By noon the lines for food were stretching out past the inner yard and Ann made a mental note to check with the warehouse manager to see the status of the food stores. She didn't remember having any urgent notices for attention, but with everything that had been going on, there was a possibility that things might have slipped through unnoticed.
As she moved down the steps, into the entrance hall she heard the shouts from the wall long before the gates had opened fully. Her heart sank at the sight of more refugees, and escalated the importance of speaking to the warehouse manager even more urgently in her head..
The guard captain jogged in with a quick report and a look that said he wasn't sure where to put what was coming, they weren't warriors, but mostly families.
Ann waited for Adam at the bottom of the steps and when he arrived, they stepped forward together to the registration table that had been set up in the entrance hall to try and help streamline the recording of new arrivals.
Refugees arrived, the guards escorted them in and Ann and Adam had the chance to look over the refugees and show their faces, to let them all know that their Queen cared and wanted to hear their stories.
So far, it had worked and the newer refugees were a little more content than the ones that had arrived originally with a makeshift support system in place.
The doors swung wide open and the first group stepped through with steady steps and eyes that took in every detail. They wore practical clothes and had travel stains like everyone else in the yard, but they moved with a different sort of presence that stood out.
Four adults walked in front and behind them came a column arranged by age, the youngest in the middle, the elders on the flanks. They carried packs and wrapped bundles but there were no metal sigils, no flashy displays, just people who knew how to arrive without creating panic.
The lead woman stopped ten paces from Ann and bowed her head.
"Alpha Queen. I am Thalia of the Ashen Line." She said reverently as she straightened, "With me are long hidden branches of the Bracken, Tideglass, and Highwind. We came to seek an audience and hope that discussions might be beneficial for both of us."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd that had assembled in curiosity at these newcomers that didn't seem as though they were refugees at all.
"Witch-blood," someone hissed from the refugee side and a noble at the rear muttered, "Forbidden," under his breath. Adam's posture tightened at her side and inside, Ann's heart leaped at the prospect of having magick users approach her directly. She kept her voice even though, as she didn't want the nobles, nor the newcomers to get the wrong impression. .
"You can certainly have an audience, your arrival is welcomed with open arms," Ann answered loud enough for everyone to hear, "Come inside and be comfortable while we talk. I won't make you speak in front of everyone in the yard."
Thalia nodded once and the column behind her adjusted smoothly without disorder and followed the guards toward the council hall.
Eva met Ann at the door with her tablet already open and Coral fell in behind with pitchers, as usual. Adam moved to his spot behind Ann's chair and watched the room with the same focus that he gave a battlefield.
The newcomers took seats along the left arc, leaving space between what Ann assumed was each family branch and she noticed each of the little nuances that set each family apart in their appearance and mannerisms.
The Bracken elder had soil under his nails that looked like no amount of washing would ever scrub it out.
The Tideglass matriarch's hair was bound with shells that looked as though they were chosen for meaning, not decoration, and the jewelry she wore was made exclusively with sea-glass.
The Highwind spokesman carried nothing but a long strip of pale cloth wrapped around his right hand, and had a wild sort of aura that rippled around him.
The Ashen woman sat centered and still, Thalia's eyes fixed on Ann alone.
Ann waited for the guards to finish their security sweep and for Coral to force a cup into every hand within reach. She set her palms on the table and smiled.
"You asked for an audience, so let's talk," Ann said warmly, gesturing for Thalia to speak.
Thalia didn't look around for permission from her companions, she stood, and spoke on their behalf.
"We're not here to add to your already strained resources, we're here to stand with you. Our families come from old lines tied to Hecate's first wards and the bloodlines here today each work within a specific element.. Fire, water, earth, and air. There are many talents within these branches and we do not claim to know them all but the talents we do have, are offered in service to you. We've kept quiet for a long time because silence kept our children alive, not because we bent our knees to Daemons."
A sharper murmur rippled around the room and Eva's fingers paused over her tablet. Adam's gaze flicked from Thalia to the elders of each branch, and then back to Ann.
Ann kept it moving smoothly, so that there was no room for misinterpretation from the nobles that whispered behind their hands.
"Although I am well versed already in the differences between the Daemon given magick and the bloodline blessed magick, can you please explain it for those in the room that perhaps don't know? No shorthand either, there's quite a few here who still cling to the basic understanding of magick that their ancestors had."