The Queen nodded and entered the palace, her pace soft and measured to make sure her walk was gracious. As the other soldiers followed, the young woman sat on her throne and ran her gaze past each of them, in silence. Only then, and after another nod, she spoke again.<br/><br/>"I appreciate your loyalty, General. And I believe we will all need it, very much, in the days to come." The Queen's eyes seemed to seek to pierce the General's gaze, but it lasted for only a moment.<br/><br/>The interruption came in the form of a sound of two running pairs of feet. Two boys, apparently about five or six, ran into the throne room. They had dark hair, like the King, but the fiery eyes and that indefinable, but unsettling, quality that lived in the Queen's beauty also showed itself in the two boys. They both stood in front of their mother and bowed, before running to her arms.<br/><br/>The Queen's eyes could have lit the entire kingdom at night at that moment, as she held and kissed her two boys. Only after she was satisfied did she turn her gaze to the General. "And these are my two young warriors, Cyrus and Anastasius. And this, my sons, is General Gaius Cassian. You must listen to what he says."<br/><br/>The two boys looked at up the General and nodded, responding at the same time. "Yes, mother."