The Purple Jade Palace: The Hummingbird's Plan

It's Time

They spun to see who had intruded their space, and Delba immediately took a protective stance in front of the Empress and Lana.

"Which sect do you belong to and what are you doing here?" Delba asked.

The Talekan Assassin stepped out of the shadows, her face covered by her mask and framed by her long brown hair. "The True Path. The one that you follow," she said to Delba. To the Empress she repeated authoritatively, "It is time."

"Time for what?" Delba asked.

"Who is this person?" Empress Crael demanded.

"It's time for me to take the twins."

"What?!" Empress Crael exclaimed. "Guards!" she ordered.

The Talekan Assassin did not shy at the sudden presence of the Empress' guards running into her greeting room or by their threateningly stance they took before her. From the corner of her eye, she saw one of the Empress' guards guide Lana towards the back of the room to keep her safe.

"You are not going anywhere near my children," the Empress hissed.

Calm and confident, the assassin took a step forward. "For their safety, I need to take them."

"Their safety?" the Empress cried. "Nowhere is safer than in my quarters."

"What is this danger that you insist will happen?" Delba asked the assassin.

"They are already happening. There have been major developments and for the twins' safety, they need to leave Dalenia immediately."

"What?" Delba asked. "Why, what has happened?"

"Prince Vox is going to try to take the throne and become the Emperor of Talbec."

Delba and the Empress shared a shocked look.

"Prince Vox?" the Empress belittled. "I don't think so. The only chance that Prince Vox would try to take the throne would be if the Emperor was dead."

The Talekan Assassin didn't respond, her face grim and steadfast.

The Empress' whole body began to shake at the silence that followed her statement. "He would only try that if he thought Rathner was dead!" she screamed.

"What are you implying?" Lana asked, her voice trembling.

Empress Crael sank to the floor, slipping out of Delba's hands and rocked her body back and forth. "No, no, it can't be so. He can't be dead. He can't be!" She lifted her head and stared at the assassin. "Tell me it isn't true," she begged.

The assassin didn't respond straightaway. She squatted in front of the Empress and when she spoke, her voice was soft and full of sympathy. "Our seers can only see so far into the future as the current path is changing so swiftly, but it does seem to be the case. The Emperor now walks with his ancestors."

Empress Crael screamed, and Delba and Lana sank to the floor beside her, pulling the Empress into their arms.

"Your twins are the only people stopping Prince Vox from having complete control of the Empire," the assassin continued. "They must leave with me now."

The Empress howled and covered her hands with her face. The horror of the news, so unexpected and dreadful. The man who had given her everything after she had lost her entire world. The man who had loved her and given her children. She lifted her head, her face red and filled with tears streaming down her cheeks. "They are all I have left," she croaked.

The assassin edged closer to the Empress, twisting her wrist while she whispered under her breath. A small murky glow of dust started to emerge above the palm of her hand, slowly taking more form and color. Now a soft blue haze, the assassin leaned her face closer to it, pursed her lips and blew it in the direction of the Empress.