King of Spades

Rising Tensions

Delune had, of course, been present during the meetings with the Ambassadors and Generals. They had discussed everything from how other kingdoms were holding up to ways to protect the people above all else. Being in royal attire consistently for an entire week was exhausting, with the long dresses and extravagant coats.

"Delune, your parents need you in the Throne room." Delune had been reading about war strategy in the library, the old, yellowed pages smelling of dust. She looked up to see the Librarian, Miss Danielle Quincy. Danielle was quiet, reserved, and extremely knowledgeable.

"Understood, could you return this to the shelves for me?" Delune handed Danielle the book, a small novel written by an ancient general. She took the book and nodded, waving as Delune left the library and made her way to the throne room.

The castle was full of people, where normally only the first floor would be bursting with life. Delune made her way to the stairway, passing the twin woodcarvers that came from Silbenchester, the first town destroyed by monsters. They were whispering to each other in threadbare clothes, though Delune was sure they weren't talking about her, as they were admiring a painting of Seika the Strong. She stood in the cloak that now belonged to Sol, which Delune must admit she was jealous of the luxurious coat.

Near the stairs were a trio of girls in fancy dresses, likely the daughters of generals and ambassadors. Delune proffered not to talk to them, as she found their like of making fun of those they thought lesser of. As she passed, she heard them whispering about Sol, and felt her cheeks go hot with rage. How dare they talk about her injured sibling like that? She had no time to talk to them, however, because she was already down the stairs when she processed what they had said.

"I heard Sol went insane in the woods, and that there wasn't even a golem." One girl snickered, her gloved hands resting on the wooden balcony railing.

"I bet they just tripped over a rock or something, they're probably just faking being hurt for attention." A different girl sneered, smoothing down the third's pink dress. She spat out something at the poor third girl, who shrunk back, clearly wishing she was not there. Her dark skin didn't match the shade of pink she was wearing, which made Delune suspect that the two older, larger girls picked it out to make her feel worse than them. The third girl said nothing, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Delune had no more time to consider the girls, because she walked through the huge doors into the throne room. Her head held high, she looked up at her parents on the throne. throne room. She had been there just a few days earlier for the aforementioned ambassador and general meeting, which is the most she had ever been in her life. Usually, her parents preferred to keep their children out of the dealings of the higher polite society, as if it would "protect" their young minds. It didn't, and the three were always caught spying through a crack in the door.

"And my daughter, Delune, will be here soon to corroborate our story. We appreciate you coming here, Mrs. Vierna of Freina. I'm sorry about your attendants, you must be distraught." The King said, his hand holding the Queen's hand in between their thrones. Delune silently made her way around to the front of the throne room, standing next to her mother's throne.

Delune froze. She stared at Mrs. Vierna, her mouth pressed into a fine line. If what she had been reading was correct, she was staring at the Spirit of War, Guerre Polemos, in the flesh.

***

 Sol pushed open the back doors to the castle, laying eyes on the stables. They were going back to where that golem died, and no one was going to stop them. With a huff, they walked down the steps and hobbled across the neatly gardened lawn. The castle loomed over them, made of cobblestone and brick, with a layer of vines that always grew back no matter how many times they were cut.