Celeste walked down the hall with her hands clenched at her sides, trying to think of what she would say. What could she say? The rulers of the Kingdom had perished and she was not there to prevent it. Even so, what could she of done if she were here? Celeste herself was no fighter. Past the basics of holding a sword properly, she knew nothing about actually swinging one let alone fighting. The sound of Echo softly sleeping in his sling brought Celeste back to the reality she was about to face. She had to address the people of the Shining Isles. The royal advisor met Celeste to aid her in what to say to the people. "Dear Lore Wain, please reassure the people with your words. Don't appear worried but confident for what lies ahead for the Kingdom." Celeste looked at her advisor with a solemn and drained look on her face, "I can't lie to the people. I'm not confident and I can't pretend I am." "Sometimes lying is a good thing. Think of national security." The advisored pleaded with Celeste, worried she might make a fatal mistake. "... I won't lie to the people. I will be honest with them. End of discussion." Celeste responded with a hand gently on Echo's back, as he's in the place her heart is. The royal advisor looked anxious but knew he couldn't negotiate with the Lore Wain. He sighed and signaled the guards to slowly open the gates for the people to enter. Once the gates were opened, the people entered in a worried mess of chatter. They were restless as they came before Lore Wain Celeste, who was standing on a platform. After the people were silenced, Celeste looked tiredly across the sea of people with tear stained cheeks. There was a long silence before she spoke up. "People of Anniera..." Celeste cleared her throat before continuing. "A tragedy has happened that I'm sure you're all well aware of by now... My older siblings, Throne Warden Everett, High Queen Elanora, and Song Master Aspen... They've all been killed by a rogue group of Stranders, whom we have in our custody." Celeste's eyes burned with tears once again as she desperately tried not to keep them from falling. She looked up towards the tall ceilings with a deep breath before she continued. "They will pay for their crimes of treason against them. As for who is King or Queen now... It is not I. As you know, High Queen Elanora had a child, whom I now have in my care. When he is old enough, he will be our King." "What will you do in the mean time, Lore Wain?!" An old woman asked from the crowd, sounding very concerned. Celeste looked at the old woman and replied, "I... Well, I will do my best to keep things in order and raise him." Another question quickly followed next to elderly woman, "Why weren't you here?!" "Personal matters- I was out at sea." Celeste quickly replied, her answer causing murmurs in the crowd. "How did rogue Stranders break into the castle?! Did you inform on them?!" An angry man shouted from the back, which caused the crowd to chatter back and forth. The volume started to stir the sleeping Echo, who had been asleep close to his Aunt Celeste. He wasn't the only one who was starting to become frazzled. Celeste herself was internally panicking, unable to keep up with the questions bombarding her. The royal advisor quickly stepped onto the platform beside Celeste and said, "No more questions. Show some respect! Our leaders are no more! Bare with us as we pick up the pieces!" The advisor shouted over the murmurs, causing the people to look toward him in silence. "Take the week to mourn as we are. We will send a messenger to you once we have a solid plan established. You are dismissed!" The people dispersed and left the palace while Celeste stood frozen in place on the platform. Her advisor looked toward her with a sorry expression, "I'm afraid you've only just labeled yourself a conspiracy, my lady..." Celeste looked back at her advisor, seeming to be entranced. Shaking her head, she tends to Echo, who has been whining since the noise was stirred up. "Shhh, it's okay, Echo..." She whispered to her nephew, hoping to calm him. With a sigh, the royal advisor placed a hand over his forehead. "Oh dear..." Echo was starting to get a bit louder. He appeared to be hungry, not just overwhelmed by the noise. "Ramger, I'm going to need you to get some milk for Echo. He's hungry." Celeste said with preference to help her nephew rather than deal with the situation she had just created by pure accident. "Yes, my lady..." Royal advisor Ramger replied begrudgingly before walking off to the kitchen. Celeste gently stuck her finger in Echo's mouth, hoping to appease him until Ramger could get him some milk to drink. Echo responded by scrunching his eyebrows together, for he did not appreciate the attempt. He gnawed on his aunt's finger with his gums. Celeste could see her nephew was angry at her but she couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the sight of fierceness on a few month old's face. Ramger returned with a bottle of milk and handed it to Celeste. Celeste took her finger out of Echo's mouth and replaced it with the bottle. Her nephew didn't complain this time. Ramger, who saw the young king was appeased, addressed Celeste again. "My Lore Wain, are you sure you can do this? You seem... easily frazzled." "Well, I don't have a choice, do I, Ramger?" Celeste asked sarcastically with a clear underlying anger. She was trying her best not to fall apart. "... I suppose not." Ramger cleared his throat and straightened his suit coat. "If you excuse me, I'll be trying to fix your poor wording so there isn't another uprising." The royal advisor said before he left the room.
(Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope it's been a great day for you! If you're wondering where MotHoRS is, it will be back shortly.)
OOOH! This is really good!