Battle of the Kingdoms: Moon Born 2

Chapter 21

I burst through the door into Orsand's office. He jumped up as we all flooded his area.

"What in Goddess is going on?"

"Orsand!" I said breathlessly.

"Elanor. Why are there so many creatures in my office right now?"

I glanced at Edmond and he took a deep breath.

"Father, things are not good outside."

"What do you mean?"

"King Orsand," King Aquilastrum started, "We do beg your pardon for intruding in such a manner. Prince Edmond and Princess Elanor ended up saving the entire faery kingdom."

"They did? What happened?"

"The swarm of goblins, ogres, and trolls broke through the barrier to their kingdom. We had to lead them to Equinotia for safety."

"Were you able to get the Luminaria?" Orsand asked.

I nodded my head. "Yes. We were able to get it."

I dug through my satchel and pulled out the glowing flower. It was beautiful and had an overpoweringly sweet scent. Orsand motioned for one of his assistants to his desk. I handed the flower over and the boy quickly ran from the room to get the last ingredient for Kallisto's nectar mixture.

"Are the faeries safe?" 

"For now," King Ajax said. "I'm just hoping our barrier will hold up better than theirs. Our guards are protecting the border to our kingdom now."

"We have to figure out how to stop this," Orsand said.

"How can we figure that out?" Queen Celestia asked.

"We'll need to gather as much information as we can about these attacks," Orsand replied. "We need to know why they are happening and who is behind them. We also need to ensure the safety of all the kingdoms, not just ours."

"I agree," King Aquilastrum said. "We should all work together to find a solution."

"We can start by sending out scouts to gather information," Queen Celestia suggested. "And we should also increase our defenses and prepare for the worst."

"Agreed," Orsand said. "We can't afford to let our guard down. This could just be the beginning."

As they discussed their next steps, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. 

Is this like Hera? Is it Hera?

I glanced at Edmond and I knew he heard me.

'Edmond?'

'Yeah.'

'What do you think? Could it be Hera again?'

'I don't know. You said that Zeus told her to stop or there would be consequences, right?'

'Yeah, but would she listen? If she has that much of a grudge against us would she just listen?'

'I don't know, but we need to find out.'

"Elanor?" Orsand drew me back to the conversation.

"Hmm?"

"Your thoughts?"

"Oh. Um, well, we need to gather a few more kingdoms to help, but what if we tracked where the swarm is coming from?"

"That could work," Prince Zephyr said. "I could go out with a scouting  party to see where they're coming from."

"Would you mind if I went with you? We could maybe stop by Egypt? Find the Sphynx?"

He nodded his massive head.