Rebellion and New Life

Chapter 12

Chamberlain slept through the whole night. When he woke up the next morning, he was still tired, but he felt more refreshed. His natural waking system was attuned to waking up at dawn. He saw that he was in his own bed chamber. No wonder he had slept so well through the night.

He yawned and stretched out. "Hmm. Feels good." he said.

"How are you this morning?" La greeted him. He looked up at her.

"Refreshed after good sleep." he replied.

"Good. Ready for the Crystal ceremony?" she asked.

"Yes, SkekLa. Let's be up." he said. He got up and was about to go, but then realized something was missing. "Where are my robes?"

"Right here." La said, as she had them folded up in her hands. "Got them from Podlings this morning for you. They were cleaned and dried overnight."

"Good. Thanks." Sil took them from her and he quickly dressed. The two of them went down to join the other Skeksis in the Crystal chamber.

Everyone got in their places and got their daily dose of energy. Then they disbanded.

Sil and La went to their favorite hidden spot below ground and wanted to make love again. When La got a look at the injury on Sil's right leg that had been there, it was healed! It hadn't been there that long.

"My love, your leg is healed." She pointed out to him.

"Hm. Hadn't noticed. Essence must have healed it. Not know it could heal." Sil smiled at her.

"It has gotten rid of my achy joints." she smiled too.

"And my back pains." he admitted.

"The essence is good for something, but we really shouldn't kill all the Gelfling, Lord Chamberlain. We should keep them in moderation." La pointed out.

"I say that too, but Emperor and General don't listen. Even Scientist agrees, but does what Emperor say." Sil said. "I still aim to be Emperor one day."

"And how would you lead us?" La asked.

"With more peaceful ways. Try to negotiate peace with Gelflings again. Taking few at time to save the rest." Sil stated.

"I don't think they would go for even that, my love."

"Then by force. But try peaceful first. I make Skeksis follow my lead when it is my time to rule." Sil said.

They continued to just be themselves in their love that morning. They had needed to spend the extra time together to help especially Sil feel better. Some of his hormones were also making him feel like he needed mating almost as much as the essence and an over abundance of food; ever since he and La had discovered how fun it was.
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Things continued to be rocky over the coming days with each other and the Gelflings. All the Skeksis were preparing for a war to possibly start.

At this point in time, Chamberlain was at his 16th week of pregnancy. He had enjoyed his freedom from the morning sickness for weeks now, along with all the mating in his spare time. What he hadn't noticed was that his belly had begun to just barely start swelling, more than it already was naturally. But he had begun to notice that he was feeling some fluttering in his stomach. His demand for food kept growing.

Sil didn't really give the fluttering feelings much notice. They didn't hurt or make him sick. He just figured it was just digestion.

He was also still not in the Emperor's grace either. He did his best to please, but no cigar.

Some of the other Skeksis came back to the castle. They had been summoned back. All but the Mariner. She was away at sea. She still wasn't aware of what was going on.

SkekUng, Na, and Li had made their ways back to the castle. Mal also returned to the castle. He got at the Chamberlain's face. "Where is my trophy, Chamberlain? I warned you!"

"Rian is at Stone-in-Wood." Sil whined. "You can have him."

"Good. My hunt is not over with him yet." Mal snarled and he started to storm out.

"Wait, Hunter. Skeksis prepare for battle with Gelfling at Stone-in-Wood. Can fight along with us." Sil suggested. "Need every available Skeksis."

Mal stopped and turned. "I'll be out but close by. Call me when you are ready to leave for the fight." he demanded.

"Yes. Yes. SkekMal can now have his trophy." Sil replied.

Mal left the castle. He just couldn't be around his clan that much. Sil would make sure to keep that promise.

SkekUng was the Warrior at this time. He might not have been the smartest Skeksis, but he did suggest having an army to take on the Gelfling without them having to take them on all the time.

"An excellent suggestion, Warrior." SkekSo said.

"But how do we come up with such an army?" Sil asked.

"Could you come up with an army, Scientist?" So asked Tek.

"I would relish such a challenge, but it can't be drafted from nothing." Tek replied.

"Here is your something!" SkekVar came trudging in with an Arathim. It was dead after it had attacked him down in the catacombs.

"Yes, I could work with this." Tek agreed. He would be happy to work on this. "But not until after the battle."

"You will not be coming with us in the battle, SkekTek. Your talents lie elsewhere." the Emperor stated.

The Scientist was ticked that he wouldn't be able to come in the fight. He did make final touches on the Skeksis' battle armor. It had been many trines since any of them had had to wear them at all. It had been to stand by the Gelfling during that time, but time had taken its toll on the Skeksis and now, they were becoming enemies every day.

Not being able to go to the fight was something that really made his mind snap for awhile. Before departing the castle, Sil used the horn that would summon the Hunter, as promised.

In the end, all the Skeksis but the Scientist and Illustrator went into battle. La just wasn't a fighter. She stayed behind to get paperwork done for his excellency, the Emperor. She avoided Tek during his crazy time. La just hoped that Sil returned in one piece.

Rian was the leader of the Gelflings leading the battle against the Skeksis. He had found the Dual Glaive, something his father had once used too, in a battle against the Arathim.

The Skeksis were ready to go and have a good time; they were sure they would defeat their enemies. They had the night of the uprising at the castle. They all had their certain style of weapons on their armor that they wore, and were more than ready to use them.

While the others were gone, the Scientist had turned extremely grumpy and was copying trying to be the Emperor. He ordered snacks and wanted the Podlings to obey his commands, and nothing seemed to be going right for him, which ticked him off more. He was just more than ticked because he couldn't go into battle with the others.

La's decision to avoid Tek right now was the best thing she could do. Later, he ended up taking out his anger on the Gruenacks too. He killed them both for betraying him and fighting back. They had also tried to harm him too. The female had managed to get the thread out of her mate's mouth and he had declared that they weren't slaves. But the fighting with them had reminded Tek of his beetle encounter as well, which aided his mind snapping and made him reflect on all the abuse he had taken from his clan. But it also gave him an additional idea.
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Aughra had found SkekMal's counterpart brother, urVa the Archer. He was probably the fastest Mystic to be able to get around. Aughra knew what was about to happen and she talked to the Archer that he needed to stop the Hunter's hunt, or there were going to be a lot of innocent lives lost.

The Archer didn't want to do a certain part of it, but he knew he had to stop his dark half. He went to a place high in the mountains ready to do his part. He was also able to see through Mal's eyes what he was doing, and where he was going. He would end this hunt.