章節 3: A coup

King Lyrus stood at his bedroom window, lost in thought as snowflakes gently fell outside, reminiscent of Auriana's ethereal hair. His mind wandered to their forbidden love, the weight of their responsibilities, and the laws that forbade their union.

"Your Majesty," Someone called.

"You saw everything, didn't you, Adrian?" He asked without turning to look at the man.

"Forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty,"

"Quite the contrary, Adrian, I would like to know your thoughts. Do you also believe it is impossible?" He turned to look at him, his expression was plain, making it difficult for the other man to decide whether or not it was right to speak his mind. "You can speak freely."

"Thank you. I believe she would make a worthy queen, but alas, our people would never accept a union between our kinds. The law cannot be broken and even if it was to be broken, our people wouldn't allowed themselves to be ruled by those they consider as their enemy," Adrian concluded.

"In order words, you are saying it is impossible,'" Lyrus concluded. This would be the same thing that he would have told someone else if not just get mad and sentenced them to death for thinking of bridging the treaty and breaking laws that have been with them for a hundred years. But now, he was the one in that position and he was talking about the same thing that would have been considered treason.

"Your Majesty, I…"

"It is alright, Adiran, just make sure no one else knows about this until it is time for them to know. And one more thing, I will leave the castle sometime soon, make the necessary arrangements," He instructed.

"Yes, Sire, may I know where to?" Adrian asked. Among all the vampires he was the closest to the king and the king's right hand, he was also respected by the people but just like everyone else, he also had his haters, people who would do anything to make him look bad and lose face. People who envied his position and wanted it for themselves. And people who wanted to see the King's downfall along with everyone close to him.

"A little visit to Edgar wouldn't hurt, it has been quite a long time. He even had a daughter that I didn't know about until today, it is worth visiting don't you think so?" Lyrus replied with quite a high spirit.

"I will make the necessary arrangements as soon as possible," Adrian replied, despite knowing that was just an excuse to go visit his mate in the name of a royal visit. "I will take my leave then, Sire."

"Mhm," Lyrus hummed and he left.

Left alone, his thoughts still wandered to the same person and suddenly he had the urge to go under the snow. Following his impulse, he walked outside and stood under the snow. His dark attire stood as a perfect contrast to the white snow but he didn't mind, black was his favorite color. He looked up at the sky, the moon still as bright as it was the moment she walked into his life. He shut his eyes and his senses picked on the sound every single drop of snow that fell to the ground. It was at this moment that he also picked up a voice at some distance from the castle, a familiar voice.

He followed the sound, his vampire senses guiding him to a clandestine meeting. A coup was being plotted, and the princess was the target. Lyrus's eyes narrowed, his mind racing with strategies to protect Auriana and maintain order in his kingdom.

Just as he had thought, a familiar man could be seen along with two others. He couldn't quite identify the other two because they were covered in robes with hoods over their heads and their voices weren't familiar.

Most of the conversation was heard while on his way there and all that they said after he arrived was just, "Do you understand that much at least?" The man asked with a very tired tone.

"Yes, we understand and we won't fail. The princess will be forced out of that fortress this time," a female voice from among the two robed figures replied and then they left in different directions.

He returned to the Palace as discreetly as he had left and returned to his bedroom. Perhaps he had been too silent and lenient that an official in his court had enough free time to plot a coup right under his nose.

***

In the shifter sector,

Auriana and Astrid walked through the portal and immediately ran behind a tree. Just as they had suspected, a group of warriors and royal guards had been sent to scout the area, searching for them.

"PRINCESS!!!"

"WHERE ARE YOU PRINCESS?"

"Are you here, Princess? Please answer us," could be heard from different angles of the forest.

"What should we do?" Astrid asked. This was something that they had never experienced before and those guards out there were Auriana's. The call was hers to make.

"We answer the call. That is All they want, right?" She rose and stepped out of their hiding place. "we are right here, I can't believe none of you could find us. Perhaps you all need a bit more training on seeking out your targets," she said and walked forward and Astrid followed behind her inwardly pitying the poor warriors for the punishment that they did not deserve.

"You know it's not their fault for not finding us right?" Astrid whispered but Auriana shrugged.

"What kind of warriors goes looking for someone and shouts as loudly as they are? What happened to their nose and ears? They could have used those and would have known that we have long been away from this place. The training is needed," she stated loudly. Enough for the warriors to hear her.

Astrid chuckled but quickly covered her mouth with her hand. While the warriors felt embarrassed after hearing her.

"But Princess, you were the one who told us never to sneak up on you again," her personal guard said in their defense but she glared at him.

"Never sneak up on me, that's what I said. I never said not to use your senses and abilities as a warrior. We are shifters, and our senses of smell, sight, and hearing should always be put to use, it is how we know whether there is danger around us or not. It is also how we hunt and come back successful," she stated and they bowed.

"We are sorry, Princess," they said in unison.

"That's more like it. Besides, not sneaking up on me was a long time ago, this time I want a challenge from you, so up your game," Auriana said and they all nodded, looking excited to hear her say that. "Alright, I am tired and would like some rest today."

"Let us lead you home, Princess," her guard said and they all started walking back to the castle.

"That was amazing," Astrid said and Auriana looked at her in confusion. "Your speech, it was amazing. You didn't even need to practice it," she added.

"You will be if you have been taught to lead these people since childhood," she joked as she gestured the warriors in front and behind them. They grumbled a bit but none took offense to her words.

"Yeah, I guess that is true, I have been taught how to be the perfect wife for as long as can remember. Everything I know about combat is from you and watching your instructors whenever we meet like this. My brothers get to all the work towards the kingdom," Astrid said in a rather sad tone. "Now that I am eighteen, the pressure to find a husband is very heavy on me, I wish I could just run away but I can't, what if I get taken by…" She couldn't complete her words as goosebumps crawled up her skin again, suddenly feeling cold.

"Maybe you will be married to a shifter, then you won't have to be the perfect wife they have groomed you to be, you can become a warrior too. You mustn't be the wife your husband wants you to be, you can always be the wife that you want to be, the mother that wants to be as well," Auriana said in an attempt to cheer her friend. "And if you must run away, you can come and stay with me, no one will harm you then."

"Thank you," Astrid said. It meant a lot that she would say that but she didn't want to be a burden to her. She would find a way to become independent on her own, that way, she wouldn't depend on anyone or be a burden to her friend. She was determined to forge her own path.