A Cruel Jest?

42

Terrance comes to the cabin shortly after Mori makes her escape. "Nocturne, there's something you should know, two things actually." Terrance doesn't really want to be the bearer of bad news but no one else that could give him the message knew where to find him.

"What is it Terrance," Nocturne replies still in too much pain to regain his feet. Terrance had long ago learned to mask any surprise he might feel around the king.

"They are both important, the first is about your babies and the second is about your brother." Terrance isn't sure which would be more paramount to Nocturne at this time. Only then does he realize that Mori and the other two vampires aren't in the cabin.

"What about the children Terrance?" Nocturne asks, this could affect Mori as well. Most likely will affect Mori as well.

"The exam we did while the Lady Mori slept this morning? Well it seems that the babies have grown even more quickly than we had assumed they would. The Lady Mori could give birth any day now." Terrance's words hit Nocturne like a sledge hammer. He could completely lose Mori any day. He has a  hard time keeping his face impassive.

"And what about my fucking brother?" Nocturne's voice turns vicious. Have they finally located that bastard after all this time?

"He's been spotted nearby Nocturne. I think he's found out about Mori and is trying to find her." Terrance is much more ready to run with this news. The enchantment around this valley is strong but someone must have told prince Vena the general location of the valley and he's now trying to break the enchantment.

"Someone I trust has betrayed me." Nocturne has money laid on who that is.

"Sire?" Terrance asks afraid of the vampire standing before him. Nocturne has become the dark and feared ruler of the vampire world.

"Bring me Jerus!" Nocturne barks out.

"I don't think I can do that without alerting your brother to the exact location of the valley. Especially if he is the traitor. There are others, I'll also bring them to a safe location where you can interrogate them." Terrance says soothingly. He didn't think Jerus has it in him to defy the king but after the come down that Lady Mori gave him perhaps he did.

But his money is on one of the two, Jekon or Karl, that lost estates to Mori. They would have found it difficult to lose to a mere human even if she is their queen.

"All those that know of this location, take them to the silver estate. I rarely go there, I had actually intended to gift it to Mori if she survives childbirth," Nocturne mumbles the last to himself.

"As you wish Nocturne." Terrance takes off and doesn't even think to ask Nocturne about his strange posture on the floor. He'd found that with Mori, Nocturne does a lot of strange things that it's better to not ask about.

Once Terrance leaves Nocturne becomes angry. So close, so fucking close to ending this all. Mori is now bait and he hates to leave her. The vampire body guards that are with Mori are good, but he's not sure they are even up to Mori's weight let alone his brother's. He doesn't dare put off the interrogation. He has to find out the traitor and how much Vena knows so he can protect her.

For once he hopes that Mori doesn't disobey him and remains with her guards.

"Lady Mori! Lady Mori! please come out!" The guards are terrified. If they can't find Mori then Nocturne will have their heads literally. They still can't believe at how easily she has disappeared from them.

Mori sits up high in her tree watching the hopeless guards look for her everywhere she isn't. She smiles at their misery. She's more than a little pissed at Nocturne at this moment. She rubs her chest over her heart. It hurts, oh how it hurts, but Mori doesn't give into pain. She didn't when she was growing up and had the hell beaten out of her and she's not going to now.

Mori feels a twinge in her back and she frowns. She hasn't wrenched her back that she knows of. At least she doesn't remember doing so and it didn't hurt while climbing the tree.

"Lady Mori, you need to come out now. Nocturne has to leave and he says that it isn't safe, his brother has been seen around here." Tweedledee says with wide eyes.

Mori guesses that they are afraid that they won't be good enough to survive going against Prince whatsisname, Vena, that's it. She's seen some of the nasty things Nocturne is more than capable of doing and has no doubt that Vena is even worse.

Mori with fear trailing in her blood starts to climb down. She is about half way when a second twinge hits her hard and makes her lose her grip on the tree. Fortunately for her Tweedledum is able to catch her. But not before she hits her head on some branches on her way down.

"Now what? Lady Mori needs help but neither Nocturne or Lord Terrance are responding to our call. We cannot leave her even if we knew where they had gone," Tweedledee says nervously pacing about the cabin. He looks at the overly white skin of the queen as she lays on her bed. She hasn't moved since they brought her back unconscious to the cabin.

"Nocturne made it clear that it is worth our lives to leave her alone. All we can do is keep trying to contact them," Tweedledum replies he'd already resigned himself to dying one way or the other this day, but he wasn't going to die because he betrays his king by leaving the queen's side.

Suddenly Mori wakes up screaming in pain making the two vampire's look at her in fear. Tweedledee has the bright idea of giving her blood and so he cuts his wrist open and offers it to her. Mori latches onto the blood offering like she's starving.

The wound closes and Mori looks at the vampire hungrily. Tweedledum does the same and offers his wrist to her. Again it's like she hasn't eaten for weeks or even months. They are both weak when she finishes with them but at least she's lucid again.

"Where is that asshole when I actually need him?" Mori hisses in anger. The two guards look at each other and then give her a look of innocence before shrugging.

Mori narrows her eyes in anger, "You two better be telling me the truth because if I find out you lied to me I'll kill you myself."

"Truly my queen, we don't know where the king or his councilor are. We were just told that his brother was spotted near here and that it was no longer safe for you to be out there."

Mori can't keep in the scream of pain that hits her. "I'm going to kill him for doing this to me, that bastard."

"My lady? What is wrong? What can we do to help?" They both ask fear evident in their eyes.

"The babies are coming. Listen, if that asshole prince Vena is nearby, once the babies are born you must take them to safety. Once they are here, they are of primary importance, do you understand?" Mori demands of the two guards.

"Yes, my queen," They both respond although they are sure that Nocturne would debate the truth of that statement. But the next king must be protected even above that of the life of the queen.