The raid on the mines was set to begin in a day's time, the rebels around her in the camp were preparing and readying to receive the refugees. All of the Rebels that were actually going to be part of the attack were already moving into position and had left camp yesterday since the mines were about a day's ride from where the rebels camp was located to the north of the mines. Elexis stood now at the center of the chaos of the camp, the rebels flowing around her like a stream parting for a stone in a river.
She had wanted to go and participate in the attack on the mines, so had Axton but Airlech and Ominae had told her she was too recognizable and that Axton needed to stay here to protect her. She had learned to stop reminding them she could protect herself a long while back. They had lived through those days two, when they had thought the queens could protect themselves if needed. They had remembered what had happened because of it. But she still made sure that Axton knew that she didn't need protection even if the rebel council disagreed.
Reagan and Bevin had gone through, they were with the group tasked with freeing the southwestern quadrant of the mines. She had wanted to have Reagan head the break in not the getaway but after getting a letter from Brana she couldn't bring herself to put Reagan in the thick of it. Though she certainly hadn't told Reagan, who had seemed quite grumpy upon hearing her assignment, why exactly she was on babysitting duty. She had stationed Bevin as Reagan's counterpart, the head of the crew that was going in and getting the slaves before bringing them back to the wagons where Reagan would be waiting. She knew Reagan likely wouldn't be the best person to have in charge of a bunch of wide eyed shell shocked slaves. She also knew Reagan was the only one pitiless enough to keep them moving and quiet even if they were about to break down into sobs.
"You know there's a good chance she isn't there." Ominae said from where she stood near the head tent behind Elexis. Elexis avoided snapping back that there was a good chance Elspeth wasn't anywhere but she reminded herself to have patience with Ominae, she was a mother reconciling a daughter risen from the dead. Ominae had never believed that Elspeth made it out, even if they hadn't found a body, she had never dared hope that Elspeth had survived. Yet she only had one string woven into her hair, not two, but it was one of the grey ribbons that mournes tied to the trees on the anniversary of Lythian's death, it was clear who the ribbon was for, but she had never mentioned how despite denying any hope of her daughter being alive, Ominae had never done that, never made that gesture and cemented her daughter's death.
"You don't trust our sources?" she said, not facing Ominae as she turned and headed back into the tent. Inside there was one large cushion and three medium sized ones at its side, a small rug of sorts set before them on the wood floor of the tent.
"I don't trust this new recruit, her story doesn't make any sense."
"It made enough sense for Aileche to trust her, or at least the information, and you know how rare it is for Airleche to misplace her trust." Indeed the rebel's safety and survival often depended on it, which made the woman a bit wary of people, but she had taken one look at the new Recruit and said she was to be trusted, and that her story checked out. The head of Intelligence hadn't bothered explaining her reasoning or how she had come to that conclusion, she had simply gone pale, something Airleche rarely did, and stormed out of the tent.
But the news has caused chaos for most of the commanders of the rebellion. All the same Ominae had been questioning Airleche's judgement about the new recruit's information but Airleche had refused to appease her with an explanation. But of course since Airleche was currently off in Nocturn, contacting her eyes and ears, Elexis was the only person Ominae could complain to.
"Still I think it would be better to get some confirmation before we put so much of our resources into an attack, it could very well be a trap!"
"Do you want your daughter back or not?" she snapped and instantly regretted it. Without turning to look she knew the woman's face had gone stone cold.
"I want peace with that night girl, I want people to stop kicking up these old ashes."
"Ominae I'm sorry-" she started turning to face her head of Recruitment,
"Save it girl." Elexis bit back her response that she was nineteen years old and therefore shouldn't be referred to as a girl, tho as a princess Ominae should never have called her that even when she was a girl. But she supposed she hadn't been a princess in a long time, and she certainly wasn't a queen. "You have bigger things to worry about than the feelings of an old woman, You should be focused on Anatia Nalcothy." There it was, the other thing Ominae had been pestering her about.
"Why? She's all the way in Dianais, we can't exactly reach her all the way across the ocean?"
"Says the Faerie Queen with a gift of water so strong she could call storms that spanned miles."
"Yes, yes and I could probably reach the other side of the wide ocean, but you seem to forget that even if I did I would have to battle Aine and her warriors, Aine."
"That old witch?" Ominae scoffed in the way only a woman who had seen bloodshed and battlefields could. "She'd be washed away before you even reached the gates."
"You're the one to talk about old witches." It wasn't really that true, but the creases in Ominae's skin were growing larger, her age starting to present itself. Ominae Caltias had been in her late thirties when she had conceived Elspeth and Axton, a miracle by all accounts considering the fae's thin blood. Yet even now as she reached her sixties she was still swift and sharp.
"I'm serious Elexis!"
"I know I know, but I can't just- It's just not an option right now okay." she had told the council about her encounter with Anaita but she hadn't told them about how broken she had seemed, she still couldn't bear to think about the look in Ana's eyes before Elexis had walked away. "We need to focus on the attack on the mines, it's a show of strength-"
"Its a stupid risk! You'll lead the King's men right to the camp."
"Rudien already told you, we're using the secret supply passages under the mountains-"
"Rudien isn't as smart as he thinks he is!" Ominae snapped,"The passage ways are poorly disguised as it is, if the King's men are on our tail we'll just end up leading them right to the tunnels!" Elexis had to admit that as good as Rudien was with numbers, he wasn't very good with planning, but Ominae had long had issues with Rudien so she wasn't exactly unbiased.
"It's still our best bet and we have people staying behind to fix the hidden entrance and lead them away."
"It's a stupid risk to take!"
"All we do is take risks! And besides, are you sure the reason you don't want to do this is because if we don't find her then you have to face the fact that she really did die that night?" she regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. She had no right to ask those questions. Ominae didn't say anything, she just looked at Elexis, a cold look on her face, closed off and icy. She left the tent and Elexis didn't bother going after her.
A few seconds later Axton strode into the tent a worried look on his face.
"What did you do to make Ominae look like that?" Despite being her son Axton called his mother by her name like everyone else at camp. Actually everyone else called her Commander Ominae, but Elexis referred to most of her commanders only by their first names and she supposed it had rubbed off on Axton. She gave a sigh.
"Nothing, she just doesn't like the plan." Axton gave a huff of air.
"What else is new?"
"What did you need?"
"Well Bevin wants to go over the plan one last time, and Farlen has been bugging me about going on the mission."
"They just got back, two missions in a row they need to rest." she didn't want to have this argument again.
"I know."
"Where's Bevin?"
"Right now? I think he's looking over the groups with Vasa." Vasa was the other Rebel incharge of rescue, though she was more focused on locating the slaves and getting teams to them rather than the getting them out, which was more Bevin's focus. Vasa had joined the rebels five years ago after Galcinar soldiers had raided her town and killed her father and sister. Elexis was going to put Vasa incharge of the distraction and the fight that would enable the escape but Klaus had wanted to be in charge of that so Elexis had put Vasa on find and extract. Klaus was one of their better warriors, he was a farmer's son and had joined the cause 6 years ago when his sister was murdered by passing soldiers. He was tall and deceptively lean but he was strong and liked to make a show of things when he fought. This meant he was never on a stealth mission but Klaus didn't seem to mind.
"Is Klaus ready?" She walked out of the tent and Axton followed behind her, keeping pace.
"He's ready."
"Good." Despite what she had told Ominae they would need every advantage they could get for this mission. "And he knows where to lead the people that tail us?"
"Yes." They were passing by Rudien's tent. Inside she could hear him muttering about shipments and supplies, he wasn't really concerned about the attack other than the fact that it would use many of the wagons that they used for supply runs which they had been stockpiling. This also meant that the amount of supplies they were receiving would be greatly diminished until after the attack. And though this by no means left them without food it did mean they had to dip into the stock they used to help feed the poorer towns. Many had of course been against this but there was no way around it.
They had to get Elspeth back. They had to save at least one of those lost to those days of hell and death.