LUNA: The Rebellion

43: Betrayal

Midnight had us deployed before they start marching up North again. Pagkatapos naming mag-ayos ay hindi na kami nagtagal pa at umalis kami kaagad. Hindi na kami nagdala ng maraming gamit ni Arius lalo pa't hindi naman kailangan na marami kaming bitbit. Sinabihan ko na 'rin si Arius na dalhin lang ang mga armas na kakailanganin niya at wala ng iba. We weren't going to travel by foot anyway, at hindi 'rin kami lilipad. Aside from the fact traveling was too time consuming, we ought to go back as soon as possible.

Since the Ladon's palace had its own protection barrier, Midnight could only teleport us a mile away from the capital city. Up on an elevated land was where Midnight had decided to drop us off. Roon kami nag ibang anyo ni Arius para lumipad papunta sa capital. I growled from the pit of my stomach, making sure every citizen of my kingdom would be aware of their Queen's arrival.

Every flying dragon in the sky dropped onto the ground, transforming back into their human form. It was their way to acknowledge my presence. The townspeople had stopped in their tracks as I flew past them, and I was slightly relieved there was no hint of Francis's doings. No suspicious movements from anyone. At least not yet.

Upon our landing at the palace's open balcony, saktong dumating si Ravi. May nakasunod sakanyang dalawang linya ng mga mandirigma para ata saakin. I did not stop the momentum of my walk to the war council and Ravi was a foot behind me in a matter of seconds. Arius followed from behind us and the warriors followed behind him.

"Casualties?" Was the first thing I wanted to know.

"Hindi ko aakalain na dadating ka" It wasn't my intention to notice the drag in his voice, as though he hadn't been drinking water nor eating for days. I side-eyed him. "I didn't want to give you more problems---

"Ravi"

"Francis had killed two court members and declared himself a threat to the crown. No, he did not touch the city and the people. He took off and went into hiding, bringing with him half of the Ladon's army" words after words after words. He did not stop. We took a turn to the right and he continued. "We have received a letter from him this morning. Specifically written for the Dragon Queen. It was for you, Your Majesty"

I hummed, my anger on a tight leash. "And the other sons?"

"Sinama niya ang mga ito"

I unintentionally rolled my eyes. "And you hadn't been able to stop him from killing two of my court members because?"

Out of the corner of my eye, Ravi swallowed. Hard. "Francis poisoned them"

Napantig ang tenga ko sa narinig. "Poisoned?"

"Only then did he behead them and impaled their decapitated heads on the palace's gates for us to see"

We did not stop when we reached the doors of my war council, two guards automatically opened them the moment they saw us coming. Pagpasok namin ay siyang tayo ng mga ibang miyembro ng korte ko mula sakanilang mga upuan. They all bowed down their heads and respectfully greeted me as I took my spot at the head of the table. Clearing his throat, Ravi took his seat on my right while Arius stood a step behind me, on my left. When I gestured the rest of them to sit down, umupo kaagad sila.

Magsasalita na sana sila—- clearly they were wary enough to idiotically lose patience in front of me, but I spoke first, kaya wala silang choice kundi tumahimik at makinig.

"Yung sulat"

Agad na binigay saakin ni Ravi ang sulat. Nasakanya lang pala. "Francis did not make an uproar at the capital city, kaya naisipan na lang 'din namin na hindi ito inanunsyo sa mga dragon sa ibaba. It is also to avoid the townspeople from panicking. Ngunit ibinahagi niyang sa susunod niyang bisita ay hindi na magiging kanais nais pa muli"