A Sovereign rules a Holding.

  A Household makes up the core.

  A Court makes up the hangers-on.

  Affiliated members are the Holding membership at large.

  ~ * ~

  Court days were never anything but exhausting. Today being the day her daughter attended just added to the burden. To be clear Lyselle, Sovereign of Holding Lys, was always glad to see her daughter, but that left her in the minority. And now she had to deal with this.

  "Tell me again, how it is possible that only hours after the Princess left court she was attacked not once, but twice by a member of my Elite Guard. A member I might mention is now dead?"

  "Your Majesty, we thought-" the guard captain who had been on duty at the Shallows contact office started.

  "No, don't try to explain what anyone thought, what anyone intended. Give me the timeline as you know it and we will go from there," she interrupted before he could try to justify their actions.

  "Yes your Majesty," clearing his throat he referred to the report in front of him and straightened his shoulders.

  "Approximately 2 hours ago Sebastian, the adult Awakened-"

  "I know who Sebastian is, he Awoke right in front of me."

  "Yes Ma'am."

  "2 hours ago Sebastian called the Shallows contact to report that Princess Lysanya had been attacked, and injured, by an elite guard and provided the address of an alleyway a few blocks from the Holding's side entrance."

  The captain hesitated as he looked at the notes.

  "The guard who spoke to him listed the report as unlikely and indicated Sebastian should be reminded of proper use of the contact line."

  "Roughly 20 minutes later Sebastian called back to report that there had been a second attack. This time he identified the assailant as 'Rios' and then questioned the guard on how many Rios' there were who were also elite guards. He then finished his report by stating Rios was dead, that the Princess was safe and that they would both show up at the Holding tomorrow to see you."

  Glancing back at his notes he set them down before adding, "there are further notes recording his criticism of the guard and the handling of the situation."

  Lyselle said nothing for a long moment, her fingers tapping on her desk by far the loudest sound in the room. When she finally spoke there was a hint of incredulity to her anger.

  "Let me get this straight. A known Awakened, Unaffiliated but with regular access to the Holding, reported a threat to the Princess and the response was to consider him a liar?"

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  The captain shifted nervously then nodded.

  "And when guards were finally dispatched to the alleyway what did they find?"

  "Rios, your Majesty. Most definitely deceased with his War Husk lying broken around his torso. His head was a few feet away."

  "Anything else?" her voice turned slightly colder, and the Captain shivered in response.

  "Significant signs of Awakened combat. Markings and impacts consistent with a smaller Awakened being struck hard enough to be flung against the environment."

  "In other words, consistent with the first report. My daughter was last rated at the 3rd Level Depth but her instructors said she could sometimes hold her own against the 5th. Rios was rated as..?"

  "6th, your Majesty."

  "Tell me what you believe happened then." Her fingers stopped tapping as she leaned forward onto her desk.

  "We believe that Rios had an altercation with another Awakened of at least the 6th level. He was defeated then Sebastian found some way to-"

  "Let me stop you there Captain. Sebastian is a freshly Awakened. He has a few unusual qualities but nothing so far has indicated combat prowess. He has never met Rios nor my daughter. I doubt any of the records we have had him learn from even mention her name." She glanced towards the corner and the Captain startled as the Seneschal stepped into the light.

  "He has not my Lady. Only information relevant to learning how our society works. He has not been exposed to any of our martial training nor even been made aware of the possibility of receiving combat training."

  Nodding she continued. "Thank you. So here is what I think happened. Rios attacked my daughter, there is no reason for him to have been outside the Holding so I will believe Sebastian's initial statement. Somehow the two of them escaped my Elite, but not before she was injured." If her tone had not made her opinion of her daughter's injury clear the damage her fingers were causing the wooden desk certainly did. "No one was dispatched to verify the report and so she was attacked a second time. If Rios' War Husk was in use I must assume hers was as well. She managed to kill Rios and then both she and Sebastian vanished."

  "As you say your Majesty," the guard captain nearly stuttered. "But even had we dispatched troops at they would have only been arriving as the second report came in."

  "In which case they would have been present to bring the Princess back to the Holding to receive any assistance she needed. Instead she is somewhere in the Shallows with a stranger. A stranger who it seems did your job in ensuring her safety." She nearly stood, stopping herself only when she heard the desk desk start to splinter under her hands.

  "Once we learn what actually happened, which will hopefully be tomorrow, we will be having another discussion about appropriate responses to reports involving ANY member of my Household. Go!"

  Waiting only long enough for the Captain to make his escape she turned to her Seneschal. "We both know my daughter will avoid the Holding at all costs unless forced to return. Her Husk was damaged but she's safe, I have to believe that means she isn't truly injured."

  "Yes your Majesty. She would go somewhere she felt safe to recover, somewhere she believes no one will look. Promising to show up tomorrow sounds like a way to ensure we don't start a manhunt tonight."

  "I know you kept track of where she is living. Send a squad you trust." She narrowed her eyes, the chill of her anger intensifying. "And I do mean trust. They are to wait for her outside her residence until she exits or noon tomorrow. If she does not exit by that time they may request entry before making their way inside if there is no response."

  "And then Ma'am?"

  "They are to escort her to the Holding and to my private Court. We will meet her there if we are not already in session."

  "And Sebastian?"

  "Ensure he is presented as well. We will have many questions for him, the least of which is how he crossed paths with the Princess in the first place."

  "Yes, your Majesty." Bowing the Seneschal took a step backwards towards the door. "By your leave."

  As the Seneschal turned to leave she asked him one last question. "Do you think she used her War Husk?"

  "It is the only way she might have had any chance of surviving Rios that I am aware of."

  "Yet Sebastian called back in to report the incident, and from the report there was no sign of additional injuries."

  "That is curious, my Lady."

  Lyselle finally extracted her fingers from the recently pristine wood of her desk and waved a dismissal before turning to stare out her chamber window. Her daughter was alive, perhaps not well but alive. Her daughter had killed another Awakened, as far as she knew this was her first.