Something Extraordinary

Chapter Nine - Chaos in the Palace

In the corridors, the majority of the guards were roaming around, discussing things in hushed voices. She rolled her eyes angrily. Did they think that General Arthur would stay within the palace once he had managed to escape? Incompetent fools, they were, Renée thought bitterly as she observed the chaotic scene.

Despite her threats, she knew it was unlikely that they would be able to find and capture General Arthur. He was exceptionally skilled at evading troops and combat, one of the main reasons why he had been promoted to Head General, Renée thought bitterly as she stormed through the corridors. At times she had second-guessed this decision due to his hardheadedness, but he had always paid her due respect, so she chose to overlook how he interacted with the other generals.

However, seeing him use this power to attack Alden was not something she could overlook, and she felt a gnawing guilt within her for allowing such a thing to happen. He had warned her prior to her decision to promote General Arthur and she had ignored his warnings.

She sighed and changed her destination, heading to Alden's chambers. In addition to being her late father's Head General, Alden had been somewhat of a parental figure to her, and despite her cold exterior, she could not bring herself to completely shut him out as well. The guard who slumped against the door jumped to attention the second that he spotted Renée. "Your majesty." He bowed his head and Renée almost rolled her eyes at the incompetency of her staff.

With an indication of her head, he respectfully stepped aside to allow the Queen passage. Renée entered the room and felt the seed of guilt grow as she saw the state of the older man's face.

"Your majesty." He attempted to step off the bed and bow, but Renée quickly rushed to stop him. Once she had him situated back in the bed, she flicked her wrist, magically sending the door slamming shut.

She turned back to Alden with a guilt-ridden expression. "I-" she started, but couldn't bring herself to continue or apologize.

He understood and hesitantly reached for her hand with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I've suffered worse in my years serving in your father's army, your majesty. Thanks to Miss Zali, I am perfectly fine."

"Is she not the cause of the dispute?" Renée said before she could stop herself.

"Certainly not! Regardless of her involvement in this particular interaction, it is merely one of many disputes between myself and that fool of a man. Please excuse my language, your majesty. Rather, it was her actions that finally allowed you to see Arthur for who he truly is."

"You appear to be quite fond of the girl."

"She has never given me any reason to feel otherwise." Alden responded without missing a beat.

"She attempted to assassinate me." Renée hissed angrily.

"I know that you don't truly believe that, your majesty." Alden replied firmly.

"She was found exactly where the arrow was determined to be fired from."

"And who determined that? Arthur?"

Renée froze. Endless possibilities began running through her mind and her head began to spin. It wasn't possible. General Arthur was many things but he was not a traitor. He wouldn't betray her, would he? She had given him everything and even promoted him to Head General despite certain oppositions to her decision. She forced herself to ignore the rampant thoughts as she responded to Alden. "General Arthur may be a hardhead, but he wouldn't betray Afronave."

"I cannot be certain of Arthur's intentions," Alden replied seriously, "but Miss Zali was found unconscious at the scene with no bow in sight."

"She could have gotten rid of it." Renée pointed out.

"I seriously doubt that." Renée raised an eyebrow, waiting for Alden to continue. "Your majesty, from the little time that I've spent with Miss Zali in the past week, I've seen that she is a genuine, kindhearted, and honest person. She has never complained about her current situation."

"You've barely spent any time with the girl." Renée spoke in an annoyed tone.

"But I trust her."

"Then what is her explanation for her presence at the scene? Where is she from?"

Alden hesitated at this. "She appears to suffer from a form of memory loss."

"Or she is hiding something."

Alden went silent again as if he was having an internal debate before speaking once more. "Look, your majesty, she did have an explanation, but I cannot make sense of it. She sounded entirely sincere, but I cannot understand her."

Renée's eyes narrowed. "And what did she say?"

Alden met the Queen's eyes solemnly. "She claimed that she was not from Afronave, yet she knew of here from a book that just mysteriously turned up. She claims that she was from another city where she attended something called a university. She claims that she was reading in her bedchambers one day and fell unconscious before arriving here." Alden paused upon seeing the Queen's stunned face.

"She sounded so serious when she was explaining, so genuine, that I cannot honestly believe that she was lying. I know none of this makes any sense, but...I believe her." He finished. He looked to the side to gauge Renée expression, but she had abruptly stood up and stormed out of the room wordlessly.

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*edited*

Oooh so how did Azalea end up here?🤔

-Cindy