Army of the dead

Brandon let Giselle to Elaine’s chambers in the citadel, on getting closer to the room, they heard loud noises that indicated something was wrong, it was Elaine’s voice screaming loudly. as it was filled with both pain and suffering.

They entered into the room in a haste, the room was dimly lit, but they could still see Alexander where he sat beside the bed holding Elaine’s hand and hoping she would stop.

“What happened here Edgar?” Brandon said as he walked closer toward the bed.

“She’s getting worse Brandon, what if I loose her, what if I’m not able to save her” Edgar said and a single tear trickled down his eye but he kept a confident expression.

“There must be something in this room acting as a totem for Meredith to continue being in connection with her” Giselle said and she looked around bed and onto the shelves but there was nothing that she could find that could indicate as a totem used to hold in such a powerful spell.

“What could it be?” Brandon said as he looked around too hoping to point out anything out of the ordinary that was present in the room.

“I need to calm her down first, and then we’ll find the totem” Giselle said urgently.

“Let’s do that then” Edgar replied and Giselle walked closer to the bed on which Sapphire lay thrashing from one side of the bed to the other, she lay her hand on her head and chanted a spell in murmurs and slowly, Elaine’s breath stabled, she placed her hand on her chest and murmured more words and this time Elaine became very calm and slept peacefully like a baby.

“How is she?” Edgar said curiously as he was more worried than he was few moments ago.

“She’s not getting better, her time is limited and we need to move fast” Giselle said but her face remained calm and that helped to reduce the fear and uncertainty that Alexander felt within himself.

“What do we need to do?” Brandon said.

“First of all, I need everyone to be very quiet, I need to find the totem by hearing its magical ring, it’s a very tiny sound that all totems have and there is one in here so I need to look for it and remove” Giselle said in few moments, the whole room fell quiet, she casted a spell which made her isolate her senses and have a focus on only one thing, her sense of hearing that will make it easier to find what they were looking for.

“It seems we have to remove the necklace on her neck, that’s the only thing ringing magically in her body” Giselle said and her eye still closed as she moved her hand upward and downward through Sapphire’s body.

Edgar moved towards the bed and reached for the necklace, he tried to remove it but it was too stiff to move so he used both his hand to try removing it.

“Don’t pet the totem Edgar, cut it off or she’ll never be free from the spell” Giselle said and in one swift moment, Edgar cut off the chain from her neck and her eyes opened widely, she sharply inhaled like she had been drowning all the while.

“Elaine!! Elaine!! Are you okay?” Alex said but she just sat up and was very much busy trying to catch her breath.

After few moments she was finally stable, she turned to look at Edgar and before and word could come out of her mouth, she let her tears fall as she continued crying in his arms.

“I think my work here is done, I’ll be leaving now” Giselle said in a low tone to Brandon as she turned to leave.

“No, stay. You helped me, I saw you in the other world holding them back off, you heard what they said. I need allies more than ever, be by my side and right this war with me” Elaine said with so much emotions in her eyes.

“I wish I could your majesty, but I have been restricted from leaving the white hall for the rest of my life” Giselle said with a calm expression on her face.

“You are now free, I have set you free, you will walk beside me to be my right hand and my most trusted woman in court” Elaine said and Giselle smiled brightened, now more than ever, she felt like this was what she had always been waiting for.

Despite Claudia being a guardian to her since her parents died, no one else had truly cares for her or showed some concern. She had been insulted, looked down on and painted as a monster all because she happened to be from the race that made a mistake with the dosage of mistletoe. She couldn't believe what she heard Elaine say, this felt like a dream to her, being an important part of something so big, this was more than a dream come true. She had always hoped for such opportunity and now that she have finally found what was hers to take, she was going to take it and make sure she honors it with all her heart.

“It will be an honor your majesty, I will be more than happy to do this with you” Giselle said with a happy smile on her face and after that she looked at Brandon and thanked her stars that he came to look for her that very day.

“What war do you speak of your majesty?” Brandon said as a worried expression still loomed over his face.

“The army of the dead” Giselle responded because Elaine seemed to weak to speak up early.

“And how sure are we about this?” Brandon said with furrowed brows.

“Well damn sure, I brought them here myself” Elaine said with her voice weak and her expression remorseful.

“Don’t blame yourself my lady, Meredith had plans to bring that army back here no matter what anybody had to say. She knew that becoming the goddess of death will make her invincible and powerful but also limit the time she has left to being a soul” Giselle said and they all took meaning in what she said.

“There will be no need going after her, because we all know she’s coming for us, so we have to be ready” Edgar said after being quiet for a while.

“And what if she’s aiming at another angle?” Brandon said.

“Whatever that angle might be, we still need to be prepared, we’ve been in peace for almost a year, prepare the men because the peace times have come to an end” Edgar said and turned to face Elaine, this was the first time that he is looking forward to a battle. It was different this time, they threatened the life of his dearest wife and this time it wouldn’t go unpunished.

The days that followed were filled with intense training and preparation. Edgar had several meetings with the generals of the three packs, while Elaine learned new skills that was important for the horning of her elemental powers. Elaine and Giselle goy to know each other and the two bonded, the two of them spent countless hours deciphering ancient texts and scrolls, searching for a way to counter Meredith's newfound power as the goddess of death

Brandon, too, was hard at work. He trained the men and recruited volunteer soldiers who were ready to fight the impending battle ahead. It was clear that Meredith posed a threat not just to the witches but to the entire supernatural world ad rumor had it that Skylar and his gather prepared too because they had no way to be sure that Meredith was still on their side.

“This is really not what I expected for my life” Brandon said as he stood on the balcony keeping guard of Elaine’s room that was just close by.

“What do you mean by that?” Brandon heard a voice respond and he jerked in surprise as he thought that he was the only one there.

“You talk to yourself now Brandon?” Giselle said as she walked closer to you as she smiled almost laughing from the way he reacted.

“I can talk to myself all I want, it’s justified because of the pressure I have been put under by my king” he replied with a weak smile on his face.

“Trust and loyalty, comes with a lot of burden and sacrifices, you are on of his most trusted. So to whom much love is given, much more is expected” she said and Brandon took her words in his heart, it was the truth, a truth that comes into reality with him and Edgar.

“How long have you both been friends for?” She said curiously.

“We have known each other since we were babies, I think I was five at the time and he was seven, he still played with me everyday when all his royalty friends told him to stop playing with an ordinary boy” Brandon said and a feeling of nostalgia rushed all over him.

“That’s a really long time, I wish I had friends while growing up, if would’ve been such an amazing thing to experience” Giselle said smiling brightly.

“Some things happen for a reason though” Brandon replied with a small smile curved on his lips.