[Raiju Prime - Royal Medical Wing]
The deadline had passed three hours ago.
Lucy stood by the window of her mother's private recovery room, watching storm clouds gather over the capital city below. Lightning danced between the clouds in patterns that would have been beautiful if she weren't so exhausted from waiting for responses that hadn't come.
"You gave them thirty hours," Queen Vivian said from her medical bed, her voice still weak but growing stronger with each passing day. Raiju Prime's rotation period was only 6 hours more than Earth's. "Did you really expect the families to respond that quickly?"
"I expected them to respond at all." Lucy turned from the window, frustration clear in every line of her posture. "It's been over a day since my ultimatum. Nothing. Not even an acknowledgment that they received the message."
