The Lord ✔️

Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Plan the Attack

Andromeda knew that they needed to protect Crescent and her pups. Planning the attack was getting harder. They needed a schedule, a format, and a strategy. And they needed to make sure Crescent and the pups were safe, too, which meant keeping guards around Skystar, to make sure everything was safe.
Andromeda sighed.
"We have to find a way to sneak around Queen Cora's guards and into the palace," Orion said, pacing the cave. "Then, we can get Andromeda or Hunter to go into the North-East Tower and find out what the big secret there is. I've spoken with Midnight, and she's come to realize that Queen Cora is hiding a wolf there, apparently.
"The first of the queen's guards to be taken down must be the best ones," Orion continued, "and we must gang up on them to do this. Maybe it's not a fair fight, but a war's a war. We need to do everything we can to make sure we win this thing. If we don't win, Queen Cora will kill everyone."
Worry flared in Andromeda's heart. Would her mother really...?
"We need to keep some wolves here, though," Hunter said. "Crescent's pups are growing, Ruby needs to stay with the pups, and Emerald may come back."
"She's been gone for a month, though," Sapphire interjected. "And Diamond said that Emerald had said, 'I'll be gone, but not for long,' or something along those lines. Well, I don't know what she thinks 'long' is. I don't even know if she'll be here for the battle! I keep wondering why she didn't tell Ruby or I anything. Ruby's her sister, too, and I'm her cousin."
"Emerald's always been slightly strange to me," Andromeda said. Everyone turned towards her, so she elaborated. "She's acted bubbly, happy, and optimistic, but the vibes I get from here make me feel she doesn't feel she belongs with the Skystar Rebellion. I keep seeing her give you, Saph, weird glances."
A look of dawning realization hit Sapphire's face. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Of course! Emerald knows she's the only one to take after the Gemstone Sister's father, a grey wolf, who left their mother, Shimmer, when he found out he would have to be a father. He joined the dark side after that, going against his family and what Findrut originally stood for."
If a wolf could turn pale, Andromeda would've been as pale as snow on a freezing winter night. "So," she said, gulping, "you're saying that Emerald doesn't feel at home with Skystar, so she's going to Queen Cora's side? Or she's turned dark in another sense?"
A tense silence settled in the cave. The only thing audible was the birds singing outside, and the rustling of the leaves on the large winter trees. Sapphire sighed.
"I'm saying what she's done, or where she's gone, isn't known," she explained. "She may have gone dark, she may have just taken a break. But I know for sure she doesn't feel like she belongs with us."
More silence.
"Anyway, let's move on," Hunter said awkwardly, changing the subject. "How do we attack?"
Andromeda stood, her tail swaying slightly. "There will be five groups," she announced. "One of them will go to the back of Findrut and charge from there, heading straight to the castle. Since the back doesn't have as many guards, they'll probably not see us coming soon enough. They will attack just as the second group attacks from one side, and the third from the other. The fourth group, however, will attack the last, from the front. Got it?"
Hunter spoke up. "What about the fifth group?"
Andromeda laughed softly. "Oh, they won't attack for a while," she said. "They'll go around to all the kingdoms and get more allies. Then, when they have enough, they'll head back and help out with the fighting."
Midnight, who had been quiet for a while, asked, "You have to go to the North-East tower while this is happening, Andromeda. I sense something important will happen there."
More silence.
Andromeda's eyes flickered back to Midnight, and then to the floor. Finally, her gaze settled on Midnight. "What's going to happen?" she asked, with a sense of urgency. "Can you see it? Can you envision it?"
"Not exactly," she said, quietly. "I can see some mist, and you. I can also see this transparent ball thingy, a wolf on the floor and another wolf in the shadows."
"Do you have any guesses on what that could be?" It was Orion, and his brows were crinkled, worry taking over on his face. "What major thing could happen, except Queen Cora's death and her army's defeat? And is the wolf on the floor dead, or hurt? Is it a male or female? What about the wolf in the shadows. What do you think, Midnight?" He sounded desperate.
"I know the wolf on the floor isn't dead," Midnight said slowly. "I think the wolf in the shadows is a female, but I'm not very sure." She looked thoughtful for a moment, before her eyes widened. "Oh. My. God." Her breathing had become shallow. "I think the wolf on the floor is someone very, very, very important. No, very very very very very important. You won't believe it. She's so important, and her name is—" but she fainted before she could continue.

Haha! I've finally updated, and this chapter's pretty long, too, so I can make up for all the time I wasted not even trying to update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's pretty major, too. Can you guess who the wolf on the floor is? What about the wolf in the shadows? And what's the transparent ball got to do with anything? I may or may not be foreshadowing. You'll just have to wait. But, I do promise that all these questions, some giving away a lot if answered, some not giving away too much, will be answered.
Happy reading, and #BeKind!
Aspen Williams (AnimalKingdomKL)