The Wolf Queen (Book 2 of The Devil and the Huntsman)

Chapter 31

Meanwhile, in the castle of Midland, the war council was getting ready for the night to begin. Mephiles was sitting down on his favorite chair in the library, and he was staring at the fireplace next to his paintings. For a few seconds, Mephiles's mind was set on other things; one of them was on his own daughter. His daughter and wife were the only things in his life that he cared about more than his own generals. He sat down and thought about all the good times he used to have with them before the darkness overtook his soul.

Then, Lenora knocks on the door and enters the library while the war council is doing other things. She wanted nothing more than to be with her king during his reign in the kingdom of Midland. Lenora walked beside Mephiles and stood with him, and she looked at the books and paintings he had for himself. She could see a bit of the sorrow he was feeling while being by himself, yet there was nothing she could do to throw away his feelings. She knew he was more powerful than all the vampires; she understood the raw strength he had against King Harald.

"Mephiles, is there something you need?" Lenora asked.

"Not at the moment. Why do you ask?" He asked.

"Well... I've been hearing a lot about what some of your generals are up to. They say they have found a new enemy and that we should be warned," she answered.

"Whoever this person is, he will not survive by my hand. In the end, he will know that I have conquered worlds and that all of existence shall be mine."

"This is not a man, Mephiles. This is a lady. One who walks in the night and hunts down all who serve you. She is worthy of being reckoned with... worthy of being feared."

"You're a vampire, Lenora. You and your kind don't fear humans nor their schemes. What is this person's name?"

Of course, Lenora knew the name of the Wolf Queen, but she also knew that Lagertha is the daughter of Julius of Romania. Lagertha would not hesitate to defeat the king of Midland, but she needed to be strong enough to make that happen. Lenora started looking the other way so that Mephiles can figure out what she is trying to say. He had sympathy for the vampire, yet he understood her reasons for hating the humans. Then, Lenora looks back at the demon king and concluded that person is somebody he might know.

"Her name is Lagertha," Lenora said.

"Lagertha... my daughter? She's alive?" Mephiles asked. His eyes were opened, and he was getting ready to shed a few tears of joy and happiness.

"Mephiles, is something wrong?" Lenora asked. She reached out to him and placed her hand on his shoulder; all she could feel was the sorrow of a man who lost everything.

He turns around and has one tear shed down from his right eye, and the wolf inside him tries to wipe the stress away from him. Then, Lenora backs away from her king; it was the first time she ever saw Mephiles nearly break down. It was the first time he ever showed his greatest weakness to the last person who ever comforted him. Mephiles gets up from his chair and wipes the tear away from his face, yet there were more ready to fall from his eyes.

"Excuse me. I need to go," he said. Without hesitation, he rushes away from Lenora and exits out of the library in his grief.

He walks up the stairs and Lenora walks after him to know more about what he is thinking about. It may be because Lagertha did not die from that horrible night or because she stayed by her mother's grave for a very long time. He walked to his bedroom, wanting to know so much about how his daughter lived long enough to see Midland being overtaken by the demons. Thankfully, Lenora was not being followed by anyone else because it would be troublesome if the war council found out about who Mephiles really is. A fated day was already cast upon the night creatures and everyone who swore their allegiance to them.

Mephiles opens the door to his bedroom, and he walks over to the paintings of his family. When Mephiles was Julius, he would often take his wife and daughter to a place where they would be painted on portraits. What he has now is a recreation of that painting; it depicted them when they were older and what they looked like before those horrifying days of his life occurred. He placed his hand on the painting and had his eyes closed for a long time. Mephiles was not expecting anyone to come near him to cheer him up and show him love.

Then Lenora opens the door and walks towards Mephiles before something else happens. She was the only person in the castle who had permission to see her king wherever he went. Like Mephiles, she had full authority over every room she comes across because of how welcomed she became around the Demon Wolf. Then, Mephiles looks over and sees Lenora walking to him; he could see the troubled state that even she was in. He understood she was the only person in all of Midland who knew what it was like to suffer and live in agony.

"I don't know who I can trust here. I really don't. What is it they don't understand or try to understand about me?" Mephiles asked.

"They all have one thing in common. They despise humans and desire humans to be wiped from the earth. They want nothing more than to drink the blood of humans and wreak havoc on anyone," Lenora answered.

"I told them I don't want the humans dead. I never did. Before I became the king of this world, I ruled other worlds and everything was remade in my image... civilization still prospered and the humans still lived long and happy lives," he said.

"Fine. But this is a matter your generals won't be silent about. They wish to do things their own way."

"No. Without me, they are nothing. With me they have wisdom, glory, power. What more do they need? How can I rule the lands of the earth if no human on earth exists?"

As he spoke with the vampire, he held her by the shoulders and made her feel a bit of the trauma he experienced a year ago. He had every reason to rule over humanity, but he never sought to destroy them. If the world becomes his enemy, he would obviously fight like he always had. Mephiles spoke with Lenora because she was the only one in the castle who could keep a secret with everything.

"Mephiles, what are you planning to do, now that your daughter still lives?" Lenora asked.

"Keep her away from this castle. She must never know what kind of mortal I have become," he answered.

"But she has already killed a good number of your army. She has just as much blood on her hands as you did. They say her power increases with every demon she puts to the ground."

"Defeat her in combat, but do not kill her. I fear that an even bigger threat will rise. A potential army from her or her descendants will come if they hear of her death."

Lenora could tell that Mephiles is a troubled person who once suffered in a troubled life when the demons affected his life. His wife was taken from him and his daughter became exactly like him only a year after all that has happened. Mephiles takes Lenora by the hand and holds onto her to give her a promise that she must not break. He then places his other hand on her cheek to make the situation even more serious.

Then Mephiles said to her, "There comes a time when even my strength takes control of itself. You know this more than anything... you know I will do anything to keep you from harm's way. You are three times as loyal to me as my war council, though I believe they might turn on me one day. Which is why I believe it is you who must keep this promise. If my anger becomes more than a raging fire, if Lagertha comes here to bring death and destruction to every servant of this castle, I need you to keep her away from me. I need you to protect your king with everything in your power. Can you do that?"

"I will," she answered. Before she could say anything else, Mephiles wraps his arms around Lenora and gives her a hug.

She had every reason to be near her king and every opportunity to protect the kingdom of Midland with her life.