"Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" Valeria asked once the coachman bade the horse move.
"Why didn't you tell us there was a party?" Ariel retorted.
"Because I fear for you, and rightfully so considering that neither of Your Highnesses seem perturbed by the situation you're throwing yourselves in!" Valeria answered, a tinge of anger in her tone.
Mikael said, "We know precisely what we're doing, Val. We understand your concern and are grateful for it.."
"Then get down from the carriage and go home," Valeria replied, and for the first time in a long long while, a shiver went down her spine as she saw Mikael's blue eyes turn bright green.
"There are things about us that you don't know, my Lady Winchester, and it is due to those things that we have the confidence to head into this pathetic lion's den," he finished, his eyes returning to their true color afterwards.
Ariel whispered, "Control yourself, brother. Please." Taking control of the situation, he said, "Speaking of concern, don't you think it proper to have asked for our opinion on the matter before scratching us off your invitation list? Alexandra has been what she is for not even four days, and you're sending her to a place frequented by those older than even us!"
Alexandra interjected, "Enough, all of you. We're all on the same carriage and going to the same place, right? We can discuss this at another time, but right now I want to enjoy the feeling of being a noble."
Valeria looked at Ariel and said, "I'm sorry, Ariel. I had neglected to think it through." The prince nodded and smiled his forgiveness, then she turned to Mikael, whose eyes had turned green sometime during the conversation and had yet to turn back.
"Mikael?" she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, and his gaze bored deep into her eyes. Suddenly, she had the sensation of being drawn into his gaze, and the next thing she knew, she was standing in a familiar room.
She was in the Throne Room of the Silver Palace, and before her, Mikael sat, the Winter Crown on his head.
The crown was made from silver, circled by half snowflakes instead of spires like the other crowns of the time. The base of the crown was studded with four sapphire stones, and in the center was the engraving of a wolf's head, the selfsame sapphire embedded in its miniscule eyes.
It was cold, imperial, and beautiful in its wintery glory.
Valeria asked, "Where am I?"
Mikael responded, "I have drawn you into my mind." His gaze, tone and posture exuded regal authority, reminding the countess that the man before her had been King of Argent more than a century ago.
"Listen, Val," he said, rising from the throne. "You are my friend, and I adore you. I am glad at your desire to protect us. But friendship is about trust, is it not? I trust you with my life, enough so to seek refuge under your roof. With you I can sleep in peace knowing that I am safe. But it is quite apparent that you don't trust me or my brother. Not enough to know that we would never put ourselves in mortal danger, not when our eldest brother is somewhere out there, unprotected and waiting for us to free him. That is what grieves me "
Val inched closer to him and embraced the ancient King, then she told him, " I trust you, Mikael. More than you know. I'm sorry I let my worry get in the way of that."
The prince returned the embrace, then with a handsome smile said, "Then consider your sin pardoned."
They released each other, and Mikael cautioned her, "Close your eyes." Val complied, and the very next moment, she was back in the carriage.
The two smiled brightly at each other, then Valeria's eyes widened as she realized the true reason behind Mikael's pulling her into his consciousness.
His smile widened. 'Now she gets it.'
...
"What is the worst thing that could befall a man?". Lucas asked the cashier as he purchased a mug of coffee. Under normal circumstances he would have taken water, but after spending the night at the bottom of the River Athena, he'd decided he'd had enough of water for the time being.
The cashier answered, "I don't know, losing a loved one? That's the go to answer."
Lucas replied, "What's worse than losing your family, having them all turn against you because of something you've done?"
The man questioned, "Is that what happened to you,, by any chance?"
Lucas took the coffee and sipped, enjoying the feeling of warmth traveling to his gut. He said, "You're a sharp one." Taking another sip, he continued, "I did something unforgivable, and because of it my brothers left me, while the other is God knows where. I'm all alone here, surrounded by darkness on all sides, and those who stood by me for years are no longer with me."
The man said, "That sounds awful. Did you try to apologize?" Lucas smiled wryly. "I did. Two of the three forgave me, but punishment is punishment, so they left me. I can't leave the city. As for the third....I cannot even fathom what will happen when we meet."
"Don't worry. If he's family, your brother, for that matter, it'll blow over. Soon enough, you'll be as close as you were before."
Lucas smiled and thanked the man as he paid for the coffee.
"Trust me, that will never happen," he said under his breath as he walked away.
...
Silvermoon, Eastern Caldera
A truck pulled up to the large estate and parked near the closest house around.
Lucas got out of the truck and bored a little hole under the fuel tank, then took a lighter from the dashboard and called out, "Fish! I'm back!"
Before leaving to hide, he took the dead werewolf's body with him.
His figure blurred and stopped behind the house, and he crouched as he watched the werewolves come to the car.
He sighed in relief as only the men had answered the call. He had nothing against the women and children, who had done nothing to hurt him, and had they come as well, his plan would have been rendered void.
His vision focused on the trickle of diesel silently splattering on the ground. By then it was a steady stream, and Lucas flicked on the lighter, then threw it towards the car.
His aim struck true as the flames came into contact with the diesel, and he hid behind the house as the car exploded, throwing the eleven werewolves backwards as they were assaulted by shards of flying glass and metal.
Ten of them died instantly, but the eleventh had to be finished off personally by Lucas before he left for the Alpha's house, conspicuous by its size.
He kicked down the door and yelled, "Alan! Come outside and play!"
There was no response, so Lucas brought his foot down heavily on the porch floorboards and broke them, then picked two planks and moved back, then listened for heartbeats.
He picked up the sound of a rapidly beating heart upstairs...no, there were five. Four more were coming downstairs.
The first plank hurtled through the air and broke the upstairs window, narrowly missing the Alpha by a hair's breadth.
Alan's eyes turned bright yellow as he came to the broken window and called out, "You want to play, bastard?! Fine! Let's play!"
Lucas grinned and muttered, "Idiot."
Werewolves were ever prone to irrational decision-making when angered.
But not this wolf, Lucas soon realized as the nine werewolves came out, each holding a rifle.
Alan had a shotgun instead, and all nine firearms were pointed right at the prince.
"Still want to play, Asgeirsson?" Alpha Alan asked with a menacing smile. "Speaking of," he continued, "I thought we left you dead in the embrace of the river."
Lucas smiled and said, "I am a hard man to kill, Alpha. Wouldn't have lived for two centuries if I were not."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you even good with that toy?" he asked, and a bullet hit the ground right next to him.
He sighed. "I suppose you are. But you know that lead bullets are a minor nuisance at most. I've got a question: now that you've angered a two hundred year old vampire, how do you plan on saving everyone from my wrath?"
He had his left hand behind him the whole time, and it finally moved, throwing an object to Alan and his men.
As recognition hit them, they were overcome by rage, and all guns pointed at Lucas.
Who wasn't there.
Before any of them could register anything, three of them were dead, their necks twisted.
Lucas vanished again...
And another man fell.
He stood right where he had left and whistled to get the Alpha's attention.
He said, a thoughtful smile on his face, "Out of fifty-odd men, twenty eight have fallen by my hand. Imagine what would happen if I were to leave right now and hunt down the rest of them? Or better still, let's talk about your weakened state...if I were to, say, incite one of the other two Alphas to war against you, how would it end? I truly wonder. But if..."
Lucas walked up to the Alpha and continued, "if you surrender now, and swear not to interfere in my business in the city, then you and what remains of your wolf pack will live to see the next day. I will also send this way any rogue Omegas I happen to find, and they are quite the strong bunch, considering they move alone. What do you say, old chap?"
Alan looked beyond Lucas, where pandemonium reigned. The wives and lovers of the deceased wailed at the sight of death, while other members of the pack hurried to quench the flame and so attend better to the corpses.
Finally, his eyes stopped on Lucas, who smiled, already knowing the answer.
"I surrender and swear assent to all you have said," he said, the unwillingness clear as day on his face and in his tone.
Lucas patted his shoulder and said, "Don't fret, child. Allying yourself with an Asgeirsson will prove to be your greatest achievement."
He turned to leave and said in passing, "Ensure that the dead receive a fitting burial, and give to the living a similarly fitting explanation for the sudden turn of events. Cheerio!"
...
Alderman House, New Ashton
The carriage stopped at the stairs, and the coachman stepped out and opened the door for the quartet sitting inside.
The Royals, the Countess, and the Princess for the Day got out and looked up at the large oak double doors.
Ariel offered his hand to Valeria, and Mikael did likewise to Alexandra.
The guards at the door recognized the Lady Winchester, and welcomed her. "Good day, Lady Winchester."
One of the guards asked with a smile, his eyes on the guest list, "May I ask who your companions might be?"
Ariel smiled and tilted his head. "Surely we are the most famous of the nobility, are we not, brother?"
Mikael answered, "To think that our portraits hung in every building only a few years ago. The world has cast us aside quite efficiently."
Valeria laughed softly and replied to the guard, "These are their Royal Highnesses, the Prince Mikael and Ariel. And this is their cousin, the Princess Alexandra. I hope I could fit them in somehow?"
The guards paled and without another word let them in.
Once out of earshot, Ariel said, "And I would have thought our dress gave it away."
"Or they have yet to experience the joys of the television, we cannot be certain," Mikael replied.
They reached the Grand Hall, and upon receiving their names, the butler rang a bell, causing the room to go silent.
He announced, slight reverence in his voice, "Their Royal Highnesses, Princes Mikael and Ariel, the Princess Alexandra, and the Countess Valeria Winchester!"
The noblemen all straightened and assembled in two lines, bowing as the Royals passed.
Alexandra did her absolute best not to grin in mirth, for she was greatly enjoying the attention.
At the end of the procession, on the dais, a handsome middle aged man stood solitary, his face a picture of puzzlement before transforming into a bright smile.
"My Lady Winchester! This is quite the birthday present you have brought me," he said, stepping down from the dais and walking towards the four.
Valeria smiled back and replied, "Only the best for you, my Lord Blackwater."
The Earl Roland Blackwater beamed and bowed to the Royals, saying, "Your Highnesses, welcome. I had not expected your presence."
Mikael smiled and responded, "Do not worry, we had not been expecting to be here either. The Lady Winchester hid it from us till the very last moment."
Ariel looked around. "This is one of the largest gatherings of Lords and Ladies I have ever seen in this region," he commented.
Lord Blackwater chuckled and said, "The result of maintaining good relationships with my fellow gentry, lord."
He turned to Alexandra. "My lady, I have not had the honor of meeting you before, and I have been here a long time."
Beside him, the brothers exchanged worried glances and silently begged for the girl to act the part.
Alexandra replied with a smile, "I have not been here in years and returned only three days ago."
The Earl's eyes showed understanding. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last, then, my Princess."
He looked at the brothers and said, "If you may, my lords, my lady, please join me on the dais as I address the nobles."
They followed him and stood to his left.
Lord Blackwater spoke to everyone else.
"My fellow lords and ladies, I thank each of you for gracing my forty fifth birthday celebration with your presence. I certainly could not have enjoyed all this food alone," and the nobles laughed.
"I would also like," he continued, "to thank the Lady Winchester, the custodian of this city, for dragging the Royal Family to this event."
The nobles gave applause.
Mikael nudged his brother, whispering, "Four hundred and fifty," and Ariel whispered, "Just...pray for the best."
"I now ask Princess Alexandra to humor me with a dance," Lord Blackwater said, extending a hand.
"I hope your Lordships don't mind," he said, smiling at the brothers, his eyes glowing a bright green.