Defenders of the Crown

Diana 

THE COLD AIR whipped Diana's hair back and forth as she bolted down the forest path with Rudolf nearby. Her lungs burned from exhaustion which took a lot for a werewolf to attain. 

For Diana, however, fatigue was expected; due to how long she had been running. It wasn't like she could stop and rest. She certainly loved having her flesh intact. 

She focused on the path before her, careful not to crash into one of the many tall trees in this part of the forest. Soon Diana smelled a stream ahead and pushed her legs to run faster as she advanced towards the end of the forest. 

Diana heard the hisses and snarls get louder and closer and let out a few colourful words under her breath. 

Give up already! She thought with an annoyed frown on her face. 

The chasing never got old. It seemed like the zombies enjoyed the run more than she did, and she loved running. But not with her flesh on the line. 

Clutching Rudolph's sweaty hand in hers, Diana made a sharp turn towards the side where the river smelled stronger. Rudolf yelped at the sudden movement but continued running nonetheless. He trusted Diana too much to worry. 

On seeing the end of the path, Diana clasped Rudolph's hand tighter and jumped over the small river, causing Rudolph to dangle awkwardly in her hand. 

Rudolph squealed as the water touched his legs, and Diana mentally rolled her eyes at his theatrics. Rudolph had always been dramatic. She knew he would whine about the water later. 

At the other side, Diana and Rudolph stood, facing the Zombies. She knew they wouldn't dare cross the water. It wasn't their weakness, else she would have utilised it, but it made them crankier than normal, and normal for them was a lot. 

"That's it! Run away, you cowards!" Rudolph yelled as the zombies began walking away but squealed as one hissed at him. 

"Are you done?" Diana asked when she caught Rudolph making funny faces at the retreating Zombies. 

He nodded sheepishly at her but stopped when he noticed where they were. "Are we in…" 

Diana nodded at his incomplete question. She was too busy trying to jump over the river that she didn't perceive where they were landing. 

She stood by the edge of the river, unwilling to move any further for fear of an attack, not on herself but for Rudolph. The last thing she wanted was an entire kingdom of vampires on her ass. 

She expected the border guards to arrive in three, two, o… 

"What is a mutt doing in the vampire kingdom?" A border patrol guard asked, interrupting her count down, and she narrowed her eyes at him. 

Briefly taking her eyes off him, she took a glance at the positions of all the guards. There was no way she could fight her way out of this one. 

There were more than twenty guards at that border which was not unusual due to the increasing amount of zombie attacks. Unnoticeably, she turned her nose up as their stench wafted into her nose. Her nose never liked meeting a vampire.

"She must have a death wish," another responded, glaring at her in disdain, and she rolled her eyes. 

"She is right here, bloodsucker. Now I assume you are to take me to your king, so do it!" Diana ordered with her ever-present blank face on. 

The guards hissed, and Rudolph inched closer to Diana. Her flaring eyes glared at the guards. 

"You are scaring him!" She snarled, pushing the short Leprechaun behind her. 

The guards' eyes widened at her protectiveness over him. It wasn't often that a Wolf would attach itself to other species. 

The strongest-looking guard cleared his throat. "Let's go." 

Three guards led them to the castle, and the rest stayed back. Diana grabbed Rudolph's hand and followed after them, cursing under her breath. 

This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to cross the borderline. If it was the old king still in power, Diana would have been killed. 

The new king made new laws about wolves being killed on sight, hence why she was still alive. In her defense, she didn't know the border was the river. 

Ever since the humans unleashed zombies on the supernatural world, the war between vampires and wolves died down, but the hatred was still strong. 

Diana kept a watchful eye as they passed through the huge town square with the inhabitants glaring at her, even more than Rudolph. It didn't take long for them to get to the king's castle. 

The guards led them to the back of the castle when the dungeons were. Diana and Rudolph were put in a cell, where they were told to remain until the king sent for them. 

Diana only relaxed after the guards had gone. Her eyes softened as they landed on Rudolph's small form sitting opposite her. She heard him practicing the breathing exercises she taught him. 

Rudolph was claustrophobic and suffered from panic attacks. He used his bubbly and playful personality to cover his fear and that made her even more protective over him. 

"Get over here, Dolphy," she urged softly, using the nickname she knew he hated, knowing it would annoy him. 

Even as his head was down, she could almost see him scowl. "Don't call me that!" 

He had a pout on his lips as he walked to her and sat beside her. Diana frowned at how pale he looked. She repositioned him, so he laid down with his head on her thighs and began playing with the mess of black curls on his head. 

"Are we going to die?" He whispered so softly that if she wasn't a werewolf she would have totally missed it. 

"No. I won't let anything happen to you," Diana swore, her eyes darkening at the thought of something happening to him. 

She would die before a hair on his head is harmed, and she would be damned if she didn't keep her words.