The sun rose high into the sky as the heat of the day increased gradually. The air was thick with moisture as storm clouds began to gather from the north. This combination made for a very humid and unpleasant feeling for anyone who decided to venture outside. Princess Kishi walked purposefully toward the council chambers in the capital city of Alanderas. The streets on this particular day were void of life. The pending storm had driven everyone into their homes for cover. As the black clouds rolled in, the sound of thunder boomed and lightning crackled all about the mountainside. The sun disappeared as the winds sped the storm with great velocity toward the city.
As she neared the meeting hall, she could see the queen's guard in their jet-black armor surrounding the building. She looked more closely around the scene, and she noticed there were archers stationed on the rooftops. Horsemen were positioned on the opposite side of the courtyard and were armed with swords and spears. She had never seen such security for a council meeting and knew that her sister must be scared. She also knew that her friends had been right in their decision to move the people at this time. There would be a very light guard at the outer wall, which would make the evacuation of the loyal high elves relatively easy.
'Princess Kishi, the council and her majesty are waiting for you inside. Please proceed,' the guard said as he opened the door for her with a slight bow. The double doors opened inward to admit the crowned princess of the high elves. She looked around the room while carefully hiding any hint of her intentions or feelings. She smiled graciously at the council members and bowed slightly to her sister as she neared her seat at the round table. She sat directly across from the queen, which pleased her because she wanted to look her in the eye for what she was about to do. She wanted to make her mentor proud of his faithful pupil.
As she took her seat, the doors of the domed hall slammed shut with a resounding boom. Silence engulfed the tense council room as Kishi continued to look at the members in attendance. This meeting place was very different from the elven High Council's chamber in the Black Forest. The ceiling was made of magically reinforced glass that could withstand whatever the elements could throw at it. The round table in the middle was made of solid black oak from the northern edge of the Forest of Renshaw. There were etchings of gold, silver, and precious gems inlaid in the intricate carvings in the wood. The walls had murals of elven history and in particular of the recent division of its people. It clearly outlined the rise of the high elves and displayed pictures of Queen Kira and her husband, General Yukio.
Kishi fought hard to hide her loathing. She needed to present her case for the throne carefully as to not give away her hidden motives. She really did not care to rule over all of the high elves because she did not believe that all of them would be accepting of her. She was here to convince as many members of the council as possible. The rest merely had to have the seed of doubt planted in them.
'Princess Kishi, welcome,' Chairman Merindiel greeted her. 'Now we may begin.'
'First order of business on the agenda today is the legitimacy of the right to rule the high elves as a sovereign monarch. The eldest daughter of King Ciel, Princess Kishi, has petitioned Queen Kira to hear her argument for the right to the throne. Her majesty has convened this council to definitively determine whose claim is most just.' Bronwen had a friendly warm smile as he spoke to the council members. He had a particularly kind look on his face when he looked at Kishi. He respected her as a powerful sorceress and as an intelligent person. He knew that if she was making this claim there had to be something to it.
'Milady, will you please present your argument at this time? There will be no questions until you are finished. When you have reached that point, please indicate that to me so I do not interrupt you at any point,' the chairman said kindly.
'Thank you, most noble chairman. Your kind words warm my heart and give me the courage to speak to you all this day.' As Kishi was saying the last few words, an ear-piercing crackle of lightning followed by an earth- shaking boom rocked the hall. The storm was beginning to unleash its fury upon the mountainside.
'I will keep my presentation of what I believe to be the facts as short as possible. I do not want us to be kept here while there is such a vicious storm raging outside,' Princess Kishi began eloquently. 'I believe that high elven tradition dictates that the heir to the throne is the spouse of the departed monarch. In the event of his or her spouse passing before them, then the eldest child is crowned to rule in his or her parents' place.' Lightning streaked across the blackened sky. The frequency of the strikes was becoming more intense and frequent. They were also striking much closer to their current location. This storm can't be natural, she thought.
'As I was saying, the tradition and the law of the high elves are that the right to rule is passed down from the parents to the eldest child. If that child is not fit to rule or is otherwise unable to take over the monarchy, then the next sibling in line would be crowned. What I perceive to be the current situation to be is either a misinterpretation of the law or a change in the law that I was not aware of.' She did not want to appear to be overtly confrontational, so she continued with her polite presentation of the facts.
'Many do not know that my sister Kira is actually younger than 1. Though we are twins, I was the first out of our dear departed mother's womb. So, according to our laws, I would be the rightful ruler of this new nation. Noble Merindiel, have I misunderstood the law? Are the laws and traditions of the high elves, in this respect, unchanged?'
Bronwen stood from his seat next to the queen and said, 'You are quite right about the law and its interpretation. Also, we have not altered or amended the law that you have brought to our attention.' He nodded slightly to Kishi to show that he was done and to give her the floor back.
'Thank you, Chairman. I believe the only possible question in anyone's mind should be why did we stray from those laws? Is it because my dear sister thought of the plan and facilitated all of the necessary elements of it? If so, then why has the law governing the right to rule not been changed or amended to allow for bravery and foresight to be requirements for the crown?' She had reached the point that she had been yearning to get to. There should be a significant number of council members who would now follow her. The others should have sufficient doubt in their minds to suit her needs.
'Gracious Chairman, I am done with my presentation. If you please,' she gestured to Bronwen to take over the proceedings. There would be questions now, but not too many. There would be a significant amount of debate over this issue, and she was not going to stick around to hear all of it.
'You have presented a strong case for the council to consider. At this time, I would like to open the floor for questions for either myself or for Princess Kishi.' He looked around the room at the bewildered looks on everyone's faces. He was caught off guard too because of their apparent oversight. He did not see how they could go on justifying Kira as their rightful queen and ruler. Kishi's presentation of the facts was too direct and to the point to be misunderstood.
Silence fell over the room. The sounds from the storm were growing worse still and seemed to be filling the silence in the council chambers. No one had the look yet of even forming a question on their faces. However, when Kishi looked at her sister, Kira was giving her a look of mingled indignation and disbelief all at once. The princess did not need the ability to read minds to know what her younger sibling was thinking. She knew that she felt betrayed by her older sister and by the faces of those who clearly agreed with Kishi. She could not believe that she would ask for the right to rule after doing nothing on her part to secure it.
Queen Kira could take it no longer. She was too incensed to sit quietly on her throne and say nothing after such an attack. She stood up, and as she did so her, eyes began to have blue mist coming out of her eyes. No one had ever seen her so angry before that she would use her magic unknowingly. 'You traitor!' she bellowed at her sister. 'What gives you the right to come here and belittle what I have done to save these people? Who are you to question my ability to rule? You are no better than those that we left behind! They were ignorant fools who wanted to do the minimum and still reap the rewards of hard work off of the backs of others!' The blue mist was now surrounding the queen and seemed to be freezing the very air about her.
Kishi smiled at her sibling's reaction to the truth. Everything was going better than she could have wished for. She had sufficiently provoked her sister into attacking her verbally. That should give everyone sufficient doubt in her ability to rule. She just needed to egg Kira on a little more to reach her breaking point. Now she would attack the queen's illegitimate husband who was king. He will be the perfect trigger to push her over the edge.
'Dear sister, you question my right to come here to petition this just council of high elves? What about your own violation of our laws in marrying a member of a different race? Have the laws changed for everyone in this regard, or did we bend the rules for you and this pathetic excuse for a spouse? Haven't you defiled yourself enough by marrying him? Why bring these good people down with you through your inept leadership?' She had a triumphant smile on her dark face. She had done it. Let the storm come. I am ready!
Kira sent shards of ice hurtling toward her sister, who deflected the darts just enough to prevent major damage. She wanted it to appear that she was unprepared for this attack. Many of the icy daggers had pierced her
