By the time they made it back to the camp, it was fully light and the group of protesters had left the tents and lined up in front of a small side gate that the guards had opened, just as Ellisandra had predicted. They were processing entrants one by one, and taking their time to do it, too. She had been afraid that they would use this tactic.
Meanwhile, the councillors arrived through another gate and went into the building unhindered. Ellisandra pushed to the front of the queue.
The guards gave her a strange look, as if they’d written off the protesters as “rabble” and weren’t expecting to see someone like her.
“Can you let us in? We’re lawful citizens and we’re entitled to attend the council meeting.”
“We need to do ID checks on everyone in the public gallery.”
“Then call a few mor
