SIXTH BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴.
Xanthiene Vivenca has to find allies and legendary objects of po...
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Without a word, she stood up. All noise died down. Conversations halted. Heads turned to her, waiting. Um... "Heirs and thrones only, please," Xanthy had to set her tone to be loud but not rude. What came out was a voice she didn't recognize. It carried authority—something she was used to not having.
Slowly, the soldiers and workers shuffled away. Most muttered to themselves about pending work to be done. Airese walked up to Xanthy and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You sure you won't need us?" her mother asked.
Xanthy shook her head and squeezed her mother's hand. "It'll be fine," she said mostly to herself rather than to her mother. "I promise."
Airese didn't speak, no doubt knowing everything Xanthy wasn't saying. "Alright," she patted Xanthy lightly on the shoulder and exhaled. "We'll be in the command tent, beating the heck out of Eldan in karavag."
Xanthy had to smile at that. She watched her parents, her aunt, and their friends file out of the mess of benches and isolated bonfires and disappear to their tents. Silence.
"Um," Xanthy started. "I gathered you all today to hear a proposition of mine."
Proposition of mine? Who in Queen's stockings says that?
The air seemed to have turned into butter with her chest constricting as it tried taking in air and failed. She exhaled and rubbed her hands together to quell the shaking. "I-I have the privilege to know what the Heiress and the Sovereign are truly planning," she said. "Some of you might not know it while some already have an idea but I wish to find a common ground with you all."
Nobody spoke. All stared at her with expectant gazes. Reeca, from her perch beside Kennen (when had she gotten there? In fact, when had the heirs gotten closer?), sighed and scratched at her temples absently. Her legs were crossed. It was a picture of disinterest but Xanthy couldn't be bothered.
"Our enemies are planning to enter Parkane," Xanthy continued. She expected a few oh's around but the heirs remained quiet. Even June beside her was staring at his boots, with eyebrows drawn together. "Before you tell me that it's all a myth, well...rest assured that it's not. The Heiress and the Sovereign are planning to enter the Arbotro's dwelling and they can't do that without the thrones."
Xanthy took a deep breath and started pacing. "That's why I gathered you all here and your thrones as well," she tried her best to not look at any of her audience's eyes even though she was sure theirs were already following her as she moved. "The Heiress and the Sovereign were planning to use the Virtakios to meld the thrones into a single entity to easily unlock Arbotro's gates."
A few scuffles ensued. Ariden started talking to Jonadrin about the existence of the Arbotro from the myths. The other heirs gave each other dubious looks before shrugging. Xanthy blew a breath and continued. "I figured, since the Heiress and the Sovereign are going to do it eventually," she said. "Then why not us first?"
