Anger and Fury

"Again? What does it take for someone to do their job right?!" Envano complained, leaning on the railing of the balcony. She took a large gulp of air, trying to calm down. "Is there anything else I should know?" She asked the messenger.

"Yes, Thoasia are demanding to know why their Ambassadors."

"Tell them that if they can tell me why they killed my family and invaded my homeland, then they will have their answer." She said as she turned around. "You may go now." The messenger bowed as he left her bedchamber.

What do I do? Envano asked herself. That prat Falael is still alive, my subordinates are stupid enough to let him stay alive, my beloved nephew has forsaken me, and those bastards that call themselves the rulers of Thoasia the Oblivion Kappa are about to go to war with Asharia.

I need a new successor, she decided as she marched over to her desk. I don't have any more official family, but I remember that there was once a scandal about my brother having a child different to Rinomve, with an Asharian noble woman, she thought as she sat down and pulled out some parchment and ink. I will send her a message to see whether this is the case, and if so, where the child is.

"Messenger!" She summoned, folding the newly inked letter and sealing it in wax. "Take this to Lady Caronia Faelf. Do not come back until she has written a response." Envano ordered, entrusting such a precious document to the servant that answered her call.

The answer to her letter couldn't have come fast enough. Several days later, the messenger came back, heaving in exhaustion holding a small child who looked just as exhausted. Poor thing, Envano thought. She probably doesn't know what is going on.

"Take the little lady upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms." She commanded, motioning towards the nearest staircase.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The servant bowed as best he could without dropping the girl before heading towards the staircase.

Hopefully this quiets the political unrest that the loss of my nephew created, She thought as she watched the little girl be carried away. Hopefully this means that I can keep my throne.

The next morning, Envano entered into the dining room for breakfast.

"Where is the little lady?" She asked the servant that placed a plate of fresh cut fruit on the table.

"She refuses to leave her bed, Your Majesty. Do you want someone to go and bring her here?" The servant replied, curtseying deeply.

"No, she has been through enough, and yesterday was a long day of travelling. Let her sleep a little longer, and I will bring her breakfast myself."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Is there anything else I should know about the goings on in my kingdom?" Envano asked.

"Thoasia don't appear to be thrilled at the concept of their ambassadors being threatened."

"I don't appreciate the concept that I am not the Queen of Thoasia." She mumbled back, stabbing her fork into a strawberry. "But here we are." She took a deep breath. "What about the Wynfir situation?"

"The trio haven't left the house since the Melarin girl got back from getting the antidote."

"Good. Let's see how long we can keep them there."

"We can't get complacent." Grace said, pacing around the kitchen island. "We need to keep moving."

"Where to?" Rinomve asked. "We don't have any leads."

"Doesn't matter." She replied, impatient. "This is the second time that someone has tried to kill one or more of us, we need to keep moving, if for no other reason than keeping them on their toes."

"What do you think brother?"

"I agree with Grace." Falael said, rubbing his temples. "It is too dangerous for us to stay here, we need to keep moving."

"Where do we go?" Rinomve asked.

"We've already been to Oakenspell, so not there." Grace said, leaning on the countertop.

"We could go to Madmaw." Falael offered. "It's about the same distance as Oakenspell."

"And then after that?" Rinomve asked, sounding panicked. "Is this seriously how you two have been going about this investigation?"

"We go where the clues take us." Falael mumbled over the rim of his teacup. "And what ever we do we need to keep whomever is trying to kill us guessing. That way they won't be able to track us so easily."

"I want to do one last thing before we leave Penrith though." Grace said.

"Which is?" Rinomve asked.

"I want to go and return the antidote that I borrowed yesterday." She said, straightening up. "It's an expensive substance, and Epeseed was good enough to let me use some of it on Falael and you yesterday. It is only polite that I say thankyou."

"Your right. Though I still don't understand why you used some of the antidote on me."

"Poisons take slightly longer to take effect in Dark Elves than they do in other Elven races." Grace said, taking a sip from her teacup. "Just because you weren't having a reaction right in the moment, doesn't mean that you wouldn't have had a reaction, and I for one like working preemptively when it comes to medicine." She finished her tea and cleared the tea set away, setting the kitchen back to the way it should be. If mother could look at me now, lecturing people in medicine just like she used to, she thought. She grabbed the vial of antidote. "Are you two ready to go?"