“I’ll take you to see her,” she agreed. Despite the irritation she felt for her mother her own curiosity got the best of her.
When she turned she noticed a number of Crown Soldiers had entered the Throne Room and taken posts at each corridor. They were all armed. As she led Korina towards the corridor leading to the Military Complex, each soldier they passed bowed their heads in reverence to her. Another set of guards stood watch at the center of the corridor, one at each side and each bowing as they made their way through.
The Military Complex was stocked with a small army of Crown Soldiers, some being outfitted with weapons, others strategizing with interactive maps of Royal City blown up large on the glass walls. She noticed Hector sitting at a command station, speaking into a headset as his eyes kept watch on the screens in front of him. The atmosphere of the room was thick with a tension that only amplified when their presence was noticed.
One by one the soldiers bowed their heads in deference to the Queen and Queen Mother, their silence bringing the room to a quick and unsettling quiet. Kyra scanned the top of heads bowed before her and noticed that none of them belonged to the King.
She dismissed them with a nod and the soldiers went back to their work. Kyra continued through the building towards the detainment rooms, her mother in close pursuit. As they reached the corridor that branched off from the main room they were stopped by an ashen-faced Alcander.
“Your Highness!” he gasped, clearly startled by the rare appearance of the Queen Mother. His head and torso dropped down so low Kyra was sure he would fall to the ground. When he stood again his face was still pallid and weary. He opened his mouth to speak but the sound was nothing more than a feeble squeak. His mouth shut again and he swallowed hard, his eyes growing ever wider in his face as he looked from the Queen Mother to Kyra.
“What’s happened now?” Kyra asked. The terror on his face was unmistakable. She nearly felt sorry for the man as he fumbled to compose himself in front of them. She looked briefly to her mother and saw she was equally perplexed. She hoped it wasn’t more bad news. She couldn’t stand being made to look like a fool in front of anyone, let alone the Queen Mother.
“I did as you asked, Your Highness. I sent the guards from the detainment rooms to the Government Complex to await your instruction. The transport was shut down. I sent more guards to the Elder prisoner’s room but they…” he trailed off.
Korina took a step towards him and he looked as though he might faint. “But they what?” she asked.
He took a deep breath. “They caught her attempting to escape. She was with a male Resident, one of our own. We pursued them but the Resident attacked us, leaving us no choice but to use force against him. By the time we were able to restrain him the Elder woman was gone. I went after her myself but I couldn’t find her. I searched every door and corridor but she was nowhere. She just vanished. I made my way back to the guards and found them detaining the Resident.”
Kyra felt a curl of hot anger rising in her throat, heating the skin beneath her face. “So the Elder woman is gone but you have the perpetrator in custody?” It took all of her effort to keep her voice restrained, to not let the anger boil inside her.
“Yes, Your Highness,” he whispered. “We could not see his face! I swear to you if we had known it was him!” he cried, his sentence falling short of completion. The man looked like he was on the cusp of losing his sanity, just as Kyra was losing her ability to remain calm.
“Who?!” she demanded.
“The King!” he cried. “It was the King who freed the Elder.”
Chapter 19: Two Stratons
“Darling, you were born to be the Queen. Never, ever assume otherwise.” The Queen lovingly placed her hands on either side of her face and smiled, relaxing into a natural beauty as she did.
Kyra stared up into her golden eyes and nodded. She was just a little girl, concerned only with playing with other children, laughing and dancing, and being adored; Queendom was a long way off.
“Will I be as beautiful as you when I’m the Queen?” she asked softly.
The Queen smiled infectiously and nodded, placing a doting kiss on her small forehead before sitting down beside Kyra on the bed in her Residence. “You’ll be more beautiful than anyone.”
“What will I do as Queen?”
“You’ll rule over all of Terra. You’ll make sure the outlying cities are doing their necessary part to ensure the health and well-being of every Resident. You’ll command the Crown Soldiers to keep peace throughout the world. And most important of all you’ll bear the next Queen of Terra.”