¤ First Signs of a Threat

Supporting the rotund Nethan to his feet, the fairy girl turns too, to see that it was Verchiel, nephew of the King, and Royal Advisor, that raised such a commotion with his entrance. Her dark blue eyes narrow a little, as if in dislike. Walking up in long strides to the dais, Verchiel bows to the King, who smiles warmly in acknowledgement, and takes the empty Advisor chair to the right of Kranz, his emerald green eyes blank and emotionless as he stares at the fairy girl.

She stares right back, maintaining the eye contact without flinching. She will not let this fairy intimidate her, especially not in front of the entire fairy court of Orbis, and her eyes hold a fire that tells Verchiel as much. Verchiel looks away now, a vaguely bored expression on his face.

Kranz speaks again. ‘Nethan, please explain El Nath’s problem to us. Rest assured that Orbis will do as much as it can to help its ally.’

‘Majesty, perhaps this will explain it better.’ Nethan extends the crumpled scroll of parchment towards the King with both hands. At Kranz’s gesture, the fairy girl takes the scroll from the village head and brings it to the King. Reading the scroll, Kranz frowns almost immediately. ‘Who dares to threaten a peaceful village like El Nath thus?’ The fairy King demands, anger replacing all the warmth in his voice.

‘Your Majesty?’ The young Advisor requests for the scroll, and Kranz passes it to her. The message on it was written in a spiky, cluttered script that suggested the lack of penmanship classes, or a hand unable to hold a pen properly. With some difficulty, the fairy girl picks out the message from the untidy handwriting.

Greetings,

Congratulations to your village on attaining the honour of Lord Zakum’s dominion. This is a message to inform you of your Lord’s imminent arrival at the village of El Nath. You will prepare to receive the advent of his army by your Lord’s command, or, if you so choose, by force.

You have been warned.

Maldrich,
High Priest
Commander of the Army of Zakum

‘Maldrich? Zakum?’ Standing next to Kranz’s throne, the fairy girl reads out the strange names, puzzled. Who is this self-proclaimed Lord Zakum?

‘M-majesty,’ Nethan pleads, ‘We have sent scouts to seek out this army of Z-zakum and one reported a vast horde of nightmarish creatures camped not more than a week’s journey from the gates of El Nath. It is led by that Maldrich in the letter. They are fearsome, Majesty, and our village has no conceivable way to defend ourselves against such an army!’

The fairy girl lowers the parchment. ‘Only one scout reported back?’

‘Yes, lady Advisor.’ Nethan says wretchedly. He looks up at Kranz, a haunted look in his eyes. ‘He was nearly insane when we found him, carrying the severed heads of the rest of his comrades on his back.’

A shocked silence damps down the murmuring of the courtiers. The fairy girl places a hand on the arm of Kranz’s throne to steady herself, stunned as she is by Nethan’s answer.

‘This… Zakum must be stopped.’ Kranz says in a terrible voice, his dark green eyes radiating cold fury. ‘Send a message to Maldrich. I will meet him on El Nath’s behalf.’

‘Your Majesty.’ Verchiel speaks up suddenly, his bland voice not reflecting any of the unease that ripples through the fairy courtiers. ‘You cannot jeopardise your life on such a risky venture. You must not forget that Orbis still needs her king.’

A swell of hot anger rises in the fairy girl’s throat. Of course, Verchiel would try to stop Kranz from helping El Nath. Her silver feathers ruffled, she starts to say in a hard voice. ‘Do you suggest that His Majesty leave Orbis’ mortal allies to their deaths in their time of need? What-’ She stops, as Kranz reaches out to cover her hand with his, his eyes telling her: That is enough.

‘Ah, my fellow Advisor. You misunderstand me.’ Verchiel continues, the hint of mild amusement in his voice riling the fairy girl. ‘I am only about to suggest that I take His Majesty’s place in the meeting. There is no way that I can allow my King and Royal Uncle to expose himself to an army as malicious as what is described to us.’

She opens her mouth, then shuts it with an audible click of her teeth, unable to find a suitable answer to that. ‘I apologise for my rudeness, Lord Verchiel.’ The fairy girl says finally, still staring angrily at Verchiel. ‘But I feel that I am a more suitable candidate to speak on the mortals’ behalf. We all know where your… views lie on Orbis’ alliances with mortals.’ She finishes, her tone wry.

There are gasps from the fairies gathered. No one has ever publicly confronted Verchiel about his alleged discrimination against mortals before, and the young Advisor’s accusation leaves many shocked. Most eyes fall on the Nethan standing awkwardly before the dais now, watching nervously as the two Advisors argue over the fate of his village.

‘On the contrary, Advisor.’ Verchiel says, flicking his wings lazily. ‘I am, after all, of royal blood. It would be more ideal if this Maldrich is sent a more direct ambassador from the Orbis throne.’

‘If you will permit me to express my humble opinion, Your Majesty.’ A powerfully built fairy sitting in the Advisor chair centre and foremost on the dais speaks up. His hair and short beard are a fiery red, his thin golden Advisor circlet lost in the thick curls on his head.

‘Feel free to, Advisor Sorra.’

‘Thank you, Your Majesty.’ Sorra inclines his head slightly, then starts to say. ‘As War Advisor, Your Majesty, I believe that it would be more appropriate for Lord Verchiel to represent Orbis in this parley. It would not do to let this Maldrich learn about how alarmed we are of his declaration by your presence at the parley, important as it is to prevent war from blighting our neighbouring lands. It would be wiser to consider Lord Verchiel’s proposal.’

‘It is decided then.’ Kranz spreads his golden wings to call for attention. ‘Nethan, I will send my nephew, Lord Verchiel, to parley with Maldrich on the behalves of Orbis and El Nath. Guide him to the camp of this Army of Zakum, and he will do his best to negate the threat.’

‘Many thanks, Majesty.’ Nethan falls to his knees again, and touches his forehead to the floor in gratitude. ‘El Nath is truly honoured to have you as its ally.’

Watching the village head’s relief, the fairy girl finds herself wishing, for Nethan’s and El Nath’s sakes, that Verchiel will truly put aside his strong hatred for mortals this time. Kranz looks sideways at her, and shook his head at the apprehensive expression on her face. ‘You must learn to accept that people do not always cling onto their old foolish ways, dear child.’ He murmurs quietly to her.

The fairy girl only shakes her head silently, still looking sadly at Nethan as he leaves the room.

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Links to previous chapters:
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^^ Frontpaged I was. Very much loved, you readers are. Stop talking like this, I shall.

Just came from a classmate’s birthday celebration. Or actually, it was more like… birthday smashup. I think I still got some cake on my arm. :/ What a waste of sinful carbohydrates and fats.

(Update Bandit’s Sin, Indescane!) o(^-^)o <- kirby to remind you.

And my school has been invaded with incredibly lame Chemistry jokes. Like: If a bear from the North Pole and a bear from the Equator both drop into the water, which one will dissolve first? The North Pole bear, because it is a polar bear! Argh. Why oh why do they have to make me enjoy Chemistry like this.

Anywayyy. Thank you for reading, and here’s a raisin cookie for you!