2404 Qintax 11, Reshpe

The crowd was dizzying when Nelnifa peeked past the velvet curtains separating the raised platform and the stairs leading to it. She took a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling with it. A podium stood in the middle of the platform, her father already stepping into it. That action sent a cloud of hushed silence over the crowd, turning the most listeless ones still. Awe flushed through Nelnifa's cheeks. That's...cool.

"Citizens, we are gathered here because you all have something important to learn," the Potentate said, his voice carrying all the way to the back of the audience, stretching as far back as Nelnifa could see. He must be wearing one of those collars that enhances one's voice. "We have called you here because we have heard your cry for freedom and our office now has an answer for it."

Nelnifa blew a breath, knowing full well what would come next. "Without further ado, your Princess, Nelnifa Corledia, will be bringing you the full truth about our situation and about what we could do about it," he said. She still considered it a miracle her father agreed about the whole thing. Usually, he was strict against letting state secrets out. Up to this point, she still didn't know what she did to change her father's stance.

Applause broke through the crowd, some whoops joining the melee. Nelnifa steadied her breathing, gripping the stair's single balustrade to keep herself from falling over. Her knees shook and her heart drummed inside her chest. She exhaled from her mouth. She had come this far, hadn't she? It's time for her to finish this. Rather, it's time for her to start something new.

She sucked her breath and drew the curtain back. The applause dwindled as her father stepped away from the podium and offered it to her. Silence reigned as the Potentate unhooked a blue-stringed collar from his neck and slung it around her. Then, for real, her father took her place behind the curtain, leaving her all alone.

She looked at the sea of faces morphing and differentiating in front of her. Smiles, rustles of clothes, bright light from the morning sun. Children playing, being shushed by their mothers, crying because of a lost seashell or toy. Expectant eyes waiting for her to open her mouth. Eyes that would judge her the second she did.

She clenched her jaw. Just do it.

"Um," she blurted, her throat and tongue refusing to cooperate once more. The speech she had memorized the day before had flitted out of her mind like a colony of kranclas. "I, um..."

Her knuckles turned white from bracing the podium's sides for as long and tight as she did. "I-I know you probably don't think much of me," she lurched on, unsure of what she was saying. "But I have scoured our territory for the reason why we aren't doing so well. And I found out something interesting, something that would ignite your passion for our race and your heart for our territory."

"The real enemy is not Lanteglos nor the Imperial power," Nelnifa continued. Slowly, her throat cleared up and her tongue worked just as fine. What was that? It looked like she got the hang of this public speaking thing. Of course, her mouth was still dry and her chest still felt like it would burst, but surprisingly, talking felt...easier, somehow.

Nelnifa met the first gaze from the audience and continued, "You are the most hard working, earnest, and ingenious people I know from this island," she said. "But all of those qualities are wasted when it's not us, the water sprites, who are rewarded."

"There is a force hiding in the very stones marking our borders," Nelnifa revealed. A few gasps rang from the crowd. The Marshals posted at regular intervals throughout the length of the assembly bobbed their heads. "In my investigations, they appear to be buying off our products for low prices through the use of fake merchants and some of their own servants. Then, they would either give it to their people or sell them for a very high price for their profit."

"Desara condemns this organization and we seek to drive them out of our borders," Nelnifa said. She looked behind her to her father who gave her a supportive nod. "They are our real enemies. They are the ones we should be protesting against."

"Of course, I have heard of your great ardor for our territory," Nelnifa pursed her lips at the next sentences she was about to utter. They were hard to say but for her to completely clean up this mess she started, she has to. So, she heaved another deep breath before continuing, "But we must be vigilant and not resort to recklessness. We must be responsible for our speech, our actions, and our influence to other people."

"We need to work together and wiser to bring down this enemy we are facing," Nelnifa said. "We, at the Potentate's office, will be working together with the Marshal Office to bring you more answers about this strange organization inside the stone markers."

Nelnifa cleared her throat, the sound leaping off the enhancing collar she wore and projecting towards the crowd. "Sorry," she muttered under her breath. It was audible up until the fifth row. Damn, she lost her rhythm.

"Um," she started again. Focus. She's almost done. "So, I will request everyone's help regarding this matter. Please don't march against Lanteglos as we don't want to offend the High Queen and for us to minimize the chances of our people getting hurt. Today, however, I will enjoin you all to work with us in bringing our real enemy down. Help us in your own ways. Keep our economy afloat by working hard and we will be doing the same in the Manor. When we call on you, please answer according to your duty to our people."

"Let's fight for each other," Nelnifa straightened her spine. "Let's fight for our family."

She stepped off the podium and bowed to the crowd. It seemed to stun them into silence. Then, after a few beats, cheers and shouts broke free from the crowd in a dense wave. The force was almost enough to push Nelnifa a few inches from where she stood. For once, she saw hope in her people's smiles and she had to admit...it felt good.

To inspire and bring light to a person's life. What more could Nelnifa ask for?

She bowed to the people for the second time before retreating to the curtain. The Potentate appeared once more and addressed the crowd for other matters in their territory. Relief weighed over Nelnifa's shoulders. That was a job well done, right?

"I guess a congratulations is due, Princess," Marshal Ilphas said from somewhere to Nelnifa's right. She turned to find him leaning against a salvia's trunk much like how she saw him that day after exiting her father's office. Was he only trying to warn her then? She's such an idiot for not reading into it well enough.

Nelnifa snorted. "I should thank you, Marshal," she said.

Ilphas pushed off the trunk, driving the tree to sway a little and the fronds to rustle. "For what?"

"For saving me from the soldiers that day," she said. "And I should apologize for suspecting you wanted to harm my family and the work that we do."

A smile pulled against the corners of his lips. So, the idiot was capable of pulling a goofy grin other than a smug smirk. "I'm just doing my job, Princess," he said.

Nelnifa waved her hand in the air. "Then I thank you for doing your job," she said. "Especially when I'm directly involved in it."

Ilphas hummed. "Why would I not do my job when you're around?" he said, striding towards her. Then, with a soft pat against her shoulder, he said, "You're family too, right?"

Before Nelnifa could say something witty or even register the heat flooding her cheeks, Ilphas pushed past her and disappeared to the grove of salvia until his beige hair blended with the striped, off-white trunks.

And just like that, Nelnifa was alone again. But, she wondered, for how long?