šÆ 4:15 AM, 25th of Dustseam, 3 DE šÆ
Wutherian Empire Royal Palace
Wutherian Empire, Kelran Lands
QUEEN Dalliah gazed out of the window as orange streaks broke through the west. Birds flew atop the branches of a tree situated ten feet from the window. She admired the beauty of their colorful wings which flapped around in an eager manner as if ready to take flight in the direction of a beautiful destination that had yet to be discovered by mankind.
A servant approached her and offered her her favorite type of tea: black with a container of sugar. Queen Dalliah thanked her for the beverage and told her to set it down on the table. The servant did as instructed before bowing down to the queen and taking her leave.
It was five o'clock in the morning and the streets were eerily quiet at that time, very common in the Wutherian Empire which preferred the night life. Queen Dalliah, on the other hand, was more wide awake when the other residents were asleep, snoring in their beds. She cherished greatly the early hours of solitude when the sun was making its way towards the clouds where it collided with the canvas of a handiwork that could only be possibly made by a higher power.
"Where is she?" a voice rang out. It would have startled anyone who heard the voice in that present situation given that it was expected that most of the people were asleep at that time. Yet for Queen Dalliah she was the least bit surprised; for aside from her, her steward Jasmina preferred to wake up early in the morning.
Queen Dalliah took a sip of her tea before she set it down on the oak table. "She will be here, Jasmina."
Jasmina heaved a sigh and teetered from side to side in the doorway. "All right. But I have yet to receive a telegram from her. She must still be in danger."
Queen Dalliah shook her head at this. She knew Minari and what she was capable of. Even if the situation was dangerous to the extent where her life would be risked, Minari knew how to handle such circumstances with an ease that made her enemies like a group of bulls fueled with an anger to harm her at least once. Though they failed nearly every time. Minari almost always left the battlefield with a very small amount of wounds, very little scars; the only time she was noticeably injured was during the Battle of Trills when the Wutherian Empire faced the orcs from the Vampire Kingdom. It was their very first timeāthe Academy of the Shadows students and trainersāto battle head-on with the bloodthirsty, ravenous and widely-feared creatures.
Queen Dalliah turned around to face Jasmina, who gave her a worried look. The queen flashed her a reassuring smile and shook her head. "Jasmina, she is okay. She will return soon before you know it. You can relax."
Jasmina nodded slowly before she lowered her green eyes to the ground, a thick and velvety carpet.
Queen Dalliah emitted a chuckle. "And so up until this day you are still not used to the way our Minari works."
Jasmina looked up at the queen who was watching her amusingly. The steward found her own lips turning up into a small smile. Then she shook her head and sighed once more, this time one of relief.
"You are right, Queen Dalliah," she said. "My apologies. Though it is just that these areas she is instructed to go to, missions she has been embarking on, these tasks she is being entrusted with..." She shook her head once more. "It seems to be getting more and more risky."
"Risky," the queen repeated before she shifted her attention back to the window. "Define risky for me, Jasmina." Her expression turned serious.
Jasmina remained silent as she prepared herself for yet another speech that would always be accompanied by a prudent, senseful truth.
"If you are talking about Minari risking her own life to go on these missions, then that's already given," the queen started. "These are assassins. Ninjas. Spies. They studied and trained years for this."
Then the queen turned to Jasmina once more. This time the steward did not look up.
"Now if you are referring to the risk of the unknown, well, why is it that I am tasking them with these explorations in such peculiar places?" Queen Dalliah shook her head. "I want everyone to be fully aware, Jasmina. I want them to know what they are going to be up against in case they are suddenly faced with it. I want them to realize that being complacent is a behavior that I can only tolerate for a while."
Queen Dalliah heaved a sigh. "We need to keep moving. We need to keep progressing. Which is why I am sending them out there so they can find out what it is about those places that make them so greatly feared. Or perhaps even the places that draw lots of attention from people. So they can inform us about what those places are about and in turn we will inform the people."
Jasmina nodded slowly though she refused to meet the fiery gaze of the queen.
"And isn't that what we are doing?" Queen Dalliah continued after taking a sip of her tea. "We have yet to keep any of the residents in the dark with regards to serious matters such as this. You let me know when a certain official is withdrawing information on such issues when a citizen inquires, then I will make sure that they have a long stay in prison."
Jasmina's green eyes then flickered up to Queen Dalliah, who was looking out of the window as she spoke. The queen's voice had been raised more than once during their conversation, which was a bad sign. The steward did not want to give her another reason to do so.
"Everything you do, Queen Dalliah..."
"Everything I do is for our people, Jasmina," Queen Dalliah interrupted her steward. She trained her eyes on Jasmina with an intensity that made the latter recoil. "I expect that you have the same noble purpose."
"Queen Dalliah! Queen Dalliah! The ninja has returned!"
At these words, the two women engaged in a deep discussion turned their heads in the direction of the hallway, where a man materialized mercifully. He wore a polo and vest, accompanied by dress pants and Italian shoes. Panting as if he had been running a mile, the man glanced at Jasmina who gave him a small smile.
The man bowed to her before he shifted his attention to the queen.
"Where is she, Thanos?" Queen Dalliah asked to avoid any further pleasantries or small talk. The man named Thanos pointed to the floor in response.
"Downstairs, Your Highness," Thanos answered excitedly. "She's all right. Though I don't know if you are going to like hearing what she has to say."