A Timely Knight

A Broken Kingdom

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"Your Grace? Your Grace?"

Estella turned to face the Minister. "I'm sorry? I must've dozed off. What's this about?"

The lights had dimmed in her Council Room. She had been there for the majority of the day, trying to make order out of the chaos that reigned over Makina.

In front of her, the Minister, an old, fragile-looking man, sat behind a tall stack of old, mistreated papers. Only two Actuators were present: Jonah Elton Graumon, who oversaw Makina's Foreign Affairs, and Emilia Ella Pimbleton, head of Arts and Culture.

The rest of the Actuators had perished during the throne room battle. Per the accounts of those who participated in the fight, four of them had tried attacking the crowd of noblemen and women who had gathered to bear witness to Raynard's trial. The Actuators, like the Princes, were said to have spat a blue, oil-like substance from their mouths, which caused severe burn wounds in at least thirty nobles, seventeen of which died within the hour; five died the following day, six remained in critical condition and only two had managed to recuperate.

Buford, still In shock, sat next to the Actuator of Arts, trying his best to process the large amount of information that was being said. His attitude wasn't surprising. He had always been the least intelligent of her four children.

What was unexpected was Lady Livilla's reaction to this whole situation. Abruptly finding herself in line to become Makina's new Queen, Livilla had grabbed the bull by the horns. She got involved as soon as the Minister began discussing the official succession matters, actively questioning and even challenging her future obligations.

Now, even after hours of debate, Livilla seemed as ready as ever. The fright and anxiousness hadn't left her face, but the woman seemed to be doing her best to set them aside and she was, for the most part, succeeding at it.

"It's quite alright, Your Grace," the old man said with a soft smile. "The necessary arrangements have been made regarding the fallen soldiers from the recent battle."

"What arrangements are those?" Lady Livilla straightened in her chair, looking alive.

"Well, Makinian tradition states that any soldier who might fall during battle shall be honoured by the Royal and SteelCorps in the Steel Dome. A life pension shall also be given to their families, under the condition that they never leave Makinian soil."

Estella heard herself asking. "This, of course, doesn't include those soldiers who supported my sons in their coup against the Crown, correct?"

The Minister nodded at once. "Indeed. Those men have been denounced by the RoyalCorps, their bodies burnt in the mass grave per the orders of Captain Batchelor."

"Good." Estella breathed a sigh of relief.

"And our army? How many losses have we sustained?" Livilla asked in hesitation.

"A great deal, Your Royal Highness." The Minister looked in the stack of papers for a few seconds, before taking out a large parchment, wrinkled from one too many uses. "Sixty-eight are deceased: Forty-seven perished during the throne room battle; of those, twenty-eight were working alongside the Princes. The eleven remaining died the following day, all presenting burn wounds far beyond what any of our Physicians had ever witnessed."

"That means thirty-two RoyalCorps remain in the city and are in optimal fighting condition," Estella concluded and the Minister nodded solemnly. "How many are there spread around Makina?"

"Five hundred spread around the Kingdom, Your Grace."

"Establish guard rotations. Assign a group of at least ten guards to protect my son and the Lady Livilla. Do the same for Princess Electa and the Viscount."