DEMON CRY

48.

'I do not understand,' one of the Ministers voiced his thoughts, 'How can the Demon Queen accuse us of such...' He struggled to find the appropriate word. 

Eventually, he gave up and chuckled mirthlessly, 'It is a riotous act on her part.' 

'As much as we all agree to that,' Chosen Heir Amara began. Her voice resonated through the Throne Hall, demanding to be heard. 'We cannot disregard the danger looming near our borders.' She leaned pointing at the running her finger along the jagged lines of the west Tracovian border. 

It was surprising to some, how confidently she spoke. 

Little did they know that she had spent the entire night going through Prince Damien's research- which had an awful lot about demons, from their anatomy to their laws, and necromancy. Despite her tired and aching body that yearned for some rest, she pushed herself to stand straight and appear attentive. 

Immediately, after breakfast, she met with the King with her questions. He listened to her and helped her refine them- removing the redundant ones to make her sound diplomatic. 

'The most vulnerable province is Tracovia,' she encircled the province with her finger. 'The last time, when the Demon Army had taken over,' she explained, 'they had encroached the entire province and had set up their camps on our plains. If we act now, we will have the upper hand.' 

'Why do you think that the Demon Queen would act so foolishly by sending an Army against us? We defeated her forces the last time. She has to be smarter if she wants to win.' 

Amara had expected some resistance from the Ministers but never from Sir Rowan- even if she was slightly suspicious that there was something wrong with him. 

The Demon Queen is smart because Damien is not here with us, she bit back her emotional retort. 

'What would you think she wouldn't, Sir Rowan?' She resisted the urge to raise her brows at him. 

'Why would you think she would, Chosen Heir Amara?'

'Sir Rowan, with all due respect, I think you forget that we received a certain message from the Demon King.' 

'You, child, forget that our spies have reported nothing as such. We cannot attack in vain.'

'They do not know if Prince Damien is in the Demon Kingdom.'

The old man grinned, triumphant. 

'But it would be erroneous to assume that the Demon Queen doesn't have him.' 

'Are you saying that our spies are incompetent?'

Frustration gripped her. He was twisting her words! 

She should've known that if she went into an argument with him, she would fail miserably- and she was. Gathering her strong emotions, she stood up straight.

'What I am saying is that we must not make the mistake of assuming otherwise. If our assumptions are wrong, it would cost us much.'

Damien. 

'But you said so yourself, Chosen Heir Amara, that the Demon King sent the horrid message. What if the Demon Queen is different? What if we can come to a compromise?' A Minster asked. 

Amara wanted to lash out at them but that was not the way of the Royals. They had to appear calm and collected. All of them in the Council... they were testing her and she'd be damned if she didn't go down fighting. 

'Of course, why not? We can send a message to the Demon Queen before we send our Armies to Tracovia.' 

The Minister who had suggested this gave her a rather vacuous smile which she curtly wiped away by saying, 'That is if you expect an emotionally unstable woman who cannot find her husband's head to come to a compromise.'

She turned her attention away from him and looked at the Council that had gathered in the Throne Hall. 'We have to be prepared to retaliate.'

'I agree with Princess Amara,' Lord Tyhane broke the silence, 'We had better be prepared because we are walking on thin ice.' 

Amara almost smiled at him. At least someone agreed with her. She didn't turn to face the King and Queen just yet. She wanted more of them to step forth and agree to her cause. 

'At this time of the year, it will be difficult to monitor the borders because of the winter storm,' Felicia added, 'The sooner we get there, the more we can fortify.' 

A couple of Ministers agreed with her too and Amara's heart swelled with joy. The Shalore concurred with her too. 

She had garnered the majority. 

The reasoning was over and it was supposedly the easy part, according to the King. The tough part was to decide the number of warriors that will be deployed at the borders. 

'Any volunteers?' The King asked. 

Lord Tyhane rose to his feet, 'It would be my honour to guide them, Your Highness.' 

Felicia got to her feet, taking everyone by surprise, 'I volunteer, my King.' 

Amara saw the disbelief on Rowan's face. She also noticed how his eyes landed at his daughter- almost as if he could see her. When she turned back to the monarchs, she caught the Queen watching her brother too. 

Does the Queen know about his sight?

Amara shrugged it off. There were other matters to attend to. 'I too volunteer,' she said which startled the Council. 

'Chosen Heir Amara cannot lead the army. She is inexperienced and does not know warcraft.' 

That, Amara admitted, did put her at a disadvantage- but volunteering made her feel a step closer to Damien. When she read his research, she could help but feel that it had something to do with the First War that had ended with the death of the Demon Prince. 

The Demon Queen must have been distraught over the death of her son. 

Could it be her revenge?

But what of the untimely demise of the Demon King? 

And what of Damien's curse? He had been cursed right after their victory. 

Could it have anything to do with the Demon monarchs?

Could they have cursed him? 

Surely, if the Demon Queen belonged to the Lornis clan, she could bring her son back. She could even bring back her husband. 

Why wasn't she doing so?

Why did Damien's research have so much about necromancy?

Amara understood that he did not want the Demon Prince to rise again, lest he committed another genocide but what...

Suddenly, everything clicked in into place inside her head. It seemed to merge perfectly together into one big picture- but Amara had her doubts. Before she could relay this information to the King and Queen, she had to go through the process of resurrection as done by the Lornis Clan. 

The King's corpse, Your Highness. It was headless.

'Chosen Heir Amara?' the King's voice caught her attention. 

She looked at him with a blank expression, 'Yes, my King?' 

Headless.

'Do you concur with the decision of the Council? Lord Tyhane to lead the warriors.' 

For now, she could only agree. 'Yes, Your Highness, I concur.'

What if something happened to the Demon Prince's head too?