Chapter 24

The building is on fire and I am trapped and I cannot escape and I will die. I will burn and die and I will never get to say goodbye and I will never marry or fall in love or be happy or do anything but be the useless daughter of a useless man who couldn't even get out of a fire.

My breathing is out of control. One moment I can't breathe at all, the next I can't stop. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

I curl into a ball. I can't escape, there is no point in trying. Why do I try?

I see cold, coal, balck eyes boring into my head. I will die and those eyes have killed me. I do not want to burn to death. I will burn to death.

The world is growing dark. I can't see, my lungs are falling and crushing themselves together in an effort to live, but I have already lost. Those eyes have killed me and I will never get to say goodbye or even sorry.

I am so sorry.

I smile because I always do. I set my teacup down, Jezebel, Irene, Scarlett and I are having breakfast on one of my balconies. It is strange. I used to have lunch in this very place with a Scarlett and Irene Aculiac. Now I am having lunch with Scarlett and Irene Larcaste.

Jezebel bites off a laugh, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she almost doubles over in the hillary of whatever she and Scarlett are talking about. I've been making pleasant small talk with Irene, but it is hard to do anything other than stare at her.

The girl looks at me like a scared, die eyed deer, too. It doesn't help.

She uneasily looks me up and down for the thousandth time this morning and asks another uneasy enquiry, "you talk about Aries Aculiac like you hated him..." She trails off, a question in her tone.

I take a sip of my tea. Stay calm. Be calm. Answer the question. You can trust this girl. This girl isn't Irene, but she is an Irene and she is Jezebel's Irene.

I calm myself by tapping my fingers lightly across the smooth surface of the granite table, "Varsillian parents aren't kind parents. Jezebel loves you and does everything in her power to ensure your happiness and safety. My parents made it their mission to see to my suffering. They used to say that it builds character and strength." I try to dance around the fact that Aries hadn't only made it his mission to see me suffering, but to see me dead at the end of the whole ordeal.

The rest of the breakfast goes the same. Irene asks uncomfortable questions sparingly and Jezebel and Scarlett engage in friendly, wildly animated, conversation, completely ignoring us. The morning is almost intolerable, but I muddle through it because I'm doing this for Jezebel before she leaves this afternoon. This is the last time I will see her for a while.

When I check the time, my internal clock is ticking. It's far too late in the morning. I stand up, hug Jezebel, shake Irene's hand and Scarlett engulfs me in a hug. We say pleasant goodbyes and then I am walking away.

As I leave I hear Jezebel before I am out of earshot, "Don't be discouraged dear, you look exactly like her dead twin sister who was also named Irene." I sign and keep moving. The day Jezebel Larcaste gets some tact is the day I die.

I pull myself into shadows, weaving myself into the very fabric that creates this world and I move my way sluggishly through. I reappear in a meeting room where Aaliyah, Leander and General Richards sit, going over various strategies used in the crusade siege battles, trying to gage next moves and plan accordingly.

Richards points to somewhere in the North on the map before replying to something Aaliyah had said in a gruff, deep voice, "The battle of Beltane happened during the ball, but the ball is unavoidable. We need to strike first and use the ball as a time to celebrate."

Aaliyah sighs as I listen in a little longer before I make myself known, "They will simply attack again. They are large in numbers and we can't take them all out in one night or day or even two."

I walk up, done standing to the side, my own plans taking form, "Lets let them attack on Beltane. It won't be a big loss if members of the court die and anyone that can't defend themselves deserves to die. We can weed out the weak and give ourselves a tactical advantage by letting them win this first one, then laying back and letting them come to us."

General Richards looks appalled, "Any loss would be a tragedy." While at the same time Aaliyah says, "it's a good plan."

Richards looks at Aaliyah and me, "it's not my place to say so, perhaps, but is it not best to win all of the battles and walk out with the fewest losses."

I nod, "that's generally the goal, but to win the war, sometimes you have to lose the battle and we are outnumbered and have less experience. We need to make intellectual moves in the upcoming months. Brute strength isn't an option."

Leander looks at Richards, agreeing with me, "put your pride aside."

He reluctantly agrees, but still seems apprehensive to work in a plan that involves losing, "what about the battle of Arentine?"

"We won't be in the Arentine castle, so no doubt it will be a close mimic, but not exactly the same. Leave this one to me. I'll make the arrangements. Yes, yes. This is perfect."

Richards goes to speak, to ask a question, but Leander levels a look at him that tells him to back off and down, to not contradict or question me. It is a testament to how much he trusts me and my ability to work this out.

I continue, "For the battle of the Ethers, we should be in a good place to stand our ground on Vheima when they gather there."

Richarchs picks up my line of thought, "If we can make it through Ethers, Lars should be fairly easy. We can gather all of the allies there and make a plan to end the war there."

Aaliyah nods in agreement, "and if we can't end it then, we can end it here at Moonstone."

"Perfect. That can be our plan unless things change. Now we just have to put together contingencies." Leander adds in to finish off, starting another topic, "and the food burning? Varkeshia will continue to poison the crop and burn what's left."

I tilt my head to the side, grabbing a chair and sitting down. I cross my legs and fold my arms on the table, sitting directly across from Leander, Aaliyah and Richards. "That should be easy enough. Siphon stones were buried beneath harvest grounds. It was the first thing I did when I became queen."

Leander blinks, smirking, "always one step ahead, are we?"

"It's not that hard when I deal with fools."

Aaliyah sighs, "If food is taken care of then how about the trade?" Before I can answer she continues in a rush, "I propose we go beyond the first universe. We have a queen on our side," she looks to me, "That can travel to the second and third universe. All the upper Locale worlds and the Earth worlds are ripe with newer resources. I say we draw up a few agreements through Atkinsons house and push this."

"That's a good plan. While that's in the works we have open negotiations with the Vheima underground for a few of the rarer metals and poison fruits that grow there." I reply with equal enthusiasm. Things are coming together and I can't tell if that's a good thing, or a bad thing, but it feels good to finally be doing something.

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