THIRD BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘺. 𝘈 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴.
Two sides of the same coin are brought to the light...
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Elred strode through the halls of the Vertinso Mansion, her bare feet making no sound against the glinting floor. The spike-studded ceiling glared at her as it towered over in its domed expanse. It's as if it's threatening to start fracturing any time soon.
Her fists clenched by her sides. Her nerves and muscles felt like they've aged a hundred years in the past week. Which was bad since her mother could sense old age from a mile away.
Elred and Reeca were in the middle of hashing it out with the Herkalyn clan in Xixora after getting the nobles from Gingow to cooperate and spread word out to Eryphos and Loni as fast as they could when the summons from Abshire came. That required Elred to leave Reeca with the evacuation plans, rush back to Abshire, and meet her husband for a cup of morning cousa.
A ball of guilt dropped in Elred's stomach. She had meant to tell Savel about everything that's been going on over those past few days but she couldn't just get a proper timing with either her father hogging Savel or Reza demanding her attention. She couldn't just leave him purse his lips while forcing himself to understand her excuses and absences. It's her duty to acquaint him with the royal way of things so he could reign with her when she was crowned Helinfirth's Queen. He's already suffering under the clan's expectations. Elred didn't need to add to that with her secrets.
Still, she didn't hear Savel complain, not even once. It seemed to make the ball of guilt in her gut bigger and heavier. She strode through the mansion's grand corridors and past the carved head of Zagwyn, a mythological monster that looked like a fancy version of a pelgar with tail fit for a snake. She's nearing the court hall.
Elred sighed. It was all a mistake. The Sovereign had promised Elred assistance in transforming Helinfirth into a fortress like Peltra back when Elred asked for Synketros's help. It was for the benefit of the territory. Everything Elred has done up to this point was for Helinfirth.
That included following the Sovereign's whims and serving under Synketros' banner. Elred had endured all of it, even that journey to Cardina, believing that she would get her prize in the end of it all.
Well, what a fool had she been. It was a slap to her glamoured face. Not only had she not gotten what she wanted, she also had unwittingly put Helinfirth, a territory with no standing army and no protection, under Synketros's waiting axe. Elred had seen the size of the Sovereign's army. Just a third of that and they would raze Helinfirth to the ground in a matter of minutes.
In her fear of Helinfirth being powerless in a hypothetical war, she had brought a literal one to their doorstep. Elred stomped through the stairs, slogging her way towards the court hall at the Vertinso's second floor. Past fancy chandeliers and bustling servants, Elred gritted her teeth as she walked with a flimsy resolve rustling in her veins.
She had to stick it out until the end. Judgement in Pidmena's courts awaited her if Helinfirth fell because of her mistakes. She glared at the painted portraits of everyone who has had the chance to call themselves a Valkalin displayed in this particular corridor leading to the court hall.
