Chapter 15: Rest in peace

“Assemble the array! All aim at the Carus’!” shouts a man in a battle suit. His hair was pitch black and his metal headgear was off, making that defined carved-like jaw visible.

From this perspective, it looks like they both won the battle against the anti-peace battalions of vampires in the south.  My eyes roamed around, this is not the white wolf’s castle. Where could it be?

Pinned and hung on the walls were eleven flags embroidered with the eleven territories of Claveria Haltera. Also, in front of this gigantic hall were two thrones both at the same level.

Flocking the whole place were vampires and werewolves, on their hands were chalices filled with wines. Their faces were lit with avid as if in peace and rest but suddenly erased when sequential thundering bombings emanated from the grounds of the castle.

Is the vampire king already dead? If it was, then it is this day that they’ll ascend. This is the inauguration!

          My eyes next darted where all of their eyes were upon. The great doors of this place were widely opened and against the bright moonlight stands three builts. A lady covered in ragged clothes and brutal bruises was in between two men holding her up.

“Shut the arrows!” yells one of them who holds the lady. “We’re not here for another battle.”

“Is it?” the woman with silver hair protruded with her arms crossed with each other, she frankly walked closer to the two men. “Then what’s with the battalion surrounding us outside?”

          I creased my fore and quickly looked outside the balcony. She’s right, there’s a whole battalion of the anti-peace congress scattered on the grounds. And judging from how many numbers they boast, the people inside this castle seemed to lay a fair battle if an attack begins.

“That’s only for backup in case, Afana,” the bearded guy replied who was on the right of the bruised lady.

“You started the commotion, shouldn’t we be alarmed?”

“Not even a drop of fear, ladies and gentleman!” the bearded answered, spreading his arms and smiling at its finest causing his hold of the wretched lady to let go and fall down the cold floor.

          However, seeing that, Afana only smiled back smugly and laid her eyes unconcerned at the lady. “What do you want? You even brought trash with you.”

          If I am not mistaken, there was a sun emblem on that lady’s neck. Could she be the white wolf’s sister, Avanti?

“Really?” the bearded chuckled hysterically and forcefully tugged the Lady’s hair, revealing her face clean and without any traces of brutality as if it was left unscathed unintentionally.

          The people gasped at the sight of it. Confirming it really was Afana’s sister. The once elegant and respectable Avanti Mordeus, second princess of the highest werewolf empire. That was now stripped of her title when she colluded with the anti-peace congress.

“You no longer care for your little sister?”

          Afana’s fists tensed yet the look on her face didn’t change. Still carefree and nonchalant, she’s hiding her weakness.

“How pathetic of you carrying a piece of baggage all the way through here.” Afana leaned over, cutting the inches between their sight, she hurled a plain glare at the bearded. “The entire Claveria is the witness of her treacherous act. Why would I bother worrying even a single piece for a traitor?”

“She may be a traitor but she still shares the same blood as—”

“She was,” interrupted a voice from the lady. Her head remained looking down at the ground and her weak body started to tremble. “—a sister back then. Not until she became a thief and a liar. Am I right, white wolf?”

          Afana’s eyes widened when her sister blurted the word. People around them began to murmur and whisper to each other.

“All right, all right. stop the drama then. I see, this woman was no longer precious to you. Thus, she’s now nothing but trash as you’ve said.” The bearded forcefully released the weary lady and pushed her aside to the crowd.

          With a simple gesture from the white wolf, no one dared to approach Avanti who was now lying helplessly with her wounds starting to bleed. Afana spared a single aloof glare at her sister on the floor.

“Do you know a price has to be paid for staining the royal floor, Gaverdi?”

          I let out a chortle to her attitude. I don’t know if I should congratulate her for the solid attitude she retains or feel pity for her keeping her walls up even if she long itches to smack this bearded Gaverdi’s face.

“Save the trouble for later, I’ll pay for any renovations.”

“What do you want?” this time it was Magnus who step forward and asked the enemy.

“You see—” Gaverdi stretches out his hand and pointed his finger outside the balcony. “—back-ups and reinforcements are all blocked. If we attack, all the leaders of eleven territories will die and the effort of peacemaking will be wasted.”

“I, Gaverdi Riyalde, state a condition. I guarantee my anti-peace congress to surrender if,” he paused and looked back to Afana. “His Highness would divorce the werewolf empress.”

          Then silence occupied the entire room. No one dared to oppose nor agree. Until the Emperor, Magnus, then broke the sudden atmosphere.

“Are you saying I should also divorce alliance with the werewolves?”

          Making my eyes widen, this Gaverdi of the anti-peace suddenly kneeled down in front of the emperor.

“Not at all, Your Majesty. Even if you divorce Her Highness, the alliance would still be there and I can assure you peace across the entire Claveria Haltera.”

“Then give me an assurance, Gaverdi.”

“Afana!” protested Magnus. But this Afana didn’t even bother turning around to face her husband that she even stepped closer to Gaverdi.

“I agree with your condition.”

          My head tilted as I looked at the emperor now quickly walking towards them. but before he could pull the empress away, Afana turned to him wearing her serious and drop-dead warning. 

“The antipeace is our greatest enemy. And to get them on their feet, I need to step down,” she muttered without any shade of joking or doubt. With that, she returned her gaze to Gaverdi. “But I want an assurance.”

          Her left arm extended towards the man’s throat and to his chest.

“The years remaining and the life of all your comrades involved in your congress will be under my control the second you dare betray the words you’ve said.”

          From his chest, comes out a dark smoke and so as the other man beside him. I looked outside the balcony and noticed the arrayed soldiers of the anti-peace congress also emanate this black smoke out of them.

“This is my condition, Gaverdi,” Afana fearlessly voiced and lifted her hands in the air. Gathering the black hazes and enclosing them in a tiny sphere.

          I narrowed my eyes and looked closely at the thing in her hands. It’s a white crystal. She clicked something and it extruded a million spikes. The white wolf’s emblem!

“Take good care of it, so as to your promise, Gaverdi,” she smiled and handed the emblem to the man whose eyes now couldn’t blink in disbelief. “That contains your life and death, also your loyalty to your words. Breaking it would end your existence.”

          And she turned her back. Pivoting, her eyes met the Emperor’s. But instead of leveling with him, she kneeled down afore her husband and took off the crown from her head. “Emperor Magnus Monteverde, I humbly ask for a divorce from our marriage. May the wise Emperor consider this as a political solution to the state’s problem.”

          Before I could even hear the king’s answer, everything disappeared in front of my eyes and another scenario popped out.

“How’s she?”

          I’m in a dimly lighted room. This time, I know this is the white wolf’s castle. This is the same room that I entered before I traveled back into a memory of the history.

          A large painting of a woman in a lilac dress was sitting turned away, she is holding a book and on top of it was a hurricane that seems to be coming out of the book. Snapping out of the painting, my eyes quickly looked at the opened window and caught a flying raven entering the room.

“How long will you prioritize her? She’s now living a good life in the palace yet here you are, imprisoning yourself in this place. She’s not a kid anymore, Afana,” Magnus said who had just turned from a raven to human in his casual clothes, shoveling off the royalty.

“But she’s my responsibility,” the woman in a deep blue silken nightgown replied. “The whole world turned their back against her. I am the one who understands her more than anyone, that’s why I can’t just treat her the same as how society looks at her.”

          I heard the Emperor sigh and walk toward the former Empress. “I do no longer know how to unlove you, my Queen.”

“But you have to. It’s not forever that you can see me—”

“Don’t you dare go that part,” Magnus interrupted with his head leaning down her pearl-like hair.

 Wait, how many years had already passed in this part?

          Afana simply smiled and looked straightly at the man’s eyes from the mirror in front of her. Meanwhile, Magnus quickly grabbed the hairbrush on the vanity table and started brushing his ex-wife’s long white golden hair.

“Then, let me ask you matters in the imperial court. How’s it going?”

          Hearing that, Magnus paused and looked at her hesitantly. I was expecting a dynamite negative answer but it looks like I’m wrong.

“We’re in turmoil. But rest assured, the alliance and the peace negotiation hadn’t changed after you left,” he answered. “How about your side?”

“That’s great. Now I can rest in peace—”

“Afana!”