Broken Kingdom

11

I sat at the back of the circular room. A big, round table had been placed in the middle, twenty seats around it. The throne on which the Queen sat was the twenty first. I observed her as she sat there, a wine colored dress, her hair perfectly atop her head, a crown glinting in the sunlight. There was something wicked about this Queen. Something I recognized from my own past. My mother could sit the same way Haelyn did now. Her head was tilted upwards, nose in the air. She tapped with the fingers of her left hand on the arm rest. Rhythmically, annoyed. The last members of court took their places.  Wessel and Thomas sat on Haelyn's right, General Holden on her left. Nolan was seated next to Thomas, Lord Ferington next to Holden. The rest were a bunch of Dukes and Lords who's names I didn't bother to remember. Ferington had been staring at me ever since he spotted me. His likeness reminded me of a vulture with his big, crooked nose, his slicked back grey hair, and his piercing brown eyes. He and Holden had been whispering about me. 

"Now that everyone is finally here," Haelyn sneered, "let's get started. General Holden, you want to propose a solution to the Silver Night Guards. You have the floor." The General sat upright, clearing his throat. "Dear members of the court. After months of clueless searching for the Silver Night Guards, I have discovered they stole the Disc of Rhynos, and used it to make some of their members faster than the human eye can process," he starts. I resist a scoff. Haelyn makes eye contact with me, looking for any type of reaction. 
"Now that we know that the relic is stolen, we can start countermeasures. General Nolan and I have been working up a plan to do just that." Nolan sat upright and rolled out a map. 
"The Silver Night Guards have mostly been attacking in the bigger cities, such as Atarah, Aeris, and the Capitol," Nolan explains further. "To get the Disc back, we will need to find their base. Using the information my Protectors are gathering, we should be calculate multiple options."
"How long will this take?" I ask in the silence that followed Nolan. 
"That depends. Anywhere between weeks and months," he answers, gritting his teeth. 
"You do know that the Disc needs to be close to the user at all times? Otherwise the effects will be useless." Nolan snarls. 
"You have a better plan, Protector Eira?" Holden sneers.
"Why else would I be here? Though I still think it smart to find their base, it won't do anything for hunting down the users of the Disc. In order to undo the powers they gain from it, we need to get it back, and have them voluntarily give up their powers." 

Laughter erupted in the room. "You think they will do that, girl?" Ferington spat.
"Oh they will. I propose a trap. Get the Disc, get me in their heads, and voila. Or do you want to wait months until we see results, Lord Ferington?"
"Set a trap for the Silver Night Guards? They are well organised. That won't work."
"Not if they don't notice anything wrong. General Nolan, the past attacks have been in a specific order of cities, right? Atarah, Kamari, Nuenen, Aeris, Capital, Monteriss, Hoverly, and then they circle back."
"That would be right, yes," Nolan admitted begrudgingly. 
"If the reports are accurate, the last attack was on water sprites in Aeris. That would make the Capital the next target. Again. What if they don't notice something wrong, walk into the trap and we get a much needed win? Plus easy access to their goals."
"You can't possibly know their goals," Holden protests.
"If I can make them give up their powers, I definitely can get some more information."

The attendees started murmuring, while Nolan stared me down. I kept looking at him, my eyes hardening. It was Thomas who responds first. "The Disc poses a threat as longs as it remains in enemy hands. They've booked success after success with the Disc in their possession. We don't have weeks or months. I say we listen to Protector Eira."
"If she can propose an ironclad trap," Haelyn says, a challenge. I smirked. 
"We don't set one out. Because they are well organised, they will notice anything out of the ordinary. We would lose the element of surprise."
"Then how do you suppose we catch them? By waiting for them to steal something?" General Holden roars, ridiculing me.
"Yes, General Holden. They know how to get into the Vault in the Capitol. Which means that they might try again. And I'll be waiting when they do. My shadows trap them, bring them here, and we suddenly have prisoners with valuable knowledge."
"You are not powerful enough to do that," Ferington joins Holden.