章 19: Chaos in the Castle
And in the distance, carried on the ominous night winds, she could have sworn she heard the rumbling of a thousand war drums, slowly drawing nearer.
Madison shivered and pressed closer to Wald, seeking warmth and comfort. But even his solid presence couldn't banish the chill of dread that seeped into her bones.
"We should tell the others," she whispered. "If this Mad King is as terrible as you say, everyone needs to know. We have to prepare."
Wald's jaw clenched. "No. Not yet. If word gets out that the Unbound Scourge stirs, it could cause panic. Our enemies might see it as a chance to strike while we're vulnerable."
"But-"
"Enough," he growled, his voice a low rumble that made her skin tingle. "I will handle this. You focus on your tasks here in the castle."
Madison bit her lip, wanting to argue but sensing it would be futile. Wald was many things - passionate, domineering, even occasionally tender - but he was not one to change his mind easily.
As dawn broke, painting the sky in muted grays and pinks, Madison slipped from Wald's bed and dressed quickly. She had duties to attend to, and more importantly, she had a promise to keep.
The castle corridors were quiet at this hour, save for the occasional scurry of a servant or the distant clank of a guard's armor. Madison made her way down to the lower levels where the maids' quarters were located.
She found Lily just as the girl was emerging from her tiny room, yawning and rubbing sleep from her eyes. When she spotted Madison, her face lit up with a smile that could have brightened even the darkest dungeon.
"Maya! You came back!" Lily exclaimed, then immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, glancing around furtively. "Sorry, I mean... Good morning, miss."
Madison couldn't help but smile back. "It's alright, Lily. No one's around to hear. And I promised I'd come back, didn't I?"
They spent the morning working together, scrubbing floors and dusting shelves in a companionable silence broken only by Lily's occasional chatter. Madison found herself relaxing, the horrors of the night receding like a bad dream.
But peace never lasted long in the Majestic Castle.
As they were heading to the kitchens for the midday meal, a commotion erupted from the main hall. Shouts, the clash of steel, and the feral growls of werewolves in battle form echoed off the stone walls.
"What's happening?" Lily whispered, her eyes wide with fear.
Madison grabbed her hand. "Stay close," she ordered, already scanning for threats. They crept towards the sound, Madison's every sense straining.
The scene that greeted them in the main hall was one of pure chaos. A dozen or more intruders, all werewolves, were locked in vicious combat with the castle guards. But these weren't just any werewolves - they were lean, swift, and fought with a cunning that spoke of long experience.
"Assassins," Madison breathed, recognizing their tactics. She'd been one herself, after all.
One of the assassins spotted them and leaped, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust. Madison shoved Lily behind her and prepared to fight, regretting that she hadn't brought a weapon.
But before the assassin could reach them, a massive black shape barreled into him, slamming him into the wall with a sickening crunch. The shape resolved into Wald, his eyes glowing with fury, claws dripping red.
"Get her out of here!" he roared at Madison, nodding towards Lily.
Madison didn't hesitate. She grabbed Lily's arm and ran, dodging past fighting pairs and leaping bodies. They burst out into a side courtyard, gasping for breath.
"We have to hide," Madison panted. "Those weren't just any assassins. They were after something specific."
Lily nodded, tears streaking her face. "But where? They'll search everywhere!"
Madison's mind raced. Then she remembered - the archives. Dusty old rooms filled with forgotten ledgers and maps. No one would think to look there.
They made their way through lesser-used corridors, Madison's assassin training letting her move them silently past patrols. Finally, they reached the archives, a maze of shelves and stacks of parchment.
"Stay here," Madison whispered. "I'm going back to help."
"No!" Lily grabbed her arm. "You'll get killed!"
Madison smiled sadly. "I'm tougher than I look. And I... I can't let him fight alone."
She slipped back into the corridors, her senses alert. The sounds of battle had diminished, but that didn't mean it was over. She crept back towards the main hall, pausing at every turn.
A low groan caught her attention. She peered around a corner to see a wounded guard slumped against the wall, clutching a bloody gash in his side.
"Hey," she whispered, kneeling beside him. "Let me see."
He tried to wave her off, but she persisted, ripping a strip from her skirt to bind his wound. "Where's the prince?" she asked as she worked.
The guard coughed. "Throne room. They trapped him there. Some kind of... spell. He can't get out."
Madison's blood ran cold. She tightened the makeshift bandage and sprinted towards the throne room, all thoughts of stealth forgotten.
The doors were sealed, as the guard had said, shimmering with a sickly green light. Madison pounded on them, shouting Wald's name, but there was no response.
Desperate, she searched the nearby rooms. In one, she found a journal, its pages yellowed with age. The name "Darkon Verecarl" was etched on the cover - the Supreme Lycan's journal.
She flipped through it frantically, hoping for some secret
that might help. And there, in an entry dated centuries ago, she found it: a ritual for breaking any magical seal passed down through generations of Lycans.
Madison didn't hesitate. She cut her palm with a claw, smearing blood on the door in the intricate pattern described in the journal. "By the blood of Lycans, by the power of the moon, I command you to break!" she chanted.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the green light shattered like glass, and the doors swung open with a groan.
Inside, the throne room was a battlefield. Bodies of assassins and guards littered the floor. And in the center, surrounded by a ring of foes, stood Wald. His clothes were torn, his body streaked with blood, but his eyes still blazed with defiance.
"Well, well," sneered one of the assassins, a scarred brute with a
vicious grin. "Looks like the prince's pet has come to watch him die."
Wald's gaze snapped to Madison, a mix of fury and fear. "Get out!" he snarled. "This isn't your fight!"
But Madison had already made her choice. She snatched a sword from a fallen guard and leaped into the fray.
She was no warrior, not like Wald. But she was an assassin, a master of striking from the shadows. She danced between the attackers, blade flashing, each strike precise and deadly.
One assassin, quicker than the rest, slipped past her guard. His blade sliced a shallow cut across her arm. Madison hissed in pain but didn't falter. She spun, her sword finding a gap in his armor and plunging deep.
Wald, seeing her in danger, let out a roar that shook the very walls.
His form blurred, growing larger, more bestial. In seconds, he was a monstrous wolf, all fangs and claws and unstoppable fury.
The remaining assassins didn't stand a chance. Wald tore through them like a scythe through the wheat, his claws rending armor and flesh with equal ease. Madison watched in awe and a little fear, understanding now why he was considered the most dangerous of the Lycans.
When it was over, when the last assassin lay still in a pool of his own blood, Wald turned to Madison. His monstrous form shrank, fur receding, until he stood before her as a man again.
"You shouldn't have come," he growled, but there was no real anger in his voice. He reached out, tilting her chin up to look at him. "But I'm glad you did."
Madison leaned into his touch, her heart pounding. "You're hurt," she whispered, seeing the long gashes across his chest.
Wald shrugged. "They'll heal. But you..." His gaze fell to her arm,
where blood still seeped from her cut. Without a word, he lifted her
arm to his mouth and licked the wound. She felt a warm tingle as the cut closed under his ministrations.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice shaky. "For saving me. For healing me."
Wald's eyes softened. "Always," he rumbled. Then, more seriously, "But this... this was no random attack. Someone knew the castle, knew its defenses. We have a traitor in our midst."
Madison nodded grimly. "I know. And I think I know where to start
looking." She held up the journal. "This belonged to your father. It
might have answers."
As they left the blood-soaked throne room, seeking the relative safety of Wald's chambers, Madison's mind whirled. The attack, the journal, the looming threat of the Mad King - it was all coming together in a tapestry of danger and secrets.
And somewhere, far off but drawing ever closer, the rumble of war drums echoed through the night, a primal rhythm that promised only chaos and death.
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