Sorrow won't wane 'til you die
A shattered body deeply hurt
And darkness will cover the light
It's gone forevermore
Moon of the Blue Snows, 6th Sun
Lightning Strike had never seen his father so furious in his life.
"All of them!" the King roared, slamming his paw so hard into the ground that a piece of stone flaked away. He ignored it, still staring at the spy, who was clearly wishing to be anywhere but there. Thunder's Roar strode back and forth, sheathing and unsheathing his claws, his pelt bristling so much that he looked twice his size. "Every single one of them! Curse that chunk of maggot-livered demon spawn that calls itself a Kingdom! May vultures peck out their eyes, may every flea and tick suck their blood! Vervloek hulle, vervloek hulle almal!"
"Don't keep your feelings all bottled up like that, my dear," said Northern Lights tersely. "It's not good for you. Let it all out. There might be a few creatures at the edge of the world who didn't hear you."
Taking her point, Thunder's Roar sat down, but the look in his eyes was still pure fury. "We're going there," he said, quietly. "I'm going to take the entire Kingdom south and—"
"And do what, exactly? Insult their mothers?" snapped Northern Lights. "We're not going anywhere. We'd all die."
"It's not right. We can't just sit here and watch them tear an entire Kingdom to pieces."
"But we can't fight them, either, Dad," said Lightning Strike, keeping a few lengths away from his father in case he exploded again. "We're still at war with the Northern Kingdom. If we launch an attack on the South, they'll eat us alive."
"It's not right," the massive black tom repeated, but his rage seemed to be fading somewhat. He looked at the spy, who actually jumped. "You, whatever your name is, what happened to the Queen? Bright Stars?"
"Your Majesty?" queried the spy, voice shaking. "She's dead—"
"I know she's dead, Wolf damn it! How?"
"Oh. Um, well, the thing is, it looks like she was killed in practically the middle of nowhere. They'd moved her body by the time we got there, but we still found a blood pool. They caught and, um, killed her the same way they killed the rest of the royals, but no-one else died with her. It looks like she was alone."
"No-one died with her except for her kits, who could have survived outside her womb," muttered Northern Lights.
Lightning Strike frowned, confused. "What was she doing out there?" he asked his parents. "Without any guardians?"
Thunder's Roar rumbled within himself. "Mountain's Shadow may have been a coward, but he was as canny as a hawk. He knew he only gained the throne because of his father, just as he knew the only thing that stopped him from losing it was his mate. I'd say he had her stashed away somewhere safe, and was going to bring her back to the Kingdom once she'd had her kits. The Western Kingdom is a strange lot, but they're honourable. They'd never exile a Queen nursing kits. So he's kept her pregnant throughout his reign—this would have been her third litter—never concerning himself about her health, using her to keep his power. I'd say he deserved to die, but assassination is too good for him."
Lightning Strike was horrified. "And Bright Stars just let him?"
This time is was Northern Lights who answered him, her gaze distant. "I met Bright Stars once, when I was a squire, on one of those rare occasions when nobody owns the Field and we hunt as we please. She was a knight then, and struck me as someone who would chew her leg off if she thought it would help her Kingdom. Sacrifice was her meaning. Perhaps she thought that bearing so many kits was a reasonable price to pay to keep her Kingdom safe. Or maybe she loved him."
"All very fascinating," said Thunder's Roar, "but the question remains—what are we going to do?"
Turning to the spy, he said, "You've done well, and I'm grateful. Tell the squires—Flowing Stream, go with him," he said to one of his guardians. "Tell the squires that you can have a bit more food tonight, as a reward. Is there anything else?"
The spy shrugged his shoulders, and said, "The Western Kingdom are keeping a secret, your Majesty. Whether it's got something to do with the Queen, I don't know, but it's hidden in a cave deep within their territory. I didn't get too close, but I've seen cats going in and out."
"Doesn't sound like anything vital. Keep a close eye, and report if you find anything out. You may go."
The spy dipped his head to the royals, and then left the den as quickly as was polite.
Northern Lights spoke. "I hope you're not still talking about the Western Kingdom. I thought we'd already made it quite clear that there's nothing to be done."
"I'm well aware of that. I'm talking about our own Kingdom. What are we going to do to defend ourselves?"
Lightning Strike rolled his big shoulders. "The Western Kingdom may have been all but destroyed, but that doesn't mean its cats will let the Southern Kingdom walk in without a fight. They'll take casualties. And the Northern Kingdom will pounce on them the moment after."
"The South will win," murmured Northern Lights. "They'd have never done this if they weren't absolutely certain they would."
"Or maybe they're just really, really stupid and big," said the Prince, but without much hope.
Thunder's Roar had not been paying attention. He growled, "I'm going to order a territory search for Southern Kingdom spies, and kill them. I don't want so much as a whisker of them in my borders. And if they've got no eyes or ears here, maybe that'll delay them for a bit."
"And then?" asked the Queen.
"Hourly border patrols. We'll combine the hunting patrols with them—put a knight on each page and squire group. Cats will be at our borders constantly. Lightning Strike, start sorting out the knights. I want to know which ones are battle-fit and which ones need more training. Get one of the dukes or duchesses to help you organize a training program. Also, assess the squires. We'll probably need to knight some of them before too long, and the more the better. Be very careful, and don't leave the camp without at least four guardians. Which leads me to my fourth task for you—find out how feasible it would be for us to move camp suddenly, and in one night."
Lightning Strike nodded. "You think we will?"
"No, but I want every avenue covered. Northern Lights, I don't plan on being assassinated, but there's a chance we will be, so—"
The blue-grey she-cat sighed. "You want me to sort out the council."
"Pick a cat, and tell every duke and duchess in the Kingdom that if we all die, that cat will be in charge."
"They won't like that."
"I don't care. Make them like it. There are precedents. The dying wish of a King or Queen overrules any decision the council makes. This is almost the same, except we aren't dying."
Northern Lights sighed. "They won't like it," she repeated, "but I'll do my best."
Lightning Strike nodded to his parents and left the cave. The moment he did so, Broken Heart bounded up to join him. "Something big happened, didn't it? You're wearing a very serious face, and I just saw one of the spies running for their life."
"He made Father angry. I'd run, too."
"At least he's still alive. You know, they say that in the Northern Kingdom, Midnight Snow kills messengers who bring him bad news."
"That sounds extremely short-sighted…anyway, the Western Kingdom is a leaderless rabble right now, and poor Mother has to pick another heir from the council to prevent the same thing from happening to us."
Broken Heart clucked her tongue. "That'll set their hackles bristling, make no mistake. You know how touchy they get when royals intrude on their secret council business."
Lightning Strike shrugged. "They don't get a choice. That's the good thing about being royal."
"Still, they could make life difficult for you."
"Wow, I wonder what that would be like," he said sarcastically. Noting the hurt in her face, he suddenly felt bad. "Sorry. I know you're just trying to help, but I'm used to having a difficult life. Have you been sleeping well? You look tired."
His guardian sighed. "I've been having strange dreams lately."
Lightning Strike looked up. "It's the weather, I think. I've been having a few of my own." Even for Deep-Ice, the air was painfully cold, so cold that fine dustings of ice froze over every cat's eyelashes.
"Come on. I need to find a duke or duchess that isn't as ambitious as the rest of them."