It was quiet for a moment, but the Queen didn't look like she was affected by my threat.
"I do hope you try to take down Valiant and all the citizens belonging to the kingdom. It will mean the death of you." She commented back.
It was a real staredown between me and the Queen, who would break the staring contest until Victoria jumped in and ruined the moment.
"Zark! I spoke with Queen Thelia before we arrived. You need to answer a couple of questions, and you will get to see your brother after that."
I looked to the side in Veronica's direction.
"Fine! But I will also ask questions I do not understand."
"Fine!" Thelia responded.
"I will start first! Your name is Van Polan, Zark Van Polan, Correct?"
"Yes!"
"The file we have on you is that you left Paladin Woods at 13 years of age, right after you showed up with Berk Van Polan. Is this true?"
She was digging in areas she should not have even dug in. Why does she care if I left Paladin Woods suddenly? Nobody asked any questions during all the years I was gone.
"What are you trying to achieve with this question...THELIA?"
She leaned a little bit forward on the table, and it was apparent in her eyes that anger combined with grief. I looked to the side, not wanting to meet her eyes, and gave her an answer.
"I did not want to be involved in this environment. So I left with my brother to start a life outside of Paladin Woods."
"Why? What if your mother had come back with your sister?" She asked as I turned back to meet her gaze.
She pissed me off by involving the rest of my family with her questions.
"Listen, Thelia! I have not seen my mother since I was eleven. What made you dare to ask why I left two years later, when there were no clues, no information, and no leads on where my mother and sister had gone? They just disappeared. What do you expect me to do about nothing, because there was no information at all about where they disappeared, puff, gone!"
Thelia leaned back in the chair, and I felt Veronica's hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off instantly, and Thelia noticed this.
"Something is odd, Zark! I thought you worked for the Silver Coven organization?"
I looked at Victoria and laughed at Thelia's question. She thinks I work for Veronica, who the fuck wants to be owned by someone?
"Sorry, Thelia! The Van Polans do not work for anyone. We are freelancers, pay me and I will investigate whatever you want."
She glared at Victoria with a surprised look.
"Well! You caught me off guard there, Zark. If we continue now, can you tell us about Berk? How did you meet your brother, if I may ask?"
Hm, Thelia tries to gather information, probably about his powers. I can't tell them everything; I will expose myself.
"I met him when I walked through a portal."
"Ah, yes! The portal, strangely, only showed up when you arrived at the exact spot under a specific tree. How did you find it?"
Back again to my father.
"Well! The envelope..." I paused and turned to the side towards Victoria, who couldn't shut up about telling people about the Van Polan's family.
"My father left a letter to me, which I could only open when I turned 13. The letter had only coordinates and nothing else. I decided to follow where it would take me, and I ended up at a tree with a mark on it, which opened a portal when I faced the tree."
Thelia nodded without commenting on my explanation.
"Why did you enter the portal? From what Veronica has told me, it was a horrific environment you ended up in. All children would be scared of what they saw when they went through the portal."
I wanted to laugh at her explanation; in one way, she was right. I did not have time to be afraid like a pussy.
"Thelia! Imagine that your father disappears. Then your mother and sister disappear, what's left is a weak ass Witch who needs to learn her spells. The last thing your father left you is an envelope that you can not open. Did my bad childhood give me the time to be scared? No, I faced my problems right then and there."
It was quiet for a moment between us as we started the staring contest.
"It is my turn to ask a question, Queen. You are announcing yourself as the Queen of Valiant. What exactly is that?"
She gave a vague smile at me, like she was satisfied with the question, and answered back:
"We are here in Paladin Woods, an area isolated from the human world and not visible to the naked eye. Thanks to your father, who activated the device. What you should know, young Van Polan, is that between Earth and Hell. There is a world, a place that resembles Earth, but it is a world meant to protect Earth. It is positioned between Hell and Earth to ensure that an invasion will not succeed. To maintain peace, long ago, several kingdoms, each ruling or, more accurately, responsible for specific areas, existed. Our family adopted the Valiant belief of protecting everyone, and then there are other kingdoms ruled by other Valiant citizens. The world of Valiant changed. After the portal closed, a Wizard moved into the center. When Lucifer and his army tried to pass, he cast a spell with the help of the Mages, and the whole world changed. The Wizard closed off, isolating the whole of Valiant and dividing it into nine worlds." She paused for a bit before she continued, "If someone goes through Paladin Woods to Valiant, the first four worlds belong to the Valantian kingdom, the fifth world, which is in the center, is the large prison that holds the most dangerous soldiers that come from both sides. The other four worlds after that belong to Hell, so nobody from Valiant can pass through. The security is so high in the fifth world that it should be impossible for anyone even to enter the area. Both Hell and Valiant are ruling that one together to prevent any of the sides from favoring prisoners or letting others pass through. The Wizard put a spell on the guardians in each world. To pass through to the next world, you would need three crystals. Only merchants can pass without crystals, but all their merchandise goes through a vetting process, and you cannot force the one guarding each door leading to the other world to open the door. It is impossible to beat the guardians of each world. All of this means that if someone wants to pass, they need all three crystals, and they cannot be found in the market because they reside inside dangerous creatures scattered throughout Valiant. These creatures guard the crystal. If I may speak my mind, the Wizard wanted to end the war, but with soldiers from both sides moving freely, it hindered the war from coming to an end. That is why I think the Wizard closed each part of Valiant to end the war and invasion of Earth. Your father is one of the three warriors who bravely took the device to Earth to save civilians. He fought off both angels and demons to reach his goal. That is why the citizens of Paladin regard him as a hero. On the other hand, his son...I can not say he has upheld his father's heroic sacrifice to save others."
She was really pushing the buttons on this one, making me look like a useless son or a disgrace to everyone here in Paladin.
"Shall we continue? I am wondering when you meet Berk for the first time. According to the report, he was in prison. There is also a rumor that his eyes were glowing red when you found him. Is this true?
I remember that day clearly, but luckily, they are all wrong. Berk was going to get killed; he did have powers, but he was still weak. It was when we walked into a cave, and I stepped out for a moment, not realizing that a chest was hidden inside, out of sight from the world. It took Berk as hostage when I came back, forced me to chant some spell, and I got a black tattoo on my whole left arm. I got injured in the process, but Berk did not have any memory of the entire incident at all, and I never told anybody. That day in the cave, his eyes were glowing red, but it was something sinister inside him. I thought the best way was not to mention it ever. He did have puny flames coming out of his hands, but it was nothing more than that. I should have maybe followed up on it.
"No! The rumor is not correct. I have never seen my brother with any red glowing eyes. You should check your resources to see if they give correct information."
She stared down at my tattoo on my left arm.
"The markings look ancient, from a long time ago," Thelia commented.
I pulled both my arms under the table.
"One last question, young Van Polan! You saved your brother in the portal. What if your father left the coordinates for the purpose that you would end the life of your brother? How do you know the decision you took as a child was the correct one?"