England

"...AND NOW the Saxons are advancing again," an unknown man was sitting in a group of more unknown men, and Alfred was desperately trying to keep the peace.

When I walked in, everyone glanced up, but no one said a word. Arthur and Merlin were nowhere to be seen.

"Who is this?" the man who had spoken before asked, looked away from Alfred.

Alfred looked anxiously between me and the man before responding. "Well, she's the king."

The man laughed. "Alfred, you jest. Where is the king?"

I lifted my chin and squared my shoulders. "I should hope I am the king, as I have been running this kingdom for the past couple days, ever since I pulled a sword from a block of marble that men twice my size could not get to budge." I glided to the replica throne, and sat down. "I am Lyra, soon to be King of England. Anything you must say of the Saxons should also be mentioned in my presence."

The men were dumbfounded. Including the one who had spoken up.

The thought sent a silent thrill up my spine, and I had to keep a grin from my lips. This was no time to act as though I was kidding.

Because I wasn't.

"She does not lie," Alfred said, gesturing towards me. "She will be crowned king within weeks, so it would be in our best interests if you would keep her gender a secret. We do not need the widespread confusion it would cause should the people find their king is a woman too soon."

The men nodded along to what Alfred was saying, but their eyes didn't leave me. 

There were four men sitting along the table, each in dark clothes with an odd crest on their chests. 

"Majesty," the one who had been speaking said stiffly. "I am Silas, a field marshal in the army. These are my majors; Jasper, Elijah, and Cree. We will vow to serve you and the crown. Forgive me for my initial rudeness."

As Silas was speaking, I noticed his facial expressions did not match the pretty words leaving his mouth. It seemed I would have to keep an eye on him and his majors to make sure they did nothing foolish.

"Majesty," the three majors chorused, not meeting my gaze. And they had seemed so attentive to Alfred when I had walked in...

"Continue with your report, Marshal," Alfred said, his uncertain gaze darting to mine for a moment.

Silas looked at me, and I nodded with a growing sense of pride. At least he was respectful of my title while I was in the room.

"As I was saying, the Saxons are advancing once more," Silas began. "They're gaining ground from the west, and we're not certain that they won't split and try to take the south as well."

Jasper nodded along to this. When Silas finished talking, Jasper began his account of what was happening. 

"We don't have the numbers to cover the south and the west, especially because the Saxons add to their ranks everyday. We need to get permission to advance into the south west, so that we may cover from both directions."

I pursed my lips, thinking hard about what the men were asking of me.

"And they are currently only advancing from the west?" I asked, knowing my answer if the men responded with an affirmative. 

"Correct, Majesty, but we have reason to believe they will attempt to move to the south," this time it was Elijah who spoke up.

"So cover the west until they do move south," I decided, meeting each of the men's eyes. The decision seemed obvious to me. If we didn't have the numbers, we wouldn't move until they did. Until then, we could cover the land they were currently trying to overtake.

"You could begin a draft-" Silas started, but I interrupted.

"I will not force young men to leave their homes to die on a battlefield. They will choose to join the army, or they will choose to not join the army. The people must have their freedom."

Alfred looked about ready to puke at my breach in conduct, but I didn't pay attention to him. I was in the middle of a staring contest with Silas, and I was not going to back down.

It was important to me that no one was forced to do anything until our numbers were truly depleted. Until then, I would fight for the freedom of my people.

Merlin chose to make his entrance in that moment, seemingly floating into the room, his face painted with a smile. The wizard glided to the chair at my right and sat down, looking right and left.

"Am I so terribly late that I missed the food? Perhaps the chefs expected us to cut the tension in the air up and eat it instead," Merlin mussed, thinking out loud.

At the last remark, Alfred cracked a smile and I outright laughed. It was so refreshingly Merlin that I wasn't even thinking about Silas anymore. 

Where I once would have loathed his presence, I would have to make a mental note to have Merlin present at all meetings, including the ones that I could not attend. If he was good for nothing else, at least he would lighten the mood a tad, and show the stuffy nobles they need not be so uptight in the palace.

Though maybe, if they were uptight, that meant they were scared of what I might do to them.

Which, for now, was a good thing.

A butler I had not had the pleasure of meeting rushed into the room, an envelope resting on a silver platter in tow. He bowed deeply and I grabbed the letter from the plate.

"Thank you," I said. "Do you by any chance have a letter-opener?"

The butler nodded, betraying no emotion, and pulled a bejeweled letter-opener from his pocket.

I cut the note open, handed the small knife back to the butler, and opened the note.

Dearest Reine,

I am in town once more, and I was wondering if you would come and enjoy a spot of tea with me in the evening tomorrow. There is much to discuss.

Warm Regards,
Cam

I smiled slightly at the nickname, happy Camille was back. I dismissed the butler, and soon the food flowed into the room, conversation following.

Silas drew up diagrams of the war front, and I examined the tiny red flags the military guests pushed across the map, each person cutting in to add a detail that we might have missed, or that we may need to know in the future.

I pointed out ways to divide soldiers and prevent bloodshed, to prevent the army from coming any closer and reduce their numbers. All while snacking on herring and rice, attempting to hide the disgust I felt every time I slid a bite of the fish down my throat.

Herring was one of the few foods I couldn't grow a taste for.

At the end of the dinner, even Silas was looking at me with grudging respect, though I could not fully appreciate it because of a horrible throbbing behind my eyes.

"All I must say," said Merlin, "Is that may the Lord bless anyone who crosses our queen. Lord knows she will not show mercy."

I blushed, but I knew it was true. I didn't quite know if I would ever be able to kill someone myself, but I would not hesitate to protect England and its inhabitants. The people- my people- deserved their freedom and the little protection I could offer.

There wasn't much else I could do besides make sure their lives were not in danger on the streets of this great country.

I adjourned the meeting, retiring early to my rooms. It may not have been late, but I was bone tired from the long day.

And yet, after I had dressed in a simple night gown and climbed into bed, something was off. Something made me stay up all night, worrying.

Worrying about nothing at all.

IN THE MORNING, I took tea and breakfast in my room, puzzling over my headache. Had something been in the watered down wine I had drunk the night before? It seemed odd that I would get intoxicated after such a little amount of alcohol.

I sighed, finishing my tea. I longed to stay in my study and read, but Alfred had another list, no doubt, and there was work to be done.

For the day, because of last night's unexpected visitors, I dressed in trousers and a shirt, pulling my hair back underneath a silk cap. 

It was not unpleasant to slip into the familiar guise of a man.

"... No! I want to see her. You know, she was my squire for her entire life!" Grummore's unmistakable voice rang through the Great Hall as I passed through, and I couldn't help but notice the stubble that was on his chin.

Perhaps he had decided he wanted a beard to match Ector's.

"All is well," I called out from the landing of the stairs. "He is with the king."

I know Grummore recognized my voice. I also know he was smart enough to save his low hiss of my name until he was out of hearing range of everyone else in the hall.

"Lyra," he said, a mixture of pride and fear on his face. "How on Earth did you manage to pull the sword? I tried it myself, and if I'm being completely honest, not even my many muscles could help pull the sword out of that hunk of rock."

I rolled my eyes at Grummore's vanity, but I was pleased to find that I didn't smell alcohol on his breath.

Small victories.

"I am to report to Alfred, so that I may complete my duties," I said formally, wincing at how sharp my tone was. It was all for show, I reminded myself. "But you may request a servant to show you to a guest chamber, where you can freshen up."

Grummore nodded once, not able to contain the proud smile that lit up his face.

"I know you're probably mad at me for not telling you sooner," he said. "But isn't it delightful that I knew a secret the rest of the country didn't?"

Grummore walked off, leaving me with my jaw on the floor.

Of course that's how he would think of it. Oh, well. At least he was here, and he knew I was safe.

I turned and walked to the study Alfred and I had occupied yesterday, careful to look like a king to be.

I didn't want anyone to have even remote suspicions until the coronation.

As I wandered into the meeting room, I was surprised to find Silas waiting with Alfred. Perhaps he needed an approval on a war declaration.

"You need to move the coronation up. The country grows restless. Though she is female, a queen is better than no monarch at all."

"But our plan..."

"Was to wait? I am aware, sir." Silas was talking with no respect, unaware that I was outside the door.

I walked in and sat down across from the two men.

"Well, what am I to do today?" I asked, resisting the urge to smirk at the priceless look on Silas's face. I would need to change my appearance more often if this was the response I would receive from people.

It was hilarious.

"Your coronation is being moved up," Alfred said, bowing low.

"To when?" I sighed, resigned.

Alfred gulped. "Next week."

I gasped. We hadn't even begun discussing the details of my coronation, much less the fact that I may have to keep the act of being a man up.

It was too much, too soon.

And by Silas's smirk, I figured it was his idea, and that all of the mysterious advisors I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting had backed him.

They hadn't even attempted to contact me, and it seemed they held no respect for their future king.

"Alfred," I said, massaging my temples. "Arrange a meeting with the advisors. It's about time we meet formally."

Alfred nodded, making a note on the paper in front of him.

"Today you sign the letter containing the discussed war plan from last night to be sent to the front lines, and make a plan to defeat the Saxons."

"I have tea with Princess Camille later today, as well," I added.

Silas stiffened at the sound of the princess's name, but did not say a word. How intriguing. 

Alfred slid the letter in front of me, and I read through it quickly. The lessons Grummore had put me through to learn how to read had paid off.

I found I was satisfied with the letter, signed the bottom, and handed it back to Alfred. Hopefully this would be the first of many times I would sign things.

I could only hope I wasn't marched straight to the gallows after the coronation, where I may or may not reveal myself.

My head throbbed.

"And I believe that if we isolate the leader of the Saxons, we should be able to sufficiently kill and dispose of them. Afterwards, their chain of command will fail and we shall be victorious," Silas said, obviously giving plenty of thought to the matter.

Except I didn't want to kill anybody if there was another option. I wanted reason. I wanted diplomacy.

Silas did not.

"I will not be murdering anybody until all options are extinguished."

"You wouldn't be the assassin."

"It makes no difference."

Silas's face reddened, his anger showing in the way his face transformed to a bright, tomato red.

I must be very irritating.

"Fine," he gritted. "But good luck getting a meeting."

"Remind me," I said. "But you aren't an advisor, am I correct?"

Alfred's jaw was on the floor, his eyes bugging out. I would have laughed if not for Silas's presence.

"I apologize, Majesty. I forget myself." Silas bowed stiffly and left the room, steam practically coming out of his ears.

"Majesty," Alfred started hesitantly. "If I may, that was a little unnecessary."

"Can you get me a meeting?" I asked, already at the door.

"Well... Well, yes, but-" 

"Very good," I said over my shoulder, walking out into the corridor to take a deep breath.

After I had composed myself, and made sure I was presentable, I walked to the gardens, needing desperately to clear my muddled mind.

Word Count: 2371

Total Word Count: 16629

Thank you for reading? Let me know your feelings on Silas, Elijah, Jasper, and Cree. Not so good, am I right?

And the coronation being moved up? What could possibly go wrong. Are you excited to see Camille again?

I have plenty of evil plans coming to fruition in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

*insert evil laugh here*

CJ