Elmira Sielstone: The Empress

Chapter Ten

Who are we still waiting for? Can't we just start without that person?" Alexis asked them, constantly looking at the clock on the wall, impatiently waiting for the person they were waiting for.

They were all inside the conference room inside the library of the Palace, waiting for Elmira to come, as she is yet to come.

"We can't." The King answered, tapping his fingers on the long table in front of him. Smith is standing near the windows, looking out at the sky, as the rain is still pouring down nonstop, since Yesterday.

Redina and The Queen, Eliza, both got a book from the bookshelves so they could read it while waiting, but eventually got lost in the middle of reading, as they had a lot of thoughts going through their minds.

They both closed the book they were reading, exhaling their worries out of their heads.

"I'll go get her." The King stood up from his chair, decided to fetch Elmira in her room, as he's also getting worried as time passes by inside the Library.

"No need. I'm here." The double door swung open, as it presented Elmira, entering the room.

Everyone's looking at her as she walks towards their table. She's wearing a midnight-black full-length dress, and carrying two big bags under her eyes, holding paperworks in both of her hands.

Smith went back to his seat as soon as he heard Elmira enter the room and he kept on staring at her, even though she was already seated, on the right side of the King, and in front of the Queen.

"Don't tell me, we've waited for a Gemus to start a meeting?" He's disgusted to see her, but he couldn't hide the fact that he was so thankful towards her, that she had helped her woman to live again with him. Alexis thinks that She saved Rebecca's life, even though she didn't know who she was.

"I am not here to listen to your bitterness Hazzle." She said, looking at him in pure blankness. "Stop looking at me. I'm fine." She added as they were all still staring at her, hesitating who would ask 'what's wrong' or 'are you alright' towards her as their tongues felt so twisted that they couldn't even bring up the words out of their mouths.

"Someone's pouring their hearts out." Smith said as he glanced towards the windows, looking at the rainfalls outside.

"Ahm." Elmira cleared her throat, acting at her best, to show that she meant it when she said she's fine. "Let's get the meeting started." She said, looking at the papers in front of her, changing the topic of Smith.

"I've got a series of reports here stating that Hazzles are continuously dying inside the Academy, all with a final verdict that Gemus were the reason behind what has happened. The most recent incident was three days ago, showing that two Instructors were killed inside their office, consecutively." Five papers flew on the table as Elmira had finished speaking, and each one of them received a copy that they had read as soon as they took a hold of it.

Elmira gave them a copy of the summary about the reports she had collected earlier, from the restricted part of the library.

"It took me some time to sort out the details and the summary of the reports, that's why I ended up late." She said, leaning back on the chair, and crossing her arms, watching them reading her prepared document.

"I did my research on how you ended up with that verdict, being the Gemus as the culprit." She said as they were still reading that one page of a paper she had given them.

"And I found out that, hundred percent of your results were just mere speculations." She got her pen on the table, tapping it there, controlling herself not to burst out from anger.

"I also found out that hundred and one percent of your investigations were all lies, and you just did an investigation to show your people that you were doing everything to solve the problem, but the truth is, it's not even close to reality… the reality that no one is doing something to let them safe." She said, while her pen had broken in her grip.

They were all now looking at her, as they heard the snapping sound as if something had broken. And once they saw what Elmira was holding, they were now sure of it.

"We are doing everything to make our people safe, so don't be too smarty and pretend to know it all, because you know nothing." He said crossed arms, looking at her, meeting Elmira's blazing gaze towards him. It was as if Elmira's controlling herself not to throw her broken pen in his face.

"Don't start a fight Alexis." His father said, looking at him, commanding him to discipline himself in front of everyone.

"I am not starting a fight. I was just saying that, why are we even here, listening to what she was saying, when everything she's telling us was all nonsense."

"It's all nonsense because you're guilty. You were always inside the Academy, but the reports that the Palace had received weren't from you. It should be you, who must report, but what you only did was… dating your woman." Elmira's trying to be as calm as possible, talking to Alexis, but to her annoyance, she had emphasized her last words that she did really mean.

They were silently fighting through their eyes, staring at each other with disgust, and annoyance.

"Enough." The Queen said, as Elmira withdrew her gazes towards him, sighing and controlling her emotions.

"Can anyone tell me why you ended up with that judgement? Being the Gemus as the center of your problem?" Elmira said, fixing her pen using her Qarath, by just holding it. She suddenly met Alexis' eyes as she felt him still staring at what she was doing, then She raised a brow and playfully smiled in his direction.

"Because they were the biggest problem of Harzenia." The Queen answered her question, unsure if it was just right to say it. "So they were all to blame." She added.

"How sure of you that Hazzles don't do the same, such as robbing Qaraths and killing its owner?"

"That's impossible. Hazzles don't know how to obtain other's Qaraths." The Queen quickly denied her people's possible doings as she believes that they are not capable of doing what Elmira was saying.

"That's the reason why I'm here, though." She stared towards Eliza's eyes, "And Hazzles were the reason why everything was a mess… the heart and the central reason why everything is happening." she continued, staring blankly in her eyes. There was something in her eyes that no one from them could figure out, ever since she had walked through the door to enter the room. She's being too emotional and they feel like she was in the stage of withdrawing herself from them.

"So if I were you, I'd be starting my investigations again and putting the past investigations in the trash, because those were useless." She said, grinning.

"Then why don't you do it yourself, then" Alexis commented, being bored all throughout the meeting.

"Alexis!" The Queen strongly rebuked him for his bad attitude in front of everyone. He's been acting up since he arrived in the Palace to attend the meeting.

Elmira leans back to her chair, grinning towards Alexis. "I will. Only If… you will step down as a Prince of Harzenia, right away." She said, teasing him. "What do you think?"

"Stop it already. Alexis, enough with your attitude." The King has already meddled with the two, as the meeting is always interrupted with their quarrel, they haven't finished anything yet.

"We will investigate these reports again, starting from scratch." He said.

"That's too much. We didn't even know where she had collected this information, and we're not even sure if what she had said was pure speculation or not."

"SHUT. UP." Elmira couldn't control her annoyance towards him, and locked his mouth with her Qarath, so he couldn't speak another pointless comment that was just hindering them to continue the meeting.

"If you're date with that Hazzle is more important with this meeting for Harzenia, Go on. You can now go, the door is always open for you." She shouted in annoyance. Everyone's looking at her, wide-eyed as they were surprised by her sudden burst out of anger. It was their very first time to see her losing her temper and patience. Even the two who have seen her, growing in Glith, haven't seen this side of hers ever.

"But once you leave this room, and choose her over your responsibilities as a Prince of this land, I'll consider your resignation and you can't step inside this Palace ever again."

Alexis couldn't speak and say what he wanted to say as he couldn't open his mouth because of Elmira's Qaraths, so he remained silent, and couldn't say his opposition towards her.

Elmira waited for him to stand up, and go out of the room, but minutes passed, he didn't even move from his chair.

"Now let's continue, shall we?" She rolled her eyes towards him and looked at the remaining papers in front of her. They haven't even finished half of the papers, but a lot of time has already been consumed.

"If the Palace will investigate again, give the work to Alexis. He's in charge inside the Academy. And he must take it seriously if he doesn't want to get Rebecca Luin in danger. He had seen me giving back her life, so he must now know that I am also capable of getting what I have given. I hope he understands." She said writing Alexis name on the paper without even looking at him as she can already feel his deadliest glare cutting through her skin.

"What about the Gemus getting Hazzle's Qaraths? How do we handle them?" The Queen asked.

"You don't need to worry about them, I'm already doing some actions. You must only be looking out for your people, not other people's people." She said, giving another copy of another report in each one of them.

"And, before I even forgot. There was a Hazzle in the train station who had gained a lot of Qaraths from other Hazzles. I don't know if she's still alive, as I have given her a curse that she deserves. Check her out as well, her coworkers are already on the verge of dying because of her." The words she said came out naturally, that when they heard her say the word 'curse', all of them had looked at her in disbelief, as they knew that, it shouldn't be said casually like what she just did.

“Read first the report I have given you. I had sorted out everything there. I’ll just use the washroom.” She stood up from her chair and directed her gaze towards Alexis, who’s also looking at her.

“Don’t you dare try to escape, Hazzle. I have my one word. I can get her life away from her in a snap, so be good.” Before she left, she unsealed Alexis’ mouth, so he could talk comfortably with his family. She's not so mean after all.

"I don't think she needs to cry this hard, out of pity towards that Hazzle. That woman from the Palace had sinned, and robbed a lot of Qaraths from the people around her.” Elmira made her way to the washroom just inside the Huge Library of the Palace, when she heard someone talking in her head. She’s washing her face with warm water, as she’s feeling so sleepy ever since the meeting had started, as she hasn't slept since Yesterday, even though she was in pain.

Elmira got out of the washroom, walking towards the window to look outside. The rain hasn't stopped falling, and it's still pouring heavily just like yesterday. The land of Harzenia has been wet since yesterday and the whole place is still gloomy. She crossed her arms and leaned her head on the wall next to her.

“I don’t think she’s changed in these past years.” Elmira formed a furrow in her brows when she heard that inside her head, coming from someone.

“She couldn’t be that softhearted person in that short period of time, don’t you think?" She slightly laughed hearing them badmouthing her in her mind, behind her back.

“She must have gone crazy.” The other person said that Elmira ended up smiling like a real crazy woman. The Sun suddenly showed up from behind the clouds, as the rain slowly came to a halt, outside.

“I told you, she’s gone crazy. It stopped raining so suddenly. How can someone change their hearts that fast? Absolutely no one can, except her.” They were not even joking, and they were talking in a very serious tone, but Elmira’s having fun hearing them from her head.

She walked back towards the Royal Family in the conference room, just inside the library, after she had unwind and regained her focus.

“The rain had stopped.” Smith commented when she arrived, and that made her smile again.

“Have you read the report?” She asked as soon as she was seated. She got her pen, and noted her paper on her desk.

“About the Southern Quoatilphus…” The Queen started, “We had evacuated the people there and transferred them to Crymph when Gemus had been seen going around there. Only a few people were left there, because they didn't want to leave their place.” She reported.

“Okay. Noted. That’s all. You can now go. Alexis still has a date to attend. I just hope he knows how to listen.” She smiled at him when their gazes met. “Investigate well.”

Alexis stormed out the room, as fast as he could, as what Elmira says, she still has a date to attend to, and he’s already twenty minutes late from the time they had agreed on.

They left the room one by one, until Elmira’s the only one left inside.

She was already fixing her things when Redina suddenly entered the room again. She flustered a smile as soon as she saw her, going into her direction.

“Why are they reporting to you, and why are you the one who’s reporting Mira?” She didn’t answer her and continued fixing her things.

“I was just listening the whole time, as I didn't have any idea what was happening. They were Ruling Harzenia without you for so many years, but you were the one who was reporting, that’s so odd.” She continued.

“I told you Ma. I’m the Empress. And that’s not a lie.” She said grinning, and walked out the room after she finished getting her things, leaving Redina being dumbfounded there… by herself.

“The weather suddenly became too hot.” He sighed. “Get me a drink too, Sid. Thanks.” Elmira had seen them again in her mind, grinning as soon as she heard it.