<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#8000ff">“The Broken Council, young lady,”</span>Elril explained as the guards began to remove Aleksandra’s and Tommen’s manacles, but not Maleki’s.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#8000ff">“The ruling body of this city-state holds meetings almost daily. Granted, most days only last an hour for the menial discussions. Some nights like tonight can go longer. And when it is an intense discussion -as he had picked up on- they can stay up into the next morning.”</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“Since when has Lord Bach had the patience to sit through meetings like that?”</span>Maleki asked, disbelieving the length.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“Since they had to learn how to hide a conspiracy and run a nation, no matter how small the nation is,”</span>Elril immediately countered with, albeit quietly. With that, Maleki immediately silenced himself, head dipping down a little bit. As the group continued forward, their pace took them to an obviously older part of the district, with a smaller wall and gate surrounding it. They walked through the gates, taking only a wave from Elril to the pair at the gate to silence any questions or requests for identification. There were five massive plots within these walls, and each held a building that devoured every inch. Except the one at the end of the road. There was a building on the plot, but it seemed as if it had seen much better days. Broken windows, overgrown vines, some fire damage, the building was rough. But that was not the destination, instead the building to the right of the dilapidated one held a much more governmental look, as if it was converted from an estate into an official building of a state.<br/><br/>The group was led through the doors and immediately, the sound of muffled arguing could be heard. And by the movement of Captain Elril, the trio was being taken directly towards the sound. Stopping in front of a pair of the doors, Elril sighed and dismissed his guards before knocking on the door.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff8000">“What?”</span>boomed a voice, less angry than the other two that had been silenced and simply filled with annoyance.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#8000ff">“It is Captain Elril Dusklight, Lord Bach,</span>” Elril said, opening the door. “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#8000ff">The Broken Council has a… specific visitor.” </span>Elril grabbed Maleki’s arm gently and brought him into the room.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#8000ff">“As well as his… travelling companions?”</span>With both Elril and Maleki in the room proper and out of the sightline, Aleksandra and Tommen would see three people in the room. One was sitting in their chair still, a hand on the side of their forehead, massaging it until his eyes landed on Maleki. He was a larger man, barely fitting into his formal attire due to his muscular physique and about Maleki’s age. On the left side of the room, pacing back and forth despite Maleki’s arrival was a lanky blond man with a pair of glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. He was muttering to himself and was of course one of the voices yelling. On the right side of the room, the back of a feminine form was crouched and carefully picking up floors out of the remains of a destroyed vase. A ruddy red or vibrant brown mass of hair spilled off of her head and down her back. As the three of them looked towards the door, only the lady moved first.<br/><br/>Lady Kaya’s right eye was covered by an elegant eyepatch but that did not seem to slow her movements or actions as she closed the distance with Maleki and immediately laid into him with a right hook across his jaw. It hurt. Lady Kaya Freedmont was no damsel. She was helping Bach as much as she was helping Arslan when the counter-coup began. But in official terms, she handled production within Valkaren. That wasn’t what mattered now. As Maleki smarted, but before his head could even swivel back to a forward looking position, Lady Kaya’s arms wrapped around him in an embrace.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff8000">“It’s been months, asshole,”</span>the muscular Bach called from his chair with a hint of disgust in his mostly playful tone. Arslan was a quiet man unless arguing or thinking. A kind nod was given, but his arms immediately folded at the display from Lady Kaya.