A leader

Ulric's hologram started to dissipate and take shape of a black Bird with red eyes, it was a spirit used to communicate through long distances.

The spirit flew out through the window leaving Elentiya alone inside the room, she sighed and rested her head on her hands, The mask of a Strong leader slowly falling away.

The silence in the room made her realize how lonely she had become.

Solrien's wreath was how people had referred to her for over two centuries; it should have been evident, but only now did she grasp how others cherished that title.

People on Altaphor thought about their ruler as a deity, making a legend spread about the queen is actually some kind of deity spread, only a few of her generals knew she was a virsune and not a deity.

Elentiya ended up choosing to step down as queen a few years ago, Altaphor had lived in peace for a long time, After ruling over a hundred years she felt they didn't require her as a ruler any longer, and she could finally rest.

She opted to pass the throne to her offspring seeing as Elentiya had multiple sons and daughters from different relationships she had in the past, although if her sons had the blood of a virsune and would live much longer than a human, they wouldn't leave as long as her, it would be a fantastic time for them to mature.

Elentiya departed Altaphor and attempted to live a peaceful life; After four years, she became pregnant and chose to give birth in her nation, but when she returned, everything she witnessed was a battlefield.

Altaphor was immersed in chaos during the period she was gone, her descendants began to quarrel with one other and started an internal conflict in the government leading the entire kingdom into an internal war.

She wondered why none of the reports she got while she was gone mentioned what was actually going on; but didn't have to wait long for the truth; it came out that some of her heirs had been waiting for the opportunity to fully take over the kingdom for a long time.

They betrayed and deceived her during these four years.

She had no idea that for years part of her own family was just waiting the right moment to take over.

To defend her empire, she had to execute those of her bloodline who had rebelled against her; Elentiya had to choose between being a mother and sovereign.

Elentiya had chosen to wage war against her own family, but she couldn't risk the life of her newborn, so she opted to hide him and let him live with the daughters she trusted the most, only to learn later that Lydia had also plotted to betray her with the assistance of her disowned brother Mathew.

She discovered that both had made a contract with a third party involving Ferran, she didn't know what they were planning and also didn't have the time to investigate now, all her subordinates were dealing with the war as well.

The images of her having to kill the same people she took care of since they were babies still haunted her dreams at night.

A leader should be someone confident with his decisions, but right now Elentiya started to question herself.

'If I had spent more time with them things would be different?'

'I was a failure as a mother?'

These questions kept coming to torment her over and over.

The internal war on Altaphor was still going, and taking control of a country without many casualties was harder than just destroying everything, the fact she was worried about Ferran also didn't help.

Ferran was her son but his body was of a normal human, he was weak compared to his Brothers when they were his age.

'If I tell him I'm a queen and he is part of a royal bloodline what would I do if he asked to see Altaphor? All he would see was a battlefield and a kingdom crumble because of my failures

'I have to protect him at any cost'

That's why his existence was kept a secret from everyone.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Celine entered the room.

"Mom?".

"Yes?"

"Did something happen?" Her voice was full of concern, Celine knew how the war situation was chaotic, and things could change at any moment.

"No, just Ulric giving me reports".

Celine was older than Ferran but she was a child as well in Elentiya's eyes, telling her about what is happening in the war was something unnecessary, at the same time she knew one day her daughter would need to know the horrors of war.

"Celine"

"Yes?"

"I am a bad mother?" The question just slipped out of her mouth surprising Elentiya herself.

Celine was surprised by the question as well, she didn't know how to respond to this, Her mom was a role model to her.

"Maybe I should have spent more time with my children" Elentiya took the words out of Celine's mind.

"You are not a bad mother, mom, we do wish for more time with you but..." she stopped for a moment and looked at her mother right in the eyes before continuing.

"Right now there are people on Altaphor who need you now and I can understand this"

It was a lie, but a necessary one, Celine wanted her mother back, if she could choose between her mother and brother and Altaphor she would choose her Family, but she knew how Elentiya was a ruler more than a mother, she had come to terms with that fact since she was a child.

The only thing she could do right now was support her mother.