IT WAS NOON the next day that another set of guards came to get them. From their uniform, Diana could tell they were of a higher ranking than the previous border guards.
She kept a strong yet painless grip on Rudolph's hand as they followed the guards along the dungeon. The guards led them out of the dungeon and into a large judgement hall.
Diana took note of the hall, taking note of all exit points should anything go wrong. She had heard of Vampire King Aiden and how ruthless he was.
And while he was not as unreasonable as the previous King, he was even more vicious.The judgement hall was long with numerous pillars.
It was a high roof styled house with tall windows on both sides. The King's council members sat on red vintage chairs lined up on five rows.
The guards led them to the King and tried to force them to kneel before Diana could take a look at the King.
Growling, Diana glared at the guards in defiance but did not attack. It was when they touch Rudolph that Diana shoved the guard off him and placed a scared Rudolph behind her.
She snarled at them with black eyes, daring them to come closer. Rudolph whimpered as the Vampires hissed while taking a fighting stance. He shivered at the aura the guards emitted.
Although Leprechauns loved hoarding treasures, they were sensitive and soft. Diana heard when his anxiety spiked and knew if he got even more scared, he would fall into a panic.
She growled lowly as the guards began advancing, warning them for the last time. No matter how strong she was, she knew the fight would damage her but she was willing to go through anything as long as Rudolph was safe.
Taking in a deep sigh, she had begun to mentally prepare her body to shift when she heard a deep voice yell, "Enough!"
Diana's eyes snapped to the King who had stood up and started walking down the small steps leading to the big throne. Diana was first greeted by bright silver eyes that looked almost unnatural.
The eyes held no emotions, just coldness. He stared at her with an ice-cold gaze that would have scared anybody else but not Diana.
She held his gaze with her own cold green eyes, unwilling to be the first to look away. The vampires and Rudolph watched as the vampire king had a staring contest with a shewolf.
Rudolph tugged Diana's black tank top, silently pleading her to look away as looking straight into the King's eyes was seen as a challenge. The stubborn shewolf refused to cast down her gaze.
Then something shocking happened. The King's lips tilted up slightly as his brows quirked up in amusement. The guards and council members couldn't control the look of shock that appeared and all of their faces.
As quickly as it came, it disappeared. The King's cold face returned.
"Why have you entered my kingdom, she-wolf?" The King asked in the same deep voice.
Diana cleared her throat. "My companion and I were being chased by Zombies and ran into your kingdom for safety."
"Do you realize the consequences of coming into my kingdom unannounced? Trespassing is a sin punishable by death."
Rudolph's grip on her shirt tightened and it took everything in her not to comfort him but she had to put his safety first.
"It was not my intention to trespass but at that moment, it was the last thing on my mind," she explained, staring blankly at the King.
She saw him briefly glance at Rudolph who was tucked safely before her and narrowed her gaze. She bit down the words at the tip of her tongue and pushed down the urge to snap at him for looking at Rudolph.
The King noticed the stern look on her face smirked darkly.
"Bring your companion before me," the king commanded, causing Rudolph to whimper.
"Your Highness." Diana almost choked on the title she called him and he noticed it, making his dark smirk widen. "I will be speaking for the two of us."
"He will explain his side before judgement is passed."
Diana's left eye twitched in annoyance. At that point, she would have done anything to wipe the smirk off his face but she kept her cool because of Rudolph.
"Like I said, your Highness, I will-"
"Come, boy," The King called, cutting off what she wanted to say.
Diana had almost lashed out when Rudolph let her shirt go and stepped out of her back. She grabbed his hand immediately.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," she said, her voice softening for the first time since she got there.
Rudolph let out a small smile. "It's fine, Ana, he just wants to talk to me."
She knew he was trying to reassure himself more than her and nodded, making him feel that it worked. He smiled shakily again and began moving to the King and she followed him but the king stopped her.
"Only the boy."
Diana frowned but stopped and said to Rudolph, "Come back to me if you get overwhelmed. Even a little bit, okay?"
Rudolph nodded again and continued walking until he stood in front of the king.
"What is your name, boy?" The king asked Rudolph who started trembling at the sound of his voice.
Diana had to dig her nails into her palms.to stop herself from going to him.
"Rudolph Gardner, your Highness," he muttered after taking a deep breath. His eyes never strayed from the ground.
"Who is she?" The king asked again, pointing to Diana who kept her piercing gaze on him.
Rudolph looked at Diana in horror.
"I asked you a question, boy."
Diana bit down on her lips. Hard.
"Her name is Ana, your Highness."
"Full name."
Rudolph didn't reply, not even when the king asked again. Her full name was something he promised never to utter. It was never to be said. Her full name would bring back the ghosts of her past and cause the beginning of another war.
The supernatural war.
Rudolph "DIANA ROSE GARD," Rudolph lied, causing the King to raise a brow but nodded in acceptance nonetheless. "Why are you on my land?" Rudolph explained everything that happened, making sure his account of the events matched Diana's. He mentally pictured Diana patting his head and bit back a smile. He loved making her proud. He was used to lying after doing it for two years. He never felt bad about it as he would do anything to keep Diana safe. He could never forget the details of Diana's fabricated story much less her name, not after she made him recite it twenty times. He shivered at the thought. That was the worst week of his life. The result was that he could now tell her fake story even in his sleep. Her real story was huge, bigger than anything he had heard in his life but he was grateful she told him. Even though he could die just for knowing it. "Show them two rooms on the second floor and have Lacey give them a change of clothes. They will join me for dinner
DIANA KNEW SOMETHING was off the moment she woke up. She could cut the tension in the palace with her claws. She listened for any suspicious sounds besides Rudolph's snoring. He slept soundly beside her with his small lips scrunched up in a tiny pout. She couldn't believe she let herself fall asleep, leaving them unprotected. Not like Rudolph would have let her go another day without sleeping. She couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him for what he did, knowing that he did it because he was worried. Besides, she felt a lot better than she did the day before. Standing to her feet, she stepped out of bed and sauntered to the window. From what she could see, it was already morning. Why then didn't the King's guards come to get them? Or maybe they didn't. No. She hadn't known the King for long, but she saw him as the
KING AIDEN STARED at the shewolf in front of him curiously. Until now, he was usually good at reading people. The shewolf in front of him gave nothing away. Other creatures would cower in his presence but not her. She glared at him. She protected her companion like her pup. It made him even more curious about her story. Why was she so cold? Why was she so close to a Leprechaun? Was she hiding? Her green eyes held many secrets which he would certainly uncover soon. "I have a proposition." The King's interest perked up. He wanted to know what the she-wolf had up her sleeves so he gestured for her to continue. "Three years ago, humans first released a breed of scientifically enhanced Zombies with higher intelligence. Since then, I have been monitoring their
DIANA HAD JUST about reached the limit of her tolerance. Although she hadn't spoken a word since she was led into the strategic planning room, she had better things to do than introduce herself. Diana worked on marking spots on the map while the soldiers stared at her in disgust. Some made snarky comments even while knowing she heard every word. Normally, she would have just ignored it but when a General snapped at Rudolph for correcting his map reading, Diana lost her calm. "Gentleman, do we have a problem here?" She asked calmly, but she was anything but calm. "Of course, we do, mutt!" A commander sneered. "You waltz in here like you own the place and don't even bother introducing yourself. What do we look like to you? Kids?" She put down the marker and walked to the front of the room. "First off, the name's Diana and not
SLEEP EVADED DIANA that night. She would be facing zombies again the next day and was the least excited about it, especially since she had lost a lot because of those gory creatures.Diana recalled the first time she saw the zombies… that was just the beginning of the end for her.FlashbackWhen most people wake up in the middle of the night screaming, it's because they've had a nightmare.An escapable work of fiction caused by the brain, trying in vain to interpret the random firing of neurons.Diana’s screams that night were not only caused by a dream but the crushing feeling of dread. A sign of the horrible events that were to come.As reality finally settled in, the shrill sounds of her screams faded in her throat, but her heart was still beating too quickly, and her lungs wouldn't fill as she tried to brea
THE NEXT DAY, the soldiers were out and ready and waiting for Diana at the arena. The King assigned three commanders to go with her.One was a commander of foot soldiers, the second was a commander of firearms and the third, of archery. Each commander had ten soldiers behind him making it a total of thirty soldiers.She was provided with six SUVs with the capacity of containing six soldiers each. Diana walked to the first SUV with Rudolph walking beside her. She had tried convincing him to stay back but it all fell on deaf ears.Shooting him a glare which he returned with a cheeky grin, she entered into the vehicle and felt Rudolph climbing up after her.To think she would be used to it by now but she wasn't. She never wanted him to be anywhere close to danger but he went wherever she did, even if it was dangerous.Going to this facility was extremely important for Diana an
THE HALLWAY WAS cleared in minutes as the vampire soldiers outside stormed into the building. The doctors in all the labs had need knocked out and floors swept.Diana already knew where the secret lab was so she went straight to it with Rudolph in tow. There was no need to input the security code as the security system was down so the duo walked straight through the door.Diana was almost blinded by the amount of white in the room. Everything was white except for the cages which contained snarling zombies.The lab was almost like other labs but Diana knew something was up, she just needed to find out what it was. She searched the lab for anyone that could tell her what 'Project XPX' was but found nothing out of the ordinary."Over here!" Rudolph called out and she rushed over to him.At the edge of the lab was a bigger cage that was separated with a middle panel
Diana THE KINGDOM WAS fuller than normal when they got back. Diana heard whispers about an attack but nothing too informing. Immediately, she gave the boy to Rudolph, who took him to their room to get cleaned and rested, then she went to the King, all bloodied and all. The information she had was one of urgency. She was told by one of the courtroom guards that the King was in a closed-door meeting with his officials. "It is important that the King hears what I have found out," she said calmly while pulling up her brown hair in a ponytail with the rubber band on her hand. She had earlier taken it out to be washed at the river and left it out to air dry. One thing she hated most was having dirty hair. "Miss, we can not let you in," the same guard told her, and she had the mind to knock him out and force her way when the door opened, and Richard walked out. "Let her in," Richard said simply before returning inside, and Diana followed him, and this time, she was not stopped.