Dawning Skye

340 Court In Session

Skye gripped the edge of the podium as she stared down her enemy; “I understand why ye would be worried about me dethronin’ Murdoc due to me bloodline. But yer forgettin’ ta mention somethin’ Very important, Councilor Malcolm..”

“And what is that?!”

“That I don’t Want ta be a Queen! I have never wanted that kinda hassle in me life. Ima not even fond of bein’ a Princess, but I’ll deal wit what I have ta fer Tidas! Ima quite grateful that he’s the third son, and that he Also has No ambition ta be a king! Then again, how could ye know? Ye have barely spoken ta us since we showed up.”

Before Malcolm could speak, Skye continued; “I was sent here with Tidas because I can wield four types of bloody magic! Ate, we came ta try and make peace! But we also came ready fer war, just like you! And yet ye wish ta fault us for it?! Yer right: who would’ve expected a bunch of army lads ta walk about with weapons?”

Malcolm’s anger flared; “If ye came fer war, then ye thought that peace wasna gonna happen!”

“Wrong again, but don’t worry, dear. That tends ta happen more frequently wit old age..”

Malcolm went to scream, but Skye waved him off with her hand, and continued to talk in a commanding voice; “Do ye not remember the shit that Drexel pulled? Ye must, since I hear ye were one of his main backers..”

Seeing him flinch at the mention of it, Skye continued; “Yer also forgetting that our other mission is ta kill the Monster in the North! Ima the only one that can touch the source of it’s powers, and Tidas and I are the only ones with weapons that can hurt it! Ask yer own what they saw if ye don’t believe me!”

Malcolm tried to wave off what she’d said, but too many of the other councilors wanted to hear the tale. As the started to send for a few of the men, Skye called out to Tidas..

.....

“If they’re goin’ ta our bunker ta fetch some of the other Highlanders, ask Ralph ta grab the daily ledgers!”

Tidas looked at Skye with a quirked eyebrow; “Which ones?”

“All of ’em! And make sure that multiple Highlanders see and hear everythin’ ye do and say! I don’t want there ta be any doubts that things were tampered wit!”

Tidas still wasn’t exactly sure what Skye was up to, but he trusted her. He didn’t like leaving her in the veritable lion’s den, but he did as she asked. It was hanging by a thread, but the Highlanders still had faith in her..

Once they left, Skye looked at Malcolm with a scrutinizing gaze; “Now, ye said that there was a witness? I’d like yeta call them here.”

“And why would I do that?! So ye can kill ’em wit yer mag-”

Skye’s tone was threatening as she cut him off mid-sentence; “Do ye take me fer a fool, Councilor Malcolm? Ye have insulted me family, accused me of treason and sabotage, and now ye want me ta sit idle while ye do so?!”

Shifting her weight, Skye added; “Do ye Really think I’d be dumb enough ta kill anyone here? Because I can assure ye that if I was, ye’d be a bloody mess on the floor by now..”

“I called it! Ye be nothin’ but a barbaric-”

“Shut up and sit Down, Malcolm! She’s right! Ye canna accuse her, then deny her a chance ta prove the RMC’s innocence! And any one of Us woulda punched ye by now fer the way ye have insulted her kin! If ye have nothin’ intelligent ta add, then shut yer yap!” Murdoc bellowed like the King he was.

Malcolm wanted to protest, but knew he would look like a whining bairn if he did. Walking over to the seat that Petrie had been in before, the temporary Head Councilor kept his trap shut until people started to arrive..

The first was the witness. He was an older man who coughed a lot, but still looked to be relatively healthy. As he was led down to the podium, his expression turned a bit fearful when he looked at Skye. She smiled kindly at him, then moved away before he was brought to it.

The man kept glancing at Malcolm, then shifting his eyes everywhere else nervously. Skye could tell that he wasn’t just scared of her, and actually seemed to be more afraid of the Councilor than anything else. As everyone simmered down again at Murdoc’s behest, the man cleared his throat several times..

One of the guards of the room brought over a glass of water for him as Murdoc asked; “Yer name be Camryn, right?”

The man nodded; “Aye, me King. Ernest Camryn..”

Murdoc walked over to stand in front of the old man; “Ye say that the guard that got stabbed wrestlin’ the armored arsonist told ye the story before he died?”

After a few gulps to wet his throat, Ernest replied; “Aye, me King. I came in ta work early ta talk wit Ollie about switchin’ shifts. Me granddaughter’s birthday tis comin’ up..”

“I found him draggin’ his self along the railin’, then I caught ’em before he fell over. He was covered in blood, and got some on me, too.”

“He said that a Southern armored soldier was fixin’ ta blow up the dam. He stopped ’em by knockin’ ’em over the side. He handed me the gauntlet, and told me ta warn everyone.. Then he died.”

Why didn’t ye try ta get help? He might’ve lived,” Murdoc asked as he scrutinized the jumpy man’s demeanor.

He coughed a moment, then answered; “H-He asked me ta stay wit ’em.. I suppose he knew he didna have long..”

Murdoc looked to Skye, who slowly started to approach the man as she asked; “Are these the same clothes ye wore last night?”

Ernest shook his head; “Na, I changed. There was blood on me shirt.”

“How much blood?” she asked as she neared.

As he started to cough again and visibly sweat, Ernest replied; “Wha-? I dunno. About the size of dinner plate. Why?”

Skye inhaled deeply, then went off; “Well, ye say that he had just been stabbed, and died minutes after. That means he had a vital wound, and most likely his heart, correct?”

Ernest coughed more, then replied hastily; “I-I don’t know.. I guess-”

Skye genuinely smiled at him as she stopped in front of him; “Well ye checked his wound when ye found him bloodied, didn’t ye?”

“Well, aye, but I don’t remember..”

Skye nodded with a contemplative expression; “Were ye a warrior in yer youth, sir?”

“Na, been a security officer fer the passed forty-seven years,” Ernest replied with a touch of pride.

Skye beamed at him; “Nearly fifty years?! That’s amazin’! But that means that yer not used ta seeing things like a bloodied work buddy.. It makes sense that ye wouldn’t remember..

Her expression went back to serious; “But ye definitely should’ve had more blood on ye.”

“...What?”

“If he had just gotten stabbed, and died shortly after, the amount of blood he was losin’ at the time would’ve soaked ye.. But ye say that ye only got a plate-sized spot?”

“A-Aye..”

Skye nodded in the positive, then continued talking; “And ye said that the perpetrator was completely covered in armor?”

“T-That be what Ollie said..”

Skye’s disposition turned pleasant again as she thanked him fer his testimony. When she extended her hand to shake his, he hesitantly shook it. When she wouldn’t let go, he looked like death head his hand..

“Ye been sick fer a while, huh?” she asked gently.

Confusion covered his face as she replied; “Cancer.. Got two years left at most..”

Skye beamed at him; “This will be gross, but tis yer lucky day..”

Ernest had heard the rumors about the Last Warrick, but he didn’t really believe them. He’d never heard of a Shaman being capable of healing any ailment, and gossip was never a reliable source of information to him. So when he started to feel good, shock covered his face.

As soon as a smile spread across his face, Skye pointed to the side and said; “Yer gonna wanna sun that way..”

The moment Ernest had turned his head, he was puking up chunks of flesh and bile. The tumors that had been eating away at his intestines shrank, and broke down. The ones along his stomach were the worst, so Skye super-boosted the healthy cells, and had them overwhelm the cancerous ones.

She then pre-formed scar tissue underneath the bad cells to isolate them. Once Skye was sure that they were completely cut off, she had the cells turnover at a rapid rate, then detach from Ernest’s stomach wall.

The surrounding spectators all scrunched their faces at the sight and smell. It was disgusting, and Skye wouldn’t argue the fact, but the man would live another fifteen to twenty years because of it. Plus, she wasn’t about to make anyone clean it up..

Lifting her hand for dramatic effect, Skye had a hole open up in the floor. Everyone watched it wonder as she made the top layer of metal shift into the hole. Once every part of the surface that had mess on it was gone, she closed up the hole with ease.

Skye had made her display dramatic on purpose. She could’ve dissolved the tumors in his stomach instead of making him sick, but it wouldn’t ohave left as big of an impression on the top leaders of the Highlands.

They each controlled a section of the Highlands, or had vast influence through their businesses. Skye wanted to show them her capabilities as both an incentive to work with her and the RMC, and as a warning..

The bunkers had withstood the Great Shift, and had protected them for thousands of years.. Until Skye. She could not only open up the mountainside with her magic, but actually get inside their bunker system if she wanted to..

Ernest coughed several times, then drank the rest of the water that he’d been given earlier. For the first time in years, his stomach didn’t hurt, and he actually had an appetite. Looking at Skye, tears formed at the corners of his eyes.

Before the flood of thank yous could happen, Skye smiled at him and said; “No need ta worry. Twas hardly any effort on my part.”

It was a big fat lie, but Ernest didn’t need to know that, or anyone else in the room. In truth, she had put in extra effort to make it look like it was easy for her. The speed and intricate control she had needed was boosted by her Tank trait.

It was a similar method to what she used on herself when fighting, but far more complicated. As Skye listened to the hushed praises of surprise, she also heard several comment on how they had sick relatives that could benefit from her powers..

Malcolm seethed as Murdoc grinned. They both knew that Skye had deliberately displayed her power to the gathered high-ranking political influencers. Only a few present had actually seen her fight with Amara and Murdoc. So most weren’t aware of her full capabilities until she had entered the room.

As the talk started to turn more positive, Malcolm began to sweat. If he couldn’t discredit Skye, then the likelihood of the treaty being signed was nearly guaranteed. As a bang from the door echoed in the room, Malcolm started to come up with a secondary plan...

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