by S. K. Benton
“And what would that be, my dear lady?”
Alea motioned for the old mage to follow her, as she walked to a distant grouping of trees roughly 200 meters away. As they approached, he smelled the stench of death, permeating the air in the small wooded area. It was the scent of finality. Moving some tree branches, she exposed the fly-infested body of Siegfried, badly mauled but still recognizable, wearing a frozen look of terror, the meat on his legs nearly stripped clean.
“I should bury him, unless, perhaps you could perform some magic and turn him to dust?”
“Ah no, my dear. I shall transport him back to the castle, where Krynos shall hear of your deeds, and to know that you have obtained retribution. May I ask - did he approach you, or did you hunt him?”
“The latter, my Lord - he ruined my life, so I gave him the gift of death.”
“Was it quick, my dear?”
“No, not at all - he was still alive and conscious when I started eating his second thigh, although he was still screaming a bit,” she responded with a complete lack of emotion.
Draagh raised his eyebrows a bit and pulled out his pipe, lighting it and looking out at the open western plains as Siegfried’s corpse lay still, with only the chirping of birds and the buzzing of flies disturbing the peaceful tranquility of their surroundings.
“My dear, I realize that you were not at fault for what happened. Siegfried was a manipulative traitor and a fool, and he is now most deservedly dead.”
Draagh looked down at the corpse, and then returned to his pipe and thoughtful gaze out over the open plains.
“Yes, he is quite dead. There is no doubt about that, but let me ask you this – if you could have a chance to start your life again – to make amends for your errors, but perhaps somewhere else, where things were familiar, but you were unknown, would you do it?”
“It is but a dream, but yes, my Lord. I would.”
“Then stand up, my dear. Let us take a walk.”
Draagh and Alea walked back to her campsite where he instructed her to gather any clothing she had, as she would not need the rest of her items. Finishing that, they went out to an open area where he waved his hand and created an infoscreen. Almost immediately afterwards, Socrates appeared and floated by, waiting to assist. Alea looked on, wearing a face of complete awe as the sentient mage intelligence access portal had a quiet conversation with his master. After a short while the preparations were complete and Draagh was ready to present Alea with a parting gift – a form of thanks for her company during the cold nights, and for her service to his friend’s crown for so many long years.
Draagh put his arm around Alea’s shoulder and set his staff to the ground, causing lightning to shoot out and a massive sphere of energy to surround them. A thundering boom signified their departure.
Alea looked around, startled, as it appeared they were instantly back in the castle courtyard - most certainly where she was not allowed to be, as she had suffered Krynos’ eternal and irrevocable banishment. People she had known all her life were walking around, going about their duties with not even one seeming to recognize her.
Draagh merely looked at her and said, “Follow me please, my lady.”
As they walked toward the courtyard square she hurriedly whispered in his ear, “Are we invisible? No one pays notice to our—”
“Ahhhh, Draagh, my good friend! Excellent to see you!”
Krynos approached the couple as Alea stopped, frozen in place, wearing a look of absolute helplessness and almost believing she had been betrayed yet again. For one to return after banishment was to invite death under lycan law, and she had neither desire to die on that particular day, nor any time in the near future.
“Krynos, my brother. It is also good to see you! I have brought a friend. Alea please meet Krynos, king of the Rhönen Dominion. He is a great friend of mine, and I have brought you here as I feel this place is best suited to your abilities.”
Terrified and completely confused, Alea nervously curtsied to the king and said, “My Lord, it is my honor.”
Krynos gazed upon the woman, appraising her stunning features. “Ah, my dear. A woman as beautiful as you should not be nervous in my presence. All are welcome in my kingdom,” and turning back to Draagh, he asked, “My friend, what else brings you to my castle?”
“Well, I am short of time, as pressing matters are at hand, but you see, it was quite a sad series of events. Alea here is from the other side of the continent, and sadly, cannibals ravaged her village. I only managed to arrive in time to save a few of the poor souls from loss of reason, and found her hiding under the blacksmith’s lifeless body. So, being without a home and suffering from temporary memory loss, she needed a new land in which to proffer her skills. I brought her to the only place where I knew she would be well taken care of. You see - she not only has excellent abilities in training new lycans, but also with waking team duties. As an added benefit, she retains sapience in death form, which can be quite handy during the full moon. I do believe she can fill you in on the rest… once she has recovered, of course.”
Krynos gave Alea a kindly grin, while conveying an air of strength and understanding for her supposed loss.
“My dear lady, your talents would be most welcome here. Please wait while I fetch one of my commanders – he shall guide you to your quarters. At tonight’s feast in the honor of the birthday of my top commander, Donus, I would like to hear stories of your adventures. That is, if your memory serves you. If not, it will simply be a pleasure to have you in our company.”
Draagh smiled, and looked upon the slightly perplexed face of his former lover, but then turned to Krynos.
“My friend, before you depart to call upon your aide, I would like to ask - did you take my advice and rid yourself of that troublesome minor-mage, Siegfried?”
“Of course! The fool was to betray us at the full moon! His lifeless body now fertilizes the earth. So welcome is your advice, good friend. Now, if you will excuse me, I shall return in a moment.”
Krynos walked off, his large frame casting a shadow in his wake, leaving Draagh and Alea alone as he called out to someone from across the courtyard.
“Draagh, how can this be? What has happened here? Did you use your magic and make their minds to forget? Have you changed them so? It cannot be that I am again the cause of some form of suffering – please, change them back and take me from this place…”
“Oh no, my dear. In this world, you – that is, Alea was never born. It is a new world – different, yet similar - and it is yours. I suggest you treat it and your new companions well.”
Struggling to understand, she responded, “Krynos shall ask me to recount tales of my adventures at tonight’s feast. What shall I say?”
“Improvise, my dear, improvise. I just stated that you have suffered a bit of memory loss, so that should give you sufficient time to craft an elaborate backstory, or to simply have permanent memory loss - that is up to you, my dear. Now, if you’ll excuse me… ah, here returns Krynos now - with someone in tow.”
Draagh looked out over the courtyard as the kindly lycan king slightly bowed to passing females, as was his nature. He had lost his wife some centuries before and had remained without a mate, preferring to take delight in the romantic good fortunes of others. Draagh gently kissed Alea on her forehead, and both then turned to watch Krynos return with the one who would assist Alea with her new home.
“Alea, I would like for you to meet one of my most trusted officers. It is he who shall arrange for your lodging and duties.”
The woman looked upon a familiar face she believed she would never see again.
“My Lord, the pleasure is mine,” she said, as she bowed slightly, trying to contain her smile – and a small tear in the corner of her eye.
3rd Captain Morgus gazed upon the new arrival with a bold focus, saying, “Please, my lady. None as beautiful as you should bow to one such as me. I am but a soldier, while you are… the future. Welcome.”
&nbs
p; Alea turned and looked around in all directions, but could not see Draagh anywhere.
He had left her to a new beginning.
The main hall was already filled to maximum capacity when Max arrived, wearing his tailored suit of leather, which garnered him looks of admiration from not only single females but also assorted soldiers. As he descended the stairs from the mezzanine he scanned the crowd, looking for Jennie and his grandfather. He then looked at the end of the hall and saw Draagh, seated at the high table with Krynos and Donus, with them all obviously enjoying a conversation of some sort. Resigning himself to take a place among the quickly disappearing seating on the main floor, he suddenly heard Krynos call out to him.
“Max, my son! You are to sit at the high table this evening. Please! Come!”
Max looked up to see Draagh also motioning him to approach, so he made his way to the slightly elevated stage and bound up the small number of stairs, graciously taking a seat at his grandfather’s side.
“King Krynos, when does the celebration officially begin?” asked Max as he looked out over the crowd, still not seeing Jennie anywhere.
“My boy, in but moments. We only wait upon two more who shall join us.”
Two more?
His thoughts were interrupted as Jennie and Liliana entered the hall, wearing matching, single shoulder pink dresses, beautifully tailored, with the older one’s outfit tightly hugging the perfect curvature of her body. Liliana’s dress, although equally beautiful, was more fit to the innocence of a child. The little girl’s face was drawn into a look of awe, as her eyes darted around the room. It was not often that a youngling was invited to a celebration of any sort, and more certainly not orphans, as they had no sponsors to escort them.
Seeing the two girls enter, Max’s jaw dropped, with the girls eliciting a similar response from both Krynos and Donus. Draagh sat at the table with a grin as he played a bit with his long, braided mustache, his cherished pipe at the ready, watching as all of his plans came to fruition.
As Jennie and Liliana walked down the main aisle, soldiers and females alike came to a hushed silence. All were aware of their good deeds, and everyone had a great deal to be thankful for.
Approaching the stage, Jennie and Liliana bowed to their king, and then to Donus, Draagh and Max. Liliana then delicately curtseyed while wearing a giant smile, trying not to look around too much at the massive throngs of her older lycan brothers and sisters.
Krynos slowly stood to speak, causing the hall to become quiet, as everyone saw his massive frame rise up from the high table. The king then motioned for the two lovely lycans to join him at his side, prompting Jennie to lead Liliana up the stairs, hand in hand. After the two had taken their seats (with Liliana poking her head up in order to get a better view), Krynos began to address the crowd.
“My brothers and sisters. Tonight we celebrate the victory of The Battle of the Blood, as I have named it due to the copious amounts of vital fluids that flowed within the castle walls - some of it sadly coming from our own. Although we were attacked during our monthly hours of weakness, against insurmountable odds we defeated the forces of Vladros, who could only invade while hiding behind a veil of cowardice. In the past we have had many battles, and during those battles we have suffered losses – sometimes losses so great we believed we might never recover, but we forged on. We regrouped, improved our defenses and became yet stronger than ever before.”
Surveying his beloved brothers, sisters and subjects, he felt his eyes water a bit, but picked up his golden goblet and continued.
“Seventeen normals that had volunteered to defend their king and castle were sadly taken from this world. Tomorrow I shall travel to their village and meet with their families, and as is stated in the law, provide them with an honorarium of gold that should keep them comfortable for the rest of their lives. Further, a beloved sister betrayed us, although she did so unwittingly, and for that we are extremely sad, but the law states that there must be a punishment for betrayal. As king, I must uphold our laws, as they are just. A nation without laws is simply a nation of men – men who can change the laws to fit their needs, and this always leads to tyranny. As king, I am also charged with meting out the punishment for those violations, and so, as Alea was such a beloved sister, and due to the fact that she committed her dastardly act while not being of right mind, I chose to banish her from our lands instead of terminating her existence.”
After having watched and listened to every word coming out of the lycan king’s mouth, Max leaned over to his grandfather and whispered, “Hey Draagh, Alea’s going to be ok, isn’t she?”
Max’s grandfather patted the young man on the back, and responded to his grandson, “My son, she will be just fine. In fact, I believe she has already found another home – and a chance to atone for her errors.”
Krynos continued with his speech while raising his goblet, to which everyone in the hall followed, also raising their drinking vessels.
“To our sister, Alea. May she find that which she seeks, and hopefully a better life elsewhere.”
Everyone in the hall raised their goblets of mead yet higher, and a rumbling murmur sounded out.
“To Alea.”
Then, when everyone had taking sufficient swallows of their mead, Krynos looked at the guests at the high table, where he first addressed little Liliana, who sat with wide eyes and a giant smile, expecting nothing but appreciating everything.
“Young Liliana - you who have been with our family for but a few, short years. You whose parents were so tragically taken from you – you have shown skill, bravery and wisdom beyond your limited time among us. I thank you, my dear child, as your precocious mannerisms prompted you to disobey the monthly hiding and seek out your new friend and protector, while saving many lives in the process.”
Krynos looked away from Liliana, and out on to the crowd as he continued, “My brothers and sisters, although stories have already been passed on of this girl’s bravery, I would like to tell you a bit about what she did, and how she possibly saved this kingdom. You see, she snuck out of her kennel, and then, navigating through the maze of ventilation tunnels in the castle, made her way down into the sub basement and used magic to assist both Max and Jennie, bringing them to their forms of reason so that they could enter into the fray of battle and help to defeat the enemy. Not only that, I heard that she has become quite skilled as a pseudo-mage, and managed to nearly incinerate the egg sack of a particularly wicked vampire.”
The crowd roared with approving laughter and broke out into applause, as Liliana blushed slightly and waved to the cheering masses. Krynos put up his hand to silence the crowd, and turning to Liliana, continued, but this time speaking directly to the child.
“Dear Liliana. It is with the utmost gratitude that I thank you. I have spoken with my brother - our brother - Draagh, and he has assured me that you will receive magical training of the highest order. Further, as soon as your small frame shall allow, you will be placed in training to learn the arts of battle. I do believe that the time has come for us to increase our ranks with those of the fairer sex. Your friend Jennie has most certainly shown us that it is something that needs to be done.”
He turned back out to the crowd, and with a kind smile said, “Now that we all know of her great deeds and service to the kingdom, I should ask if there is anyone who would claim this child, as she is most deserved of a family.”
Liliana, the orphan child, who just days prior had no one and nothing to look forward to in life, except for maybe becoming a castle servant, looked out to the crowd, her little mouth open in awe, as nearly everyone in the hall slowly stood up and raised their arms. Numerous couples stood together, holding hands, wanting to accept the girl into their family. Some already had pups, and others had yet to procreate or were simply barren. Liliana would have a family, no matter the outcome.
Max leaned back, and looking behind the backs of everyone at the high table, whispered to the young girl, “Hey Liliana. I told yo
u that you had a great family!”
She looked back at Max as a tear rolled down her small cheek.
Then surprising everyone (except possibly Draagh), Jennie suddenly burst up out of her chair and loudly and forcefully proclaimed, “I claim this child. I claim her as my daughter.”
Max leaned over to his grandfather and went to speak, but Draagh silenced the young man with a hand on his shoulder and a meaningful glance.
Then, looking down at the little girl who was barely able to see over the top of the high table, Jennie reached down and picked her up, standing her on her overly large chair.
“Liliana. Would you choose me? You have all of these great people to choose from, but I honestly cannot see going through the rest of my life without having you in it. I want to be your mother. Please, be my daughter.”
Liliana was frozen in place, stunned. She just stared at Jennie for a moment, and then tears started streaming down her small, round face. She gazed up into the older woman’s eyes, seeing a hopeful expression, when she threw her arms around Jennie’s neck and whispered to her.
“I dreamed of you being my mother. Yes Jennie, I would only choose you, and I will try to not say those swear words anymore. I promise.”
The crowd broke out into cheers and applause, as the two girls hugged each other closely.
Their bond had been initiated by the child’s good nature, and strengthened by her fearless actions during the night. But it had been sealed with a tiny pink ribbon on a door.
Krynos put his hands up, silencing the crowd, and began to speak yet again.
“Excellent! Now, that we have taken care of that, I would like to address the beautiful warrior, and now mother, standing by my side. Jennie Escalante – you came to us to learn, but have already taught us much. Your valiant efforts, as well as your excellent skills in battle have brought new hope to our kingdom. We have much for which to thank you, and as I stated before, the stain you created in the mezzanine where once lie the mashed skull of an enemy most insidious shall forevermore be cordoned off, and left as an example to those who would bring their vile filth inside these castle walls.”
