- I want to know what the Sunstone's queen is doing here.

- You were the one who asked to bring her with us, boss - replied the man who had captured Rosa.

- That's not what I meant, Rocco!

Calandiel, irritated, put her hand to her face, but soon regretted it. The blood under the bandage began to flow again. The other three in the room instinctively moved, but the healer was closer.

- You need to calm down, Hobin. You'll ruin my job. Let me take care of it.

The elf looked at the girl who addressed her. For a moment she softened her expression and let the healer tend to her wound.

- What I'm asking is: how did we not know that a queen was in that entourage, Domenic? - Continued the leader of the group, staring with a good eye at the other man in the room.

- Sorry. My informants only knew that a lord was going to the wedding in Hyra. The queen hasn't left the castle for years, no one thought it could be her - Domenic replied.

- FUCK! We could've died! - Calandiel slammed her fist on the table, scaring the girl who was taking care of her - We fought against the royal guard! We didn't have the number for that.

Silence settled over the small group. They had traveled most of the night to reach the hiding place. They were in the war room of an abandoned fort, sitting around a fireplace. The fire illuminated the faces of the four, revealing their differences. One of the most bizarre gangs that could exist, according to the prejudiced good behavior of most kingdoms.

- Why are you acting like this? - Domenic broke the silence. He was a strong man, of medium height, with black short hair and gray skin. A headband went over his eyes, tied behind his pointed and batlike ears. - So what if we deviate from our plans a little? We've been through worse situations and you've never freaked out like this!

- A little? We were supposed to go unnoticed! We were going to do a heist to please the locals, then hide and later cross Sunstone. Soon we would be in Celegorm. Now we have a fucking queen cooped up in a makeshift cell. What's your big plan now?

- We call for a ransom and later run, as we always do!

- Dom, you know the importance of Celegorm, this will set the plan back by months, maybe years! - Interposed the healer.

- Even you, Val? I got the wrong information, but it was the fault of that lunatic queen who came running after Hobin. If she had stayed quiet in her carriage none of this would have happened!

- Oh, it was something I've been meaning to ask - Rocco sheepishly interjected, which didn't suit his big, brutish half-orc type. - Why did the queen run after you?

Calandiel did not answer. She knew exactly why, but this was no place to talk about the past. They weren't alone in the fort, she was afraid of ears glued to the doors and crevices of the old building. She had already exposed herself too much. Her group kept referring to her as a male, but what if one of the locals had seen her face on the way back to the fort? Apart from the countless screams about the failed plan. After this reflection she replied only:

- I don't know.

The others understood that the matter was closed. Domenic sighed and got up.

- I'll talk to the guys and try to find out what happened and if we have already received any information about the mess we've caused.

- Very well - replied Calandiel. - You must send home after sharing our profits with them. When the royal guard comes for the queen, I don't want innocents to be around. Take Rocco with you, I want the two of you together with the rest of the lookout. Valorie and Norori will rest this shift.

The men nodded and put on their masks to leave the room. In the meantime, the healer adjusted the bandage.

- I thought Norori would keep watching the prisoner - she stated.

Calandiel turned to look at her better. She didn't look more than 19 or 20 human years old, but she was from a deer clan, which meant that that wasn't her real age, not that she'd given the exact number to any member of the group. A small pair of horns could be seen sticking out of her dark blonde hair.

- I thought you were avoiding me - replied the elf.

The young woman blushed. She had bronze skin full of spots and Calandiel only thought that the pink in her cheeks made her even cuter. The leader couldn't help but smile.

- The-the wound was d-deep! - Valorie said, getting up quickly - The dagger cut from your eyebrow to your cheek, u-unfortunately the tip managed to graze your eye. Even with my magic and herbs I won't be able to prevent you from… - Valorie looked sad and knelt down in front of the other. - There's a high probability that you'll no longer see with that eye...

Valorie fell back as the elf rose angrily.

- THAT BITCH!

- HOBIN!

- Val, don't tell the boys what you just told me. Promise me!

- I-I promise, but what's going on? You're not being yourself today!

The end of the sentence did not reach Calandiel's ears. She left, slamming the door, towards the tower where Rosa was.

How had she been so remiss? She was so distracted by the sight of Rosa that she didn't imagine a second dagger.

When she was already halfway to the tower, the elf leader realized that she had left the room without a mask. The fear of being seen cooled her mind, although she still felt her blood boiling. She pulled up her hood and looked around, not seeing anyone, it was a dark night and she had no light. Since Rocco and Domenic were distributing the earnings, they were all probably on the lower floors. She though there was no risk.

Calandiel relaxed a bit and allowed herself to observe the abandoned structure they were in. It was an old fortress, probably of the last war between humans and beasts. Built more than 70 years ago, if she remembered correctly from the time she only studied those places by book, the structure had outlived its usefulness in the peacetime that followed. It was occasionally used by lost travelers and bandits. A perfect place for her and her revolutionary groups, as she liked to call them.

When Hobin finished climbing the stairs, she took a deep breath before entering the "queen's chambers".