"Are you sure?" her voice says again.
"Yes." I reply.
She sighs, turning to the others. As if they could hope to convince me otherwise.
"It's too soon." one of them says. "We'll be drawing attention to ourselves, their soldiers will be at our doorstep! Stella, you-"
"I don't care." I say. There is no hyperbole or exaggeration in my words. They are not spoken as part of some manipulative gambit. I simply do not care what happens next.
"Well, we can't let you do this." she speaks up again, her tone firm.
But...
"You can't stop me. I'm doing this, with or without you."
"Then go ahead and come at me, princess." the third one says, standing up. Very well, if she stands in my way, I'll just-
"No." Ignis' voice rings across the room. "I can't have you do this, Gladia."
"I'm not letting her throw her life away!" she screams in response.
"You will not defy Princess Stella. If she wants to go and fight, we'll damn well let her, you hear me?!" Ignis yells, silencing everyone.
"Prepare the car." I tell her.
"Stella, are you sure you don't want-"
"No." I say.
My father. My mother. My lover. The thousands of subjects I was to rule. All taken from me.
And they celebrate. They spread their lies, their propaganda. They sully the name of my family, the name of my father and mother. They trump up stories of tyranny, and they murder and silence those who don't listen. I was told to hide. I was told to stay safe.
I refuse.
Today, I'll send them a message. To the monsters who robbed me, who tried to destroy me. Who took away everything I love.
I will kill them all.
I won't waste another second. I won't waste another breath. I'll spend every waking hour finding any killing the invaders. Not one of them will live under my reign. Not one of them will escape retribution for what they've done.
Their bodies will pile up, hour after hour. Until either I or the Emperor meets their end, I will keep fighting.
The intel I received points to a training exercise being performed at the courtyard of the Hall of Mirrors. Servants of the Niflheim Empire, preparing themselves for the further atrocities they'll commit inside my rightful kingdom. Perhaps even recruiting new meat into their cause.
The sooner they all stop breathing, the better.
I leave the car, approaching the battalion before me. None of them have noticed me. They're fully armed, standing at attention. There is a drill instructor, barking out commands.
He is the first to be skewered by the swords I throw. Five others are impaled seconds later.
I can see the light of their souls burning out. They are no longer a part of this realm.
Before the others can get their bearings, I pounce, landing on top of another soldier, and stabbing him in the heart. I summon another set of blades, launching them away at the people surrounding me. Fifteen more are down.
By this time, the survivors are retreating and firing at me. But their bullets are worthless against the one who bears the might, and curse, of the queen.
I immediately warp along their escape route and block their path before they get too far. I summon and launch another set of blades, killing five more soldiers before anyone can counterattack. There are merely twenty of them left, and one of them attempts to slash at me with their sword, only to be thrown back by the barrier I had engaged.
I am able to kill the rest of them with ease. Their bodies, around 46 or so, lie scattered all around. They'll be found soon enough.
However, I also decide to leave one of my blades at the scene. It bears the mark of the queen.
Niflheim will soon know that I, Stella Nox Caelum, daughter of Regis Nox Caelum and the rightful heir to the Lucis throne, has begun her quest for vengeance and reclamation.