Abandoned (Born From Shadows #2)

The newly self-appointed Queen took slow steps towards the occupied chamber. “Princess,” one of the guards acknowledged her.

“It’s Queen,” she snapped immediately, causing the guard to back away slightly.

“Apologies my Queen,” he replied.

She had no more time to waste on disrespecting guards. “Open the doors, close them behind me,” she commanded. The guard nodded his head and unlocked the room. She held her head high before even taking a step into the room. She walked in and just a few seconds after heard the closing of the wooden door.

Her parents looked at her, shocked to see that she had visited.

“Sophia,” her gentle mother said upon her arrival.

“Mother, father,” she said.

Her father, who was previously seated on the bed got up and walked toward her. “Have you finally come to your senses, child?”

“You are to remain captive and that is not up for debate. I am here for other reasons,” Sophia replied.

“You are making a horrible mistake. You are going to end up destroying this kingdom,” her father said.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t act now like you cared for the people, father.”

“I swear to the gods that when you fall and leave the kingdom tattered, I will not help you.”

“Rayr,” her mother said shocked. “That’s our daughter you are speaking to.”

“I know very well whom I am speaking to,” he said, staring directly at Sophia. She couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated, however, her mind was on other things than family issues.

“I found a door in your old chamber hidden behind the desk. It was locked, where is the key?” she asked.

Her parents were both silent. She didn’t want it to come to this, but after the way her father just treated her, she felt less guilty about saying it. “If you do not answer, I will have you in the same accommodation and rations as our other prisoners,” she threatened. Her parent’s eyes widened slightly, knowing full well how captives could be treated in this kingdom. Not well would be an understatement. The smell at the camp still came in her worst of dreams.

“We don’t know,” her mother replied, trying to sound honest. Sophia stared into her mother’s eyes. The slight wrinkles edged her brow. The new Queen concluded that they were lying to her, manipulating her.

“Don’t lie to me, where is it?” Sophia demanded.

“Just leave us, Sophia,” her father mumbled walking away towards the other side of the small chamber.

“I am in power here, not you. Why won’t you tell me where it is?”

“Some doors that are locked are best left alone,” her mother answered.

“What is that supposed to mean? I will not ask a third time so enjoy your sleep, by tomorrow afternoon you will be on your way to the wastelands,” Sophia declared.

She began to walk out the door before halting as her mother called out. “It’s not here. It’s not in Avalla.” Sophia smiled, her threat’s finally breaking through to them.

“It was in Cainva…before it was desolated, I don’t know where it is now.”

“Convenient that it is in the one town that got destroyed,” she replied suspecting they are lying.

“Not convenient, coincidental,” her mother said. “Please don’t look for it. Please don’t open it.”

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Sophia sat impatiently watching the grand clock that kept ticking back and forth. They were late. She had been waiting for hours. Her finger tapped against the mahogany table. “Has there been any word of their arrival?” she asked the guards standing around her looking equally bored. She had a kingdom to run, a war to plan. Yet here she waited for those ignorant people who don’t value time.

“A group was spotted not far from the palace gates.” Was the reply she got. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. It was solid wood, highly uncomfortable. She would make them put cushions on them. She was a Queen, not a street rat. She deserved the highest form of comfort.

The lights above her flickered and she sighed turning towards Lady Madeline, the Lord Herrliva’s wife. “Remind me to sort the lighting situation, this place has gone to the dumps. Maintenance at an all-time low,” she told the middle-aged Lady whose skin made her feel as if she needed to spend more time tanning in the sun.

“I will make a note of it,” Lady Madeline replied.

Sophia nodded her head and ran a hand through her black hair. Her eyes looked around the room for any sort of entertainment. On the walls were paintings of past rulers, nothing interesting. There were four other individuals seated at the table. The Lord Herrliva and his wife, Lord Davr who managed the kingdom’s riches then finally Tollias Redferd, the royal armies commander and the man who trained her brother in combat. They were all familiar faces to her, however, their loyalty to her parents made her question their motives.

There was a faint knock on the door before one of the guards opened it, announcing the long-awaited arrival of her guests.

“Let them in,” she said. The doors then swung fully open revealing a man with scars covering half his face, and a few others by his side.

“My Queen,” the man said upon greeting the room filled with members of the court.

“Trevor Locren I presume?” Sophia replied.

The man nodded in confirmation. “These are my brothers, Alide and Liam,” he said pointing at the two men by his side. Now that it was pointed out Sophia could see the family resemblance, they all had a slight tinge of ginger in their hair, and all had eyes of a shade of blue. The scar on Trevor’s face however distinguished him from the other two.

“Take a seat,” she offered. “We have much to discuss.”

“I must say,” Trevor said as he was sitting down, “I was surprised to receive this welcoming. I know that our two…groups have not got on so well in the past.”

“My parents were ignorant of the true meaning and intentions of your cause. They believed you to just trying to disrupt the peace, I see you as an opportunity for true peace,” she answered.

“I am glad to hear it,” Trevor replied.

“So first things first, I want to know more about your organisation. How many of you are there, where do you get your resources from?”

“We have a supplier to the west, she has been most helpful,” one of the two brothers explained. Sophia had already forgotten which is which.

“This supplier, who is she?” she asked.

“She goes by an alias, the Lady of the Night,” replied Trevor. Sophia frowned, she had never heard of her.

“Is she to be trusted?” she asked unsurely.

“She hasn’t led us stray yet. She had allied with the Dwarf’s who equally want the Elf’s to rot in their own cock sucking blood.”

Lady Madeline gasped at his language. “Mind your language when talking to the Queen,” she responded in shock.

However, the Queen just waved her hand. “From what I have heard about the new King of the Elf’s, the term ‘cock sucking’ is highly appropriate.”

Lady Madeline sighed and leaned back in her seat.

“Disgusting if you ask me, all the more reason to wipe out the Elf’s. Before you know it their unnatural behaviours would have infected Haveenté,” grumbled Trevor.

“Which is why we are having this meeting. We both share a mutual enemy, a power that needs to be stopped before we are left as nothing more than slaves. So continuing, Lord Davr how much money can we spare to their cause, factoring in other expenses?”

“Maybe a couple of thousand gold. However there have been recent complaints about the electricity supply and some money may be needed to fund repairs,” Lord Davr replied.

“Yes, I have noticed this problem. Can we raise taxes?” she asked.

“Perhaps, however, I suggest you send an investigation team to the power plant to see what the issues are and how we fix it.”

“I will do it. Tollias can you organise this?” she asked.

He looked around the room with a strange expression on his face, an expression that Sophia did not like. It was a sort of disgust that was hidden well, but she could see it.

“Yes,” he mumbled.

“Good,” she said. “Now Trevor, with increased funding could you spread your forces and the amount of Kaddeian blades?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“All I ask in return is that the hunt is no longer a private organisation but rather controlled by the crown as a subdivision of the royal army. You and your brothers will of course be leading the subdivision and be granted the same indemnity and control that Tollias possesses.”

“I think we can live with that,” Trevor stated.

“Good. We will start the funding as soon as Lord Davr reevaluates the numbers.”

“Is that all my Queen?” Trevor questioned.

“Yes, this meeting is over. Tollias stay behind please.”

The faint squeak of chairs scraping against the stone floor echoed through the room as the various individuals left the room leaving just her and the commander.

“I felt a sense of distaste from you during this meeting,” she stated.

“I am sorry my Queen, I am just finding it hard to adjust,” he replied.

“Well adjust quicker. I also want you to send a team to Cainva with you leading it.”

“Cainva?” Tollias questioned in surprise. “What is in Cainva?”

“A key, I will get more details on its description later but it is very important that you retrieve it.”

“Cainva is a large town that hasn’t been fully cleared out since the incident. The chance that we will be able to find a key there-”

“I asked you to find it. So go get your team ready and do it,” she replied with frustration.

“Of course my Queen,” he said with the slight bow of his head. Once the older gentlemen left the room Sophia leaned back in her chair with a sigh. Today was productive, she thought. She smiled, she was so close to getting her revenge. Just a bit longer and then she will find the elf that was responsible for his death. She would be safe to walk outside her kingdom…she just needed to have patience.