Key To A Goblin's Heart

Cassadrei's POV

I sat in my chambers, leafing through the previous war reports, studying the tactic that my ancestors had used to drive the Arphoelians away. This paper contained reports from as far as the Eleventh Century, dating back to the Earliest Goblin wars and the kind of information it contained, well….it was baffling. I guess Historians would have died to get a glimpse of this, but the Royal Family had made it a point that these reports do not fall into bad hands.

My father had procured them for me, after I had precisely asked for his help. With my Mother down, I am the acting Queen now, but this is the first time I will be participating in any battle. The previous battle, the one where I had betrayed my country, well I did participate in that but not for Mafhaelore. I was a puppet in Magnus' hands, so I hardly had any time to learn the tactics by a close observation.

In times like this, I really missed my mother. She was tough, emotions didn't hamper her thinking and she had an uncanny way of knowing what's there on her enemy's mind. In fact, it was her suspicions of Magnus that had led us to survive the last battle. If she hadn't rescued her countrymen in time, the consequences of my betrayal would have meant a massacre indeed.

The more I read these reports, the more frustration it got. There were hundreds of strategies, War formations that defied senses and in some cases they documented some magic which was well beyond my reach. Maybe, I can ask Sofosys to perform these, he is a Magi and he might be well trained enough to do these complex spells.

Aggh! Where was Victoria now? I really needed her guidance at this moment, but like my father said, she had disappeared. Sofosys said that she had gone to find a cure for my Mother, but I can hardly believe that. Afterall, why would she be concerned about my mother? I knew it very well that she hated her. Also, where would she go?

I haven't told my father or Sofosys, anything about Magnus. They still think that he has escaped on his own and is probably on the run. Only I know the truth, that he must be with Victoria. Atleast, that's what I want to believe.

The alternative would be that he had somehow managed to escape Victoria's spell….and maybe captured her! No, no I can't focus on negative thoughts right now! I already have too much on my plate. Victoria will return, and I forced myself to believe this.

A soft knock at the door indicated my Father's arrival. He had informed me earlier that he would be paying a visit, but the reason was kept obscured. He had said that he wanted to talk to me privately. So, I let him in without any further words.

"I am coming from your Mother's." He said with a grave expression, "The healers have managed to find a concoction, with Sofosys' help of course, that will keep her alive for a few more weeks. Sofosys is confident that Victoria will be able to find a cure by then. I... I am not so sure. Anyway, she is still in an unconscious state, and unfortunately, you are still in charge."

I looked at him with a pained expression, "I know Father, but I wish I were upto that job. I know almost nothing about War Strategies, and these papers confuse me further. I am at loss how to proceed."

"The Arphoelians are across the Ryhus pass now, as per the reports. Sofosys had gone to check on the garrisons and reinforce them. But, that would hardly stop such a huge force. It'll be atleast a day before they can reach us, and we have to come up with something by then." Father said miserably.

"Numbers?" I asked.

"A hundred thousand." He sighed.

"That's more than twice ours!" I said exasperated, "No...no... we have to do something to prevent them from crossing the Rhyas pass."

"Do you have any idea?" My father asked hopefully.

"Actually, I think I do." I answered absently, remembering the small but of magic that I had read about only a minute ago.

"I don't know if it will work, but this seems to be our only option. We can't attack our enemies, our numbers are too less for an active combat. That means, we have to retreat, change our base to somewhere else and buy time like mother did in the previous battle. But unfortunately, changing base with such a large population will atleast take a few days, and we don't have so much time. However, we can do something else. We can stop our enemies approach by confusing them."

"And how so?" Father asked confused.

"There's this ancient magic, one that was used a hundred years ago on such an occasion to buy time. It changes the landscape, altering the existing routes, so that your enemies are stuck in the same loophole, going through the same route over and over again without reaching the destination. But, we need someone with expertise to perform these." I said.

"Excellent idea!" Father beamed, "it will slow the approach and buy us some time to change the base. We can also cover our tracks so that the enemy won't be able to find us!"

"Yes." I said, "but I would need Sofosys' help to perform this kind of magic. Also, I would need your help to gather the citizens and prepare them for a change of base. We would need to do everything very quickly."

"Right!" My father said geering up for the challange, "I will immediately tell someone to find Sofosys and bring him. We can discuss this with him and put our plan to action immediately."

"Hmm...and I would need to find Cresylee, and tell her to prepare the soldiers for a retreat." I chimed.

Father looked a bit discomforted by my idea.

"May I suggest that we keep this plan to ourselves, Cassadrei. Well, except Sofosys, he would need to know. But please don't tell anyone else just yet. I... I have a feeling that there's a spy among us, and if they somehow get to know about our plan, it would spell doom for us. Also, I don't really trust Cresylee, she has been a bit off these days… I would suggest you to keep an eye on her." He said.

I bit my lip and answered, "Actually I had the same feeling. Something's not right about her, and you are right, it's best to not include her in our plans just yet."

And so decided, I sent my father away to prepare the citizens for a retreat. He sent a messanger to look for Sofosys, and promised to get back to me within an hour.

After he was gone, I sat on my bed for a long time thinking. This is it, this is my final plan and it better work because I have no Plan B. I stared at the ceiling for a long time, but my reverie was broken by the sound of a portal that opened right inside my room.

My first response was that of panic, can the Arphoelians have gained entry into my bedchambers through a portal? But, soon I shook those fears away as I remembered only a few people could operate a portal inside this palace. This place was specially protected like the island and only a handful of people could gain access to it by a portal. They were the ones granted special permission from the Queen, like me, Sofosys, my father and…. Victoria.

And, confirming my suspicions, Victoria came through the portal and landed in front of me. She was closely followed by Magnus, Mike, Jake and Maland. Magnus looked like he had lost some weight, but I had no idea how, but still his grim smirk persisted on his face. Wait, did he know that the Arphoelians are approaching? In that case would it be prudent to allow him to remain as a free man?

My concerns were momentarily suspended when Mike came forward and threw his arms around me.

"Thank God, you are still alive!" He said with visible relief.

I was relieved to see him too, but right now I needed to address Victoria.

"Where were you?" I asked her with a tinge of betrayal in my voice, "I was so worried, you just disappeared! You should have atleast left a note or something, I mean who does that? Especially as you were accompanied by this monster!" I pointed accusingly at Magnus.

"Cassie calm down." Victoria said gently, "Actually a lot of things had happened since you left for Earth. I have a lot to tell you, and we have a lot to do together. But first, I suggest that you sit down while I say all these."

She nudged me to sit on my bed, and herself perched beside me.

"Wait, why are you acting so weird?" I asked confused, "Is..is everything alright?"

I looked at her and then at Mike. Both of them bore a rather sombre expression.

Then suddenly, without any warning, Victoria said, "Cassie, I am your sister."