Iftia: Royal Palace, On the Way to the Conference Room
• Rowan •
The walk down this grand hallway never felt so dreadful until this moment. Ilias explained everything to him on the way back to Lyx and Tristan had made a hurried trip to the Royal Medical Department to get Elianna. Everything happened in a rush and his mind was still preoccupied with the impending doom that may happen from Gadiel's fall.
A sudden warmth encased within his palm causing him to pause in his steps as he turned to glance towards his beautiful wife. She held worry in her expression, but spoke to him in the most reassuring tone, "You're not alone, Rowan. We're in this together."
"You're right, love." Somehow the air that passed through his lungs seemed to be a little less pressured when he closed in tighter on her hand, interlocking their fingers to firm his hold on her. He repeated her words, "We're in this together."
He continued towards the conference room. This time, he stood straighter with confidence, knowing that he was no longer alone in this cruel twist of fate and everyone who stood behind them became a source of strength to him.
He would fight till the end — for his family up above, for his family in this realm and for everyone who stood by him.
For all that's worth, he would not fear.
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• Elianna •
The guard outside the room announced their presence in a clear voice before the door was pushed open to reveal the tension within. There was no sound from within, not even a single breath was heard and it was as though breaking this pin-drop silence would immediately fracture the longstanding peace in Iftia.
Officials picked their faction, wearing colours to support the reign they would pledge fealty to. They crossed the room, marching past the wide tapestries that hung high on each end of the conference hall — crimson red for those who stood by the current regnant monarch and admiral blue for those who believed in a new reign over the Kingdom.
The Queen of Iftia stood near the entrance and Elianna eyed towards her as she walked in, noticing that Silvestra had her gaze on her all along. Her glare was menacing, condescending even. Yet, Elianna knew that she was simply trying to shake her confidence and instil doubt; the very two things that she would never disappoint Rowan with. Elianna remained unperturbed, holding a polite smile in response to the unnecessary intimidation as she continued to walk beside Rowan. They brushed past the Queen, walking towards their seats and settled down.
The mediator was the first to break the tense silence when he mentioned, "Two factions had been called upon to the conference hall today to discuss an official decision for the Regency Act. Please commence."
She sat straight in her seat, and Rowan also remained composed beside her. His gaze was sharp as he focused on the other end of the conference hall, seemingly trying to study his opponent — especially when no one could expect what the Queen of Iftia hid beneath the confident smirk. Silvestra's supporters also appeared too placid for such a situation. Elianna pinched her brows together, recalling the faint scent of oleander when they crossed path with one another a moment ago. Her crafty expression and the poisonous fragrance that remained in her wake. All of a sudden, Gadiel's fall didn't seem so coincidental anymore.
"This would be a solemn period for the Kingdom. My husband had unfortunately fallen into a critical state and while the Royal Doctors work their hardest to resuscitate him, the Kingdom cannot be without a ruler," Silvestra said, displaying a false show of emotions. "I am deeply grateful for everyone present as we continue to consider Iftia's prosperity from this moment forward."
"Please pardon my interruption, Your Majesty," Marquis Clorance, an elected nobleman into the mediating panel, interjected and peered towards the Queen. He asked, "May I know if Prince Matthias has been informed of this conference? His Highness may not be interested in politics but this is still an official conference which requires his and his consort's presence."
"I am very sure Matthias has been informed, and everyone here would know that my dear son has always been the least interested in attending these official affairs," Silvestra responded politely, exhaling a pretentious motherly laugh. Facing Rowan, she gestured with subtle hostility dancing in her hazel eyes, "Regardless, please do not let his late arrival disrupt the discussion and I am sure that the First Prince is capable enough to provide his initial take on this dire situation."
"That's inappropriate, Your Majesty," Rowan said coldly and the temperatures within the conference hall plummeted with ferocious intensity. Silvestra was simply provoking him but Rowan would not fall into the simple trap of offending the regnant monarch in front of everyone in this conference hall by disregarding the ranks and customs.
A wave of unease rippled within Elianna, pushing her back into an unnatural stiffness. It wasn't because of the sudden change in Rowan's demeanour but the unexpected chaotic energy that stirred in the air. Her eyes scanned across the entire room, studying everyone's expression and stopping when she noticed a lady with the same amber-coloured eyes, staring right at her from the opposite end of the hall.
Her appearance flickered between a normal-looking nobleman and a beautiful lady with ivory blonde hair. Glamour. Elianna was sure that she saw through the glamour that they used to hide her appearance with. Both of them appeared equally surprised as they looked at one another before her vermilion-stained lip tipped up to reveal her sharp canines. At that moment, Elianna realised.
Though it was all too late.
Silvestra rose from her seat and the entire faction stood on her cue. Bodies crouching forward and in an instant, all glamours were released to reveal an entire pack of silver-white wolves that stared over from the other end of the conference hall. They positioned themselves low in stance, prepared to strike when the first opportunity arrives. Wolves were known to test their preys, sensing vulnerabilities to secure their hunt and one thing for sure, they're going to thrive in this entire place that now reeked of fear. Silvestra continued, "I would like to command the regency."
"P-Preposterous!" Earl Bordelon stammered, clutching tightly onto his blue tie as he tried to demand some form of negotiation.
A white wolf jumped from his place and attempted to strike but Rowan drew his sword and flickered forward, counting the tackle effortfully and protected the Earl from a near ghastly and bloody death. In a calm voice, Rowan said, "Earl Bordelon, please settle down."
The Earl did as he was told and a low whistle sounded, signalling for the canid to retreat. Everyone returned to their seats once again and Rowan declared in a grave tone, "The regency shall remain to the regnant monarch and the current Queen of Iftia shall be the appointed regent."
Elianna turned her head to the side sharply to face Rowan, noticing that his expression was unusually taut and his jaw tightened so hard together that they were almost gnashing. His knights and his supporters refused to utter a single word thereafter, knowing that they had been cornered and with the strength present in this hall, it was impossible to fight a winning battle against the bunch of therianthropes. The force behind Silvestra was grimly forbidding. Without any way forward, all of them could only take a step back to prevent unnecessary bloodbath.
Silence prevailed as the paperwork gets written by the mediating panel. At this moment, the lady with amber-coloured eyes sauntered across the hall and stood right in front of Elianna. Her ivory blonde hair feathered past her shoulder and gathered into a heap on the smooth velvet surface of the tabletop. Rowan was about to push himself off the chair when Elianna stretched her arm out to halt his action. She wanted to know the deal of this wolf queen.
The wolf queen leaned close to her and Elianna felt her own fear lodging in her throat but she remained unmoved. When they met eye-to-eye again, Kynthia said, "You're the blessed child."
"What about it?" Elianna asked.
Kynthia didn't utter any more words thereafter but the pressure in the air hiked up another notch and the air felt so heavy that it was getting difficult to breathe. Rowan was the cause of it as he stared at the wolf queen and warned icily, "Get away from her."
"Very interesting," Kynthia scoffed, walking away from her as she returned to her seat. The unsettling feeling lingered as she endured through the current segment of the whole conference with the alpha staring right at her, watching her every move.
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Iftia: Nvre Palace, Study
• Matthias/Lyra •
Raising her hands and pressing them tightly against her ears, Lyra was unable to get rid of the ring that tortured her since earlier in the day. It was the same pool of hateful emotions that filled her from the day Matthias disappeared into unconsciousness. She tried to fight them, refusing to feel any of them but the harder she fought the stronger these emotions haunted her like a poltergeist.
"Stop it!" she screamed, clenching a hand against her chest and nails almost clawing into the skin.
A weakness she felt caused her to fall on her knees as her vision blurred with darkness dancing in her vision with each passing moment. The umbrae of hatred obscured her view, preventing her from seeing what was ahead. She stretched her hand towards the door and kept shouting for help. Then, she remembered that Nvre was in chaos the moment the Royal Secretariat of Iftia left an official document. Naailah hurried towards the Royal Palace together with Matthias' knights and the only ones left here were the children and her. Naailah pleaded her to watch over Indira and Arell who were playing in the nursery at the end of the hallway, knowing that the Queen may have something up her sleeves when they summoned everyone to the Royal Palace.
Lyra wanted to keep her promise to Naailah. She wanted to fight until Matthias regain his consciousness. But the enigma within her was growing and she was losing control over her mind. The ward that Naailah blessed Matthias with had shielded him from the Queen's gift of manipulation but she wasn't spared from it.
Lyra had been fighting against the Queen's influence against her as she struggled to wake Matthias from within. Falling on her side, she slumped against the ground, crying and groaning. A flash of red hovered over her eyes before everything else fell apart — there was only so much a person could endure.
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The next time Lyra opened her eyes again, she pushed herself up and reached for the door to walk out of the study. Pivoting her feet towards the nursery, she entered. Arell was the first to catch sight of her and he greeted, "Uncle Matthias, are you here to see Indy? She had just fallen asleep."
"Yes, Arell," she smiled. "I'm here to take Indira."
"Where are you taking Indy to?" Arell dropped his head to the side and asked, curiosity peaking in his blue-gold eyes.
"You can come along too, little Arell."
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a/n: i'm sorry i wasn't feeling it these few days to post anything and am kinda overwhelmed by life. but i'm back and fully armed with some plot thickener.
*maniacal laughter*
i also wanted to say thank you to @Scintillahx for helping me out with this chapter. she's the sweetest and most beautiful human being and her works are exceptional. here's a fanaesthetic that i did for her tangled series some time ago. trust me, you guys are going to fall in love with these two.
please vote and comment if you're enjoying the read!