A SLIVER OF resistance rose immediately in the form of several brave Imperial guards. Those guards charged whole-heartedly at Ravenna, their swords raised and aimed at her chest. Screams and cursed shouts electrified the air. Weaponless humans cowered against the walls of the room, shielding themselves with anything that they had.

She simply snapped her fingers.

Ice soldiers materialized around her. The guards were easily overpowered. The bloodshed was swift. Vyses waved a glowing red hand and their bodies were disposed of before anyone could blink.

The screams died out swiftly. Those that remained stayed frozen around the edges of the room, their terrified eyes glued to Ravenna. She stood and glanced around the room, offering a warm smile.

"I intend to bring great changes to this kingdom," she announced. She snapped her glowing fingers again and her ice soldiers vanished. "Changes that I hope will create a safer and more accepting attitude throughout. I have traveled through almost every city and small town located within our borders. I have seen the difficulties and hardships that our people face daily."

She stepped away from the throne and moved toward the crowd of people in front of her. "We have the power to change that. To create a world that is peaceful, that is worth living in. And I intend to make that happen. I will do whatever it takes."

Her hand lifted and she pointed her index finger at the double doors that marked the exit to the throne room. A small beam of ice blue magic burst from her fingertip. It engulfed the doors and forced them open.

"You are all dismissed for the night," Ravenna said.

There was no immediate resistance after that.

The entire kingdom seemed to transform overnight. Ravenna moved into the official royal chambers, while Vyses and Lyth claimed their own rooms within the palace. Vyses eased into his position as lead royal adviser. He worked directly with the other advisers and Ravenna.

Word of Eoin's death traveled fast. Ravenna permitted an extravagant funeral for Eoin, along with the customary days of mourning. Those days passed quickly — too quickly for Ravenna. It took all of her strength to stifle her feelings of guilt and sadness regarding Eoin and focus on her newfound job as Queen.

Ruling over an entire kingdom was a lot harder than it initially had appeared.

She did her best to meet with her advisers for hours each day. Their discussions centered around the specific changes that Ravenna wanted to make, as well as any potential issues that arose within the kingdom. She did her best to remain level headed and compassionate when communicating with the royal advisers. She wanted them to trust her and to be able to understand her perspective. Despite her initial show of power, she genuinely wanted to avoid using brute force to get her way unless absolutely necessary. To do this, she tried to focus on some of the smaller changes that she wanted first. She did her best to make more food and funds available to the people outside the Capitol. Expenses used for celebratory feasts were cut back and refocused toward aiding farmers on the outskirts of the kingdom.

The smaller changes that she requested made the royal advisers nervous. They argued and verbally fought against them. Vyses was quick to jump in at her aid, however. He was skilled with the ability to respond in such a way that gave the royal advisers little to fight back with.

She waited until a full week had passed before she announced that she wanted the Imperial guards dismantled.

"I want the current Imperial guard abolished," Ravenna said the moment everyone arrived at their usual morning meeting. She sat at the head of a long, golden table with her crossed her arms over her chest. She eyed the men in front of her carefully. "I have seen first-hand the damage that they inflict. They prey upon the innocent, upon the weak. They do more harm than good."

Her announcement took the royal advisers by surprise. They shifted around nervously in their seats and exchanged worried glances. "Those men protect our kingdom," one of the advisers said. His voice trembled with shock. "The Imperial guards are our kingdoms first line of defense against crime and injustice. The kingdom will erupt into chaos without their presence."

Another adviser nodded along fervently. "Our people will also be uncontrollable without their presence," he added. "Our guards also serve to prevent uprisings. Their purpose is to maintain peace within each city and protect."

"Uprisings?" Ravenna arched an eyebrow at that.

"Uprisings against those in charge," the adviser explained. "Not every individual will agree with the new changes that are being made. It is important that we have the ability to enforce them."

Ravenna frowned at him. "From my experience, an uprising typically occurs when those in charge do not listen to the needs of their people. As long as people are happy, then we should not have to worry."

"That is an admirable thought," one of the advisers snorted.

Vyses cleared his throat. He leaned forward in his seat to Ravenna's right, his crossed arms casually resting atop the table. "I recommend that we utilize a magic-based solution. We can create ice soldiers as an initial replacement for the Imperial guards. Since these soldiers are not human, they will not succumb to corrupt human desires and behaviors. They are also expendable and easily replaced, unlike our human guards."

"Those horrendous creatures of yours were rumored to be abusive toward our people," one of the advisers seated across from Vyses snapped. "There are many horror stories about them floating around. Most of our people are scared of them."

"Those rumors were entirely unfounded," Vyses retorted. "Have you personally asked anyone from Zeporia how they felt about the ice soldiers?"

The royal advisers hesitated at that.

Ravenna added, "I do like the idea of using expendable magic creatures rather than actual humans. Our people would not have to risk their own lives."

"It opens the door for more corruption," an adviser said. He shook his head and scowled, careful to avoid Ravenna's gaze. "Please forgive my abruptness, your majesty. But I highly recommend that we avoid abolishing the Imperial guard."

Another adviser nodded in agreement. "I agree as well. There are many aspiring wizards and witches within our kingdom. Any one of them could use their own magic to gain control of the soldiers."

"The same could be said for our current soldiers," Ravenna commented. "I, myself, have come across a multitude of spells that aim for control over other human beings."

Vyses was quick to chime in. "Before we implement this particular change, Ravenna and I can work on creating a spell that will prevent our soldiers from being compromised by other magical users. We can make it so that the soldiers are only compatible with our own magic."

"That could pose issues further down the line," one of the advisers said. "Should either of you pass away, the rest of the kingdom will have no way of controlling the soldiers if an uprising occurs."

Ravenna narrowed her eyes. "You speak as if an uprising is guaranteed to happen," she remarked.

The advisers shifted around in their seats again. One interlaced his fingers and stared intently at the table. "There is something that you should be aware of, your majesty," he said.

"Spit it out," Vyses snapped. His wine colored eyes flashed bright crimson.

"There has been whispers of rebellion," the adviser said. He glared intently at Vyses. "In the outermost villages. There have been some attacks against the Imperial guards stationed there."

"Attacks aren't whispers," Ravenna commented.

Vyses scowled. "How many attacks have there been so far?"

"Two small villages have been completely liberated," he answered quietly. He seemed to cower in his seat. "The Imperial guards that were stationed there either fled or were killed."

Vyses slammed his hands against the table and stood. "Excuse me?" he snarled, each word dripping with poisonous anger. The advisers visibly flinched. Each one began to scramble for an explanation, tripping and stumbling over the right words.

Ravenna simply stared at them. She felt her talisman burning against her chest and a surge of anger boiled within her blood. It took all of her strength to stifle it. "Why are we just now being told about this?" she asked.

The advisers bowed their heads. "I beg for your forgiveness, your majesty," one of them said solemnly. "We only received word about both incidents earlier this morning. We do not have all the details yet."

"We had planned to bring it up for discussion during our meeting this morning," another adviser added. "Several Imperial guards have already been sent out to the villages to investigate."

Vyses glowered at them. "So you have known about this for several hours now?"

"We do not yet have all the specifics about the attacks," an adviser retorted. "We do not know yet if the culprits behind these attacks are local or foreign."

"I understand," Ravenna responded. She ignored the heated glare that Vyses sent her way. "In the future, however, I would appreciate it if I was told the moment you heard word. I would very much like to be involved with how we decide to react to things like this."

"I advise that we send several of our own soldiers," Vyses said. He stared hard at Ravenna. "Possibly Lyth as well. He can return back quicker with a status report."

Ravenna nodded and Vyses seemed to relax. "I agree," she said. "This is a very delicate situation and the faster we have a status report the better. We also need to go ahead and send ice soldiers to the other cities and villages as well. I want to prevent as much loss as possible."

The advisers exchanged an uncertain look and then nodded in agreement. Vyses snapped his fingers and opened his hand. A sphere of crimson magic formed just above his open palm, hovering midair. He tossed it toward the ground and it expanded, stretching into a large, rectangular doorway.

Lyth stepped through the crimson magic, walking into the room. Several ice soldiers followed him and moved to stand behind him. The portal disappeared behind him. He bowed at the waist. The advisers handed a rolled up piece of parchment to Vyses.

Vyses glanced it over and then handed it to Lyth. "This details the afflicted villages. Be back before sundown."

Lyth nodded. Both he and the ice soldiers vanished within a flash of crimson.

The meeting was adjourned and the advisers hastily made their retreat from the room. Ravenna remained seated, but slumped back in her seat. She brought her hands to her face.

"What is wrong, lass?" Vyses asked her, his voice soft.

"There is already an uprising," she responded. Anxiety flooded through her, twisting her stomach into tight knots. "The people are already revolting against me."

Vyses stood and moved closer to her. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Breathe, Ravenna," he said. "There is something fishy about this situation. I'm not entirely convinced that it is a true uprising yet. Lyth will be back with more information soon."

She rubbed at her temples.

Vyses was right. There wasn't much that she could do except speculate — at least not until Lyth returned. 

~

I'm sorry that I wasn't able to post last week! Everything has been so crazy. I feel like I blinked and a full two weeks passed. I'm hoping that things will calm down soon. I really appreciate your patience and continued support! 

Thank you all so much for reading what has been posted so far!! I seriously appreciate you all so, so much!! I hope that you all have had a rockin' week so far! ❤❤❤

ash ❤