Wielders

-:- chapter one -:-

Elena slouched against her chair, sighing with impatience. The meeting had been dragging on forever and frankly, she could be using her time productively and complete one of the millions of things she had left to do that day instead of sitting there and doing nothing.

Across the table, the queen narrowed her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, Elena?" she scolded in a hushed voice. "Sit up in your chair."

Elena frowned and sent a look towards her mother. Do I really have to?

The queen glared back. Don't argue with me.

Elena rolled her eyes. She sat up and inwardly groaned at how uncomfortable she was. Her foot had fallen asleep long ago and she desperately needed to get up and stretch.

The meeting should have ended thirty-seven minutes ago. However, the council members couldn't come to an agreement regarding the current status of the western troops. All of the men seated at the table had traveled from their own cities throughout Sage to discuss the increasing problems of the country and its relationship with neighboring countries. The meeting took place every few months. The current topic of discussion was regarding the group of soldiers being moved from Ashenn to Renhaven. They had been intercepted by a group of the Rebellion and had been battling for some time now. In order to come to a decision on the plan of action, six out of the ten council members had to agree on a solution. So far, the votes had been five against five.

She wasn't the only impatient one in the council room. Rylan Dunnivere, her third cousin, had long since fallen asleep in his chair with a foot propped up on his other knee. His dark brown, curly hair had flopped over his forehead as his head dangled over the side of his chair. She wouldn't be surprised if he started drooling. No one expected any more out of him, as it was a struggle to even get him to show up. However, despite his tendencies, Elena needed to be cordial to him, as he could prove to be a valuable ally in the future. He'd recently been appointed as the ruler of Lavinon, taking over most of his father's duties. His father was still capable of handling duties as a Duke so they both were balancing the role until Rylan was able to handle the responsibilities alone. 

A Lord across from her spoke. "As my question was posed earlier, what are we to do about the western troops? Their numbers are dwindling." Lord Marcus Lorraine, her father's largest trade partner, due to Aldridge's location on the coast. She knew from experience to consider his ideas wisely before shooting them down.

Across from her, Duke Magnus spoke up. "Marcus is right. Men can't hold off forever."

Captain Felling looked to Lord Marcus. "I have sent out two troops and six wagons of supplies to aid their forces. They should arrive within a few days. Our men can certainly hold off until then."

Captain Henry Felling was Ashenn's Captain of the Royal Guard. Everyone in the room knew well that crossing blades with him was a bad idea. They'd be on their asses in seconds. That was why she felt comfortable around him, knowing how safe she was. Growing up, he'd been an uncle figure to her and had helped raise her in a sense. He'd taught her most of what she knew about wielding a blade and the life of war.

"Is there any possible way to speed up the travel? Two days means more men lost," Marcus said.

Captain Felling shook his head firmly. "Not with that long stretch of land to cover. Our men are already working their hardest to get there swiftly."

The Lord nodded his head but set his mouth in a grim line. "And what news of Whitehold Fortress? What have our spies collected?"

"We're ... still working on that, unfortunately," her father said, grimacing. There were a few other grumbles around the room. He opened his mouth to speak again but decided against it.