The Last Warrior Queen

Chapter 36

I said nothing as I entered the room with Gunnar. He cleared his throat and bowed to Halvor. “Forgive me my King, but I was delayed coming out of the throne room. Queen Sylvia waited for me and we walked here together.” I wanted to hug Gunnar for quickly covering for me like that.

“Very well, hurry and sit down” Halvor said grumpily. Gunnar quickly took the empty chair nearest us. The only other empty seat was right next to Halvor, obviously saved for me. On his other side was Gala. I clenched my jaw and reluctantly took my seat next to Halvor.

Halvor began. “Three days ago we sent emissaries to Inhar with our declaration of war. They should be received within the week. We are planning to travel to the small kingdom of Jaks and ask for assistance, to use them as a supply station in between here and Inhar. We are anticipating that they will agree since we helped them with the bandits years ago. From there we will move into Inhar and overtake the current rulers by force.”

Gala jumped in “We are hoping that news will travel fast of Queen Sylvia’s heritage and we are assuming that a large portion of Inhar is still loyal to Oran. We believe that we can garner a large base of support within Inhar and that their citizens will turn on the current regime and join our fight.” All the nobles nodded and murmured in agreement. It did seem like a solid plan. Gala turned her attention to Gunnar.

“Since you were the only one here to fight with the royals of Oran, what was it like? How did they plan and communicate on the battlefield? We need an idea of how to work with Queen Sylvia during the battles.” I looked at Gala, wondering why she didn’t just ask me.

Gunnar cleared his throat and awkwardly shifted his eyes between me and Gala. Finally he said “They didn’t communicate at all, not even with each other. As we got in position they just looked down the battlefield and suddenly moved in unison. It looked like a dance that they had coordinated and practiced before, leaving c*****e in their wake. There were almost no bandits left for our army at the end of it.”

One of the nobles spoke up “But how could they have coordinated it before? No one can precisely coordinate their movements like that. Perhaps they can communicate through thought?”

“Yes it is curious how they were able to move in unison like that” Gala said “But as we only have one Oran royal with us, it seems that might be irrelevant.” I had enough of them talking like I wasn’t here.

“It’s because we can see the fight before it happens” I said loudly. Everyone turned to look at me. I continued “When I focus I can see the fight happen. I know my opponent’s moves before they do. I know what I need to do to win. Like being shown a dance in front of you. I follow the movements as I see them, knowing what will happen. Thats how they could coordinate so well, they saw the battle before them and followed the movements.”

There was a long pause of silence. Halvor broke it by asking “How many people have you fought at one time?”

“Three” I replied bluntly.

“You mean the challenge was the first time you fought more than one person at a time?” Halvor said incredulously.

I shook my head “No, the first time was the bandits in the woods on our way here.”

Halvor rubbed his temples with his hands. One of the nobles asked “When do we depart for the Kingdom of Jaks?”

Halvor responded “The plan is to leave in two days so we can be there by the time Inhar receives the war declaration.”

Another noble spoke up “So you’re saying we leave for battle in two days and the most she’s ever fought at once is three people?”

The nobles nervously shifted in their seats. “Well we knew that Queen Sylvia couldn’t take on an entire army on her own” Gala pointed out. The nobles nodded in agreement. She continued “I suggest Queen Sylvia train for the next two days, taking on as many warriors as possible. Then we can see what she’s capable of and strategize as we travel.”

“Then it is decided. Sylvia will train with our elite warriors and we will depart in two days with our full armies as planned. Most of the preparations have been done. The castle will be well stocked and able to function for two years if needed in our absence. With the Kingdom of Jaks as our supply station we should have no problem supplying the armies and the castle.” Halvor stood and we all stood with him. He started to walk towards the door. I made eye contact with Gunnar who motioned with his head for me to follow him. I quickly left my place and followed Halvor out of the war room.

He marched down the hall without even turning to acknowledge me. I thought about running to catch up with him but then suddenly Gala brushed by me and moved quickly to catch up with Halvor instead. I slowed my pace and turned my attention to the guards as I walked by the throne room. I carefully removed my tiara from my head and told one of the guards I needed to return it to the safe.

As the guard was placing the tiara in the safe I decided to go see Diana. This might be the last opportunity I have to see her before I leave. I quickly thanked the guard and rushed out of the castle to the infirmary. Rohl was rushing around with a multitude of servants preparing for the war. He was explaining things very rapidly to his assistants and they were furiously scribbling away on parchment in preparation for Rohl’s absence during the war.

I walked over to Diana’s bed and found Ann already sitting beside her. Ann was just finishing telling Diana about the announcement that had been made. Ann quickly stood up and gave me a hug. I looked down at Diana, who had a sad look on her face.

“When do you leave?” Diana asked.

“In two days” I replied. Ann gasped and said “So soon.” I nodded and said “I will miss you both terribly.”

“Oh, well I’ll be going too” Ann said. I looked at her in surprise. “Why will you be going?”

“Well I guess wives of warriors are permitted to travel with the armies as long as they don’t have children and aren’t with child” Ann answered.

“I’m going too” Diana suddenly said. Ann and I looked at her in confusion. “I’m almost better” she continued, “and I can assist Rohl.” Ann and I looked at her skeptically. How could she assist him when she can barely move her right hand?

Suddenly Diana called Rohl over to us. He quickly arrived at her bedside. “Rohl, I’ve decided that I will be going with the armies. I’ll be your assistant.” Rohl paled and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, you see, I’ve already got my assistants who are already very well trained…” Diana huffed and crossed her arms. “Fine. I’ll go as your wife then.” My jaw dropped and so did Ann’s.

“I…I’ll…I’ll speak to your father at once.” Rohl stammered out. He abruptly left and a huge grin crossed Diana’s face.

“I knew it!” Ann blurted out. “I knew you liked each other.” I realized that Ann must have been spent more time with Diana recently.

“Well good” I said, “I’ll need you both with me on this journey, especially with Gala being there.”

Diana furrowed her brow “What’s wrong with Gala? Did she say something weird to you?” I shrugged, not sure how to explain everything.

“I know Gala can be tactless and blunt, but she’s been around for generations advising several kings before King Halvor. I think that’s why she’s a little off, she doesn’t place much stock in customs or etiquette having lived for so long.”

Ann and I stared blankly at Diana trying to process what she was saying. She said “You do know that Gala is a witch right?” I nodded and Ann just continued to stare. “And you know that witches usually live for hundreds of years right? Gala is like 300 years old at least. And she helped raise King Halvor after his parents sort of neglected him. She’s like a mother to him. He goes to her for advice often. Although he does seem to rely on her a bit too much if you ask me.”

Well I guess that would explain a lot. As Ann and I stood in silence a maid ran up to us. She nervously curtsied and said “My Queen, the king is looking for you. He’s in the training arena.”

“Crap, I have to go train for the next two days, I completely forgot” I grumbled. Ann and Diana laughed. “I better get back to my room to change.”

“Wait!” Diana said, “I have a bunch of training outfits stored at the arena. Just go to the building by the weapons racks and my stuff is on the second shelf to the left.”

I nodded and thanked her as I rushed out to the arena.