The War Council

 

“Out!” Queen Veressa of Griffinrock jumped from her throne and pointed at the thick wooden doors across the royal reception hall. None of those assembled before her moved. She stepped from the dais. “I said, get out!”

Antilles, Veressa’s snow leopard bond, pressed against her thigh, making it clear his bond was not to be trifled with.

The two guards at the far end of the hall stared wide-eyed at each other, then leaped forward, yanking the doors wide. Never had they heard the queen, neither Veressa nor her mother Izadora before her, shout in the reception hall.

Master Ranger Annabelle Loris started to rise from the wooden chair she had occupied throughout the long hours of war negotiations. But Veressa flashed her a look that said, Don’t you dare move! Annabelle eased back into the seat with a sigh, grimacing at the stiffness that spiked up her back.

Peron, Annabelle’s falcon bond, ruffled his feathers on a perch nearby and shook away his own frustration. He too grew tired of these talks and longed to be back under the open skies.

General Grimwaldt of the Warriors Order stepped forward as the other members of the War Council shuffled across the gold-and-white-marble floor. “Majesty, if I may, I would like to—” But Veressa’s intense stare forced the large man’s jaw shut. “It can wait.” He bowed with a tense smile, then followed the others, along with their bonds, through the door.

After the council members departed, the queen waved at the guards to wait outside, leaving Veressa in the chamber alone with the Ranger she’d known since she learned to walk.

“I don’t believe they could be any more inconsiderate!” Veressa roared at the doors as they slammed. “They are more concerned about how to increase their status with the crown than they are with our people’s safety!” The young queen began her ritual pacing across the large rug in front of the throne.

Antilles, forever vigilant for whatever might disturb his bond, paced at her side.

“Maybe,” Annabelle suggested with a slight wave as her green eyes tracked the teen. “But getting emotional about their behavior will not work in your favor. Those on the War Council may be grandmasters of their orders, most even high-ranking officers in your Defenders service, but they don’t have the authority to make any real decisions. They are but a front to the real power behind the orders.”

“Oh, they are an affront, all right—an affront to everything civil, moral, and rational!” Veressa stopped pacing, noting the Ranger’s wide eyes, then realized she had misheard Annabelle. She covered her mouth and chuckled. “I am not angry, Annabelle, just ... disappointed.” She pushed at several strands of blond hair that had come loose during her gesticulations, then rubbed at her strained eyes. “In a time when we should be rallying behind a common purpose, I feel this War Council is pulling us asunder. And given that we are talking about invading the Anarchic Lands—something no one has attempted since the middle of the Anarchic War—I expected much more from them than arguments over who should direct our armies, which order should control the greatest number of forces, which fighting guilds should be left to defend our lands, and which should lead our assaults. They are capable of so much more. I will not let them denigrate our talks with such trifles as hurt feelings.”

“That is partially why I have remained silent this past fortnight.” Annabelle chuckled quietly. “To be honest, I’ve enjoyed watching you work these masters of negotiations over. You have your mother’s tenacity and your father’s shrewdness. The women and men on this War Council may have started out thinking they would manipulate a naive sixteen-year-old princess into agreeing to whatever demands they set before her. But you’ve dispelled those illusions.”

“Your words are encouraging, Annabelle. I know I am delaying your grandmaster training, but I do so need your support right now.”

Annabelle lowered her gaze and shook her head. “You have my support, my queen. But I must apologize, for I have not been adequately schooled in the refined arts of analytic deliberation ... nor do I care to be. And, to be truthful, you trap me in a tenuous position between your demands and those of my Rangers Council. Grandmaster Lendfeather believes I am conspiring against the Rangers Order by counseling you. He does not think you capable of such hard bargaining as he has witnessed here and believes I am behind it.” The Ranger leaned forward, drawing the queen’s eye. “I am not the one you should be looking to for guidance. I very much wish to remain truly objective, but I do struggle.”

“There is no one else I can turn to.” In a flash, Veressa’s thoughts turned to her father, King Jonath, who spent most of his waking hours within the bowels of the castle, in Griffinrock’s Tomb of Queens, filled with despair and remorse. A small entourage of Shamans had been assigned to look after him, but most had given up hope that his mind would return fully to the living. Without his guidance, Veressa needed someone she could confide in—someone she trusted with her darkest doubts and fears. Annabelle had always been there, like the older sister she’d never had. She smiled warmly at the master Ranger. “Besides, I would prefer someone I trust over someone with a polished tongue.”

Annabelle finally rose from the wooden chair, groaning at the numbness in her back and rear. “I don’t think I can take this chair for much longer, Majesty. You torture me with your delays. I’d suggest we conclude this business at hand, but somehow I doubt you’d listen to my advice.”

Veressa thought the Ranger’s distress amusing. She waved at the chair Annabelle had occupied. “Not that long ago, I entertained the idea of axing that dreadful chair to pieces and burning it in the banquet hall’s fireplace.” Veressa thought back to that day, how stifled she’d felt in this reception hall. “But I do believe mother’s chair is much more unpleasant.”

“It is your chair now, Majesty.”

Veressa studied the dark mahogany throne, with its intricate patterns of bas-relief and gold leaf. “Yes,” Veressa exhaled. “But I doubt I will ever lead our people as she did. I will never have such a commanding, regal presence.”

Annabelle soothed Peron with a light stroke and sensed her brown falcon relaxing. “Perhaps you should have paid more attention to how your mother handled such situations.”

Veressa sniffed at Annabelle’s time-worn argument that Veressa had not taken her responsibilities as future queen seriously enough, a constant reminder of her mother’s own apprehension. And she was not going to let the Ranger admonish her with another of her I-told-you-sos. “I don’t think it would have helped me with this situation. In fact, it is quite possible that such knowledge would have worked against me.”

Annabelle beamed her measured gaze at Veressa. “I’m afraid I don’t follow, Majesty.”

“My mother learned the ways of negotiating deals with the orders from her mother, as grandmother did from hers. After all, tradition is at the heart of the Harmonic way. That is how things have always been done, to the point that now no one sees any other way. But we haven’t dealt with a situation like this in half a millennium. These discussions have to be broached differently, the problems viewed from new angles, even if it is not what these ordermen expect. Yes, I have caught them off guard. They struggle to figure out how to work with me. I am challenging them in ways they never thought possible. And I am starting to have an effect.”

Veressa gestured toward the door. “General Grimwaldt, for example. The Warriors Order’s standing with the crown was shattered when they unwittingly harbored an Anarchic spy at their highest level. Now, the Warriors Council believes war with the Anarchists is the only way out of the pit they have dug themselves into. The Warriors Council is most assuredly pushing Grimwaldt hard to get me to sign a proclamation of war. Yet he is showing signs of being swayed by my words. I sense he is losing his eagerness to push for war.”

Veressa paused, noting Annabelle had not even blinked through her long discourse. Unable to contain her frustrations, she continued. “And if struggling to reach a compromise with the orders wasn’t difficult enough, I have to deal with the kings of Grenetia and Elvenstein.” She raised her arms and then let them drop to her sides. “Did you know that the king of Elvenstein actually suggested privately that an arranged marriage between me and his youngest son would make our plans for war more ... amiable with his realm?”

Finally, Annabelle responded. “It has, for centuries, been a common means of securing pacts between the crowns, Veressa. The blood pumping through your veins has a mix of all three realms—and the four other realms from a time before the Anarchic War.”

“Well, I have no intent in sticking with any of the old ways just because they worked in the past. My responsibilities are to my people, not to the orders or the other two crowns.”

Veressa watched Annabelle bite back a retort, no doubt a reminder that it would be nearly impossible to please her people without sating the demands of the order councils or the two kings. Instead, the Ranger asked, “So, what now?”

“We wait,” Veressa replied, noting Hemera’s position in the late-morning sky. “I have given the council enough to chew on for today. They will need time to bandage their wounded egos and consider their next line of attack in convincing me why we should rush into war.”

“We are alone, Veressa. Why not say the real reason why you are holding out against a declaration of war?”

Veressa lifted her chin, trying to emulate her mother’s regal appearance. “You think I am wrong to demand some kind of evidence as to the motives behind my mother’s assassination? You don’t think it a bit odd that the Anarchists sent Hector Dellrose to do this deed? Hector was once your preceptor, Annabelle. Doesn’t it seem more likely this Ranger-turned-Assassin acted on his own? If we could confirm that, such knowledge could divert a war of epic proportions.”

Annabelle looked troubled for a moment, then shook her head. “An Assassin, even Hector, would not take such a mark without the express approval of the Assassins Council. What seems more likely is that they sent Hector to make it look like he acted on his own volition.” Annabelle opened her mouth, then hesitated, biting her lip.

Veressa held out her arms, urging Annabelle to continue.

“It has been a fortnight since you asked the orders to call upon their spies across the Anarchic Lands. And no verifiable evidence has come back regarding Anarchist motives. At some point, you will have to accept that nothing more can be obtained, no matter how hard you squeeze. Many Harmonic lives have been put at risk over this. I know this is hard for you, Veressa. I know having an answer would help bring closure to the trauma of losing your mother. But your indecision impedes war preparations. And who is to say that the Anarchists are not planning their own invasion? Further delays could jeopardize all our lives. At some point, you have to move on. Maybe it is time you resign yourself to the fact you have done everything you can.”

Veressa smiled weakly, then squatted to run her fingers through Antilles’s thick fur, staring into his emerald eyes. Her bond’s deep purr softened her worried expression. “Yes. Of course, you are right, Annabelle. A few more days. I promise. Then I will have the proclamation of war drawn up.” Summoning the elemental forces of Earth, Veressa stretched her palm toward the doors. “Ora ousia kinothyra.” The massive doors groaned, then swung wide.

The two guards waiting outside snapped their heads around, eyes bulging when they realized the queen of Griffinrock had used an incantation to open the chamber doors from the other side of the long hall.

“Please summon my captain of the guard,” Veressa called out to them. “Have his men prepare our horses for a ride out of the city.” She hesitated, then commanded, “And send a message to my Champion that I will be requiring his protection this day.” Veressa found herself eager for the diversions Conner would offer from her morning stress. Besides, she had something important to discuss with the young man.