The Blood Queen ordered me to raise her army so I needed the House of Lords to bequeath their loyalty, and their soldiers to fight underneath her banner.
With the power as the General of the Queen’s Army, I summoned a Lord’s Hall to be held. My second-in-command Lieutenant General Ishionte Eshari greeted me.
“General Silvenor,” he said, with a salute. “The House of Lords have all gathered in the Lord’s Hall.”
“All Seven?” I asked.
Lieutenant General nodded. “The Lords of Houses Therían, Ciarán, Iridián, Lí, Bernón, Deontè and Aedán are all present, General.”
I clasped the iron claw-shaped ring on my finger, and turned it back and forth. The black ring curved like a claw with a red dip at the end, and a painted droplet at the center. The mark of the Blood Queen. Wearing her ring proved that I had her favor, and my words are her words. The Lords are to listen to me as if the Queen spoke to them.
The Lieutenant General said, “General Silvenor? Are you ready, sir?”
I gave one last look at the reflection glass to address my appearance. I wore the Blood Queen’s black uniform, the long sleeves clung to the contours of my biceps, and the slopes of the torso flattered the tight lines of my abdomen with black trousers and the vested uniform slimmed down my bust that pressed against the tunic.
“I’m ready,” I said.
I adjusted the cape against my shoulders and swung away from the mirror with crisp clicks of my booted heels on the smooth black tiled floors. I left Lieutenant General Eshari rushing to catch up.
The Lord’s Hall bustled with the chatter of low voices, the clinks of wine goblets, and the hearty burps now and then from good meat. The two guards at the door saw us arriving and pulled the double doors open to let us in.
The herald blew the horn and after garnering attention of the room he called out, “The General of the Queen’s Army, Silvia Silvenor and the Lieutenant General Ishionte Eshari!”
The seven House Lords looked up from dining and consorting.
Valdrin Therían from the House of Therían.
Cade Ciarán from the House of Ciarán.
Isaura Iridián from the House of Iridián.
Takai Lí from the House of Lí.
Slavo Bernón from the House of Bernón.
Dajia Deonté from the House of Deontè.
Lastly Adelina Aedán from the House of Aedán.
“Let’s be seated, House Lords,” I said.
I gestured to the High Table at the front of the room. Behind each tall seat was the banner for each house. In the center seat was the banner of the Blood Queen, and there I sat, representing the Queen herself.
The House Lords met eyes then all took their seats.
The herald blew the horn. “Let the meeting commence!”
I flicked my finger to the scribe, and he began to take the notes.
I said, “I’ll get straight to the heart of the matter. The Queen is declaring war on the Open Lands.”
The House Lords reacted.
Valdrin Therían, from the House of Therían, lifted his broad chin.
Takai Lí, from the House of Lí, he only slightly narrowed his dark slim eyes.
Adelina Aedán, from the House of Aedán and the only female Lord, she clicked her teeth and shook her head.
The other House Lords gasped with shock and looked about anxiously.
Then one asked, “Is it true?”
I said, “It is true. Her patience has run dry with the Open Land’s rebellion for the past 10 years. The Blood Queen has survived her latest assassination attempt and now she will crush those who have stood up to her and her rule. The Queen requires the House Lords to loyally give over your soldiers underneath my command, and arise as the Blood Queen’s Army.”
Isaura Iridián from the House of Iridián spoke.
“You know what this means, don’t you General?” he said. “For the Army leave to the Underground Realms and lay siege to the Open Lands? It’s madness.”
“Ay take care of how ya speak in the Queen’s name,” spoke up Slavo Bernón from the House of Bernón, who’s always been quick to defend the Queen, even in her absence. “Don ya know she’s tha most powerful Queen we’ve had in centuries? I, Slavo Bernón of the House of Bernón, loyally offer the Bernón troops to the Blood Queen’s Army.”
I slid over the royal decree, and Slavo Bernón stamped his lord’s signature on the scroll.
Dajia Deonté from the House of Deontè twirled his finger around his long dark braid that dangled in the front of his smooth brown face, the rest of his braids bound at the back of his head.
“Alright,” he said deeply. “Say we sign this. How soon does the Queen of Blood and Bone expect our troops rallied and ready for war?”
“Be ready at any time,” I said. “We are going to war. 10 years of assassination attempts during our Queen’s rule, let alone the attempts before her coronation has finally worn the Queen down. She will not be passive any longer.”
Cade Ciarán from the House of Ciarán, and the only House Lord who’s a powerful sorcerer able to summon dark beings and has defensive black magic, said, “Very well. It won’t bode well to deny the Blood Queen anything. I, Cade Ciarán, of the House of Ciarán loyally offer the Ciarán troops to the Blood Queen’s Army.”
It was Lord Ciarán to next stamp his House Lord’s signature onto the royal decree scroll.
After that the other House Lords fell into line until it was the only female Lord left, Adelina Aedán from the House of Aedán.
She asked, “Does the Queen of Blood and Bone have any idea who is behind the assassination attempts?”
“That is not the point of this meeting,” I said. “Do you loyally offer the Aedán troops to the Blood Queen’s Army?”
Adelina Aedán looked around and saw the rest of the House Lords all looking at her. She exhaled, and nodded.
I pushed the six-stamped royal decree to her.
She said, “I, Adelina Aedán, of the House of Aedán loyally offer the Aedán troops to the Blood Queen’s Army.”
I accepted the royal decree scroll and looked at it, reading down the list of the names.
Slavo Bernón, House of Bernón.
Cade Ciarán, House of Ciarán.
Dajia Deonté, House of Deontè.
Valdrin Therían, House of Therían.
Isaura Iridián, House of Iridián.
Takai Lí, House of Lí.
Adelina Aedán, House of Aedán.
I nodded firmly, and rolled up the royal decree. All of the House of Lords had signed. The Queen would be pleased.
“So we’re agreed,” I said. “The Blood Queen’s Army will rise.”
The House Lords all hailed, “All Hail the Blood Queen’s Army!”
I twisted the iron claw ring on my finger.
It is done, my queen.
The End.
I hope you enjoyed, Storytellers! That’s all from the Queen of Blood & Bone! I’ll be going forward with short stories on Fridays.
Until next time,
A. E.
Queen Rae of Blood and Bone Pt 1
The assassin twirled his dagger around in nimble well-trained fingers.
Interesting. Is it a stand-alone short story or a tie-in for a longer story? It did seem like there was a lot of world behind it.
It was also fascinating how the war read as a tragedy in the making what with the lords not actually believing they could defeat the open lands, but the narrator never actually showed emotion toward the situation, only thinking that the queen would be pleased. Are they?
Thank you for sharing this.
It was a ✨️ shiny new idea 💡 so it has a lot of potential to be a longer piece. I didn't want to get too deeply involved with writing it and abandon my current WIP so I left it where it was. Thanks for reading and commenting! I hope you enjoyed 😁