Impractical (Complete)

Chapter 17: The War Council

Aiyana hadn't been able to see Fox since she had heard the record Zahra had sent. She had had no other attacks with such a searing pain but every time she thought of it, it sent a shock of fear running through her body and settling in her heart. She did not know what was wrong with her body but she had to trust it. One day, she'd go see a physician.

But nothing could be wrong.

Right?

Ravenna had been stunned to silence for several hours after listening to Zahra's voice. By the next morning, she had brightened again, seemingly trying to distract herself. Aiyana's head was spinning after a sleepless night of guard work but she was pacified by the fact that Ravenna was required in court all of today, promising a day of sleep. She watched as maids bustled in, dunking Ravenna into a bath, brushing her silky, shiny hair, dressing her in grey furs. At her full height, Ravenna was a version of her foreign mother.

The first official meeting of war action had been declared, scheduled for the day. Normally, Aiyana would have been curious but the subject was so depressing that she just wanted to block it out for a bit. She hoped Fox would be off duty. She just wanted to be in his calming presence until she could settle her soul.

Shadowing her mistress, Aiyana thought about how she could consider the Princess as her friend. She would be sad to leave. They marched to the throne room and a sudden urgency gripped Aiyana. She had to ask about Arkin. She had been patient enough. It was time. She needed to know.

She needed to.

A few seconds hesitation followed as she tried to phrase her words. "Princess, am I permitted to ask a question... concerning the soldiers of the war?"

Ravenna shot her a curious glance, her cheekbones accentuated by her makeup. She nodded in assent.

"Do your prisoners of the Palace get sent to the enemy line?"

Arkin counted as a prisoner.

"Prisoners?" Ravenna said, surprised. "Glacio has no prisoners. Palace or otherwise. We had this huge issue about how people wanted to get arrested because the standards of prisons in Glacio as a country were so high. So we changed our policies. Everyone who's arrested just does service. We barely have any crime!"

"So no political prisoners?"

Shaking her head, "None at all."

Damn.

Damn damn damn.

Arkin wasn't in Glacio after all. The world around her was shattering, her heart fluttering madly in her chest. He wasn't there. She had no idea where he was at all. She had failed him. Her breath was stuck in her throat. She didn't know what had happened to him. He could be anywhere in the world, spirited away by pirates or... or anyone.

Aiyana couldn't breathe. Her anxiety had been cooped up for so long, bottled inside her stomach. It was overspilling, falling over her stomach lining, creeping into her heart, lungs, and throat. She couldn't swallow, she couldn't hear a word. Everything seemed to expand into endless space and time.

Suddenly, the throne room was in front of her. Aiyana bowed politely, not realising it would be the last time she would see Ravenna. She turned on her heel as soon as the doors were pulled shut by two guards on duty.

Then the tears started to flow. She had no way of stopping them. She had tried so hard. Everything she did for him always seemed to fall to pieces. Aiyana felt so insignificant that she couldn't believe she was still living. The knives in her pocket jutted into her hip bone and she had never been so aware of their presence.