Chapter 194: Her first meeting with the council.
Sienna swept into the council chamber with the crisp authority of someone who had already decided the outcomes of all the items on the agenda. She settled into the seat at the head of the table, a position reserved for Elias, normally. The long table was already occupied by the fox elders, nine of them, each radiating their own brand of arrogance.
Her eyes swept over Elder Grace Twindell, and the man touched his hat, nodding in her direction, with a smile. After acknowledging him, she searched for the elders that Timothy had warned her about.
Elder Tomlin sat at the far end, his beard as long as Timothy described. It was rolled into bundles that looked heavy, in her opinion. Somehow, it was clean and neat.
"Another woman with no business here," he muttered. His beard twitched like an angry coiled serpent.
Her sweet smile in response, only made him scowl harder.
Elder Vinira leaned forward, nails tapping the table in agitation. Her structure was on the bulky end, with muscles more impressive than those of most men in the room. "Human! A human! Weaker than an ant."
Sienna heard her and she responded with the same sweet smile she had given Tomlin. She thought of her pan, and how she would smash the woman’s teeth in, if she dared to bite her. She also wondered if the woman was sane. What kind of person bit her granddaughters!
Elder Panrik had his hair split in two, tied in buns. His eyes were closed, his head tilted back, mouth slightly open.
Sienna wondered what the man was doing on the council. If he just slept and objected to everything that was said, what purpose did he serve? Was he their mascot or was there a hidden secret about the man she was not aware of?
Elder Suriq had that cane she had heard about. He was in his mid fifties, very healthy and fit. He looked like he was in his early 40’s and nothing like a man who needed a cane to walk! He was already tapping it against the floor, as if warming up for battle. Sienna wondered of she should have come wearing a helmet.
Elder Mini, the oldest person in the room, somehow sat upright with the poise of a warrior. Her thin gray hair and wrinkles took nothing away from her fierce aura. She looked like a woman with very little patience.
Elder Jorvan was on the chubby end, like her. He also smiled enigmatically, moving from side to side, as if he was listening to music. Many in the room looked irritated with him, and yet, they tolerated his nuisance because of his achievements.
"Elders," Sienna began, her voice clear, "I would say good morning but it is not exactly a good morning." She tilted slightly, allowing Timothy to place a cup of coffee that had been transferred from a vacuum cup to a white cup with a fox tail before her.
The coffee and tea distribution went around the table while she continued, "Let’s start with the most urgent business. There is an outbreak of what looks like a plague in Houndfang city. The authorities have sealed it off. I have it on good authority that the lions are already sending ships to extract their people. Our people are still trapped inside. I plan to order some ships to be sent over to fetch them and bring them home."
The chamber erupted.
Tomlin’s beard quivered with outrage. "This is why women should not be given leadership positions. It is absurd. You would risk bringing contagion here?"
Sienna leaned forward, her smile sharp. "Tomlin, if your beard gets any longer, it will catch the plague before any of us. You didn’t let me finish. I am not suggesting that we let them rejoin society immediately. I want to set up an isolated treatment area for them. A quarantine zone. If other tribes are bringing their people home to save their lives, why should we leave ours to die?"
Vinira slammed her hand on the table. "Weakness! You want to coddle them rather than letting them prove their resilience. If they survive they prove they are worthy of being saved. If not they were useless."
Sienna arched her brow. "By your logic, if your granddaughters survive your biting, they are worthy? Interesting parenting style. Perhaps we should send you to Houndfang to bite the plague or act as a motivational coach. How you run your family is your business. It is not how the fox tribe should be run. I like following trends, and the current trend is that the lions are saving their people. I don’t care what anyone thinks, we are doing this."
Panrik suddenly opened his eyes. "I object!" he declared.
Sienna sighed. "To what?" She picked up her cup, taking a small sip of coffee.
"To everything!" Panrik said proudly, the promptly closed his eyes again.
"A most excellent contribution," Sienna muttered. "Truly the backbone of good governance."
Grace cleared his throat. "Actually, I received news about this plague a week ago. I have some factories in Houndfang and workers started missing work because of unexplained colds and fevers. Half of my workers are now home. The Beast council for health urged residents not to panic. They believe the arrival of winter is what had caused the illness. While I have no idea if this is true, I did instruct all my children to leave the city with their families for a while.
If this was a winter illness, it should have affected the entire kingdom, not a single city. Besides, the price of some herbs has increased suspiciously in the last week and the royal palace is not open to visitors anymore.
They are probably working up to the announcement of the plague. If soldiers have already surrounded the city, then I fear extraction of anyone will be hard."
Suriq thumped his cane. "No ship! Anyone who disagrees will taste my cane!"
Mini also spoke, her voice firm. "Lady Sienna, your heart is noble, but the risk is great. The plague could spread if someone escapes from your quarantine zone."
"I think the fox who flies too soon will soon find his feathers in soup." Jorvan said, with a chuckle.
Sienna stared. "What does that even mean?"
"It means you are being too ambitious and too stupid." A shadow fell in the entrance, accompanied by the scent of strawberries. It was Lady Cadelaria’s favorite perfume lately. She stepped inside, with slow, deliberate steps.
Sienna clenched her jaw. Her first solo meeting with the council and her mother-in-law had come! What was difference between this and the angel of death eating ice cream at the bed of a sick man?
