Fireheart: A "Throne of Glass" Fanfiction

Chapter 20

And many other noble-born young girls. Some danced to please their parents, others hoped to win the favor of a powerful prince. They knew they had a slim chance at ascending to a throne, but they could get favors and boost their house's power. Or simply have a pleasurable night.

The music slowed, and attention turned to the throne. Father offered Mother his hand, and she accepted. The room bowed to Her Majesty. Mother was, truly, a beautiful woman. She had scars, but they weren't ugly. Her eyes sparkled in a way Nehemia rarely saw- mostly during her or Braxon's birthdays. She expected to see more it for little Marion's birthdays as well.

Mother and Father danced in the center of the room, everyone watching them. Thats when Nehemia saw that Braxon had found a girl his age- probably the daughter of a foreign king- and held her hand. It was adorable, Nehemia thought to herself. Though she was already thinking of ways to tease him about it.

Finally, they came to Nehemia and Jaton. Father took her into a Father-Daughter dance while Mother took Jaton into a dance. No doubt to give him a few thinly-veiled threats as to what would happen if he hurt her daughter.

Jaton seemed to find them funny, and Nehemia thought that to be a good thing. Her family made lots of threats, mostly in jest. A sense of humor is a must for any long-term members of the household.

Evangeline burst into the room, and all attention turned to her.

"Raiders." She said to Mother. Aelin's dress, beautiful as it was, burned away in an instant to reveal armor and a sword.

"Guards, keep the foreign royals safe. If they wish to take charge of their own safety, let them. I advise you all to stay in the castle. Raiders are annoying, but they rarely get anywhere near the palace. My Queensguard will keep you safe. If your room has a window..." She said, unsheathing her sword and walking out the door. "Enjoy the show."

Nehemia patted Jaton on the chest. "Fight with me?"

"This is going to be an interesting place to live." Nehemia was already walking out the door.

"You have no idea."

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Raiders were an annoyance to all nations. Groups of bandits that occasionally weasled into a city and began to... Well, raid. Most avoided killing civilians, since that was just an unnecessary death sentence and was more likely to bring a full-blown retaliation. But, they still caused a lot of damage.

Nehemia drove her sword, Hellfire, through a raider before bringing it in a wide arc, forcing the next two back. Jaton brought his ax down into a bandit where he fought in the street. Nehemia feinted right and stabbed left, bringing him to his knees. She took a hidden knife and jammed it into the last one's throat. She took her sword out of the second and took his head off. A thud shook the ground from behind her.

The raiders began to flee.

Nehemia turned to see Mother, flaming as ever, riding Phoenix. The flames ceased. She addressed the nearest soldier.

"Find a commander. Have damage assessed and reported immediately. Normal procedures. Have the message relayed throughout the city. It seemed to be a standard raid."

"This is standard?" Jaton asked, his ax on his back. "Orynth is a beautiful city, but... Perhaps security is a bit lax."

"Raiders rarely kill, and rarer so on purpose. And the raider leaders usually send the killers to us in chains as appeasement. Things can be replaced, and its cheaper than redoing the entire security system of a city this big." Aelin said.