The first thing Lilah did the next morning was pull out her saddle bag from underneath her bed. The cool, familiar leather of the bag was a comfort to her before she even opened it. Its contents were few, but all were essential. Bleu had trained her in survival long ago, not only in the wild, but also for long journeys such as this one. He had always told her to pack exactly what she needed and nothing more, which was advice she almost followed perfectly. She sorted through the items she had to bring like a hunk of bread wrapped in cloth, a small pouch of coins for emergencies, an extra dagger sheathed in silver, and a canteen of water. The very last thing she pulled from her bag was a delicate gold ring with a small black diamond and an emerald ribbon Lilah had tied to it. The ring was the only thing she took with her everywhere, although she never wore it. Van had given it to her on her eighteenth birthday and said only one thing and then never mentioned it again.
"Don't put it on. Just keep it close so you remember to think of me."
She had never been able to figure out why he didn't want her to wear it, but she listened nonetheless. She never wore the ring but did take it with her everywhere, even when she was in her palace, as it had become a sort of talisman to her. It had the power to chase away her loniless. In Boniface's small office, lit by only the morning sun crawling up the sky, she squeezed it in her palm like she did so many times before, and longed to see her closest friend. She took one long breath before she packed up her bag and wrapped her scarf over her head, the smell of food calling to her body even if her heart lacked enthusiasm to start the day.
After a deep breath, she pulled open her door to find Bleu standing just outside the threshold with a hand resting on the hilt of the sword sheathed at his side.
"What are you doing?" Lilah asked and scanned the empty hallway around them.
"There have been whispers of threats against your life through the night. It became necessary to take extra steps of precaution." Bleu said with a very grim look on his face.
"What threats?" She inquired as they began to walk towards the smell of breakfast.
"The officers who you charged with taking the dead Noduvs down are angry. A few were making threats in a tavern late last night."
"And how do you know that?" Lilah chuckled, feeling less threatened now knowing that they were probably just drunk words from men with bruised egos.
"I have heard reports." Bleu said shortly, then continued. "And stop smirking, it isn't something to take lightly, Lilah."
Lilah wiped the smile off her face, although she wanted to laugh at him. "Very well, but I'm sure nothing will come of it."
"We will see." Was all that Bleu said before they entered the worship room and found the others already sitting at the table with mounds of food on the plates before them.
"I'm sorry I slept so late, it's not like me." Lilah frowned. The trip had not been too challenging, and she were trained for physical labor much worse than the trip had required, and yet she was exhausted. The young queen silently hoped that she was not falling ill from the excursion, as there was little other explanation for her fatigue.
"Do not apologize, Queen Lilah. You needed rest." Boniface said from his place at the table. Lilah only managed a tight smile before sitting and pouring herself a cup of hot dandelion tea. She refused to look at Leon, who was already seated at the table, and she could not tell if her coldness came from anger or shame.
Lilah took a long drink of her tea and nibbled at a piece of hearty toast and jam, for no other reason than she knew she needed the strength. It also helped that she would not have to speak if her mouth was full of food. The conversations quietly went on around her, but her mind was elsewhere. There were too many things to consider and they all made her neck feel tight and sore. The threats on her life hardly rattled her, but they did illustrate the backlash she would continue to receive for helping Noduvs. Even in this old town, which was entirely inhabited by Boneel practices, she had threats from Vidan, so she could not imagine the trouble that awaited her back at the palace. It would be nearly impossible to get anything done while being an enemy in her own city. She rubbed her temples at the thought.
"Lilah" Marzonna said from across the table, interrupting the queen's thoughts.
"Yes?"
Marzonna's face was stone still but her eyes looked as if she regretted saying anything at all. She continued with a frown, "There's someone here that I think you should be prepared to see before he gets back."
Lilah's stomach started to turn as she thought of all the unpleasant possibilities. Surely it couldn't be any of the cabinet members, the journey was far too long and challenging for any of them. Lilah could think of no reason why any of them would want to come all this way anyway. She racked her brain for other options, but before she could get too wrapped up in her thoughts, the front door of the church opened and a familiar figure walked inside.
"I have bad news." Van said to Bleu as he shook rain from his curly blonde hair.
"Van?" Lilah asked, her voice softer than she intended.
Van's head whipped to where she sat at the table and his eyes softened as soon as they landed on her.
"Lilah." Was all he had time to say before Lilah had clamored away from the table and rushed to him.
All eyes must have been on them, but the queen didn't care. She practically fell into him as she wrapped her arms around him and held on for dear life. She felt his arms pull her close and hold her just as tightly.
"You're okay. You're safe." He whispered as he clutched her to his chest. Lilah knew he wasn't saying it to comfort her, but himself.
"I'm unharmed." Lilah reassured Van and felt him squeeze her tighter in response.
Marzonna cleared her throat and said, "Tell us your news, Delacy."
Van and Lilah finally broke apart at her words and found everyone watching them with varying degrees of emotion. Marzonna looked to be very angry, while the Aries men looked curious, and Boniface and Bleu only regarded them with little surprise. Afterall, Boniface had some strange ability of knowing everyone instantly and Bleu had seem them together far too many times to be surprised by anything they did.
Lilah looked between Marzonna and Van, but couldn't figure out why there was so much tension between them. Van wouldn't look at Lilah as he cleared his throat and nodded before he turned back to Bleu. "The rumors are true. There's a group of about five Vidan officers coming this way now." He reported.
"Surely they would not harm their own queen?" Marzonna said aloud. "That would be treason."
"No, they aren't coming for the queen. They are coming for me." Said Boniface.