Amelia Merlin and the Game for Okamila

Part 104: War Preparations

"What do you want to do next?" Al said tiredly.

"What do you mean, what do I want to do next?" Amelia snapped at him. "I'm going to march my army down south and take my city away from the man who calls himself king." she glared at the rotting head on her table. With a small movement of her hand it made a small popping noise and turned to ash.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Are you sure we're ready?" he tried to smooth down his hair but it wasn't really working.

"Are you on crack?" snarled Amelia. Her dirty blonde hair fell in loose waves around her. Mitra was sitting alert by the door, guarding them from any intruders. "What the hell is wrong with you? You can barely form coherent sentences."

"If you haven't noticed," Al tried to keep his voice as calm as he could but he was having about the same success with that as he did with his hair. "Jeremy died."

"Oh really?" she said sarcastically. "That's so strange! I thought he went to live on a farm in Texas."

"Where the fuck is Tex- No, it's not important." he mumbled. They stood in silence until Al couldn't stand it another second. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you, Amelia?"

"Excuse me?" she folded her arms across her chest.

"Your brother is dead." Al's voice raised. "And all you can think about is going to war! All you could think about the other day was how you were going to make sure all the alliances held together. You haven't even said anything about it! You're-" he stopped himself before he said something he might regret.

"No, keep going." Amelia paced towards him and Mitra growled softly. "What am I? A sociopath? Crazy? Unfit to make any decisions?"

Al opened his mouth and shut it twice before he started backing away from her. The room was bathed in evening light and Re'na was especially warm. It was hot enough that he could feel himself sweating although that may have been caused by something else.

"Listen." she hissed. "You don't ever question me again. You have no idea what I've lost in my life. You have no idea what I've given up. If I'd never come here, I would have married Fred, started a family and that would have been it. I would have been happy."

"Bullshit." snapped Al. "You wouldn't have been happy with that life. You were born to be a queen."

"That may be true." she conceded, but didn't stop advancing until his back was pressed against a wall and Mitra was at her side. "But don't think for a second I'll ever forgive you."

"For what? For trying to save him?" he breathed.

"You're the one who made sure I never got to say good-bye to my brother. And he was the only goddamn family I had left." Amelia stopped walking and looked at the wolf who came up to her shoulder now.

"I'm sorry." Al whispered but she pretended not to hear him.

"Make sure my army is ready for war. We leave at dawn to take the city." she spoke softly and Al nodded. He walked towards to door and just before he reached it, she said, "I know it sometimes seem like I don't care," she fidgeted awkwardly with her fingers. "But I'm doing the best I can and you used to believe that."

Al was instantly reminded that she was only sixteen years old. She really was the Girl Queen, in so many ways.

"I still do," he tried for a smile but he knew it came out like a grimace. "And I'm always gonna." She smiled politely and when he closed the door behind him he could hear the wolf whimpering while Amelia tried to shush it.

...............

The next morning, everything was ready. Soldiers were lined up and ready to receive their orders. The generals were all in a tent that had been set up and they were awaiting their orders as well. There was an air of anticipation throughout the tens of thousands of people who were gathered. They were just outside the city of Re'na because there was no way everyone could fit inside the city walls. Carts full of food and supplies were being loaded and once that was finished and the Queen was ready, they would be able to start on their way south towards the city. It was warm out, summer was approaching early and the soldiers were sweating under their clothes.

Benvolio was telling a story about some painter of something, Al wasn't really listening. When Eli came up to him he stood up straight and smoothed his rumpled hair. The boy was older than the queen, closer to Al's age. He had intense eyes that always seemed to be figuring people out or looking to make a joke. His face was charming enough but deceitful as well. At least that's what Al thought.

"Alakai." the face smirked at him.

"What?" he frowned. "Also, don't bloody call me Alakai. It's Al."

"Sorry, I was confused." Eli said. Al was about to make a comment saying there was no way he could be confused because there was no way he had ever heard anyone even call him Alakai. But instead he decided he just wanted the guy to leave him alone.

"What the bloody hell do you want?"

"To help you out." he said evasively. "Can we talk privately for a moment?" Benvolio shot them a look and Al thought he saw a look of discontent flash across that innocent face.

"Fine." Al snapped. They walked off to a place as private as anything else. The noise of thousands of people shadowed their conversations from any prying ears. "What do you want?"

"Rose is gone."

"What?" he said in exasperation.

"She left and took the baby with her. And I know where they're going."

"So?"

"So?!" Eli looked gobsmacked at Al's apparent stupidity. "So he's the Silver Son. And Akkedis can never be allowed to have him."

"What the hell are you on about?" Al had to admit, the guy was quite good-looking but not enough to make anything he was saying useful.

"Haven't you heard the prophecy?" he asked and Al shook his head. "You mean to tell me you don't know why he was born?"

"I know why people want to make babies-"

"I'm not talking about that." Eli hissed.

"I have important things to do, okay?" In the distance they could hear enough scrambling that Al knew Amelia was ready to go. "Can we talk about this later?"

"He's going to kill her. And it's going to be your fault." he called after him as Al started walking off.

"Don't go yelling that shit around here." he snarled back.

"It's true." Eli shrugged.

"I'm pretty fucking sure the queen can handle anyone and anything. She's the most powerful person on this earth. She's part Druid, part witch. She has the spirit of this very land in her and the North has called her Emrys. She is the Girl Queen and the Mother of Wolves. Some kid is not going to even make a dent in her." Al leaned in and spoke quietly to Eli, like he was sharing some special secret. Those mischievous eyes darted to Al's and he felt his heart rate increase ever so slightly.

"If you say so." his voice was deep and low. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Just keep it to yourself." Al dismissed him and went to go see Amelia. She was still wearing black but this time it was a tightly fitted jacket and pants. Her hair was pulled into a braid and a small gold crown rested on her head. She looked magnificent. "Your grace." he bowed deeply.

Amelia smiled down at him from on top of Mitra. "Is everything ready to go?"

"Yes."

"There were no difficulties?"

"None at all, your grace."

"Good." Amelia looked around to the other members of the Great Families. "Let's go take my city then."