A Game of Cards

Chapter XX: Mayes Hayes Bloodbreak

A rush of ice coursed through my veins as I slowly took in her answer. The general was scrutinizing me, looking closely for anything unusual in my reaction. I forced a neutral posture and gave her none, but she still narrowed her eyes as if she found something bizarre.

"Have you caught the mysterious assailant?" I asked.

Onyx's glower seemed to have the message idiot written all over it. I knew she itched with a sarcastic retort, holding back only because of the formal setting. "If we had, we wouldn't have called a meeting of all the nations and we would have just dealt with the issue ourselves."

At the head of the table, Empress Desdemona scoffed. I had dined with that woman only once, and I didn't like her much. She was like a chastising grandma, but far too sharp to be deluded. I could tell that she disliked me the very moment she laid eyes upon my face, and my charms had been ineffective on her.

"Are you telling me that you summoned us all here for a meeting just because you'd seen some faceless shadow puppets?" the empress glared at Onyx. "Even if that is out of the ordinary, is it so alarming that you had to gather us all here for a meeting? They had said that you were a sharp girl, but you are foolish enough to waste our time just for this?"

Onyx did not seem to mind being insulted, and responded in a completely indifferent manner. "The face was not the only thing that made the shadow puppets different. Although faces are rare amongst shadow puppets, experienced puppeteers are able to sculpt them onto their creations. However, these puppets that had attacked the base were somehow immune to physical attacks, and magical ones seemed faze them only barely. Moreover, you may have heard that recently" —her glare cut to me— "Hearts had abducted a Spadian princess under the defense that Spades had attacked their capitol military base using shadow puppets. We had initially thought that Hearts was only using this as an excuse, but now, the possibility arises that there could had been an anonymous third party all along."

Empress Desdemona let out a strangled sound that might have been a mocking laugh. "So? With all due respect, General Ying, an unknown party attacking the military base of Spades and Hearts sounds like a problem that you should be dealing with. This does not affect us, nor is there anything we can do to help."

The general contemplated this for a second, mouth pressed together in all seriousness. The grave look on her face may have been chilling, had she not been wearing that ridiculous lacy gown that she was so clearly uncomfortable in. It was the first time in a long time that I had seen Onyx in such ladylike attire, and her discomfort was amusing, to say the least. The great Grand Commanding General Ying of Spades, brought to mercy by a ball gown. I wanted to laugh at the thought, but opted for a smirk instead. Her seating was also quite unfortunate; sitting amongst other generals several times her age could not have been enjoyable, and more than once I had caught her staring longingly at her siblings as if wishing to join their conversation. Like a little dog staring longingly at a treat, I wanted to add, taking a sip from the goblet to mask my sneer. The sneer was wiped off my face when a sour and spiced liquid hit my throat, reducing me to a coughing fit.

Onyx's next words were smooth and calculated, reeking of an undoubtable logic. "First the puppeteer attacked Hearts. Then it attacked Spades. Where do you think it would attack next? I doubt it would be the Sunken Middlelands or Strazanda City. Want to take a guess?"

The empress stilled, sitting straighter as if her perfect posture was not already straight enough. "From what I know, most shadow puppeteers come from your country..." she trailed off. "Was that a threat, General?"

"Of course not," Onyx replied, her eyes widening. "What I meant to say is—"

It was at the worst moment that the Spadian seneschal – whose name I remembered was Yinli or Yangli or something – spoke. "Sorry! Sorry, Your Majesty. Our general is young and naïve, she spoke rashly and out of order, please do not take any offense!"