the Senvia Empire is capable of!"
And the men yelled, enforced by the Patriarch, they all looked with honor and respect. They were ready. And they were not alone.
"And what do the two of you think of achieving by spying on Father's business?" asked Sera as she asked Kael and Lune, who were watching the scene with complete focus.
Hearing her, they jumped, suddenly frightened, yet neither of them made a sound as they were too scared to be noticed by Elion.
"Ah, Sera, hello to you," said Kael, panicked.
"Brat," she grinned. "What if they'd seen you? You know Father would be furious. Should I go and tell him?"
"Shhh," panicked Lune, as Sera's voice was uncomfortably loud, fearing she would tell on them, "Sister Sera, please."
Sera giggled, seeing how panicked they were, "Leave, go inside now, and I will not say a word," she motioned with her head, "Mothers are waiting. Father and Velar will soon join us as well."
"Yes, yes, we will be heading that way now, actually," replied Kael, taking the hand of his twin sister and trying to leave, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Where is Blanc?" asked Sera.
"I-I don't know," he panicked, even though it was the truth.
"Very well," Sera replied, letting go of his shoulder. She watched them leave before looking at the now setting sun that brought with it not only the night but the Noble Bloods as well. "Where are you, little brother?" she muttered under her breath while looking at the orange sun.