𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.
It's the beginning of a new age when Jaylah Imperatrix seemingly returns from the dead to reclaim her throne. And in perfect timing.
In her absence, evil has be...
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Act 1 Chapter 74 JAYLAH
Jaylah's swords were gone. Servants took them away from her to be polished and placed back into the arsenal. It was quite improper for a Queen to be openly armed, especially while the Czar of Navrika occupied space within the palace. Sometimes she wondered if that sentiment would differ if she was a King.
She felt bare without them, especially considering she was in constant danger of being attacked now that her father had godly power. It had been only three days since her return, and yet there was not even a whisper of his movement in the north. If he desired, he could have attacked by now. The longer he waited, the more paranoid Jaylah knew she would become, particularly because she was the only one who knew of the threat. She had dropped hints to her advisors that there was a looming danger due to some matters connected to her foreign affairs trip, but that was all she could say before she began to sound suspicious. It was her curse that no one would believe the power of Draven was alive until they saw it being used on them all.
Jaylah's worries were carried with her to the top of the staircase that her mother warned her against descending. The dungeons were down there, for that was where she spent the night after the assassination attempt. Some of the less pleasant aspects of the castle, Antinoch had said when warning her against going down. But there was no one accompanying the two of them today, so Antinoch said nothing.
Jaylah felt the strange call to go down there once more, as if it beckoned her solely on the purpose that everyone did not want her to. She was Queen. She could do as she pleased.
"I am going to inspect the lower levels," Jaylah said, not bothering to look to Antinoch because already she knew she would be apprehensive. "The dungeons included. Do you wish to accompany me or remain here?"
"I will join you, Your Majesty. Always."
With that, she picked up her navy blue skirt and went down the wide staircase opening into dimness. Antinoch's footsteps followed closely as Jaylah took a sharp left turn down the bleak marble hallway. Toward the smell of cavelike dankness, deeper and deeper under the depths of the palace. They were far from the natural light of the surface.
Voices arose ahead as the lights grew brighter. A maid turned the corner, only to stop dead in her tracks when she laid eyes on the newcomers. With eyes as round as saucers, she remained still, sure to stare at the floor until they passed. Jaylah paid her no mind.
Antinoch stepped before her when they turned a few more corners and came face to face with two tall doors. She whisked them open for Jaylah. She strode into what seemed to be a communal area, with a few tables aligned on either side, making space for a fireplace in between. A fireplace. The lack of sunlight from the outside seemed to make temperatures drop drastically down here. In fact, the further Jaylah went into the place, the more she had the urge to fold her chilly arms to her chest.
