Chapter 247

The prisoners taken at the Second Battle of Kalinsha were far more than Neia anticipated, though the demi-humans hadn't much cared about human wellbeing or 'surrenders', the value of prisoners was something Neia emphasized often enough to keep them at least willing to capture the wounded as long as they didn't run.

Every wagon in the city was confiscated, and more from the surrounding abandoned towns, all to send her captives back into her Kingdom. But she did one more thing in secret.

A single horse dispatching word to Hoburns, to let the Holy Queen know that Remedios Custodio had been captured. 'If she's not willing to negotiate peace now… I will just have to burn down the whole damn Kingdom… I really don't want to do that, but what else is there?' Neia wondered, Astraka's alliance with her was one purely of convenience, his promises seemed genuine, but even if they were? 'Would the 'Holy King Caspond' keep those promises on the throne?'

She had no way to know for sure. And all things considered, 'She really did want what was best for her people… even if she didn't always know what that meant, that makes her more reliable…' As Neia contemplated this, she went to enjoy a feast, certain above all else, that at least now the war would take a predictable course.

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Kelart stood in front of the Holy Queen's throne, she declined to ever sit there, even if she was technically in charge while the Queen was away, her eyes far too often turned to wondering how her lady was. Going after Astraka was a dangerous and bold move, which she made sure to spread word about. "The Queen does not want to endanger the city! So she goes to fight the traitor herself and end this threat!"

It saw Calca gaining new heights of popularity not seen since before the time of troubles had begun. A Queen who put her body between danger and her people, that was what Kelart longed for them to see. 'That is what she is. That is why I love her so. She's that kind of woman, not six times in a thousand years do we get a monarch like that anywhere in the world.' Her heart swelled again within her breast, and it held that great size until the moment the sweating, weary messenger rushed in without so much as a word or a gesture, he fell stumbling to Kelart's feet before the nobles and the throne and held up his scroll.

"Kalinsha has fallen to the Queen of Frost! General Remedios Custodio has been captured! The Frost Queen sends terms of peace!" He gasped out every word, struggling to breath, his fingers shook and the scroll with them in his unsteady hand.

"The army?" Kelart forced herself to ask.

"Wiped out… I… I was one, what was not captured is dead or fled… she now has most of the east…" He gulped several times, and Kelart's fingers trembled in horror as she accepted the scroll.

She opened it, slowly, and found a ring Remedios wore, still on the severed finger. "No…" Kelart tried to deny it with a tiny word, but the ring and the finger it was on, refused to disappear. The flesh was wrapped in a little preserving cloth, making it not only fresh, but… 'it's still warm… if I remember my lessons, that means the body itself is still alive, but no healing spell has been cast on her…'

There was only one mad thing Kelart could think to do… she closed her eyes over the finger, and the scroll, and pointed to a series of nobles one right after the other. "You five will run things as a council until the Queen returns, I have something I have to do."

Kelart left the room without a word, shoving the letter and the finger into the hands of the nearest noble, who took a step back as it was pressed into his chest and he dropped with a gasp of disgust and horror, the finger rolled away a little until the signet ring came to a halt.

Nobody moved to pick it up.

Kelart went to her private quarters, where she kept all her mystical gear, her magic items, her scrolls, even a few expensive crystals. She threw on her rings, her cloak, a necklace with the fly spell, everything that enhanced her magic. She then raced to the private quarters of her Queen, she'd been there often enough to know what she needed. The most important files of the Kingdom were kept closely guarded… but with the Queen's signet ring, she could access them with ease.

The papers were where she knew they would be, a sealed box built into the floor, everything she had on the Slane Theocracy's involvement, orchestration of the conflict, and including their evident desire to use the demi-humans in their plans. 'My only hope… is that she doesn't hate us yet…' Kelart swallowed hard and took out a copy scroll, the blue flames went up over the stack, and each one became two. She borrowed a small box, packed the copies, and returned the rest.

She then rushed to the balcony her Queen's room held, and whispered the command. [Fly]. A faint blue aura engulfed her as the necklace activated, and she shot up into the sky and began to head east. 'He must have run a horse or two to death to get to me, and then half run himself to death besides… but with flight magic, I can get there in hours, not days… sister… please… please be alright!'

It was a bold move, a desperate move, and Kelart knew it. 'With Remedios captured, our army shattered, the wall and Kalinsha taken, and her brother a hostage too… even 'when' she beats Astraka… What choice is there? But this one wants only one thing… my sister's life. A life that was bargained for already…'

The air was cold so high up, the world seemed so very small, the landscape raced underneath and every second seemed like an hour, her teeth chattered, and as the necklace began to run out of mana, a crystal kicked in to boost it, holding Kelart aloft.

So it went as she made her way to Kalinsha, it was pitch black, 'Curfew I suppose, assuming she hasn't just slaughtered everybody.' Kelart reasoned, but as she descended, she noticed the lack of birds and the lack of the smell of decay, at least outside of the battlefield, where a handful of demihumans were still at work digging graves for the nameless and numberless dead.

Birds were still out picking at the feast of flesh that war had given them, and the smell of blood was thick in that area still. But Kelart had only one aim, where one light clearly shone, in the administrative center. And true to her hopes, the Queen of Frost made it easy to identify where she worked by virtue of having an oversized hole in the wall.

She shot inside like she'd been launched from an arrow, landed, rolled and popped up to her feet only to see the Queen of Frost already springing up from behind the desk where she sat writing something.

The dragonid woman still had, to Kelart's surprise, some very human features. She still had hair, although it was whitish blue, she still had a human shaped face, slender arms, strong legs, and she wasn't particularly tall. She even had a human woman's bosom still, and a human woman's curves, though neither were exceptional in terms of feminine charm. Her face, Kelart noted, was as fearsome as rumor said, and a murderous rage seemed to sit there at all times.

The dragonid opened her mouth and made ready to spring into attack. "Don't call the guards! I'm not here to fight!" Kelart shouted, raising up her hands, and then falling to her knees.

"I'm here to beg!" She said, and the dragonid stopped, her mouth closed.

"Beg?" Neia asked, her brow furrowed. "Who are you? How did you even fly this far…?"

"My name is Kelart… Kelart Custodio… you have my older sister in your custody… y-you sent me her finger." Kelart lowered her eyes and pressed her forehead to the ground.

"Please give her back." She said as if asking the floor.

"If you need revenge for what she did… and I know what she did… I am a Custodio. You can have my life in exchange! That should satisfy you, shouldn't it?!" Kelart pleaded, her brown hair tumbled over the floor, and she felt the staring ice blue eyes fall over her.

"Remedios' sister… yes," Neia rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Yes I've heard of you, supposedly you're a prodigy, even a genius mage, am I wrong? Personal advisor to the Queen, and rumors, well I'm sure you know those…"

"My sister!" Kelart half choked out.

Neia rubbed her forehead, "You are brave… you'd really offer your life for me to release her? I want that bitch dead for what she's done, and even if I were willing to accept your life in place of hers, that's just asking for trouble. I'd be much better off killing both of you and calling it a day."

"You're bluffing!" Kelart guessed, rose up to her knees to glare at the scaled body of the dragonid Queen.

"I am? Nobody has ever accused me of that before." Neia retorted and went to take the chair out from behind her desk, she flung it gently across the room. "You came all this way, you might as well sit to talk to me."

"Th-Thank you." Kelart said with hesitation, and got up on shaky feet to seat herself in the chair.

"Yes, you are bluffing… if you did that, I'm sure that your parents would be killed in retribution. You don't want that." Kelart pointed out.

"They're humans, what makes you think I care about humans anymore?" Neia asked, keeping her face as straight as she could while she sat on her desk, crossed her arms, and studied the subject in front of her.

"You allied with Astraka, meaning you listened to him rather than kill him outright, I don't believe you hate us all… and if I'm wrong?" Kelart said with confidence, she raised her chin to bare her throat. "Kill me right this second… but if not… about my sister…"

The moment hung, Neia clicked her talons together and then let out a sigh, "Fine, you're right, I don't hate all humans… not that I like many of you anymore… This was my home once after all. But still!" Neia insisted, "Remedios killed an envoy, an official party! And she was left alive! Maybe I could kill you instead, but more than that, To'Raven was my friend!" Neia snarled and jammed her talons into the wood, gouging out chunks of the desk as she curled the talons into her fist. "He had a wife, and children, little girls! I spared his life for their sake and then…" Neia leveled the accusing finger at Kelart, "Your sister who you love so damn much, killed him. Killed him for being an orc! For daring to share the same world as her, he was there for peace! I wanted an end to all that strife, I could have forgiven what happened to me." Neia put her hand over her chest, "I am clearly better off for it, thanks to Olasird'arc. But your murderous bitch sister doesn't get to go off and live a happy life after what she did to my people! Killing you would only mean something if she felt guilty about it. But she won't will she?" Neia demanded.

"No… no, she won't… she'll blame you." Kelart said with quiet resignation. "She never was one to accept responsibility for her own failings… She loves our Queen, and me, and our country. She's not all bad!"

"Tell that to To'Raven! Tell that to his children! Tell that to all my dead warriors!" Neia hissed.

"I have no intention of sparing your sister. And I won't accept your life in exchange for hers, it would be meaningless to me, and meaningless to her. I will let you go this one time, because of your courage, and because I can respect the compulsion of love to lay down your life for your friends… there's nothing I've ever found that is greater than that. But I can't just give you what you ask." Neia answered, and Kelart was quiet.

"What if-" Kelart finally said and reached into her pouch, "there is a lot more to all this than you know?" She asked, and held the box out to the Queen.

"Do you really think the contents of this box will make a difference?" Neia asked with a frown and a doubtful look that seemed more confused than anything in Kelart's eyes.

"That is for you to judge, Queen of Demalbion." Kelart said, "I can only promise you that every word in there is absolutely true, on my life, my sister's life, my Queen's life, and my future King's life, I swear I am not lying to you."

"I will look, but I promise nothing." Neia answered and opened the box to find the stack of documents.

"I ask nothing more." Kelart said, and folded her hands together to wait while the Queen of Frost began to read.