The Meeting

Lexia's laughter filled Xilo's ears as he was at a loss for words. He didn't expect to see this kind of side of Lexia. She was much more of a gentle but firm woman from his few talks with her. "Is she actually joking though?" That was something Xilo didn't want to find out so he didn't ask. He just had to make sure they really didn't get caught. "Should I use it?" He thought about using his darkness for a moment before giving up on that idea. Katrin had told him to be careful around Lexia and not expose anything unnecessary. "Maybe another time." If she knew the way then she could take charge and if he really needed to he could use it to escape possibly.

"Then let's hurry up and get whatever you want to show me over with."

"Alright, alright follow me."

Weaving through the halls Lexia went the long way around to their destination. It would help them avoid the most guards and with their times being changed it was the safest, since she didn't know where any of them would be anymore. Along the way they were forced to hide a few more times when Guards showed up. Other than that though it was a pretty smooth journey. Going up a flight of stairs Xilo could hear hundreds of people breathing in sync just a little bit away from. "Very well trained." His nerves started to spike as they made their way to a nearby balcony that overlooked the place. They checked the area for any guards and found a few however no one else.

"What do we do about them?"

Xilo knew that they couldn't just stay there or they would be caught. Lexia simply snapped her fingers as a pulse of Astral energy left her body. Hitting them before they could even react they fell to the floor without a scream. She waved her hand at him as she went to move their body out of view. With the guards no longer awake to bother them, nothing would stop them now. "Well that works." Making sure they were still breathing, Xilo let loose a sigh as he went to the balcony. The sun hit his eyes as he peered over the edge slightly. They were hovering over a giant yard that was currently filled with over a thousand people of all different ranks and standings. Way further in the back a man stood there patiently with his arms crossed.

"Do you really think this is a safe spot?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine and if we sense anyone coming we'll just hide. Everyone else is way too focused on what's currently going on to even look up here. This is a pretty important meeting from what information I gathered beforehand."

Xilo could only take Lexia's word for it.

"If you say so. So that's your Husband I assume. It looks like he's gathering everyone here and a lot of them are pretty strong from a glance."

Leaning against the wall Lexia stared down at the crowd with a bit of hatred. These people were all so blind to the real problem that faced them. "Idiots, just using this as an excuse." When a war was starting that was when all the scumbags truly showed themselves. Crime rates were already starting to soar in this City alone. She couldn't imagine what every other place was like. "They just want to fight and profit." Her nails dug into her skin as she spotted two people in particular. One was a woman and the other was a man, they were a married couple that was leading one of the families directly under the main line. "Astir and Elan." She had known about their deeds for years but could never do anything about them.

"You protected them because they were strong. Are they of any use to you now husband?"

She could see the two smiling away as they probably counted the money entering their pockets.

"Everyone you see here today is the main force of our army strength. Commanders, Captains, and the list goes on. These people are the ones that are supposed to be fighting for our safety. Along with the Royal families under them. Cestrin has already begun to attack, yet they're all here...counting the stars."

Lexia gritted her teeth as she held her anger in.

"They have to be here for a good reason right?"

"Some are, some aren't. My Husband is keeping a lot of them here as the main force. Everyone not a part of this force is being sent out to the frontlines as sacrifices or limit testers. It's disgusting."

Xilo knew she wasn't wrong in thinking that.

"Yet, you also want us to go out there and fight Cestrin. When I don't even think you think we stand a chance."

Biting her lip Lexia couldn't deny Xilo's claim, fighting against Cestrin was hopeless.

"I can't just do nothing though, with Katrin's help maybe I can help change our destined fate. Maybe I can convince my husband to actually fight and protect his people."

She was grasping at anything at this point, it was all she had left.

"You know your husband a lot better than me, do you really think a few hundred soldiers and a couple outsiders will ever change his mind? If the both of you want to win this war you need a lot more than just Katrin's help. Not to mention how many Countries are helping Cestrin out. They are the favourites in this war as you said, so many will naturally flock to them in hopes of getting some easy profit from it. We're fighting all alone right now against everyone else just like you said last night."

Frustration clouded Lexia's mind as the speech her husband was given entered her ears in the background. She didn't know what to do or say, she was extremely lost. "I hate this." Her back went limp as a breath of air left her body. Her chest raised and fell as Xilo watched her beat herself up. It wasn't something he found easy to watch or listen to at all. "So what does she do then?" Xilo didn't have a single answer to that question. He tried to speak up and just say something but was quickly interrupted by a very loud horn in the distance. Without any warning he felt his ears bleed as Lexia's eyes darted towards its source.

"So they showed up."

A group of people was coming right for them that she knew all too well.