Letter from the inside|Skyheort, Talen'sul

[Northen Light36]

Late on the night of Lya and company's return to Talen'sul, an exhusted, dirty and hungry Ann Firachild stumbles up to the gates of Lya's home, clutching a letter tightly in one hand as she rings the bell on the gate.

[Kender Bard]

A servant opens the door, then starts at the sight of Ann. This particular guard recognized the young Fire heir. "Lady Firachild!" He opens the gates abruptly. "My word, just look at you. You look like you're ready to drop. Come, come in. We'll get you something warm to drink, quarters prepared, and a bath drawn. How does that sound?"

[Northen Light36]

Ann nods tiredly, then glances at the letter and adds, "I need to see Lady Lya right away. Lord Tuono sent me." Stumbling slightly, she makes her way inside, greatful to be out of the cold.

[Kender Bard]

The guard snaps his fingers at the first servent he sees, explaining the situation. The servant nods and scurries away hastily while the guard leads Ann to a comfy couch, then goes to take his post again. A warm hot cocoa drink is brought for Ann to sip, then Lya makes her appearance. The Queen, in good spirits again, looked like her usual radiant self since she begun to return to normalcy. "Ann! It's lovely to see you again. You must have set a great speed to reach us from Maelstrom and look the way you do. I do hope you haven't made yourself ill from the process. What is it that you need?"

[Northen Light36]

Ann looks up tiredly from her drink and a hint of sorrow crosses her expression. She almost doesn't want to give her friend the letter she's carrying, but she knows she has to. Well at least she can pass on the message Damien sent her with first. "Uncle Damien heard you and King Shadow had a child. He wanted me to pass on his congratulations... And..." more quietly now, "Tuono told me to give you this..." She holds out the letter.

It reads;
Dear Lya,

I fear this letter must be short and contain nothing but
grief and bad news. Mathew Mellissan arrived in the city
today, claiming rulership... and Shadow's death. He carries
the sword of my lord and since there is no sign Shadow will
arrive to counter this man's claims, I must fear the worst. Flash
and another man were brought into the city as prisoners and
I fear I will join them before this message reaches you.

Within hours of his arrival, Mathew and his men had locked the
gates and began hunting and arresting those he knew to be
loyal to the king. Through pure chance, I was able to escape to
my own home with Ann. If all goes well, I shall be able to get
her out of the city. I hold no such hope for myself.

All I can do now is pray for the safety of yourself and your
daughter, my Queen, and for the slightest chance of the
return of King Shadow.

Farewell,
Tuono

[Kender Bard]

"Oh Forces," Lya whispered, dropping the letter as if it burned her to touch it. She backed up with a look that resembled a trapped and frightened animal. "Oh Etaf!!"

One of the servants peeked in, hearing her Lady's distress. She was barely able to get out of the way as Lya fled from the room. Stepping inside, she looked at Ann in confusion. "Should I fetch Queen Salacia, my lady, while the Queen, ah, composes herself?"

[Northen Light36]

The queen's reaction had startled the young Fire as well. She'd expected anger, as Damien would show, or sorrow, as Tres might display, but not something like that. Speechless for the moment, she merely nods.

[Kender Bard]

The servant discreetly picks up the letter and walks out with it. Not much longer, Salacia showed up, bearing a look of cold fury that would possibly even impress Damien.

"That BASTARD!" the queen cursed. In her hand was the letter. She'd been debriefed on the way over. Belatedly, she added, "Oh, sorry dear child. Do not worry about Lya. Two shocks, so close together, can do strange things to a beleaguered woman. Is there anything that you need? Anything more you can tell me about the state that Maelstrom is in? Particularly in terms of if I have time to plan or if I should send runners to immediately fortify the city."

[Northen Light36]

Ann hesitates, giving Salacia an uncertain look. Sure, the Fire Heir is beginning training in the arts of warfare, but her training is focused on her own land, not the enclosed walls of cities. "Clans can group quickly... We're used to moving fast... But how do cities fight? How fast can they move?" Ann's exhusted thoughts start blurring together in her mind, but before she can work herself into a panic, her mind flashes back to a lesson with Damien.

"Always avoid pairing warriors from one clan with an Elder from another if you can. People fight better with those they know and new leaders have to take awhile to settle themselves with their new group."

The memory calms the child and gives her an answer. Surely if that's how it is for clans, it'll be the same for cities, right? "I think you have time to plan, but you should set sco-guards to be safe," Ann tells Salacia slowly. "The city seemed all confused when Tuono was getting me out."

[Kender Bard]

Salacia nods, snapping her fingers slightly. She was having similar thoughts as Ann's memories prompted her, though her mind was racing back home, to Contrasta, and how the people of Morilanta always chose a time to become hostile while the royal family was experiencing a shift in power.

"You're right," she agreed. "Thank you, Ann. Make ready use of the servants here. I'm going to send the orders out to begin fortifying the city, but to do so discreetly. Please don't leave the grounds though. And-" she shared a warm smile for the Fire heir. "-you are a very brave girl. Get some rest."

[Northen Light36]

Ann nods and manages a small smile as she stands up to go find a servant and see about that bath she was promised. Part of her feels guilty about using the servants, a few experiences of having her backside tanned by Tres and Damien both have cured the girl of the sense of superiourity she had had as a five-year-old, but her exhustion overcomes her training. There's no harm in letting herself be spoilled a little just this once. This isn't home after all.