Above All

-Sixty-Two-

Sunshine of wonder

Fallen foe is never lost

Sun shines bright onward

Amani:

          Maelony Palace had been cleared for us to return sooner than I had anticipated it would be. I had already rested comfortable in the idea that it might have taken a few days due to the immense size of the estate—I mean nine-hundred plus rooms wasn't something to be taken lightly, but it was a merely twelve hours before the leader of the group of militia women returned and told us it was time to leave the hotel to the now secure palace. Cairo had informed us that a few areas where our apartments resided have been especially blocked off to prevent even staff from coming in and out; they would take care of anything we needed in the meantime while they vetted out all staff that worked under our family.

            Cairo had wanted anyone involved with the explosion to remain at the palace as there was a concern that if any one of my friends went their separate way, the culprits would find a way to try something further extensive; I didn't want anything to happen to Rose, Éliane, Fionn and Layton, so I agreed that it was best for them to stay at the palace for a bit until everything was settled.

            It wasn't like we didn't have room or anything.

            Inside the car, they had been with Rose and Éliane, but Layton and Fionn were to be in another car as they were also in the line of succession with me not having an heirs to my name at the moment; it was a bit weird to think of that in the moment—who would come after me when it came to taking the throne. Despite not being Madeline's son, Layton still had more claim to the throne as being the eldest of his brothers.

            My family members were also in their own set of guards with their personal guards strapped with military weapons. The SUVs we were in were quite large and roomy, but also featured dark-tinted windows that obscured our view from peering eyes on the exterior. We were waiting patiently as the other cars peeled out from the back of the hotel; I watched as Cairo marched over to our car and pulled the door open hoping into the vehicle with us, shutting the door behind us with a loud thwack.

            She positioned herself within the middle of Rose and Éliane, sitting her assault rifle on her lap as she turned her head and spoke a foreign language to the driver of the car; that woman too had her face nearly covered, the slit of her eyes being the only indicator of human-life behind the mask and not machine robot killer.

            They were killers, right?

            I was scared to ask, but I was also very curious about them.

            I had never before seen an intense group of women, taking control such as this. Don't get me wrong, Idizia was a very matriarchal-orientated country as many could tell—even the military from centuries ago allowed women to fight; but something about this brand of women was a different level of intensity that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

            The car began moving and for a bit it was silent.

            No one really said anything, the only sound to be heard was the low humming of the car as it passed over the gravel of the ground and onto the public road. I took a look over at my friends who at times, met my own gaze and I assured them with a simple smile. I could tell they were a bit nervous sitting beside Cairo and I couldn't blame them, that gun looked dangerous, but they held it together for the most part.

            Rose looked down at her phone and made a face, "There's no signal in here." She stated out-loud as she attempted to bring her phone higher up against the ceiling of the car in hopes to find better signal strength. Cairo slowly turned her head over to her, "Are you trying to make a call?" She questioned her.