"They escaped?" King Casimir asked.
"How?"
"We believe they were aided by Queen Arabella and King Cyrus, Your Majesty." Lady Miranda voice rang out clear in the war chamber.
The council had gathered that same night in the war chamber and were deciding on their next move.
"I believe there is a traitor in our midst," King Casimir voiced his concern as his eyes scanned each of his loyal subjects.
"Why would you draw that conclusion?" Lady Miranda asked.
"We have all been loyal to you since before you were born." She admonished gently.
"I know that, but can you help me feel otherwise as we have been on a losing streak lately." King Casimir hinted sarcastically.
"Your Majesty, how can we prove our loyalty to you?" Chancellor Vance asked from across the table.
King Casimir sharp gaze met Lady Miranda's his expression was unreadable as he removed his signet ring from his finger. The gold ring gleamed under the candlelight, it bore the royal crest of the Summer Court.
"Lady Miranda, will be in charge while I am away." He said quietly.
"Away? Your Majesty?" Spymaster Elias asked piqued.
"Yes, though the details are confidential for now." King Casimir answered avoiding Lady Miranda's gaze.
"This rebellion is getting larger than I realised," he admitted.
"You were right Miranda, we face not just rogue nobles but courts willing to conspire against us."
He held out the ring to her.
When she did not take it.
He took her hand gently and placed it in her palm, closing her fingers over the large ring.
"You have always been loyal to not just the crown but to me. Take it with my full authority. Do what must be done. Crush this rebellion before becomes a wildfire that spreads in which we cannot contain."
Lady Miranda stepped forward her eyes never leaving his as she accepted the ring. The metal was warm against her skin and with it the weight of the authority it carried and the ability to execute a desired outcome with no obstacles, finally the power that was now entrusted to her.
She slid it onto her finger and clenched her fist. "I will not fail you, Your Majesty."
"I know you won't" King Casimir replied quietly.
With a final nod, Lady Miranda now ruling regent walked out of the chamber, the weight of duty settling upon her shoulders as she had been given the power to act. Act she would.
No court, no kingdom and no enemy would escape her fiery wrath if they should side with the rebellion.
As he watched her walk away from them. He made a final declaration.
"See to it that each one of you provides her with full cooperation, I intend to remove those within my own court who will pose a threat to my reign, you want to prove your loyalty. Help her find them."
King Casimir spoke before leaving the war chamber to make preparations for his journey ahead. One in which he did not confide to his advisors. Only to his trusted men that he had grown up with from boyhood, men his age who had played and hunted with him.
A few hours before dawn, he and his men of twenty, left the Summer Palace and rode out.
He was headed in the direction of the Winter Palace.
As his mind replayed everything that had taken place since he had agreed to this union with now the Queen of the Winterlands. He made up his mind that after he had courted her and once they were married he fully intended to make the Summer Palace her home.
He would not leave the Winterlands without her.
As of right now, she was his only ally, in a war, that would hopefully not break out between the courts.