The hellish red sun was hanging up in the sky, casting a dark reddish hue over the bustling central town of the northern lands.

Excitement buzzed through the air, as people from all walks of life gathered in the town square of the north, their anticipation palpable. Word had spread quickly that their beloved queen herself would address the public personally, a first for the ruler of the Bloodburn Kingdom.

Their respect for her strength and bravery had skyrocketed after hearing news of how she tore through the battlefield to save her consort and even killed the Kraken with her consort’s help.

Whispers filled the air as the people speculated on the queen’s reasons for her unprecedented appearance.

They knew she planned to address the issues plaguing the northern lands, but none had expected her to take on such a task personally. Even those who had earlier rebelled found themselves among the crowd.

The dispirited rebels stood shoulder to shoulder with their representatives, the despair of their rebellion failing weighing heavily on their hearts.

The queen had promised them answers and solutions, but whether she would truly help them remained uncertain.

They couldn’t help but fear that she could also have called them all here to punish them for rebelling.

Nonetheless, with the Umbralfiends defeated, they saw little point in continuing their rebellion.

Still, some of them were seething in anger and hate, especially after hearing the news of the massacre of an entire village where some of their dear ones died in the massacre. But if the queen was really behind it, why would she be setting up a meeting like this?

As the crowd swelled, conversations rose and fell like waves on a restless sea. Eyes scanned the horizon, searching for any sign of the queen’s arrival. For many, it would be their first glimpse of the young queen who had guided the kingdom through tumultuous times not too long ago.

Then, a hush fell upon the masses as a royal procession appeared on the horizon. The queen’s regal figure came into view, mounted on her majestic steed.

Her face looked pale yet her presence was magnetic, drawing the attention of every man, woman, and child present. Walking behind her was the royal consort and his protector, making most of the people feel even more excited, especially since they had heard of his bravery and how he was the master of the baby Kraken.

They now felt that the royal consort had become quite important to the queen, be it because of love or political reasons.

The air seemed to crackle with an electric charge, as if the very atmosphere acknowledged the significance of this moment.

As Rowena and Asher stood on the platform with all five Bloodborn Guards behind them, a sea of faces looked up at her in awe, fear, and hope.

There were five representatives elected by those who rebelled, each bearing the weight of their people’s grievances, who stood before the queen with a mix of emotions etched upon their faces.

Rowena, her regal bearing and steely gaze commanding the attention of all present, addressed the five representatives before her, “I stand before you today not just as your queen but as someone who wishes to address the struggles and hardships you have endured,” she began, her voice resonating with sincerity, “But before I speak on the matters at hand, I would like to hear from each of you just in case any grievances happen to go under my eyes.”

The representatives exchanged glances, surprise flickering across their faces at the queen’s unexpected request. It was a rare occurrence for a monarch to openly invite the opinions of commoners, let alone their criticism.

The first representative, a tall, grizzled man with a stern expression, eyed the queen cautiously while making sure to not disrespect her by looking her in the eyes.

Years of battling the hardships of the northern lands had hardened him, but beneath his guarded exterior lay a flicker of hope that things might finally change for the better.

Upon hearing her words, his stern countenance momentarily softened, cleared his throat, and stepped forward, “Your Majesty, I am Kelurn from the Farshore Village,” he began, his voice rough yet weary and sad, “We have long suffered from neglect and lack of resources in the northern lands for more than a year, especially because of our waters becoming poisoned. Our people struggle to survive in harsh conditions, with little to no support from our lords, despite how hard we have been working to fulfill the needs of our kingdom. When we asked our lords why they couldn’t help us, they said they were helpless without the necessary support from Your Majesty since they were also suffering, living in the same lands as us.”

Rowena silently nodded before looking at the next representative, who was a younger woman with fiery red hair. She held her chin high, her piercing gaze was just below the queen’s face.

Though her eyes shone with defiance and pride, they also betrayed a desperate longing for solutions and stability for her people.

“You may speak,” Rowena said as the woman took a deep breath, “Your Majesty…I am Yoia from the Graystone Village,” Her tone became passionate and sad as she continued, “Half of the people in my village dropped dead within weeks after the food and resources we were supposed to receive from our lords were stolen by bandits. This continued to happen not only to us but to other villages as well, and our lords said they did their part and catching the bandits was only something Your Majesty was capable of.”

Rowena silently nodded before looking at the next one.

The third representative, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a face weathered by grief, suddenly clasped his hands together as if to hold back the overwhelming emotions that threatened to spill forth. His voice, which was usually strong and steady, wavered and broke as he began to recount a harrowing tale.

“Your Majesty, I-I am Muner,” he choked out, tears threatening to brim over his dark eyes, “On the eve of the war, all my people of the Blackleaf Village were mercilessly massacred. I had left for a brief period to see if I could get some fruits for my grandchildren…B-But…when I returned, I found my family and fellow villagers piled atop a pyre of logs, their lifeless bodies reduced to mere ashes as the last embers of the fire still smoldered. The air was thick with the scent of their burning flesh, and I stood there…unable to comprehend the horror that lay before me. The only reason I could think of was that this was to punish us for rebelling even though our rebellion never caused any deaths. All we ever did was stop working and stage a protest to get what we were owed. D-Did my family and my people really deserve such cruelty for toiling our entire lives for the kingdom?”

As he spoke, some of the ones in the gathered crowd, especially the ones who participated in the rebellion, had their faces turn into a mixture of grief and rage. The silence that followed was heavy with shared pain, and the air seemed to grow colder as the man’s heart-wrenching words echoed through the square.𝑜𝑽xt.𝗇t

Asher, who was standing beside Rowena, already knew who massacred the entire village. If he wanted, he could throw Edmund into a pool of flames right here and now, but no…Asher wanted to punish Edmund himself, and he wasn’t going to let anyone else have that satisfaction.

Rowena silently nodded before looking at the other two representatives, who bowed and said that their fellow representatives had addressed whatever they had in mind.

Rowena’s gaze swept over the crowd, especially the aggrieved ones, her voice steady and resonant as she addressed their concerns, “I am aware of the troubles you have faced, and I want you to know that I have not been neglecting you,” she began, her words holding the weight of her sincerity, “On the contrary, I have been tirelessly searching for solutions to your problems, including the poisoning of your waters, which, as it turns out, was the work of the Umbralfiends – the very enemies of our kingdom that some of you chose to side with.”

The five representatives and their people lowered their faces, their hearts thumping in their chests, as the gravity of their actions began to sink in.

“Under normal circumstances,” Rowena continued, her voice firm but not unkind, “rebelling against the kingdom would be an unforgivable crime, met with the harshest of punishments.”

The air grew tense as the crowd anticipated the queen’s judgment.

However, Rowena’s next words brought a wave of relief, “But I understand the reasons behind your actions, and I recognize that none of you started this rebellion with any malicious intent. As such, I will not punish any of you except the ones truly responsible for all this.”

Hearing her last sentence, the people mumbled to each other, wondering what she meant by that. Was she saying that someone purposefully caused all this? That was huge news!

Her voice softened as she added, “You must understand that, as your queen, I am not an all-knowing or an all-powerful devil. I am still only one person charged with the care of our entire kingdom and the constant vigilance against those who seek to do us harm. But that also means I can’t keep a close eye on everything or be there for everyone at the same time. Nevertheless, I would never choose to neglect any of you and weaken our kingdom since, without you all, there won’t be a kingdom.”

The people nodded slowly, their teary eyes filled with a newfound understanding of the heavy burden their queen carried and how she seem to really care about them.

The fourth representative, a middle-aged woman, her lips quivering, looked up at Rowena and bravely spoke, “Your Majesty, if we are truly in the wrong, we are prepared to accept any punishment. But before that, we humbly beg you to tell us who, or what is responsible for our suffering.”

Rowena nodded as she looked at Asher with a knowing glance.

Asher took out his Whisperstone as he said with a glint in his eyes, “Caelum, it’s time.”