The One Thousandth Gravity Breaker book two: The sound of water

Chapter six

Just as Amelie was about to force Jay to train her, the queen finally entered. Jay froze. The way water seemed to respect the princes was one thing, but it almost seemed like the water worshipped the queen it's self.

"Nolan? You said you had important news to tell me?" The queen of water asked, strided it into the room. Amelie jumped back. Something was off. There was clearly tension between the mother and daughter. Nolan just ignored it.

"Mhm! I found two people from the outside world hiding in the sea cliffs! They know all about what's going on in the war, and one can turn invisible!" Nolan stated proudly.

"Very good boy. I know you would make yourself useful exploring. Why don't you run off back to your room now? I need to speak to these guests in private." The water queen's eyes flicked over to her daughter.

"I said alone." Her tone became sharper. Amelie crossed her arms.

"I want to hear this. Besides, it's very useful for me to hear information about the war. I might as well tag along." She stood definitely. The queen sighed.

"Fine. This way."

Iona awkwardly dragged Jay down the hall, and they tried their best to avoid bumping into anything. She led them to an empty room full of all sorts of strange items. The water queen sat down.

"I need to know who is winning." She said, folding her hands. Amelie watched from the corner of the table, chin slightly raised at her mother.

"Um, currently Irinals is slightly ahead. They have a slightly lower death rate, and slightly more control over territories. It's very close though. A year ago Ungonalo was winning. It tends to flip flop." Iona fidgeted with her finger nervously. The queen nodded.

"I see. That is definitely going to change soon." She smirked.

"How do you know? Uh, sorry. Your majesty" Iona quickly threw in. The queen laughed.

"Because Ungonalo is going to set off their nuclear bombs in their capital." She said it so calmly, it took Jay a moment to realize what she said.

"I'm sorry, what? That will kill tens of millions! How are you sure?" Jay demanded. That was definitely crossing a line. It would mean nothing but destruction. Everyone knew that. For hundreds of years the deadly weapon existed, but it was almost never used. The queen nodded, almost smiling.

"Oh I'm sure. I'm counting on it too. Irinals will be furious, and try to demolish Ungonalo. After the chaos settles down, our troops will move in, and take over." She slammed her fist on the giant table. Jay's mouth dropped in shock. How were they okay with so much death? Then again, they were human. Killing others seemed to be the prioritized option for survival. The princess was frowning slightly, indicating that she disapproved of this plan. The queen laughed.

"Don't look so shocked! We have to build a society here. Now, I'm off to a war meeting. Amelie, make sure our guests feel comfortable. I'll need them to stick around for a little while longer." With that, she turned around and left. For a few moments, there was just awkward silence.

"Are you and your mom alright? Sorry! That was a bit personal." Jay sputtered, remembering that she couldn't just ask anyone anything. Thankfully, Amelie just smiled, and laughed darkly.

"We are a bit tense. The most powerful person in our civilization over the age of twenty one becomes the leader every year. My mom holds one of the longest reigns. But, I'm much more powerful than she was at my age. I haven't had nearly as much training as she did either. Everyone knows that some day I'm going to take the throne. Through a peaceful transfer of power, or through a fight to the death or mercy. So basically I'm almost definitely going to murder her when I'm an adult. On top of that, a child of the current ruler is allowed to challenge their parent as soon as they are powerful enough. I could any time. It would just be stupid, since she has almost forty years of training over me." Amelie frowned.

"And I thought that sometimes I got into heated arguments with my parents." Iona mumbled. Out of the blue, Jay threw her hands on Amelie's shoulders.

"Why does water respect you! Why does it yield for you!" She demanded. Amelie was taken aback.

"What? What are you talking about?" She jumped back, confused. Iona held Jay back.

"You can't just attack whoever you feel like attacking. What do you mean?" She asked, letting her go. Jay narrowed her eyes at her.

"What I mean is I don't trust you. I trust your mom even less. Water moves aside for you. It respects you, and responds to every single movement you make. Why?" She stood, fists balled at her side.

"You can feel water react?" She asked quietly, almost shocked.

"YES! Why on earth does no one else feel water!" Jay felt on the brink of exploding.

"How do you do it?" She asked, head tilted at Jay.

"I don't know! I just extend my senses, and search for it. Then it just feels like it's connected to me." Jay shrugged. Amelie closed her eyes. Her heart rate was slowing down. Jay was about to ask if she was ok, when it felt like imaginary arms were grabbing her from all over, and shoving her to the ground.