The atmosphere was tense, to say the least. Illya sat at the head of a long table, tapping her finger on the armrest of her chair. Crossing one leg over the other and propping herself up with her other hand, her intense gaze drifted across the table.
"Takeru, stop flirting with my sister." She scolded the man to her right. He was a tall, handsome man with dark hair and a cocky grin.
He laughed. "Apologies Highness. I couldn't help myself. I was simply taken with her beauty after having not seen her for a while....and you don't give me any attention sooo..."
The last part was more muffled and whispered under his breath. The woman to the left of Illya rolled her eyes.
"Oh please, his silly squabbling is nothing but nonsense."
Takeru placed his hand on his chest, pretending to be injured.
"Ouch. You wound me, my Queen."
"I'm not your Queen," Araht fired back.
Takeru put the joking aside and shrugged his shoulders, looking away from her slyly. "Heh. With that attitude, I wouldn't want you to be. And you wonder why you aren't married yet."
Takeru was usually quite the gentleman towards women especially, but for whatever reason, he just couldn't help himself to tease the young Queen. Araht's cold exterior cracked and pink cheeks replaced her indifferent frown.
"Wha—you dare to—Sh-Shut up!!" She crossed her arms more bashfully than defensively.
"King of Kin, stop bringing us off topic." A stern, scarred woman scolded the King.
"As cold as always I see. Vanaleigh you ought to learn to loosen up a little." Takeru jested.
"And you ought to learn to be more serious. How on earth you became a King is beyond me."
"Come on guys!! The Queen is gonna blooooww!" A short, upbeat girl kicked her feet under the table as she giggled.
"I agree with Phoebe. We should get back on task here."A strong, low voice rasped out across the table. Everyone turned to a tall, muscular man. He had awful bags under his eyes and stroked his beard tiredly. He was very clearly the more mellow of the group.
"Tomorrow is the day we face King Sana. We should take extra care in reviewing our strategy." The man spoke clearly and with a voice of reason.
The Eclipse Order had come together to discuss their plans for tomorrow. Illya had created the order back when she had just become Queen, in an effort to strengthen her stability as one of the world's powerhouses. It consisted of her sister Araht Haan, Queen of the Raan Empire, a place that Illya had helped her to build after their brother destroyed Araht's homeland. Takeru, King of the Kin Empire, an ally to their enemy and part of the enemy's order. Vanaleigh, head of the militarily defense in Gobeithio, a place renowned for their army. Phoebe, head scientist at the ancient technician lab in Myahm Agana and Themis, chief of Celestia, land of the old gods.
The group broke into a series of disorganized chatter until a sharp sigh from Illya silenced them. Illya straightened up and made no effort to hide her irritation. Perhaps it was a combination of her pregnancy and general nerves before a battle, either way, they all knew that making Illya anymore irate than she already was, was less than advisable. Illya's gaze softened when she saw her son's walk into the room with Tekina and Kaito.
"...Avarice...good of you to show up today..." Said Illya.
Avarice simply scoffed at her and crossed his arms. "I'm only hear to listen to the plan so I know what to do in case something goes wrong. You may not treat me like it, but I'm still a Prince of this country."
All eyes darted towards Illya. She looked like she was about ready to slap Avarice, but somehow managed to calm herself, long enough to glance over at Tekina and Kaito
"You came as well?"
The first thing they did was bow to their former superior. Phoebe smiled. "Nice tah see ya again!!" She chirped.
Tekina turned to Illya, deciding to try and move things along instead of add to the awkwardness.
"It was my suggestion after all. It only makes sense that I come to help. Kaito and I were thinking of ways to strengthen the forces around Solaria and we came to the conclusion that while you and the order are on the front lines, The princes and us will stay here in Solaria to defend against any ambushes that crafty King may have planed."
Illya nodded. "Yes, that is a good idea. I can guarantee you that if his negotiations fail at the islands, he'll target the country while I'm away from it. You shouldn't have too much trouble as long as you're able to prevent them from getting any further than the gates to the country. Sindaria is across the sea but our barriers are top notch so they won't be able to circle around us either."
"That's reassuring at least." Kaito pipped up.
"So let's go over a rundown of the plan one last time."
Illya nodded. "Alright. Takeru, Araht and Themis will come with me to confront Sana. Takeru will keep them hidden underwater, to make it look like I came alone. When things start to get heated, they can come out but in the worst case, Takeru will take us all underwater to escape. If Sana does send his army to attack Solaria, Vanaleigh and her army will be waiting on ships to intercept them. Whatever gets through is going to be your job to handle."
Illya gestured towards Tekina and the others.
"Phoebe will stay with you to provide technical support. My army will work alongside you to hold off Sindarian advances in Solaria. "
Phoebe grinned. "Yup yup! I wanna test out my new babies!! I can't wait to see the stupid look on Sana's face when I make his army go ssssSNAP!" She giggled.
Illya stood up to conclude the meeting. "We move out at dawn! May the goddesses of my Aruma An watch over us and let us return victorious!"
Everyone was more than ready to go. The morale was high and so were the cheers. That wouldn't last long, however. Avarice stood behind his brothers, watching everyone's ecstatic antics. His eyes settled on his mother. She had always loved the thrill of battle and despite her many failures, victory did indeed run in her veins. However, Avarice had a strong feeling that she was about to taste the sweet song of defeat once more.
"Yes...our assault beings at daybreak," he whispered to himself with a smile on his face.