Loss and Victory

...

When Anna descended to the underground headquarters, she immediately sensed the oppressive atmosphere in the room.

Everybody rose to their feet and bowed their heads as they saw her. "Your Royal Highness, ma'am!" they said in a chorus.

Iron Axe went down to his knee and said, "I'm sorry for having you come down here. I should have anticipated that the enemy would raid the encampment at night and take extra precautions accordingly. I sincerely apologize for my negligence."

"Please don't blame yourselves," said Anna as she waved her hand. "I'm just concerned about the situation at the front like everybody else. I want to know what's going on. Is everybody... OK?"

Anna was still not accustomed to the fact that she was now the queen. She felt particularly embarrassed when Wendy, Agatha, and the other witches bowed to her. She actually preferred to treat all the other witches as her sisters, although she had never specifically said that aloud.