Chapter 89 Her Loyal Men
The royal court.
A woman and five men were sitting in a room guarded by thirty royal guards. The faces of the men reflected that the news was not good. After a few moments of silence, she realized they were waiting for her to speak.
Olivia: Who speaks first? I do not see the herald here to hand out coins from a bag. I have never seen this tradition but it always sounded interesting.
Danilo smiled at her: This is only used when the queen or king is not at court. Perhaps the count of arms should speak first.
Esteban appeared very tired: Queen Olivia, the Herald was found dead last night. A maid in his service murdered him and then committed suicide with the same dagger. She sat against the door as she died. The guards had to break open the door with axes. Her two daughters and a young page are in rooms near those of the other servants. The elder daughter is the intended of Captain Pedro. I am unsure why she did this but it is the second court menber killed this week. Uncertainty breeds fear and rash actions.
Olivia: Use whatever means needed to make our castle safer. Avoid violence when possible. I do not want people to fear me. Do we know where the rest of the members are?
Danilo spoke next: Counts Valero and Octavio, and Lord Bartolo have sent me formal messages. Each of them affirms that the queen has their support and loyalty. However, they will not be able to attend court today. No reason was given.
Olivia frowned: What exactly does that mean?
Danilo: They will remain behind their defenses until they can attack us. Both sides are preparing for battle. When one side believes it has an advantage, the war will begin.
Olivia: Do we have any advantage? Or can we gain any?
Esteban: My wife is in the north, but it seems there will be a struggle for control of the tribes. Her uncle Arkady is being attacked by a large force coming from the east. It is probably his cousin Pavel. He is a dangerous man. There is hope of help still, but it will not come quickly.
Olivia: Understood. Heinrik, can you provode any useful information?
Heinrich: Lady Marisela left the castle during the night with her servants and knights. She offered to include us in her escape plan. She has the right to choose her own castle and her own people.
Olivia: Why did you not tell me? The truth, please.
Wulfhelm replied for him: Love. My uncle loves her. He wanted her to be safe in her own castle.
Olivia: But you did not go with her? Why not?
Wulfhelm: I swore allegiance to my queen. She has my loyalty and the support of Puerto Blanco. I decided to stand with you here. But I do not make the decisions for the lady.
Olivia gazed at the young man with blond hair and blue eyes. She was a queen living almost as a prisoner in her castle. But her heart and body could not help but be drawn to the handsome young men who surrounded her. After a few seconds, she regained her thoughts.
The Queen: Thank you for your loyalty. I hope my court will be more trusting of me in the future. If she had asked me for permission, I would have granted it. The nobles are not prisoners.
Heinrich: Good, my queen. I have a request for Your Excellency.
Olivia: Very well, Regent Heinrik.
Heinrich: I want to fly on a Pegasus to the royal ship of Puerto Blanco. If I could be on the ship with orders from Duke Wulfhelm, I could control this force to help my queen.
Olivia looked at the priest with long, dark hair: Danilo? Is it possible?
Danilo: That is insane. A Pegasus could possibly fly that distance with a rider and him. But she could not land on a ship.
Heinrich: If she could fly close to the ship, I could jump aboard. I have jumped from one ship to another from great heights and distances. It is a common tactic among the warriors on our ships.
Wulfhelm smiled: My uncle did that to two royal ships during the conflict with your father, and he captured both of them. He has no fear in battle or on board a ship.
The elder blond man squeezed the hand of his nephew and shook his head.
Esteban: It is dangerous and probably will not work.
Olivia looked from one warrior to the other: How many soldiers are there on these ships?
Heinrich: Fifteen hundred or more. My sister of the law has been secretly training soldiers for years. Our army has enough weapons to fight for weeks without stopping.
Olivia: Esteban, would a fleet full of soldiers and weapons be of any use against Aurelio?
Esteban smiled at the question: Yes, of course, my queen.
Olivia: So I have sent one supporter north on the slim chance of help in time. I believe sending another person south in hopes of a great deal of support is worth the risk. Danilo, can you please take Heinrik to the nest and find out if a Pegasus will let him ride her? We need help soon, and a man in love is capable of incredible things. All the stories confirm this fact.
The priest nodded his obedience.
Heinrich: Please, my queen, will you protect my nephew while I am not here? We have no knights or guards here. It was forbidden by your father.
The queen smiled: Of course. He can stay close to me. There are many rooms here.
She looked ar the soft eyes of the priest with messy medium length hair and nervous hands.
Emiliano, hesitantly: My queen, I am sorry, but the captain is not obeying me. Rodrigo is a proud, strong, and brave man. I do not possess any of those qualities. The knights understood that my appointment was more of an insult to them than anything else.
Olivia sighed heavily: Is there nothing we can do about it?
Emiliano: There are three hundred brave knights and three hundred and one war unicorns. They could defeat a thousand ordinary soldiers, probably even more.
Danilo: They basically ignored the commands of your father for twenty years. The current captains and commander were decided by their own ranks instead of by the throne.
Olivia: Will they fight on either side of the war?
Esteban: I do not know. Valero is somewhat respected but Octavio is not. They value strength in a leader but their behavior is a disgrace. They have sworn allegiance to the throne. They must obey the queen.
Olivia looked at the table. The wood was so polished that she could see a dark reflection of her face and hair.
The fifteen-year-old thought: They must obey the queen.