Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Cirque du Blanc ❯ The Court Beckons ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Footsteps echoed in the Hallway that lead to her chambers. Zee tossed back the last dregs of her tea and set her cup down on the hewn cedar table before her.
Simina, of the Queensguard and the Royal Unicorn Trainer burst onto the balcony as Zee tossed her last tea cake to Alastar, the tentacled beast in the Lagoon. Other than her friends on the Queensguard, he was her closest companion.
"The court has convened and awaits your counsel," Simina curtsied, the multitude of shiny bits in her belt catching the morning sun, casting dancing lights across the walls.
Zee sighed and dropped her pen onto her sketchbook, stood. She straightened her skirts and smoothed her hair back from her face. "Very well, let's get this over with."
Simina turned and Zee followed her through her chambers and down the hall to the conference room while she rattled off the items on today's agenda. "A Goblin raiding party has been spotted on the north shore... There's been a problem with the tea harvest, but the herbs were so abundant this year they weren't sure what to do with the excess ... The elders were demanding an answer to last weeks alliance query ..."
As their voices faded into the palace, a tentacle snuck up onto the balcony and pulled the notebook Zee had been sketching in closer to the edge. It wiped its dripping appendage on the silk napkin, careful not to dribble on or smear the sketches of wings made from leather and wood branches and the launching pad necessary to help the wearer take flight.