The sun had just begun to dip in the sky when a commanding figure passed through the village gates. She wore a white cloak trimmed in gold and carried an air of calm authority. It was the king's mother, the former queen, still regarded by many as the true protector of the realm.
The Guardians bowed respectfully, but not submissively. Among them, dignity was shared, not imposed. The Aunt greeted her with a firm handshake and a gaze of equals.
"You've come sooner than expected," said the Aunt.
"And with news that can wait no longer," the former queen replied, heading straight for the council hall without ceremony.
Yuli, her friends, Kaela, and a few veterans were invited to the meeting by the Aunt herself, so they could hear firsthand what was at stake.
The former queen removed her cloak and folded it with care before she began:
"We intercepted fragments of information from a channel we believed to be inactive. Upon analyzing them… we discovered something alarming. Someone is searching for the blueprints of a weapon that, according to classified records, was never meant to exist."
Silence fell over the hall like a descending shadow.
"What kind of weapon?" Kaela asked.
The former queen activated a small luminous sphere. Above the table, a holographic projection appeared: intricate lines, energy matrices, diagrams indecipherable without advanced training.
"This," she said. "And we don't know exactly what it is. Only that its codename is Project Themis. And that someone implanted it… in a child."
At that moment, a Guardian entered the hall wearing a medical coat and bearing a grave expression. In her hands was a small metallic container.
"We found it!" she cried. "It was embedded in Silas's left arm. Detected during tissue analysis. No one knew it was there. It was likely implanted when he was still an infant."
A chill ran down Yuli's spine. Kaela stepped back, as if the weight of the revelation might crush her.
The former queen took the container and connected it to her personal interface. The luminous sphere flickered again, revealing a new image: incomplete blueprints of Project Themis, hidden within the memory of the man Kaela had loved.
"It wasn't an attack on the market," the former queen said, her voice quieter but firmer. "It was a failed extraction. And Silas… Silas was the carrier, without ever knowing it."
The Aunt crossed her arms, her expression hardening.
"We must protect this data. And those still at risk. If they knew Silas was a carrier… they may have infiltrated other orphanages."
The former queen nodded. "That's why I'm here to ask for your help. I want the Guardians to increase surveillance in every orphanage across the kingdom. This enemy organization is operating from the shadows. And if they've done this once… they'll do it again."
Kaela stepped toward the projection and deactivated it.
"Silas gave his life believing he was protecting what he loved. He never knew what he carried inside. But now we do. And we won't let his sacrifice be in vain."
The Aunt placed a hand on Kaela's shoulder.
"Then prepare yourselves. Because this is only the beginning."
As the evening faded behind the mountains, the Guardians understood that a new kind of war was coming, not only fought with weapons, but with secrets. Secrets buried deep in the hearts of those they loved.
"This will remain under my custody, and no one must ever know it was here," said the former queen. As she boarded her transport, she turned to the Aunt. "Thank you for protecting him, Aunt. We'll continue investigating from outside, and any new information, I'll bring to you myself."
With that, her vehicle sped away, vanishing beyond the trees that hid the village from the world.