Buried Hope

Noon was closing in and beyond the walls of the queen castle, maids and butlers were the ones seemingly the busiest. They could be spotted here and there in the many corridors, halls and sections of the castle. It was a wonder how they could navigate so freely in this maze made purposely to confuse people.

In these corridors, a young man was running at full force leaving the servants in a daze at who could be dashing in the hallways. That person had a high intelligence report to hand over to the Queen and only he had the right to speak to her, at least that was what the generals decided on without his consent.

The closer he got to the throne hall, the shinier the corridors and ornaments became. At long last, he arrived at its gate where he stopped seemingly to calm his mind.

"Don't bother yourself with the protocol. I've already told you and everyone that I didn't care. Come in."

With his worries cleared and a short breath later he relaxed, a tiny bit. Although it wasn't the first time he did this, each time it happened he couldn't escape the pressure. He still half-bowed and then pushed the doors open.

The 5-meters-long doors went ajar and showed the magnificent scene it hid under its protection: golden crest, a tapestry of the finest fabrics and paintings out of this world. That hall showed a level of otherworldliness higher than anyone could dream to see in a desolate place like Silver Bastion.

But surprisingly no one was there. There were no guards and maids to attends to her Majesty because she didn't appear.

Only his footsteps made an echo here. Beyond the red carpet and the throne, there it was his destination. Once past it he stood before a tapestry and walked in as, by magic, his access was thus granted.

It was anything but different once past it. A decor that'll shock more than one if outside. It was a little house in a half-dried up courtyard and most importantly a beautiful woman in her prime sat there meditating. Even though her hair was a bit messy because of her lack of attendance, nothing could taint such a peerless beauty.

If someone told them that she was the infamous queen they'd smack that person's head and call them a liar.

"Hi, your-"

"Hugo, what did I say?"

"Aha... it's true s-sorry." He still had trouble switching on a friendlier tone when facing her even though she was smiling at him. It was then that a world shacking boom reached them.

"Ah!" The explosion quickly brought him back to reality, "Lisha, the revolution is already stepping on the castle ground. Guards are fighting them as we speak. They probably are the Fire Troop. How do you us to act?" By stating so he gazed straight at her. Her blue-sky eyes shone as if piercing through the many walls of the palace.

It wasn't the first time she did it and sure after many spent at their side, he could bet she could. That was how unfathomable her being was.

"Thanks, I owe too much to you and everyone else." Lisha showed a kind smile. Feelings were not her forte and Hugo knew that she forced herself. Hell, she probably knew already about the incursion.

"Let Broder and Crandell deal with the invaders in the garden. Tell Ferguson to protect the maids and servants. Loyde should already be dealing with the other rats so don't try to find him."

"Understood." What pained her so much? Everyone guessed it but not only at the surface level. None could know. He could only do his job to his best as her right arm: repelling the invaders.

***

At the southern gate, in the castle's garden, a bloody battle was taking place. The revolution army "Fire troop" led by Ul massacred any guards in their way.

With no casualties in their ranks, they walked into the castle, weapons dripping with the blood of their enemies.

"Ul something is not right..." Bale, an assassin with dozens of kills under his belt suggested, "Aren't the guards too easy to kill?"

"Shut up Bale! Ul needs to go to the throne asap! We are just that much stronger than those pigs" A rowdy bunch of girls in tight suits made hear of their voice in this mayhem.

"Yeah, we became stronger while they ate our supply."

"Serve them right! Serve them right!!" With a new anthem and the initial concern being lost they marched on with a renewed fury. But Ul didn't let it go as it was indeed the truth that the guards seemed weaker than usual. Yet, them becoming stronger was also the truth.

"Look! We reached the inner doors!"

"Delos, your turn."

"Understood!" A mastodon nodded his head and passed in front of them, cracking his knuckles. Standing in position with his fist ready to burst, an unpleasant sound of bones cracking sounded in everyone ears before thunder fell on the door. Magic steeled doors laid broken afterwards in front of them in less than a minute.

"Hey, where do we go next?" He asked while walking across the remains.

"Erm well... give me a minute." A young girl holding a staff sweating buckets mumbled. If at least she had a rough sketch of the castle plan she wouldn't sweat that much. Although they had moles, they weren't that deep. The inner castle was a black box with no leaks at all.

"It's in that direction."

"What? That's a wall you know?"

"Of course I know but I can only do that much for now." As the pathfinder and the assassin argued with everyone, the mastodon stopped their argument short and put his hand on the wall.

"Come on, I've got the solution." With bones cracking once again another boom echoed in the corridor yet not even a dent was made on them.

"I guessed that we won't use the forceful way today." But as the pathfinder sighed alongside the group another boom way stronger than the previous one got them by surprise.

Looking beside them they saw a wall melting like lava with Ul on the crime scene.

"We don't have time to argue. Let's advance before generals catch up."

Everyone then thought that they were shown a level even beyond the forceful way today. At which Delos laughed while looking at the pathfinder.

"Well Alise, seems like Ul doesn't need your services anymore~"

"Tch you can talk."

Unbeknownst to them, Ul glanced at the palm of her hand, wondering why it was so so easy for her to blast a hole but not for Delos. The castle of the queen was built long ago but no one remembers when exactly, as she erased all the past events before the creation of Silver Bastion. Only tales were passed generations by generations. Tales of how she was the devil incarnate and turned her back on her comrades at a key moment of the war. But which war exactly? Nobody had time to chitchat over such details when hunger was omnipresent and people had a family to take care of.

Everything was buried under a muddy veil of mystery.

"Ul calm down!" Ul woke up of her thoughts as she quickly realised the rampage she caused. Guards didn't amount to anything but she needed to keep her strength.

"Ready yourself for the Big boss and let us deal with these rats." As per an agreement the group nodded and expressed their support to her once again.

Only around trustworthy allies could Ul feel at ease and today the smile she showed when looking at them meant that no one would stand in her way, in their way.

"Okay, everyone. Let's make this quick." She said as she tried to suppress this nagging feeling inside her mind.