August 1st, master mage meeting room in Royal Guard tower, Otrera, Morrigan, Emma and Aria were there. The mood was a little tense, Otrera was pensive and furious, it was time to take effective action.
– What did you want to talk about, Grand Mistress? – Asked the queen in a good mood, she wore a dress that went to just below the knees with a refined and elegant cut, a gradient neckline and volume with an airy "V" cut with hard fabric abscesses on the sides, it was white cream with gold accents.
– It is not easy to say this, but I suspect that your son is working for the enemy, Valtor is a traitor. – Said Otrera putting some of the daggers of the day of the attack on the table. – The terrorists from the attack had these daggers, you know as well as I do that they are from the common army and kept under the tutelage of the prime minister, 120 daggers for the exclusive use of the common army appeared in the hands of stroikos and Kora'q terrorists ... Not to mention my student who almost got killed on a mission yesterday, a terrain recon mission and that few people besides the master mages knew about, these attacks aren't just against me, they're against all the best mages in the Royal Guard, first me, then my student, is the most cunning strategy of war, killing the medical mages first. –
– Otrera, I know my son is not the most transparent of politicians, but he would not betray the crown, he is a good son after all, there must be some time, there is a possibility that those daggers were stolen, isn't there? Helloise has always been good at smuggling and infiltration. – Aria said, she felt offended by her son, she was a mother, she would defend him.
– Your little son is two faced then... Here are his last measures, he wants to limit our field of action and he wants us to subordinate to his consultation the decisions and actions of the Royal Guard... Not to mention the rumors that he was involved with the Rizzo attack on Thunderia, the mutiny at Sephiro, plus it is clear from the misuse of public funds that he is being investigated internally. – Said Morrigan showing holograms of everything that spoke in great detail.
– My brother already talked about it... The measures are for people to create more confidence, these last ten years were one of the longest periods of peace that Celestia had in a century... And the embezzlement of money went to some necessary measures off the record, something he showed Mom, a surprise social project. – Emma said showing that her brother was not apparently so crook, she was quite eloquent; she wore an executive gown in graphite and silver that enhanced the curves of the princess heiress, as well as a very elegant taier with wide shoulder pads, her jewelry was phenomenal, around her neck a necklace of pearls and earrings of the same material.
– Without commenting that my grandchildren almost died in that attack, a member of the royal house would not dare attempt against me, my son is cunning, but all in the name of Celestia, I think it commendable and I support the extreme measures, but my son is not a traitor to the nation, he gave blood in war. – Queen Aria said, she refused to see her son as a traitor.
– When you're royalty, of course, it's not necessary, but if the suspicion was on a commoner, it would have already been executed. – Nudged Morrigan.
– Morrigan, I know the nation has structural problems, but from the years you've known me you should know that on my part I've always tried to promote equality, and when the zodiac appointed Pisces' new mage, I was the first after Astaroth to defend your promotion despite your bloodthirsty and merciless approach in battle, I don't distinguish between noble and commoner, but we're talking about my son, that the fuck came out of my womb, I refuse to believe that after all he's ever done for Celestia, as much as he sacrificed for this nation he would turn against it, and beyond that put Gale's life at risk, he's loved this girl from the moment she was born. – Aria said with teary eyes.
– I did not mean to offend you, Queen Aria, a thousand apologies. – Morrigan said sincerely, this was something rare, very rare, Morrigan apologize and bow to a genuine noble authority and spontaneously, she knew that Queen Aria really fought for the people, noble or non-noble, she only generalized the situation, but she recognized that at various times the Queen was the first to come to her defense.
– Don't worry child, I know your past, I know it was difficult, I have a fondness for all three of the legendary mages, and since you moved in with the Tempests and I met you at one of their galas, I've never treated you any differently than others... I don't want you to think it's a favoritism for the crown, mainly because I respect you a lot and believe you're the greatest scientist in the nation, our greatest scientific intellect. – Said the queen sincere.
– Of course, I'm flattered… I ended up forgetting the detail that you are his mother, sometimes I find blood connections irrelevant because of my past. – Morrigan said that in part she was being friendly and in part she was being dissimulated playing the humble to be able to manipulate the queen later if she finds convenient for the Royal Guard and get rid of setbacks.
– I understand. – Said the queen.
– And we need to remember a detail that has even been raised here... Madame Stroika is good at infiltrating, besides everyone knows of her involvement with mafias around the world, for her to have gotten these daggers on the black market, It's possible, these are daggers with an almost sacred stamp to us, they're not mass-produced, they may be centuries old because they're timeless matter, they may have belonged to soldiers who died on missions abroad decades ago, there's no way of knowing. – Emma said eloquently and with a shrewd mind.
– I really hadn't evaluated it that way. – Assumed Otrera.
– I really believe there's a rat in here, we just have to be aware of everything, we can't rule out shifters, shape-shifting spell and mind control… We have to ask Ethan to do a general check on everyone. – Said the queen Aria.
– I asked him to give him a general look, he didn't find anything, this possibility was considered. – Said Otrera.
– I understand, well, settle things with Emma, I need to see something about my custody with George. – Said the queen getting up.
– Of course queen. – Said the master mages bowing to the queen who was leaving, the queen was a figure of maximum respect.
After the queen left, Emma took off her taier, seemed more relaxed, conjured a cigarette and a lighter, and lit the cigarette.
– Do you accept? – Emma offered, manifesting two more cigarettes.
– Accepted! – Said Otrera taking the cigarette and lighting Emma's.
– Skip it! Not everyone is a medical mage. – Morrigan laughed.
– I'm not a medical mage... But I admit that I use the celestial purification spell to cheat my system... Let's get straight to the point, I don't trust a hair of my brother, he's a snake and Mom doesn't want to see this, she doesn't want to admit that her son is a traitor, but Ethan and I think Valtor is involved in this, in front of her I try not to contradict, but the truth is that she's being more of a mother to what a queen in this story. – Emma said, she was very analytical and serious too, she took drinks like a professional.
– I see, you were always smart, I remember... And I also know that you were a private student of Margareth, and you are a capable mage, bordering on a master mage, I know that, I have seen the records and I have seen the opponents that you killed when they tried to invade the palace... Would you have the courage to help us investigate your brother and, if necessary, kill him, for Celestia's sake? – Otrera said, she knew that could be configured as high treason against Celestia, collusion to eventually kill a member of the royal house, but she had the impression that Emma was a woman of fiber.
– And I by any chance blinked? – Emma said that she was not surprised by the request. – If I have to kill him, it doesn't matter if he's my brother, as heir to the throne my duty is to the nation and help my mother, if she doesn't want to see that she has a snake on her side, I have want to decapitate that snake before it strikes. –
– Shocked, girl! You're really going to be a great queen one day, you've got the guts of one, you've got the guts of Aria, she's just blind because it's her own son. – Morrigan said, she was impressed with the princess and her strength of will and character, if queen was elected office, Morrigan would already be voting for her.
– I just think something strange about it all, it was Valtor who insisted and went after you to come back, he who filled Edward's head for him to go after you and bring you back, he who raised the possibility of Stroika being in return. – Emma said thoughtfully.
After this information the legendary mages looked at each other and a single thought came to their minds "She wants the tokens". That meeting had gotten more intriguing, they continued to work out the details, but the legendary mages were starting to master what Valtor wanted, and why he wanted to kill the legendary mages as well.