Rising Smoke

Chapter Twelve

        "It could be a false alarm." Arlen say, vehemently.

        "Or it could Malakai sending more of his minions in since we are so weak from his last attack," Aleci countered back, just as aggressively.

        Aleci and Arden have been fighting like this for awhile. Conran has been surprisingly silent. There are other warriors and high-ranking people in here, but I haven't been introduced, yet. They're more worried about the newest threat to the castle. Something was spotted out on the east wing, a black slither. Something close to a Slithe. Because of the last scare--travesty more like--they want to make sure there's nothing nefarious going on there. So they have sent scouts out and are wating for them to come back. In the meantime, they are... bickering.

        "Are you willing to risk Your Majesty's safety?" This is Aleci. That starts a whole new round of debate, between Aleci and Arlen. Oh boy. Since I have come back, everyone has been calling me Your Majesty even though, technically, Conran is still the king. But whatever makes them happy. 

        I turn to Conran, who is at my right, and ask, "Are they always like this?"

        His mouth tightens and he glances at me. "Yes, for the most part, but since your arrival, it has gotten even worse."

        "Shouldn't you be including ideas?" I whisper back, since there was a lull in conversatin.

        "No, Arlen usually talks with the military."

        My forehead crinkles in confusion. "Shouldn't you be more involved?"

        He sighs like he doesn't wish to be discussing this with me, "I do not care for it much. I am not much of a strategist. I work best with the people. Arlen is really the one with military training and skill."

        I nod as if I know. Well, that's certaintly interesting. I remember our times together. Never would I have suspected he was a military strategist. He came across as a joker, not someone who makes important decisions. Then I remember him letting me fend for myself against the Slithes. Okay, now I understand. He can make those tactical decisions, even if they are very callous. I do not think I will be able to truly forgive or trust him for that.

        "Your Majesty." I look up to see Aleci's concerned face and that is when I realize they have been calling my name for awhile, since everyone is looking at me.

        "Yes?"

        "The scouts have returned. They say it was Slithes hovering around the east wing of the castle."

        I take a deep breath. "Okay, what do you suppose they were doing?"

        "My guess is surveillance." Aleci says then turns to the other men and women scattered around the table. "Anybody else?"

        A fierce looking woman looks at me and says, "They weren't preparing to attack, they were sneaking around, so I'm guessing they were after you, Your Majesty."

        A brutish looking man nods his head, "I was under the impression that Malakai was intending to kidnap you in the last seige. The fighting on the other side of the castle was acting as a distraction."

        "Yes, all good possibilities and may be the correct assumptions." I say wearily. When was the last time I slept? I had come here straight after my session with Conran. I remember the door to the ballroom had slammed open as we were hugging and we immediately separated, even though I was only giving him a friendly hug, almost sisterly hug. But the man sent to get us was only concerned with delivering the message and escorting us to this meeting room.

        I rub my eyes. I need to be practicing. "I need to know Malakai's place, everything about it."

        The people around me nod their head. Aleci speaks up, "We have it scratched out, barely. It's hard to know exactly what we are dealing with since it's difficult to get near it."

        I look at him quizzically. He responds with, "Mountains around him, steep ones. He has his minions circling around. It's a very dark place. But where he draws from most of his power."

        "So practically unbreachable." I sigh. "Fabulous."

        "Not quite, Leila," Arden says. I glance at him. I search in his face for anything of that earlier emotion he felt for me. None. His blue eyes are cold and calculating. "He can be taken down." 

        I've never seen him like this. So murderous. It scares me a little. Is it because Malakai was responsible for the death of his parents? Then I can kind of understand the violence But it still scares me. To see him have so much anger. He seemed... carefree before. 

        "How so?"

        He hesitates, "It wouldn't be impossible... But certainly not easy."

        "I didn't expect it'd be." That's when a map is laid out before me. But it's almost 3D. Wait, it is 3D. Ridges for mountains or dips for valleys. I run my fingers over it. Rivers and streams and lakes are smooth and land varies on roughness, depending on what is. 

        Aleci stands at my right shoulder. "This is our land." He points to some mounains and green land. "There's us." He taps his finger on a relatively flat area. We seem to surrounded by mountains on three sides and the fourth is a lake. It's a perfect location to set up a castle. 

        Then he trails his fingers to more... desolute land. Barren and with jagged, deathly looking mountains.

         "That is where Malakai lives," I say. It's not even a question it's a statement. It has to be where he lives, someone so cruel and evil. 

         I look over the distance. It's quite far. Between the two places, there are mountains and rivers and valleys and grasslands. This country is beautiful.  My country.

        "Our Gledians could get there in an hour or so."  Aleci states. Gledians are like unicorns in our world, but a bit more tempramental and not all flower and rainbows. We do not own them; we coexist with them. They are smart, intelligent creatures that we have as our allies. They can fly, quickly. And are super viscious when angered.

        "Are we ready to fly over him? Will the Gledians cooperate with us?" I turn to look at the men and women assembled.

        The fierce looking women nods her head. "Definitely, Your Majesty. They loathe Malakai as much as we do. Malakai sent his minions to capture as many as they could many cycles ago. A lot of them died, children mostly. They are not known for letting go of their grudges."

        "Well, that benefits us then." Arlen says. "I will coordinate with Aleci to make a team to fly over and get a sense of his layout."

        That's when the whole room interupts into raised voices and spouting ideas. I guess they all held it in. Aleci had went back to his seat a while ago and is discussing something quite vehemently with Arlen, probably about what we were just talking about. I glance over at Conran. He's got a conteplative look on his face. 

        I lean over and whisper, "What do you think?"

        He glances at me, takes a breath and says, "Why don't we touch down and scout around the area, if it's possible, of course."

        My eyebrows knit in concentration. "I feel like that'd be beneficial. But only if it's possible. I do not want them getting killed. Or worse, getting captured. Stars only know what Malakai would do to them."  

        Arlen glances up from his conversation and says in a deep and cold voice, "Alirght it's settled then. I will take Aleci and two of his best soldiers. We will find a good place to land and scout the area. We will leave by nightfall."