QUEEN CHRISELDA
"Isn't this amazing, son?" I clapped, impressed with the fight that just ended. But Allen didn't respond to my question.
That got me turning to his direction, just to find my son staring into the crowds all lost. His eyes hovered around them like he was searching for someone.
"Is he looking for that wolfless Omega?" I suspected, following my son's gaze to see if I was right. But there was no sign of that Evolet, and that made me happy.
To take my son's eyes away from the crowd, I said, placing my hand on his lap to gain his attention, "Fiona's fight was impressive. Why don't you give her a gift after the battle? I'm sure she'll love it."
"As you wish, mother," He muttered, making it look like I'm forcing that sweet girl on him.
I am not the one who told him to explore her like some museum. If that Wolfless Omega hadn't intervened during that Werecat's appearance, I'm sure my son wouldn't be acting like this.
Well, there's no need to worry about her. When this event is over, Allen will get married to Fiona and forget about that Evolet girl. It's all about time.
"Please, excuse me," Allen said, rising to his feet.
He left the arena to wherever it is he was heading to, leaving me behind with Thelma.
My Sorceress also had her eyes on Allen, as she gave out a hum, saying, "Do you want to cast a spell on him? It will keep his whole mind and focus on Fiona."
"No, I don't want that on my boy," I refused, swaying my head at her. "My son will surely come around. He just needs time."
"Hmm, as you wish my…" Thelma paused all of a sudden, looking… troubled.
I was about to ask what the problem was when her eyes flashed, with her gaze lifting up to the sky suddenly!
Her behavior startled me a bit. I felt my body shiver.
"Thelma?"
"Something… Something is wrong," She said, looking troubled.
"What is the problem? Tell me!" I demanded. Only for my eyes to see something red in the sky, fading away!
Wait… That's the barrier Thelma placed around Wolf Fall! Why is it vanishing?!
"What's that?!" I heard my people's voice. They also saw the barrier disappearing and began to wonder what was going on. That's a question I'd like to get an answer too as well.
"Thelma, what is wrong with the shield? What's going on?" I questioned, grabbing her hand. But she still kept her glowing eyes at the sky, looking lost.
This was beginning to petrify me. What is wrong with her?!
Suddenly, Thelma stormed off with seriousness, forcing me to go after her immediately. I held her hand quickly and turned her around, demanding to know what the problem was.
"Speak to me! What is wrong with the barrier? Why did it vanish?"
"My Queen," she said, staring into my eyes. "I felt something going through the shield. Something strong destroyed my shield."
"What?" I gasped out in shock, wondering who must have done this.
And the only person that came to mind was that dark blood Rogue. "That beast! He must have found a way to break the shield so you can't track him down! Bloody Wolf!" I groaned, stamping my fist against the wall.
But Thelma had this doubt all over her face, as she said, walking ahead, "I doubt that, my Queen. What I sensed felt so familiar and strong. We have to find out now."
I followed Thelma into her chamber and watched her mixing some things into her large pot, which was at the center of her room. The liquid unleashed steams, which became a cloud, showing us the areas of the forest where the barrier was situated.
But there was no sign of life around it.
"Nothing?" I uttered, getting restless.
Thelma didn't answer but kept on with her work, until the cloud vanished, giving us no result.
"There's no one there. I bet the culprit is still in that forest," she said, grabbing her cloak and placing it over her shoulder. "I'll head into the forest with the Gamma and the guards. That way I can get whoever it was that destroyed my shield. If it's that Dark blood…" She paused, tightening her fist. "I'll surely get him this time."
"I am coming with you, Thelma. I need to see this for myself," I decided, showing my desperation to this situation.
As the Queen, I have every right to be worried. That shield is the only thing alerting us of any danger coming into the pack. If we don't restore it back quickly, other creatures might learn of this and grab this opportunity to attack us.
"As you wish, my Queen," Thelma accepted, leading the way.
We got into the hall of my mansion and I began to call out to Gamma Dave, but there was no response.
"Where is he?! GAMMA!!" I roared out, but still no sign of him.
Only a few guards came around to find out what the problem was. Even Allen showed up, requesting to know what the matter was. "Why calling out to Dave?" he asked, standing close.
I didn't want Allen learning about the barrier. He will only use that to speak ill of Thelma, which will make me annoyed. Instead, I lied to him, "It's nothing serious, son. I just want him to come and attend to a little assignment."
"A little assignment? But your tone doesn't sound like it's a little thing," he pointed out.
With a smile, I patted him on the cheek and said, "You don't need to worry about that. Head back to the arena and watch the fight, Okay?"
Allen hummed, ready to leave when all of a sudden… "ALPHA!!" A guard screamed from outside the mansion, dashing inside with speed.
He lost his balance and fell to the ground, panting out heavily. "Alpha… My Queen…" he called amidst his breathe, lifting his head to look at us.
His behavior startled us.
"What is it?" Allen and I chorused, waiting to hear the report.
That's when the guard shared the most horrifying news to us. "There's trouble. The Gamma and four other guards were just found at the forest, brutally battered!"
"WHAT?!" Allen, Thelma, and I, exclaimed out in horror.
The other guards were shocked, as they began to mumble about this news.
"Gamma Dave? How?!" I questioned, stepping closer to the guard and dragging him by the ear. "Battered?! How did he end up in the forest?!"
"I don't know my Queen. It was a group of men who came over to report the situation. They said they saw something shooting into the sky light a ray of light."
"A ray of light?" My heart skittered at this information. I immediately turned to look at Thelma, who had the same expression as mine, all over her face.
"They said they went into the forest to see what caused it, only to find the Gamma and his men laying there half dead. They claimed it was a terrible sighting for them. It felt like a beast had trampled on them viciously," he shared, shaking.
My whole body froze just picturing the image in my head. It's almost like Beta Dean's case but worst. And only one beast is capable of such an attack.
"The Rogue," Allen took the word right out of my mouth, gazing in horror.
Quickly, he grabbed the guard out of my hold and asked for his Gamma's whereabouts. "Where is he now?!"
"The hospital. The men had rushed them there before coming over to pass the news. They left not too long."
"Come with me," Allen ordered, dashing out of the mansion with the guard to go and see Dave.
I was still horrified by the news. The ray of light… Is that the same energy Thelma felt? It must be!
With Allen gone, I decided that Thelma and I would head down to the forest and find any clue linking to this light the guard spoke of. Maybe it's our way of getting to that Rogue.
We left at once with a few guards, just in case we came in contact with any danger in the woods. When we arrived at the spot… "I can't feel a thing," Thelma said, sniffing and moving around that area.
The fallen trees and traces of blood showed that there was a serious battle that took place without our knowledge.
"This blood belongs to our Gamma," She identified, sniffing the spot where we found so many blood. "And three others."
That increased my worry, causing heat to circulate my body, despite the cold around us.
Thelma saw more blood stains but still failed to trace the main culprit.
"ARGH!!" She raged out, stamping her feet on the floor.
On seeing this, I immediately ordered the guards to search around for clues. "If you see anything, just let us know."
"Yes, Queen Chriselda," they obeyed, spreading out at once.
Alone with my sorceress, I said, "Calm yourself, Thelma. You can't give up yet."
"You know why I'm like this, my Queen! I'm supposed to be strong enough to fish out that animal, but no!" She yelled, grabbing her grey hair.
"I hate that Dark Blood so much! The worst creature I have ever met! Other beings can be felt or sensed, but that demon… You can't even tell where he's hiding! It's like he's invisible!" She groaned.
She lifted her eyes to the heavens and said, "Why didn't the Goddess prevent such an abomination from being created? He makes a whole powerful sorceress like me so weak!"
"Get a grip on yourself, Thelma. Yes, he's a Dark Blood. But the goddess who made his kind is the same one who made the IVYs. If the history says an Ivy's scent can still be picked, then surely that Dark Blood can be fished out as well. We just need to find a way."
"It sounds easy to say my Queen, but it's not," Thelma said, standing against my statement.
"Any creature that comes from Goddess Hecate is nothing but bad news. You have only heard about the history of the Ivys but never faced one before. I have seen one, and I pray I don't ever come across an Ivy again."
Now she's beginning to scare me. I know she's old and has seen so many things, but she shouldn't let the past trouble her. They are no longer in existence, yet she makes it sound like they are still roaming the earth.
"Forget about picking up their scent. Just pray you don't even feel their aura around, otherwise you'll be sorry."
"But such a creature shouldn't bother you. You're a sorceress."
"Yes, I am. But anything made by Goddess Hecate can foresee a sorcerer or sorceress's attacks in many ways. You can strike an Ivy but it will be difficult to take them down. They are smart, immune to poisons, and dangerous. But you see that Dark Blood? It's like you're going up against an invisible demon that can not be seen or trapped. They are the hardest to spot when you want to destroy them!" she shared, expressing her frustration.
"That barrier was one of the hardest spell I created in order to find that Rogue. That's why he didn't cross it for so many years, because he knows what it could do. And now that force is gone."
She walked up to one of the fallen tree and said while picking up a leaf, "I can't feel the energy of the being nor the Rogue. Unless…" She faced me, having an idea in mind.
"The hospital. Let's pay our Gamma a visit. I might have a solution," She said, walking pass me.
I had no choice but to follow her. After all, this matter concerns me the most.
Leaving the forest, we drove down to the hospital just in time to meet Allen, sitting in a corner all lost and shocked.
I even stood before my son asking about Dave, but he couldn't reply. He just stayed quiet, looking at the floor. His state ached my heart. It made me wonder how bad Dave's condition was.
When the doctor came around, we requested to see the Gamma. "My Queen, are you sure about that?" The doctor asked, looking bothered.
"Why asking me such question? I want to see my Gamma now!" I commanded, showing my power. And he had no choice but to take us to the room where Dave was kept.
On stepping into the room, I felt my stomach curl out of disgust, as I gazed at Dave's horrifying face!
His mouth was wide opened with the lower part dragged awfully to the right! It looked as if his jaw had detached from his face but was held by the tools the doctor used.
I hovered my eyes around his body and felt sick even more. His whole body was damaged, and his feet… "Goddess," I threw out that name nauseously, turning my eyes away.
Thelma was bold to stare at the disfigured body of Dave, as she carefully walked up to him with no fear.
I struggled to keep my eyes on him, asking my sorceress, "What now?"
"I need to make use of this room," She said, bringing out three bottles of potion from her pocket.
I didn't even know she had that on her.
"Shut both door and windows my Queen," She ordered, opening one of the potion and spreading in on the floor in form of a circle.
I did as she instructed and immediately shut them close. I turned over to see Thelma chanting out some words while spreading another bottle on the floor in the same shape. Then she took the third and poured it into Dave's mouth, reciting her incantations.
Once the potion went into Dave, his eyes came opened, all white with no pupils. He wasn't awake, just under Thelma's control.
She carefully rubbed her hand at the side of his head, reciting her spells. And as she did that, the circle on the ground began to create a ball of smoke.
"Now we'll see what happened from his eyes," Thelma said, resuming with her incantations.
I stared into the ball nervously, waiting to see something, but there was nothing.
"Why is it empty?" I asked Thelma, still staring into the ball.
That's when I heard her gasp out, saying, "His memories… His brain has been mashed up! It's completely empty!"
"What?" I voiced, stunned by what Thelma just said.
That means Dave's memories have been wiped out to nothing!
But how?!
"I know the Dark blood didn't do this. I need to go hard now," She said, resuming with her chants.
I watched with fear, wondering who this monster was.
That's when I saw something slowly appearing in the smoke, forming into a familiar face. And before I could dim my eyes to get a closer look, I was immediately terrified by the face of a dark scary silver eyes beast that appeared in the smoke, growling at me.
Despite the fear, I stared back at this image from Dave's head, filled with anger.
"Cadell. I can never forget your eyes." I tightened my fist, watching the image vanish swiftly.
How I wish we could get him, but that's impossible. He's a difficult being.
"I'm picking up something," I heard Thelma say, rubbing her hands on Dave's head and reciting her words with speed.
One thing I know is that if we can get this other person, then we can find Cadell. But that became a problem when I saw Thelma convulsing along with Dave!
"What's wrong?" I asked out of worry, drawing closer to Thelma.
"AHHH!" Dave yelled, terrifying me. Then Thelma screamed along, struggling to pull her hand off Dave's head.
"THELMA!" I shouted, dragging her off Dave with force.
She fell to the ground shaking, with her skin turning pale. I wanted to go on my knees and attend to her when something glowed from behind, brightening the room with purple lights.
The color alone brought fear to my heart. I could also see it in Thelma's eyes.
When I turned around to look at the ball, my eyes popped out in shock!
It's the spirit wolf!
I gazed at the white fur and purple eyes of this being, who stared back at me with rage.
It made my whole body shiver as I realized the horrible truth. "Cadell… He found her. She's with him!" I thundered, rising to my feet to gaze back at the creature I've been looking for.
With anger, I said, "For years I've been seeking and searching for you. Mark my words… I will find you… Violet."
Flashes of the pack's lovable Luna Violet filled my head, reminding me of how she ruled so many creatures powerfully before she met her doom.
The ball began to vanish along with the spirit wolf. Thelma quickly yelled, "Don't let it disappear. We need a piece of that image to track her."
Quickly, I reached for one of the empty bottles and managed to get just a tiny purple dust, sealing it at once.
It was tiny, still… It should do the trick.
"I'm coming for you, old friend."