"We need to declare a war as early as possible," Raelynn suggested without any change in her expression. She fixed her eyes on Lord Eldrick, not caring about the looks the other people around her giving. As soon as she spoke the words, loud whispers erupted in the hall and everybody started to chide the only woman in the room. She even heard one of the ministers nearby scold her quite harshly.
"Women," He scoffed. "They have no idea how to deal with the situation and they think themselves to be great. This is the reason why women should not be allowed to enter the battlefield or the courtroom. They will just ruin us." The man said to another man sitting beside him and received a nod in return. They then started to laugh as though they had just shared a good joke among themselves.
Laurier who heard the man's words crystal clear could not sit still and he stood up to deal with the disgusting man. However, Raelynn stopped him. She shook her head at him and assured him silently. The woman had had it enough. She had given deaf ears to the sexist remarks she had received since the time she had joined the army. She had ignored them until now, not because she did not know how to retaliate. But because she did not want to deal with annoying pigs.
But it was now time for her to show what she was truly capable of. So, left her place and went to stand right in front of the minister who had mocked her a few seconds ago. The man was startled to see a shadow fall on him and when he looked up, he was terrified to see a furious Raelynn. However, the girl changed her expression right away and she gave him a sweet smile that was all the more petrifying.
The courtroom became silent at once when they noticed Raelynn move from her place. This was the first time they were witnessing her confronting someone. Every other time, she would brush off all their insults, making them look like barking dogs who had no better work.
"Minister Erebus, do have something against me? She asked directly, not twisting her words. She had tolerated until her limit, she could not allow men to demean women anymore.
The Lord too saw the commotion that was taking place and one side of his lips curled up. Raeylnn had now taken charge and she would not sit still until the man she was out to battle with was obliterated, with no face to save.
Just like Raelynn, the Lord too hated it when men criticized women, especially the one woman he was fond of. How could he tolerate those obnoxious men treating Raelynn this way and condemning her when he himself treated her with respect? No way. However, it was Raelynn who had stopped him from taking any actions. She did not want her brother to lose his cool at those annoying men.
Now that Raelynn herself had come forward to take care of the men, Eldrick would sit back and enjoy the show. He was waiting for this day for a long time and the opportunity came today. He was not going to miss it.
The Minister who had just badmouthed about Raelynn could not help but gape at her for confronting him directly. He could neither deny it nor could he accept it. He was in the courtroom and his words sure were derogatory. Even the Lord himself would have been angry if he had heard it, although it was not directed at him. Lord Eldrick was a just man and he would never allow anybody to suffer injustice.
Erebus masked his anxiety behind his arrogant face and stared at Raelynn. "Not at all, Commander Rosevelt. Why would I have something against you?"
"In that case, can you repeat whatever you uttered just now?" Raelynn raised an eyebrow and folded her hands. She looked so domineering in her posture that for a second Erebus was tongue tied. Her eyes were cold and she was almost glaring at him. If he were at the war field right now, he would have had his head separated from his body by now. Goosebumps formed on his skin and the man broke into a cold sweat.
Not only him, every other man in the courtroom excluding Laurier and Elderick could feel her intimidating aura. She seemed to be another person altogether, the one they had never seen before. But Laurier felt something else that nobody else experienced. He could see the visible similarities between Raelynn and the Lord whenever they were irked. Their eyes, aura, posture, even their stance: everything was similar.
Laurier looked back and forth between Raelynn and the Lord and he could find resemblance even in their facial structure. Although it was not that prominent, he could still detect them. If they stood beside each other, they could easily pass off as siblings. As soon as the thought came to his mind, a realization hit him. He had known that the Lord had a younger sister about whom not many people knew. He wondered if Raelynn was the Lord's sister and just the thought was enough to send Laurier into high alert.
His chain of thought broke when he heard Raelynn's strong voice boom across the hall. "In that case, who the hell are you to badmouth me?"
Raelynn's choice of words stunned many people in the courtroom, including Eldrick. He had never seen her curse someone before and now that she did, she must be seriously pissed off. Now, he too was infuriated and his hands were itching to chop off the man's head. 'How dare he insult Raelynn?'
"Watch your tone, Commander Rosevelt," Erebus warned her, his face turning serious. "This is blatant disrespect."
"Oh, the man who does not know the meaning of disrespect is talking about being disrespected. If you have the courage to insult someone, I expect to you have the same courage to take the insults thrown at you." Every word of hers was like a slap to the man and he could not find any words to refute her. It was true that he was the one who started it and he was facing his retribution now.
"And what were you talking about women not suitable for being in the courtroom or the battlefield? Or that we will ruin you. I wonder who is the one who frequently visits the red light area. And don't you dare deny it as everybody here knows about your true character." Raelynn reminded and the man shut his mouth once again.
"How dare you men belittle women just because we are physically weaker than you? To be honest, women are stronger than any man present here. If she had not undergone so much pain, no man would be born on earth." Now, Raelynn's every word was directed at all the men in the courtroom and it was like a loud slap to the egoistic men.
"And why should women not participate in courtroom procedures or enroll in the army?" Raelynn darted her eyes around the hall, making sure to look at every man present here. "You better remember that a woman is equal to you in all aspects, superior even. It disgusts me to see that such intellects have such narrow thinking." She pointed her hand at all of them and sighed lightly.
"Although I still have a lot to speak, we are not here to have this discussion here. What we need to concentrate on is our enemy. But before that, let me put forth a warning. From now on, if I hear one wrong word against women from any of you, then you will be answerable to my sword."
As soon as these words left her mouth, audible gasps reverberated in the room. Everybody knew that Raelynn was the most formidable warrior in the kingdom of Volar and winning against her in a one on one battle was impossible, even for the other three Commanders. She was just the best.
After warning even man present in the courtroom, Raelynn went back to her seat. However, she continued standing. She was yet to put forth her points towards the Lord. "My Lord, it is best that we declare war on them soon. Our enemy kingdom is using underhand tactics to get to us and I am sure everybody here to knows about it too. So, why should we waste time in sending a treaty of peace to them when we are sure that they will not accept it?"Minister Rowen could not sit still anymore after hearing this. "Young Lady, we are concerned about the lives of our soldiers as well as our people. We could try our attempt at the truce. If things do not go well, we can wage a war against them." Everybody accepted his words this time and they nodded at him."If everybody agrees to this solution, then I have no problems with it. But let me warn you beforehand that I will not take responsibility if things go wrong in the future. Also, I have something else to inform the Lord." Raelyn
Raelynn hugged Eldrick and the man too reciprocated it with equal vigor and affection. How long had it been since the siblings met each other?"I missed you, Brother," Raelynn whispered as she pushed herself closer towards her brother. She always felt secure in his arms. After their parents' death, it had been Eldrick who had taken care of Raelynn. She had been only seven years when her father was killed by an assassin while her brother was thirteen. Their mother could not tolerate the heartbreak of losing her beloved husband and she fell into depression.Barely a year had passed since their father's death, their mother too left them. Since then, it had only been the two of them and they took care of each other dearly."I missed you too, Raelynn." The Lord replied back with a smile on his face. After his sister decided to join the army, he had been left alone in the palace and he missed her more than anything. He did not have any interest in anything and y
After conversing with her brother, Raelynn reluctantly took her leave from him. It was not every day that she got the opportunity to speak to him and now that she had found a chance, it had ended sooner than the siblings had expected. Eldrick too was not ready to see his sister depart. But he knew that she had her responsibilities and he could not stop her, even if he wanted.Lord Eldrick's chambers were in the far interiors of the palace and other than his trusted servants, nobody else was allowed to enter this part of the palace. So, Raelynn did not have to worry about getting caught wandering in the private quarters of the Lord. Everybody she came across knew who she was as well as her relationship with their Lord. So, they bowed to her and greeted her respectfully.However, the knights guarding the other locations did not know about it and as soon as Raelynn appeared from inside, they gave her one scrutinizing look before they averted their gazes. Raelynn too did n
"The man is planning something malicious. Send someone trustworthy to keep an eye on him." Raelynn ordered, her gaze cold and indifferent. Laurier could even sense her unhappiness from where he was and he looked at her wondering if she had found something."Did you get that vibe too?""Totally. He does not seem like a good man. There is something running in his mind and he approached us with some other intentions which I am unable to comprehend." Raeylnn answered, making sure to keep her voice as low as possible. The palace was not a secure place, especially when there were many who wanted to take over Eldrick's throne. So, she had to be careful about what she spoke even if it was something that meant no harm to anybody."He seems to be over-friendly at our first meeting and that is something not sitting well with me," Laurier added, his lips quirking up with a smile. 'As expected, Raelynn was not that easy to fool.'Raelynn's thoughts evaporated when she
"In that case, what if I say that I like you?" Raelynn shot her question, her eyes fixed on Laurier. She observed the changes in his expressions from confusion to shock and finally, it settled on surprise. He looked utterly flabbergasted and his jaws dropped seeing Raelynn's expecting gaze. Nobody said a word for a long time.While Laurier did not know what to say, Raelynn was waiting for him to speak something. Minutes passed and Raelynn could not take the silence any longer. "Say something." Her voice broke Laurier's stupor and he blinked twice to see if he was hallucinating. He wondered if it was just a dream, a beautiful dream that would end right after his sleep broke. Raelynn could sense his dilemma and giggled. "It's not a dream. I am real, we are real."Only then did Laurier speak, "How? Whe-When? Really?" His tone changed from shock to joy in a few seconds and Raelynn too could hear it."Yes. Laurier, I like you." Seeing Laurier's positive reactions, Ra
The new couple returned to their battalion after spending some more time with each other. Laurier could not believe that he had got the love of his life and that she too felt the same way towards him. Everything felt surreal to him. Moreover, what was highly shocking was that the Lord knew about them and he was happy for them. What more did he need?The knights at the arena saw their Commander and the Knight Commander return. They could feel something to be different about them with the way they were smiling and exchanging glances. But they could not point out what. Raelynn immediately went to her study as she had to prepare a strategy in case a war broke out between the two kingdoms. While Laurier stayed back to convey the information they had discussed during the meeting. The two people had decided to keep their relationship a secret for now until the issue was resolved, although Eldrick already knew about it.Meanwhile, at the palace.After all the commanders
Minister Oakley immediately got to action trying to sort the issue that had popped up out of nowhere. He first contacted the head of merchants who he was all too familiar with. The man was in his fifties and he had been trading and selling his goods in the Kingdom of Volar for quite some time now. The man was well known around the kingdom and all the merchants had unanimously voted him as their leader so that he could put forth their requests before the Lord when needed."Sir Fergus, how is the trade surplus this month? I wonder if there is any improvement or has it been stable like the last few months." Minister Oakley questioned as he took a sip of his tea. Oakley was with the head of merchants, Sir Fergus. The man seemed to have the built of a knight and just by his stance alone, anybody could make out how trained his body was. However, not many people knew that the man was actually a knight and had served Lord Eldrick's father once upon a time."Minister Oakley, there
Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Hollis.A courtroom session was in full progress and the ministers were in deep discussion. And, the king of the land, Dimitri Vegus looked at everybody with a bored expression. He had no idea why they were even trying to complicate things when he had the easiest solution. His wicked eyes ran around trying to read through the people's minds. After a long time, silence ensued in the hall and Dimitri raised his eyebrows wondering what his genius ministers had come up with."My King, after a lot of discussion and suggestions we have decided to attack the kingdom of Volar when they would have lowered their guards against us." One of the men with a small white beard stood up and started to put forth his words before the evil man.Dimitri smiled suddenly and it was one filled with mystery. Nobody knew what was running in his mind, not that they ever did. The man was the most enigmatic creature anybody had ever seen. His mind functioned in