Raven

Chapter 17 - Raven

The stone walls are alive with the whispers of the court. Whispers of judgement, disapproval and some of hate. I should expect nothing less, royal courts are vicious, I was always told so by my parents. These whispers are the opinions these noblemen, noblewomen and even some of the servants. They're saying how unfit I am to be Queen. Some of these people are extremely harsh critiques.

Dressed in a pretty, dark purple gown, I step into the Great Hall. It's one of the largest rooms in the entire castle, only the ballroom is larger. There are many windows along two parallel walls to give us light, a great, rectangular wooden oak table stretching down the middle of the room, lined with seats at all sides. At the head of the table is a seat slightly larger and grander than the others. It was once my father's but now, it is mine. As they notice my entrance, all the nobles look up from their seats at the table.

'Are you a bird?' Someone asks rather rudely. 'You look like one with those wings.'

I raise my eyebrows, folding my arms over my chest. 'No, I am your Queen, so treat me with some respect' I reply, 'like you did with my father.'

Glancing at one another, my court rises from their chairs. 'Your Majesty,' they murmur, heads bowed in respect.

I am a little surprised, yet pleased that they responded in such a way. With my head held high and my confidence boosted, I walked past them all on my way to the head of the table. Upon reaching my destination, I turn to face them all. 'Seat yourselves,' I order but not without kindness in my voice. Once they have all obeyed, I sit down in my chair, ready to begin. I had planned to rest last night but had found myself worrying about this. So I had asked for the files containing the kingdom's current issues and read them all. I had wanted to be as prepared as possible and show my court up.

'As I'm sure you're all aware, Zaraeli has a large and still growing number of missing people in the south-east region,' I say, pulling a map out from where I'd shoved it in my belt earlier and unfolded it, smoothing out on the table. I pointed to the area in which the people were going missing and then tapped a spot in the forest nearby. 'There is a known group of Queen Bronwen's forces here. It is possible that the missing people have been joining them. There were reports that the forces there were growing larger just before there were enough missing people for it to be noticeable even by us here in the castle.'

'How do we know more of her forces didn't join those already there?' A young nobleman questions. I look to him, with his mane of black hair and green eyes, and smile, pleased that he had asked a question I could actually answer.

'Well, Malcolm is it?' I see him nod and continue. 'You see, our sources watch the forces there rather closely, especially the surrounding area to see if anymore forces join them. No one has come to her forces' camp other than the supply wagons in over two months, well before the numbers rapidly increased. We can only assume that these new additions to the forces are our own people, either forced or willingly to join them.'

Another man clears his throat. When I glance at him, I see that this middle-aged man is Frederick, a rather annoying nobleman that always questions and likes the sound of his own voice, according to my father. He had always said he disliked Frederick the most out of all the noblemen. Now I was about to find out how true everything anyone had ever told me about this man was. 'How, exactly, do you plan on getting these people back? We can't just storm in there!' He tells me.

I nod, 'I know we can't. But we can't go after them if these people chose to join Bronwen.'

'Why not!' He demands to know.

I try to remain calm, this man hasn't said much to me yet but he's already on my nerves. 'Because, Frederick, people have free will. If these people chose to leave our kingdom, they are no longer a part of it. However, I doubt that they left willingly. People who leave their families by choice usually say something about it. We have forty missing men and not one of their families knows a thing about how or why they're gone.'