NOVEL WEB Chapter 18: Queen Arya
(Location: The Kingdom of Thera)
"My Queen," a middle-aged knight spoke as he stepped into the throne room of Thera's new ruler.
"Why are you here, Ser Donns?"
The queen, a young lady with pale skin and shiny brown eyes who appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen, gave a sharp glance and asked.
"Some Salvadorian soldiers have trespassed into our part of the Stone Forest, and they are breaking down the white rock where your father used to pray," Ser Donns informed her with a blank look.
"What?! Didn't they see the boundaries?" Queen Arya asked, her face suddenly turning red.
"I guess not, my queen. The boundary lines are less visible in that part of the Stone Forest... Although I'm not entirely sure whether they saw it or not," Ser Donns replied.
"That doesn't make any sense. At the very least, they should have inspected the place before stepping their filthy legs onto our land!" Arya shouted.
"Who is leading them?" she then asked.
"Their new king, King Elon," Ser Donns responded.
"Tsk! That joker who thinks he can do whatever he likes just because he has a strange shooting weapon," Queen Arya sneered, recalling the endless praises the Theran soldiers had given when they returned from the battlefield.
"Ready your horses and fifty men. We are going there right now!" she bellowed.
"But, my queen, you shouldn't be going to the Stone Forest. Before your father died, he urged me not to let you step into any danger until you complete your training," Ser Donns cautioned.
"My father is dead, and he is not the king anymore. I am your queen now, so get the horses ready!" Arya retorted.
Without saying another word, Ser Donns bowed and walked out of the throne room. He knew there was no way to persuade her to stay—she had become so suddenly arrogant and harsh.
Back when her parents were alive, Arya had been a humble and adorable girl. She had always been kind to everyone, just like her mother, and had been eager to learn archery.
All of that changed the moment she saw her parents' lifeless bodies sprawled across the throne room floor after being gone for more than a month, fighting alongside Salvador against the Negators.
Since then, she had vowed never to have any dealings with the Kingdom of Salvador.
"My parents died fighting for them," she would always say. From that moment on, she had been a ruler driven by grief and anger.
After Ser Donns readied the horses with fifty Theran soldiers, they rode west with the enraged queen leading the convoy, though her safety was ensured by the knights riding closely behind her.
******
(Location: The Stone Forest—Partly Owned by Salvador and Thera)
Elon and his men had reached the forest after a long journey, and work had already begun.
"Fire Specialists!" Elon called.
At once, eight men approached him and bowed.
"Oh, come on... Stop bowing to me every f**king time. This is going to get boring," Elon scoffed. "You don't have to bow, okay? We are at work," he added.
The eight men nodded in understanding.
"Now, you eight need to start breaking down the white rocks. The Earth Specialists aren't powerful enough to conjure mana through the full rock, so their job will be to break it down into smaller portions to fit inside the carts," Elon explained.
Following his order, the eight Fire Specialists marched toward the large rock and began striking it, channeling their mana into their swords as they swung. Their weapons were suddenly engulfed in supernatural flames, which made a great impact, chipping away large chunks of the rock.
With the combined strength of the eight men, the task wasn't as difficult as Elon had expected, and he was pleased to see everything proceeding smoothly. The Earth Specialists were also performing their duties without any issues.
Elon assigned ten soldiers to guard the area as they worked. There was no doubt that Direwolves could attack again, so their safety had to be ensured.
While the Fire Specialists broke down the large portions of limestone, ten Earth Specialists refined them into smaller pieces. The rest of the soldiers carried the stones to the carts.
After about an hour, half of the carts were filled with limestone.
Elon had instructed Aiden not to join the breaking or carrying. Instead, he was to keep watch with the other guards and avoid exerting himself, as he wasn't fully recovered. Though an attack from Direwolves would be troublesome, Elon was confident that his men would defend against any threats.
The work continued progressing smoothly, and they were nearly done after two hours.
However, just then, they heard thudding sounds coming from the east.
"Be alert! Form a wall!" Ser Vorden quickly shouted as the sounds grew louder.
Elon was momentarily confused, but an uneasy feeling crept into his mind.
'Could it be enemy soldiers coming to kill me?' he wondered, recalling Matilda's warning.
But moments later, his suspicions were proven wrong. Or rather, he would say they were being confronted by their supposed ally... or perhaps, their new enemy.
A strikingly beautiful woman with long black hair was leading a considerable number of horsemen toward them, a fierce look in her eyes like that of a wolf.
She halted at the edge of the area and dismounted her horse, striding toward Elon and his men. Though Elon had no idea what she wanted, he could tell she was no ordinary person.
"It's Queen Arya, the new ruler of Thera, my king," Aiden quickly informed him.
"Right. I knew she was some kind of prestigious figure," Elon said, smiling slightly.
And when the woman finally stood before him...
"How dare you bastards trespass onto my land and steal our resources?!"
Her sharp words stunned Elon, his eyes widening.
"Umm... I'm sorry... Uhh... Do you mean this land belongs to Thera?" Elon asked hesitantly.
"Don't play dumb, little king. I know you're aware of this, yet you still chose to destroy the white rock because most of your people are already believing in the White God!" Arya accused, her voice rising.
"Ah, my queen, you really need to calm down..."
"I never knew Thera owned a part of the Stone Forest."
Elon tried to express his innocence, but it wasn't working. This young woman was livid, and he sensed that she bore a deep grudge against them.
"Your people no longer believe in the Great God of Mana and have chosen to worship the one true almighty. Now, you want to destroy the altar so they would continue serving the god who abandoned them! You bastard!"
"Unfortunately for you... you've just committed a great crime by trespassing into Thera and taking our resources without the ruler's knowledge. I'm going to sue you in the Empire Court and make sure you pay for this," Arya declared, turning to walk away.
Her words carried more heat than Elon had expected, but her actions were flawed. He believed Sheera would have handled this differently if she were in this lady's shoes, but this queen didn't seem to have always been this way.
'No, something must be wrong,' Elon thought.
"Wait!" Elon quickly called after her.
Her men immediately drew their swords as he approached, and the Salvadorian soldiers followed suit.
"Easy... Come on. Salvador and Thera have been allies for many years. We shouldn't be doing this," Elon reasoned.
"The alliance between our kingdoms ended the moment my father and mother died on the battlefield fighting for your weak father!" Arya spat.
'Mm-hmm. I get it now…' Elon understood her hostility instantly.
"We all lost great men, my queen. In case you weren't told, I lost my father and my brothers as well. I should be grieving more than you," Elon smiled.
"Is that all you wanted to say? See you in court," Arya dismissed him.
"Ah, no… That's not what I actually wanted to say," Elon interjected.
"We really need the white rock. Its real name is limestone, actually, and it's used for building. I'd be willing to pay for it if you withdraw your intent to sue me."
"No way," she declined.
"A big amount, enough to feed your entire soldiers for days," Elon smiled.
"Salvador is too poor, you can't even feed fifty of my men."
Elon shook his head. "Then it's high time I prove you wrong."
He made sure to maintain that smile on his face.
"Let's just have a deal and we are good," he added.
Arya was skeptical, but after a bit of persuasion, she finally agreed to negotiate.
As they rode to a more suitable location to talk, Elon had to start up with a lighthearted comment.
"You have lovely hair, Queen Arya."
"Well, thanks..." the queen replied coldly.
But anyone could tell... She really liked the compliment.