Joan paused for a moment when the three walked into the war room. The walls were lined with different maps and a large, round table dominated the center. Both King Ulfraine and Queen Emeline were slightly hunched over it, with a third figure adjusting small figures on it.

It took her only a moment to recognize him. Prince Garbert, his hair as dark as the king’s had supposedly once been, but with the same blue eyes of his mother. However, when she entered the room, those eyes turned on her and a chill went down her back. Those certainly were his mother’s eyes, she remembered them staring at her as the hero like that, filled with distrust and a desire to end the Hero’s very existence. “Lord Searle, who is that?” he asked.

“That’s the seer we told you about,” Emeline said with a wave of her hand. “Hardwin’s daughter. It’s fine.”

“And her?” the prince asked, glancing to Bauteut.

“I am Lady Joan’s personal healer, my lord,” Bauteut said with a polite and rather elegant curtsy. She then elbowed Joan.

“Ow, what?” Joan asked, before she realized that Searle was bowing as well. “Oh, right!” she said before grabbing small handfuls of her dress and curtsying as well.

“Are you sure she should be allowed in here, your highness?” Garbert asked, glancing to his mother. “After that last attack, I honestly don’t think we can be too careful.”

“Worry not,” Emeline said with a shake of her head. “Nothing we’re discussing is private. Besides, I’m certain Searle invited her. Isn’t that right, chosen?” she asked, not even looking up from the map.

“I hope it wasn’t too much,” Searle said.

“Of course not,” Emeline said, though judging by the looks on Ulfraine and Garbert’s faces, they felt it was.

Joan narrowed her eyes slightly on the prince once he finally looked away from her and returned to the map. He had always been such a meek and obedient child, yet here he seemed rather fierce and cold. Every time they had met in the past he had practically fallen over himself trying to satisfy any desire the hero asked. Now she had a feeling he wanted to stab her. She tried to push such thoughts away before she glanced around the room.

The fight had been a fierce one, though it seemed it hadn’t made its way to this room. She could see the king’s greatsword leaned up against the wall, a little blood on its sheath and grip. Their clothing was stained with blood as well, with part of the king’s tunic shredded in front, but no marks beneath it. She suspected that was thanks to the queen’s healing magic. The prince was still in his armor, a thick breastplate that had a few deep gashes cut across the front. She desperately wanted to ask how many there had been, but decided for now it was best to just sit silently and watch. She couldn’t help feeling a little shame knowing that the king and queen had likely slain any of the beasts that had assaulted them. To think the two who she had once looked down on so much were now likely that much stronger than her. One day she would grow and get stronger, she reminded herself. Assuming she lived that long.

“Lord Searle, allow me to begin,” Garbert said before motioning to the table. Joan peered over it and realized it was a map of the front line, small figures of different shapes and colors lined it. She didn’t know what the different shapes represented, but she suspected the blue was their side and the red was the demons. “The attack like tonight is not an altogether unique experience. Our camps have been experiencing them for weeks. Where they gained these beasts, I couldn’t say,” Garbert said before motioning towards the map. “One small benefit to all of this is that the demons seem to have no control over these creatures either.”

“Wait, what?” Joan asked, looking up at him. Every eye turned to her and she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous at the sudden attention. “Sorry,” she said gently.

“Ahem, as I was saying. They don’t seem to have control over these beasts. Our scouts have managed to see them dragging the creatures into their camps before teleporting them to the edges of our own. Unfortunately, they seem to have a rather powerful mage on their side who has managed to penetrate our anti-teleportation zones more than a few times. When I left, we were holding them off. However, this attack makes me suspect the attacks on our camps were a test.”

“A test?” Emeline asked.

“Indeed. They’ve been teleporting the beasts further and further with each attempt, breaking through any of our defenses. I didn’t think they could come this far into our territory, but…” He trailed off for a moment before glancing between Joan and Bauteut.

Joan stared at the map, barely listening to him. She tried to remember everything she could about teleportation magic. That made her cringe when all those thoughts flooded her mind. Korgron, the Chosen of the Crown, had been the greatest mage she’d ever met at such magic so she’d rarely used it, but she had managed to pick up a trick or two. “If they had someone here who setup a target, it wouldn’t be nearly as hard to send things here. And if they already made it through the defenses of the camp, then breaking through the defenses of the castle wouldn’t be that much harder. Less an act of finesse and more an issue of raw power,” she said softly.

Bauteut elbowed her side, making her look up. She cringed when she realized they were all staring at her again. “Sorry,” Joan said quickly.

“No, please continue. I would love to hear more about your thoughts on this matter, seer,” Garbert said. Judging by his tone, she suspected he was a lot more annoyed than he let on, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

“If they launched this attack now, it likely means they were hoping to get the attack off before you could arrive to warn us about it,” Joan said softly, before glancing at the map again. The werewolves weren’t new, but this method was. When they’d first appeared near the front lines, the monsters had decimated the supply lines and their forces only barely managed to hold their ground before help had arrived. Hardwin had joined the Hero on that fight, expunging the monsters that had come. The deeper they had gone into the beast’s territory, the stranger the creatures they had encountered. Weretrolls, wererabbits, werewolves, werefoxes. All seemingly different animals and beasts that had changed into strange, monstrous humanoids that were vicious and violent. She paused for a moment before glancing over the map again. “The Silverleaf Woods has been taken by the demons!” Joan said, the pieces finally coming together.

“What?” Searle asked.

“The Silverleaf Woods! There’s where the Shifter Patriarch was sealed away, the silver in the trees helped create the initial seal on it,” Joan said, her excitement only growing. She almost felt like jumping up and down. This was about the time that it should have awoken. But that meant if he wasn’t under the control of the demons, there was a chance it was attacking them and weakening their own supply lines.

“Have there been any other attacks on the frontlines aside from these teleporting beasts?” Joan asked.

“No, but--” Garbert started, but she cut him off.

“Then they’re a distraction,” Joan said, giddy excitement rising in her. “If the Shifter Patriarch isn’t their ally and is attacking their lines, they have to try and deal with it before it gets out of control. It’s a bluff,” she said, leaning forward and putting both palms on the table so she could push herself up to get a better viewpoint. “Try and make us think they’re in control and can send these things at any time, while they try and wipe them out at the source. I’d be willing to bet that’s why they’re using the werewolves, they’re likely the easiest to capture. A weretroll would have probably been strong enough to kill even one of their biggest demons and a lot of the smaller werecreatures may be weaker, but are a lot harder to capture.”

“Joan—” Bauteut said, but she ignored her.

Even working together she and Hardwin had nearly died a dozen times trying to get to the patriarch. There was no telling how long the demons would take during this time, but it left them an opportunity. “This means we could push up, force them back. Not past the Silverleaf Woods, otherwise they’d be our problem. I’d be willing to bet whoever is teleporting these monsters is in a camp near there as well. And…” Her eyes moved to the Silverleaf Woods once more, her mind spinning.

Every eye was on her, now, but she ignored it. There was something else in the Silverleaf Woods, not just the Changeling Patriarch. Something important. She struggled to grab it from her memories, but it felt like it was just on the edge of her mind, melting away before she could get her fingers on it.

Then it all come forward, hitting her like a mallet to the side of her head and making her let out a shriek. The only reason she didn’t crumble entirely was because Bauteut was there to catch her.

“Joan? Joan, what’s wrong?” Bauteut asked, a hand gently stroking her hair. “Did you see something?”

“I’m fine,” Joan said, her voice so weak even she could barely hear it. “Shut up.” She struggled to process what she remembered. Fae. So many fae. Distortions, memories of their ‘games’, calling on their aid. They’d all gone back there once the Demon Lord had been killed in order to get the methods by which to find and stop the Inferno God. It hadn’t been easy, but she knew the way. She could get them now.

More importantly, the fae were powerful. They could help hold back the demon lord and get the tools they needed to get to the Heart of the Inferno God easier, bypassing many of the defenses and allowing the chosen to get to it faster than ever. More importantly, they could, in theory, get the Changeling Patriarch to join forces with them or at least not harm them. “Searle, we need to go to Silverleaf Woods. We have to meet with the Fae. They--”

“NO!” Garbert yelled, slamming his fists down on the table. “Mother, are you hearing any of this? This child is obviously--” He went silent when Emeline lifted a hand.

“Joan, what did you see?” Emeline asked, staring at her.

Joan gulped and stared at the queen. That look of suspicion was one she knew well. It had looked at her often when she was the Hero, but she had yet to see it as Joan. It was rather unsettling. “I saw the Changeling Patriarch. It’s incredibly powerful. Even if Hardwin was here, both he and Searle likely couldn’t face him. Once Thalgren joins him, the three could, maybe, defeat it but even then it would be hard. But there’s more than just those monsters in those woods. There’s a connection to the fae there. If we can get into contact with them and convince them to aid us, it could be the means by which we could stop the demons and possibly move the Shifter Patriarch to our side. At the very least they can help us hold back the demons. They--”

“You expect us to send the chosen into that?” Garbert asked. “You can’t seriously be considering trusting this child,” he said before looking to his parents.

The queen sighed and shook her head. “Joan, while I appreciate the aid your visions have granted us so far, we cannot follow this one.”

Joan narrowed her eyes. This was an ideal opportunity. More than that, the fae could help them save the world once and for all. Were she the Hero again, she would have killed for this chance to bypass so many trials. “But your highness, with all due respect,” she added quickly. “This opportunity is ideal. With the demons distracted it would be the best, possibly only, time to sneak past their lines and get there. We could kill whatever mage is teleporting these mages, meet with the fae and possibly get them to control the Changeling Patriarch. We--”

“ENOUGH!” Emeline said, her voice booming through the room before slamming both her palms down on the table and making Joan jump. “It has been a hectic day. Joan, return to your room. Bauteut, if you would please escort her and ensure she gets some proper rest.”

“But—” Joan tried to start, but before she could continue she was yanked back by Bauteut.

“Thank you, your highness. I’ll ensure she rests after all of this excitement,” her healer said before quickly dragging her out of the room. The moment the door was closed behind them Bauteut turned to her. “Joan, what in the world is wrong with you?”

“What?” Joan asked. “I was only trying to tell them what—”

“You’re not a chosen,” Bauteut said harshly. “You don’t make those decisions. More than that, don’t you know how to read a room at all?”

“What are you talking about?” Joan asked, staring at her with confusion. “I read rooms just fine.”

“Apparently not,” Bauteut said, still dragging her up the hall. “The prince is certainly suspicious of you. I’d be amazed if the queen and king weren’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think you’re the only one who suspects there might be a traitor who set up a target here for the teleportation spells?” Bauteut asked. “If there is one, who do you think is the most likely candidate at this time? Who seems to have a, frankly, unearned confidence in her theories and information about the situation? Visions or not.”

Joan felt as if she’d been sucker punched, her eyes going wide at the implication from the healer. Her, a traitor? They couldn’t seriously believe that, could they?

MelodyAvant

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