Ann let her gaze travel around the room before she spoke and felt her heart warm at the expectant faces of the recent arrivals...
"The northern line holds," she said, her voice clear. "Reinforcements reached them in time and our determined warriors are already pushing the enemy back."
The reaction wasn't loud, but the subtle sound of their relieved exhales, the sight of shoulders dropping, tension easing out of chests, heads bowing forward for a second like they needed that one private moment to process it…that was more than enough for Ann.
"Our wounded are already inbound under protective escort," she said. "I need you all to make space for the medics and those on stretchers. If you can still stand and carry, I want you to offer to help them as soon as they come through those doors."
A few soft answers followed.
"Of course My Queen,"
"Understood."
It was nothing overly dramatic, just people finding their place and getting a footing again.
"You've carried more than anyone should have had to," Ann said. "Help is coming through those gates very soon. You're not holding this alone anymore so I just need you to keep the way clear so they get through fast."
The hall didn't cheer, but there was a distinct lift in the atmosphere, the expectant doom had seemed to dissipate, and now it felt a little lighter as people realised that for now at least, there was no impending doom headed their way.
They were safe for now at least.
Ann gave them a moment to talk amongst themselves, watching them benevolently, then she turned toward the dais. The weight of her pregnancy bump was beginning to pull now as she climbed, but she didn't slow her pace. They needed to see a strong capable Queen, even in pregnancy when she was at her most vulnerable…and especially without her mate at her side.
As she reached the top, she didn't sit straight away, she rested her hand on the throne and turned, facing the nobles directly for the first time.
The nobles straightened like they expected this to become their audience, their time to shine and bask in glory, an opportunity for them to speak.
But as the first noble cleared his throat, Ann didn't invite them to speak and made it very clear that she had no intention of letting them do so.
"Before we move forward," she said with a slow, smug smile, "I think I need you to understand who it was, exactly, that reached the front tonight. Who it was, that brought reinforcements and made sure that our brave warriors lived to see another day."
A few of them shifted uneasily. Others waited, still posturing like they would soon reclaim control of the conversation.
"It wasn't a random, allied contingent. It wasn't reinforcements that I had ordered to be sent, and it wasn't strength that was borrowed from across the borders.."
Ann stared at them all, letting them see the smirk that played at her lips as she held the gazes of those that would meet her eyes.
"Turns out, it was Lexi, who returned to reinforce our battered front lines. Your Queen's Second is very much alive and has returned to lend her strength and wisdom to our cause."
As soon as the words had sunk in, the hall erupted. A mixture of shock, disbelief, and relief as people turned to each other with their reactions.
A medic nearly dropped the satchel that she was holding, a soldier laughing once in pure disbelief before covering his mouth. Some of the refugees clutched at each other like they hadn't dared to hope that such a miracle would occur.
And just as expected, the nobles didn't move.
Ann didn't wait for quiet to descend, she continued above the noise, her voice carrying easily.
"She's alive, she's fighting, and in the style that only LExi is capable of pulling off, she's coming home on a dragon."
The chamber swelled again with cheers, louder this time, a sound of pure joy that to Ann's ears felt like oxygen after drowning. She knew now, for certain, that the people were with both her and Lexi, because not one of them held back. They didn't try to temper their emotional reactions, they let it show fully without worrying about whatever the person next to them thought.
The nobles, still completely frozen, understood exactly what this meant for them.
Ann let the cheers continue for a moment longer, not because she had to grant permission for people to celebrate, no. It was to make sure that the nobles felt exactly how alone they suddenly were in the Royal Court that they had used for their own advantage over all these years.
Then Ann's expression shifted and the atmosphere that hung over them all shifted with it.
She didn't let the crowd settle fully before she addressed the nobles directly.
"You no longer have authority over any aspect of the soldiers' return," she said. "Effective immediately, you are removed from all oversight involving reintegration or command. You don't speak for this palace, and you don't speak for this war. Step back. You're done."
Several soldiers in the lower ranks nodded to themselves with grim satisfaction but the nobles didn't respond. Some looked stunned, others furious, but none dared to speak.
"You dismissed her rescue and wrote her off as dead when our help would have mattered the most," Ann continued. "You treated her as a burden while she was out there saving lives when Eromaug first attacked and you were counting the deaths and disappearances as acceptable losses. You don't get to attach yourselves to anything related to her name or victory's that she achieves now that she's the one turning the tide."
Ann didn't raise her voice. She didn't need to.
"If any of you interfere with the supply lines, escorts, or returning units, I will strip you of your protections and open your estates to the people immediately. Not after an extensive review. Not after counsel. On the spot."
A ripple of panic flickered through the cluster. One lord opened his mouth, but Brad shifted behind Ann and the man shut it again without a sound.
"You won't hide behind clerks or proxies. You won't sabotage this through paperwork or 'advice.' If you try to hide damage that you have ordered through someone else, I will post your names publicly and seize your houses anyway."
No one breathed.
"For countless years you have lived comfortably while others bled," Ann said. "That ends tonight. You will either serve this realm as expected of a noble, or you will make room for the people who already have."
Not a single noble spoke.
"This is your warning," she said. "There won't be a second one."
Ann's gaze swept through them one last time, now that they understood the cost of speaking out of turn.
"Choose your allegiance wisely. You won't get another chance."