It had been a week and Prudence was standing on a balcony, waiting for any sign for the arrival of her people. Soon enough, a herd of horses emerged from one of the distant hills. She could already see the blue and gold of her chief’s clothing as many other warriors followed him. They eventually slowed down when they reached the city that led to the castle, many of the people whispered to each other as the foreign people passed by. Prudence quickly ran through the castle and to the front gates, Astraia following close behind. She bowed to her chief as he approached her, “Greetings, sir.” The chief respectively bowed his head before speaking, “Where is the queen you spoke of?”
Hello, again!:D I am excited to say that I have another story to show you that takes place two days after the events of “The End is Only the Beginning”. So, I hope you enjoy it!
As the war raged on, Queen Tia had been speaking with her council with hopes of providing aid to their neighboring country after the loss of their treasured general. She had helped Astraia with her grief during her time in the kingdom, and even welcomed her to stay in the castle. However, Astraia declined after stating that she wanted to remain loyal to her country and had mounted her horse to return to her village. As for Absentia, she was left alone to her duties. For the past week, she had been speaking with her council for a good hour whenever the rough sound of bickering was heard from outside the room. A familiar male voice was heard as he called the queen a devil before demanding for her head on a stake. Many of the council members shifted in their seats as the arguing continued before the buff general threw the doors open. Enraged, he pointed to the queen as he barreled towards her. “You swore you would protect our generation. You swore to protect us!” Tia calmly rose from her seat and faced the middle-aged chief, “And I am doing so, my dear chief, as I was just having a private meeting that you burst into. But there is only so much I can do in such a short amount of time!” The Greek man scoffed, “Oh, is that true? You and your “diplomats” spent more than a month creating a trade route that would give my people food in an hour tops. Yet all you have given us was just a few crates of apples that was barely enough for the woman and children of our village!” Tia’s eyes slowly narrowed, “I have my own kingdom to provide aid to during this time of war, Chief Arastos. As I had said before, there is only so much I can do!” The taller man crossed his arms and paced the room before glaring at the queen, “And to add to your uselessness in the war! You and your people have been hiding in your kingdom as my men have been dying to protect their own country!”
Tia softly glared back, “That is not my fault, Arastos! If I had known Prudence was there giving up her damn life for Greece, I would have been charging into battle with her!” Arastos’ glare only deepened, “Bullshit, if this wasn’t your fault,” He jabbed his finger in front of her face, “then why did I see your people fighting alongside the enemy?!!” The room grew deafeningly silent, even the council members were mute. Tia hesitantly spoke, “..What?” The chief’s glare softened to one of confusion, “You didn’t send your men to fight alongside the Bulgarians?” Tia could only shake her head, making the taller man’s eyes furrowed. “Congratulations, Queen Absentia. You have your first rebels. Now if you may excuse me, I must go to protect my people.” The room remained silent as he stormed out and slammed the war room doors. Tia slowly turned back to her council, “...Excuse me.” Without another word, she left the room.
Tia slowly opened the door to her room, still imagining the circumstances that had caused people to act against their own homeland. Her eyes later traveled to the scattered papers that lied across her desk. She walked to the desk, her hand brushing across the letter that Prudence had sent her to inform her of her decision in the war. When she had read the letter, she already had the feeling that a tragedy occurred, and the young Greek running through the doors was enough to prove to her of her friend's death. Another letter brought Tia out of her memories as she recalled the contents of the separate letter. The trade agreement. She calmly grabbed the letter and walked to her bed, smiling at the memories.
Prudence’s slender arm directed towards a tent nearby, “And there is where we will have the meeting. Arastos won’t allow any of us to go in there till later today.” The general watched as her chief walked past the two woman, “Speaking of the coyote killer…” Tia caught a familiar glimpse of the coyote hide he wore after assumedly killing a coyote to show his worth to his people. She leaned towards the Greek beside her, “I thought that was just a formal thing. Does he actually wear that 24/7?!” Prudence sighed and crossed her arms, “Unfortunately for all the married woman, yes.” The two woman observed as women stared gaped at the chief while their husbands glared at their wives before giving their glare to the large man. Tia softly turned her head to the general beside her, “Have you ever considered settling down yourself?” Prudence slowly smiled before looking down at the ground and chuckling. “Oh no, not at all. I for one am not one to try and find a man to sweep me off my feet.” Tia only smiled as the Greek woman looked up, “Besides,” Prudence smiled as her young niece rushed towards them, “I have enough joy then I’ll ever need.” Astraia grew her sweet smile, “Auntie!” Prudence lifted Astraia from the ground and held her in her arms, “Hello, sweetie.” Prudence glanced at her royal friend, “Supper should be prepared by now, would you like to join?” Tia smiled before softly ruffling Astraia’s hair, causing some of her small hairs to pop out of her formal braid, “I will be more than honored.”
Tia took a deep breath as she snapped back into the present, sighing as she looked back down at the letter. She couldn’t fight the guilt that began to grow in her chest as she thought of something. What if Arastos was right?
