There were five of them. Lucius took a seat which made them six. Sitting at the head of the table was a man holding a wine glass, who must be the king given his position in the table. But he wasn't the king Lanver expected. He expected to see someone older, their father perhaps, but the king was a young man. Someone who looked just his age or probably a little older.
On the right side of the king was the ill-mannered princess, on his left was Lucius. There were two other men and a lady who looked the youngest among them.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Lanver," the King said in a deep voice.
He didn't know how to address him or if he should greet him back for the sake of courtesy, but at the end he just voiced out his thoughts.
"I couldn't say the same."
Emery hissed. "Why are you so rude? Even if you were raised as a human, right now you are in our territory. Have respect for the King."
The King tapped Emery's hand. "It's alright. He is not accustomed to our rules."
"But Your Majesty, a man should always be respectful to others even without rules, right?" the younger girl said.
Lanver cleared his throat. Was he that rude? He was just being honest! But this kid was making him feel like he was so harsh for saying what he meant.
"Of course, Eloise," the King replied sweetly. "But Lanver was brought here without his permission, so it's just normal for him to be a little annoyed."
"I understand." The girl looked at Lanver and smiled politely. "Hi, I'm Eloise."
Thinking that the girl was still a vampire even though she looked so young and innocent, Lanver couldn't bring himself to smile back. But then were his parents from this world and had lived with them? Maybe vampires were just portrayed in the human world as monsters when the truth was they were not?
"She's our youngest," the King said. "Have a seat and let me properly introduce myself to you."
Lanver sighed and took a seat without sitting beside any of them. They were still vampires, after all. Who knew one of them would suddenly grab his neck if he stayed too close? Necessary precautions were advisable at times like this.
"I am Amadeus Von Rellis, ruler of the Kingdom of Azlea. They are all my siblings. Lucius, Emery, Dimitri, Weston, and Eloise."
Lanver already knew they were all blood-related the second he went in. It was obvious in their identical amber eyes so he wasn't surprised they were actually siblings.
"I was already told everything but I still don't want to do this. I want to leave your world," Lanver said seriously.
"I understand. I also don't want to force anyone into anything but I apologize. We are talking about lives here, Lanver. Not just hundreds but thousands. You are a soldier in your country. You fought for your people's lives. I'm sure you know how it feels to lose a life. We don't want that to happen to our people. We need to rebuild the barrier before a war breaks out. I hope you would see the weight of what's at stake on this. Our people need your help. We need your help."
"But you are asking for help on the wrong person. I may have great accomplishments as a human but I have nothing to offer in this world. I am not capable of doing what you want me to do."
"How can you say that when you haven't even tried?" Emery spoke so cold Lanver felt how the temperature of the room dropped.
"Are you really a fighter in your world? Because I don't see a fighter in you. All I can see is a coward," she added briskly.
Lanver glared at her, gritting his teeth.
"How can I fight for a world I don't even know? How can I fight for your people when anytime now my country might need me? You don't seem to see my point here, princess." He smirked at her out of irritation.
"How can you say that after knowing everything? Your father tried his best to protect this kingdom. You were born here. You belong in this world and yet you're saying that?"
"No, I don't belong here—"
"It's such a shame that a great person like Lord Vincentius had a son like you—"
"Enough," Amadeus spoke that made both of them shut.
Amadeus sighed. He knew convincing Lanver wasn't easy. He didn't want to force him but this was an urgent matter. He can't just idle knowing that a big war was coming. It was either force him or leave everything to fate.
And he knew the latter wasn't a sane king would do.
A king should value his people more than anything. More than his pride. More than his principles.
"My apologies, but I've made a decision, Lanver. You will stay for the meantime. Do what we asked you for and we will set you free. You can also ask anything from us after that. You can have everything you want."
"That's bullshit. I don't want anything from you. I want my life back."
"You have your life. We just want to ask a bit of your time. If you're worried that you might leave your life back there unattended, then you have nothing to worry. Once everything is done here, we will send you back to the exact time you were brought here. You will lose nothing."
"Is that possible?"
"There are certain rules for that but I can make it possible. It won't be hard since you won't take long here."
"What if I fail? Will you still let me leave?"
"Yes. I am a man of my word so rest assured you will be sent back to your world," Amadeus promised.
Lanver looked at the amber eyes expecting a positive answer from him. They all looked hopeful. Even Emery who was glaring at him had a similar glint in her eyes. The ill-tempered princess wasn't a heartless monster after all, he thought.
"Please help us save our people, Lanver," Eloise said in a little voice.
Lanver closed his eyes for a moment. Hearing Eloise pleaded reminded him again of that little girl in his dreams. How she begged him for help. Yet in his dreams he could do nothing. He only watched how she cried as if the world had crushed her soul.
He opened his eyes and upon seeing their expectant brilliant orbs, he realized that the girl in his dreams had the same amber eyes.
"If I could go back in time, I'd rather close my eyes to unsee everything. Because the pain I felt that moment scarred my soul. It has always remained in my mind, haunting me in my darkest nights."The young girl listened as the woman ran her fingers to the girl's hair while reading her favorite book. It wasn't a book supposed to be read to a child, but the young girl insisted. She had been curious what was her mother's favorite book all about. She had a brilliant mind and didn't want to limit her knowledge. After all, it was better for her to broaden her perspective in life so she could use it in the future."Do you agree with her, Mother? If you were in her shoes would you want the same?" the young girl asked, talking about the last part her mother had read.The woman smiled. "Yes, sweetheart. That's why if you see something bad you should do what I've always told you, understand?""I understand, Mother. If I see something bad, I will close my eyes so it won't remain in my heart.""
The delight in the King's eyes was evident. Lanver saw this and realized that Amadeus was a great king who wanted nothing but the best for his people. It was a shame the human world lacked great leaders like him. But then again, life was not fair. It has never been."But I have no idea how to do it," Lanver said."As soon as we can awaken your mage blood, then your training will not be that hard for you since you were a trained fighter who had been through a lot.""Awaken my mage blood?" Lanver was confused. He didn't know if he could ever be accustomed to the terms used in this world."Yes. Right now we can only feel your presence as a human. Princess Anna must have sealed it to hide you. However, your blood as a mage must be so strong that it could resist Princess Anna's spell, that's why there were times, as you've noticed, when something weird were happening to you.""Why would you know what was happening to me back there?""Let's just say we have the means to see what is happenin
Cold and shivering, I slumped to the ground with my head feeling dizzy. It was seven days since I left my pack, Moonraven, and ran to the vast outskirts of Seattle from Vancouver, scared that Benedict's men must be hunting me down. But I guess this is the farthest I could get with no money and food.I leaned on the tree and closed my eyes. The light from the horizon was starting to fade and I could barely see a faint light from where I was because of the tall trees surrounding me. Sure, it was a good place to die, somewhere peaceful and calm. But should I allow myself to just die like this after my parents sacrificed themselves for my freedom? Should I put their efforts into waste by giving up?I don't think I have the heart to do that. But I also don't know where I can get strength in the middle of wilderness.I can't help but ponder about some things. Too much trust and kindness were my father's weakness. He trusted Benedict and the people surrounding him too much that he was blinde
I've always felt the weird demeanor Benedict has all those years of him acting loyal to my father. He's handsome, quiet, I think the quietest man I've ever met, he's most of the time serious, and he never looked at any girl in our pack. He was either training the men or handling the pack's affairs.I didn't have casual conversations with him even though he was often invited to our house for dinners and parties. I'd always seen him in the town, and back when I was still studying, we went to the same school. I didn't give him much attention then, but I knew he was good at academics. Well, he's good at everything he does if my memory serves me right.Although his beta father died early, with his contributions, everyone believed that he was the only man worthy of my hand. They said we were perfect for each other. I couldn't disagree more. I had never pictured myself marrying Benedict Allen. I could stomach Tyler, his geek cousin who couldn't even throw a punch, but not him.Even though he
[Three months earlier...]She was destined to marry the King. Melrose had pinned that in her mind ever since she turned fifteen. Lord Lewis, her stepfather who had been her only family since the age of five, had never been tired of reminding her that.For a lady without a fetish for romance, it was the best the world could offer. The King was, after all, a young man with a pleasant character and outstanding physical attributes. He was crowned at the age of sixteen, and has been ruling the country for six years now. He was doubted by many at first as he was only a palace maid's son, but over the years he had gained the respect and trust of people.Melrose believed he was the best choice among the most eligible men in town. Not only because he was the most powerful and desired by most women, but because she had known him for years. She was sure he'd make a good husband.As Lord Lewis had always envisioned Melrose marrying the King one day, he raised her in the best way he could. Only th
The De Noir manor was situated at the southern part of Arden, near the woods and without any neighboring houses or small villages.The King offered Lord Knight to stay at the palace during his vacation but he refused the offer and told the King that he wanted a place where he could be at peace, and the palace, being the center of political affairs and eyes of many, wasn't a place inclined to the word "tranquility" for him.So the King, as generous as he was, sought for a solution and offered Lord Knight places where he could stay for the meantime, including the De Noir manor, a property owned by his late mother, Princess Celestine.Now that Lord Knight decided to stay in the manor, people were more cautious to not stay near the property for folks felt his domineering and dangerous presence as if he would eat anyone alive just by his look.Besides, the townspeople tend to avoid the said place just as much as how everyone avoided North Ridge, for they believed that the manor had dark en
With a big hat on her head, Melrose followed Arianne closely and asked, "Are you sure I won't be recognized by people, Arianne?"Arianne, who was dressed up the same, answered, "With how big that hat of yours, your face could hardly be seen. Just keep your head low and don't act too stiff or people might get curious.""Are there even women who wear hats inside the club? And we are dressed so poorly that one will think we are lower than servants. Ladies in a gentlemen's club for sure, even those from the lower class, could have worn better clothes than this. I doubt this is your way of keeping low or getting us busted.""Silly girl," Arianne held her arm as they approached the entrance of Spade House. She grinned at Melrose. "Mellie, trust me, okay? I will have this Mr. Harris tamed today that he will forget about the duel he is supposed to have with my foolish brother. And about our clothes, I made this on purpose so that not a single gentleman will bother taking interest in you. I do
"I hate you, Arianne. I really do!" Stepping out of the carriage, Melrose continued her lament. She couldn't get over how embarrassed she was in front of Lord Knight.Arianne only laughed at her fuming friend. "I must say you are so courageous to force Lord Knight to keep your secret. I doubt if I could say a word if it was me! I am bold but the lord is obviously someone not easy to deal with.""And I was crazy for agreeing to your ridiculous plan. Now let's pray that he won't open his mouth or else I will be done.""Fret not, Mellie. If I have to beg the lord not to spread a word, I shall do it on bended knees."That day ended up a tragedy. Melrose could only hope for Lord Knight's vacation to end quickly so he would return to wherever he came from. She wanted to do nothing with him because for some reason she could feel that he hated her.She could understand why those ladies hated her, that was because of envy, but this one, she couldn't think of a sensible reason. Or maybe Lord Kn