Chapter Thirteen ~ Compromise?

Wen held her bow with an arrow in place, taking careful footsteps. Bruno brandished his large wooden club with uncharacteristic grace. Eva kept her sword in battle position, prepared for any attacker. Kylie grasped her dagger, while Rowena packed one in each hand with more visible on her belt. They had crossed the valley with Queen Jacqueline and some of her troops and were outside Queen Beth’s castle. Wen was astonished and appalled; there were absolutely no guards standing out front. While she understood the cause, she couldn’t help but feel as if this whole mission was wrong. However, in knowing that if she shared this suspicion with her friends that they would leave right away, she kept silent. It felt so backwards leading a threatening attack right down the normal hallways. It’s almost like we’re here for a tea party. Wen smiled at the thought. Yeah right.

Beth continued to ramble on about education, going through each subject in great detail. Hazel noticed with a hint of amusement that Jack was listening carefully, like that of an apt scholar. She found she couldn’t quite absorb the queen’s speech like the apprentice. Her mind was too preoccupied on reuniting with their fellow knights. “So you see, pi is really-”she was saying until the doors of the room slammed open. Hazel, Emily, and Ryne immediately reached for their weapons, while Jack seemed a little disoriented. Several hostiles were entering the room, leaving their small party of four outnumbered. Hazel swore under her breath. Tell me Beth, what’s no guards plus many enemies equal? A woman approached them, victorious smirk on her face. “I wouldn’t make any sudden movements, sister. Wouldn’t want to break the stained glass, now would we?” Hazel raised her hands compliantly into the air (shortly followed by the rest of her crew) and scanned the crowd. At least fifteen, ranging from archers to sword fighters and- Wait a minute. Is that-? “I found them! Is there a prize?” Rowena burst cheerfully.

Wen, along with her party, pushed through the attack team and ran to her friends. “There you are! What are you doing here?” Wen exclaimed. “Could ask you the same thing.” Hazel responded in an almost accusatory tone. Before Wen could explain, Jacqueline said, “Wen? How do you know these aristocrats?” “Aristocrats? We come from the same castle!” Emily retorted. Beth frowned and sighed, “So these are your lost friends. Nice to know they’re against me.” “Because it’s TOTALLY fair that you get to sit in this huge castle while starving families are forced to go to school.” Kylie countered. “If they get through school, they can get even better jobs!” Jack replied. “And how are they going to get to THAT point?” Bruno grumbled. A debate quickly followed, each party of knights siding with a queen. Hazel and Wen exchanged glances. Enough was enough.

“Everyone calm down!” Hazel shouted. From years of habit, all of the knight’s attention snapped to her. Wen said, “Both of you are right.” “How is that possible?” Jacqueline asked gruffly, crossing her arms. “Queen Beth,” Hazel said, “You are right when you say that knowledge could bring great innovation to this kingdom.” “Queen Jacqueline, you are right in vouching for the poor. There is no way in which they can support their families and learn at the same time.” Wen added. “So what you’re saying,” Beth theorized, “Is that we need to work together and come to a compromise.” Both knights nodded. The twin royals turned to look at each other. “What do you think?” Beth asked almost shyly. “Worth a shot.” Jacqueline answered, shooting her sister a rare smile. While the crowd began to cheer for a new beginning, the knights slipped out. Time to get back to the quest for THEIR kingdom.