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The plaza around the royal hotel normally didn't get heavy traffic. A few couples strolling through, on their way to buildings open to the public had been the most it saw for years, and even the increase in traffic to the new colosseum tended to hurriedly pass through into the doors of the building, more intent on seeing the spectacles promised inside than standing around and enjoying the moonlight outside. Tonight though, you could barely see the streets through the trolls, some holding the notices that they had received in the mail, others shoving to try and get some breathing space in the crowd.

The large balcony that overlooked the street below was empty, but lights from inside suggested that there was activity in the room beyond. Drones in full military armour stood out in the crowds, and even in the packed atmosphere managed to have small rings of cleared street around them. However, while everyone was dressed for a party, the mood was distinctly tense and uncertain. The notices, sent to every troll as far as the royal messengers could travel, lacked the boasting and cheery tone that messages from the royal throne usually carried, and also failed to throw any light whatsoever on the reason behind the summons. It had been an order, and it had been expected to be carried out. And for the most part it had.

Trolls who were unable to get front row seats of the queen had spilled into the arena, and the streets beyond. Large screens had been set up throughout the town, presumably to carry the face and voice of the queen to the trolls who were standing so far away that even the balcony itself was not visible. The huge crowd stretched from one end of the city to the other, packed into hotels and bars, and even spilled out into the lake, where rafts were tied together into makeshift docks, crowded with bickering figures. It felt like the entire population of Alternia had made the great migration into the small lakeside town, and were now threatening to accidentally trample it into the ground while waiting for their monarch to appear.

Well this was interesting. It seemed like only yesterday she was leaving this town. Of course that wasn't true, but ever since the party had ended Minist had replayed the events over and over again in her head. She had had so much fun during the tournament. Seeing the queen fight and hearing her speech had been so awesome. Yet. . .

Minist had the feeling this visit would be far less fun. The tournament had also called for all able bodied trolls to come to Four Fronds, but that summons seemed more lighthearted and that you could ignore it if you wanted. She wasn't worried, though, orders from the queen weren't uncommon and being the queen she didn't need to explain herself to the lowly populace. Not to say Minist didn't want an explanation, she was awfully curious as to way she had to take the trip here again. Then there was that other note. . .

It was that note which worried her. Some unknown source didn't want her to follow the queen's orders. It wasn't very clear on its intentions either. Obviously it was some kind of rebel force, a group of trolls in opposition to the queen. What were they rebelling against exactly? An interesting question, but Minist felt it would be better answered by the queen than a group of rebels who were surely marked for culling. If they want to risk they're life that was their business. Minist was smart enough to avoid something that would lead to her culling.

So here she was. In a crowded plaza. During the tournament it had been easier to get some breathing space and a good vantage point. This time she was trapped in a sea of trolls. She had given up trying to push her way through. That only lead to her ending up in an even worse spot that before. Craning her neck and standing on her tip-toes she strained to see the balcony, but it was no use. Too many horns in front of her. With an irritated huff she resigned herself to watching one of the monitors that had been thoughtfully set up.

Maihue took forever thinking of what letter to... Er, listen to. She finally decided that she should go listen to the Queen, because... Well, at least she was familiar with her. As Maihue walked out of her hive, she took a big breath. Hopefully this crowd wouldn't be too thick.

She was wrong. It was HUGE. Maihue hugged herself as she tried to find an open space. A little open space? Maybe even just a teeny tiny spot? Just one?

Maihue couldn't find one and sighed. She decided she could just stand here and not move at all till she absolutely had to. As she looked around, she could see nothing was really.. Happening. It was actually very eerie. This made Maihue even more uncomfortable. What was really going on? She'd never really been in a huge group like this, and even she thought it was strange. Is there something big going on..? No, hopefully it's not a big problem. Hopefully it's just... A speech. Maihue rubbed her arms while she thought.

She looked around again, noticing that she was actually pushed farther away from where the Queen would speak. She silently scolded herself. Now she had to move forward, interacting with some other trolls. She slowly made her way forward stuttering out an "excuse me" every so often. Maihue finally could see the a screen up close, and decided to try to keep rooted there. She looked around for what, the 300th time? She was a little surprised at how many more trolls had rolled in. She couldn't see the end of it..

Maihue stopped looking around and stared at the screen, but something would occasionally catch her eye and she'd glance around once more. Maihue couldn't stop wishing that this wasn't that big of an event.

Although he was not a drone, Sempur still managed to make a nice little niche for himself in the crowd. Maybe it was his always-impeccable posture, the way he loomed with those big ol' horns like a real militant badass. Maybe it was the slightly-deranged look in his eyes, ringed darkly with the telltale signs of exhaustion, fixated so strongly on the balcony you'd swear the queen had made her grand entrance but nope, nothing there yet, what was he staring at?! Or maybe, just maybe, it was the way he brought a knife slowly, exquisitely precise across his fingers, bright blue rivulets of blood welling up and leaking down, onto the stone below, and repeat, blade lowering farther down on his hand for another slash good god was he counting the seconds? Gonna be there for a while, buddy.

But Sempur was just excited! Even if he did show a little differently. His decision had been a no-brainer; as soon as he saw that royal crest he had been practically a-flutter with anticipation. An order? Able-bodied trolls being summoned? It was like it was personally addressed to him, Sempur Livora, the most able-bodied, ready, and willing troll ever. And this time, he would not be late, he would see to that no matter what. It certainly helped matters that his recruit was more compliant this time, she was learning, a testament to his skills as a superior. She stood beside him, and maybe Sempur allowed himself some optimism. Whatever was going to happen, this would be another chance for Pathetic to redeem herself. And he, well, not that he needed any redemption or anything either but he'd show them all.

His thoughts turned onto the other letter he had received. Such flagrant impudence, it was disgusting. Sempur twitched and his knife cut just a bit deeper. An orangeblood passing by quickened his pace. Ah, but that, too, was an easy decision. He burned it immediately and was sure to scrub his hands with steel wool thoroughly. His hands were beautifully clean afterwards. He had seen to it that his recruit was also properly cleansed of bad influences.

Yes, they were in top form for this.

Had his wiggling day come early? Malory strolled through the streets in his military armor, polished to perfection, towards the hotel that held the most perfect and beloved troll of all. There was a bounce in his step as he moved, his mind still on that glorious letter he had received. The queen had sent him, a mere drone, an official letter! Normally he would have just been ordered to appear as part of his work duty but no. She truly favored him as he had hoped. He had found some other strange note, dirty and totally not official, and tossed it in the garbage without a second thought. He had been in such a high from the official correspondence to even bother reading the note like the nosy, obsessive troll he usually was.

Trolls parted for him as he made his way towards the Four Fronds, as if he were in a dream headed towards his destiny. Of course they didn’t even realize he was there and were moving out of habit but to him they were moving out of respect, they knew he had a duty to perform. As Malory took up a spot front in center to the balcony he almost lost himself in thought. Oh, all these poor trolls were spread out across the town and a lowly drone like him was here, so close to their queen. She was truly amazing, rewarding her hardest workers- No, he must stay on task. She expected them to and it was his duty to live up to her expectations. Malory began scanning the crowd, looking for any overly offending trolls that could become troublemakers later.

There hadn't really been much of a choice for Alifax when he'd seen the letters: he'd read the history books before. There had never been a rebellion that hadn't been ripped out from under itself, smashed up into smithereens and then shoved off to the side to become ink or paint or something. The empress might have something interesting to say, even though Alifax himself preferred to avoid interacting with her. The prospect of that seemed more than a little frightening! What if she knew? Logically there was no way that she could (unless she'd asked someone, but he doubted Hazzan or Frossa would spill his secrets), but he worried anyway.

It was a pretty long hike from his hive to the Four Fronds - and it was a hike, because Alifax never had transportation and because he needed Flambe to make sure his hive's entrance hadn't been breached. He didn't want people to know what he read at night. Flambe had agreed with that sentiment, and so he'd set off alone, just as the sun was setting. He was pretty tolerant of bright lights, since he worked with fire, but he still didn't like them, so he was shielding his eyes with a large leaf as he walked. Before long, though, the sun had set fully, and he could simply drop the leaf and continue on his way. It had been useful enough, but he had never expected to keep it with him.

He clutched the empress' letter to his chest in case he needed to present it to someone to enter - he was a lowblood, after all, which meant he usually wasn't allowed in the Four Fronds. He didn't want to be mistaken for one of the convicts, or for one of the "prey" during lowblood hunts! In retrospect, he probably should've found Hazzan and Frossa and arrived with them (they'd be coming to this gathering, right?), because they were his usual escort when he spent time around the Four Fronds. Frossa had a high enough caste that no one minded her companions; she could pull rank on almost anyone. Unlike him. And Hazzan and Frossa were both nice - or he thought so, anyway, since they'd deign to spend time and FLARP with the likes of Alifax. He appreciated that more than he showed - but he wasn't sure how you were supposed to show appreciation to someone who was your blood superior. Was there a book on that? Probably one that he couldn't afford. Etiquette was usually a highblood thing.

He wasn't sure why he was concerning himself with this meeting, either - usually this stuff was a kind of highblood thing, too. But there was an awful lot of people, and he didn't think he'd be easily singled out. He could just blend into the crowd and listen, right? He eased himself in among a large section of orangebloods for awhile, and listened to them: they had nothing much interesting to say, but Alifax did not mind listening. Perhaps Hazzan would appreciate the information he learned; she liked it when they got 'into character' for their campaigns. He didn't see why they couldn't just fight.

He was pulled out of his reverie when they all began to bump and jostle each other, and realized that it was his turn to slip away. He didn't want to get caught up in all of that, after all! So he turned and went somewhere else - just in time, too, because as he left his previous spot, one of the orangebloods plopped her behind down where he'd been. He frowned, thinking perhaps he should apologize - but there were higher-blooded trolls about, and he didn't want to offend one of them in favor of the orangebloods. So he stayed silent.

Well, he stayed silent until he heard a distinct shriek somewhere near him and reached his arms out automatically - only to catch Frossa in the midst of tripping. "Oh!" he exclaimed, and then took one of his hands and clapped it over his mouth. He hadn't meant to touch her without permission or anything! "I'm very sorry, Highblood." He didn't usually use her name unless Hazzan and Frossa were both there - he couldn't call them by the same moniker, after all. He made sure she'd steadied herself before letting go, though. "Would you like me to, um...," he began, glancing down at her shoes and letting his sentence trail off.

The moons were both fully up now, and things were beginning to settle down. Late stragglers were still arriving, but for the most part, everyone had found a place to stretch out a little. A large group of highbloods had commandeered another hotel, and sat out on the balconies and patios, watching the large monitors in the streets below. The lower classes too, had spread out to form groups around the monitors, with the lucky few actually getting room in the center square to actually view their queen in the flesh. Trolls that thought ahead had brought portable nutrient receptacles, and were now spreading out blankets and making the most of their outing. While Four Fronds was still enveloped in chaos, it was settling down to a more controlled version of before. And then, with the screens lit up.

The hum of speakers crackled over voices, and slowly the attention of the crowd was drawn away from whatever they had been engrossed in. Slowly, the static on the screens cleared to display a shot of the balcony, empty for a moment before the small figure of the queen stepped out from the room behind. There was something off about the queen this night, though it wasn't readily apparent at first. Then it became apparent as she strode to the edge of the balcony and grasped it, looking down at the packed streets. She wasn't smiling. Never before had the queen appeared in public without a mischievous grin on her face, and a spring in her step. Now however she moved slowly, warily. Even her eyes scanning the crowd took longer than usual, and seemed to pierce each troll, as if she was trying to read the thoughts behind their eyes. Eventually, almost reluctantly, she began to talk.

"My advisers told me that I should not be saying to you what I will be telling you today. They say it is better we deal with this problem quietly, and secretly. I disagree. I will not run this world with lies. I will not say that everything is ok when it is not. You are not little grubs, and I am not your lusus. So tonight I have something you need to know, and something I believe you need to do."

She gave a short laugh, sharing a private joke with herself in front of a crowd of thousands. It was a gamble, she knew, bringing so many trolls to one place and dropping this news on them. But sending it out in newsletters was bound to cause miscommunication and false rumour. No, despite the chance of the entire crowd starting a riot, she had to do this as face-to-face as was possible. And if things got too out of hand, well, there was always Gl'bgolyb, another good reason to have her subjects all gathered together. It was easier to aim.


For people who haven't posted yet, trolls/drones are welcome to keep arriving until April 5.

The small drone was just walking into the plaza when she heard the queen's voice echo over to her. Her serious tone just made Terbik more nervous than she already was. The two notes she had found in her hive this evening had both breathed bad news: first the summons for able-bodied trolls, that was never good, it spelled out wartime, and then the other, sketchy message whose secretiveness only spelled out rebellion and enforced the urgency of the other. As soon as she'd read over them Terbik had wanted to crawl back into her recupracoon and only peak out when the debacle was over and done with. But who was she kidding? One just couldn't ignore the queen.

So here she was. Oh gog, there were so many people. Terbik gladly took her place in the back, as far away from any other troll as she could get while still being a part of the crowd. Nothing about this was going to be pretty.