So, my writers block cleared enough to be able to write this chapter, thanks to a certain someone on here, you know who you are :)
My aim is to try my hardest to continue writing this book and to keep my regular updates going. I'm not sure how many chapters are left but I don't want it to be any more than 25 chapters maximum but you never know.
But, here is chapter 16 so I hope you enjoy it :D
Rae' Rae x
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Callie's POV
The Generals. Two people from every realm, appointed specifically by the King and Queen, who handle the issues within the kingdom. Most of the time, the Kings and Queens themselves will handle everything, however, in the case of war, they send the Generals to handle it for them. After what happened to my parents, it was informally decided that the Kings and Queens were not to fight in any war that wasn't directly connected to them, to avoid any injury or worse, death.
Seeing as the war with King Symmons is directly connected to the wolves, me and Corinne will be fighting on the frontline. Our kingdom doesn't like it and have tried to persuade us otherwise but it wouldn't be fair to allow the warriors to go into a war that they didn't start. It's cowardly and we weren't cowards.
Today was the day where we would be greeting the Generals from the mermaid kingdom as well as the witch and warlock kingdom. Quite frankly, Corinne didn't want to sit around and do nothing, waiting for the war to come, so she thought of an idea to gain some intel on the vampire kingdom. It was going to be risky but it was something we needed to do if we had any chance of winning this war and we couldn't pull it off without the help of the Generals.
Waiting outside the castle for the Generals arrival was nerve-wracking. Throughout my reign, I have never met the Generals. They tend to stay private and it wasn't often where their services were needed. I've seen the council more times than I've seen the Generals, which was saying a lot because the council hardly ever show themselves either, with the exception of the yearly check-up.
Unconsciously, I adjusted my crown as I saw two limos pull into the castle gates. I was nervous yes, but I couldn't let them know that. It would show weakness and if there was one thing I refused to be, it would be weak.
The limos came to a stop in front of the castle, allowing two of my guards to open the doors. From the first limo, a man and a woman stepped out. But the second one, It was wrong of me but I couldn't help look over the two women that stepped out. They were extremely beautiful. Not as beautiful as Corinne but beautiful nonetheless. I could appreciate a beautiful woman when I saw one, despite the fact that I was happily married.
Making my way down the steps, the Generals bowed to me. I gave them a single nod and waved my guards off,
"Generals," I started, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Although the circumstances aren't how I imagined it."
All four of them raised their heads. I took that opportunity to look over their attire. They were more or less wearing the same uniform, just in different colours. All Generals had the same uniform to match their royal colours. They also had their royal crest stitched into the top left side of the uniform, letting everyone know exactly what kingdom they were representing, as if the colours weren't enough to let everyone know.
The two Generals from the mermaid kingdom took a step forward first, "Your majesty, my name is Johan Latrivé and this is my wife Serena Lotano-Latrivé."
I nodded and then looked over at the two Generals from the witch and warlock kingdom, who also took a step forward,
"Your majesty, my name is Sasha Wolfram and this is my wife Tatum Wolfram."
Looking over at Tatum, I noticed that she seemed to be doing a scan of the area. To others, it looked like she was looking around but I've done that far too many to not notice it. I raised an eyebrow at her and Sasha elbowed her in the side lightly, making Tatum look directly at me,
"It's as safe as can be here." I reassured her. She nodded,
"Apologies, it's just we've been personally attacked far too many times for me not to analyse my surroundings first, especially when I have my wife with me."
I nodded in understanding. I was the same way when I was with Corinne and especially with Corey,
"Understandable. I am the same way." I replied,
"Will Queen Corinne be joining us? I noticed she is not with you." Tatum asked,
"She will, she is just attending to something else right now. She'll be with us shortly. If you'd like to follow me inside, we'll settle in the meeting room."
Everyone nodded and I turned on my heels, making my way back inside the castle with them following behind me.
It was extremely rare for any General to be walking through the castle, let alone four. This made everyone we passed in the castle look at us confused but they bowed to us nonetheless out of respect.
We walked into the meeting room and I sat down on one side of the table while the four Generals sat directly opposite me,
"Okay," I started, "We'll have to wait for Corinne to get here but until then I'd like to know a bit about you. I haven't been in power long enough to know about the Generals so this is new to me."
They smiled at me and Serena cleared her throat slightly before speaking, "Well, Johan was a General before I was. I just adopted the title after we discovered we were mates. We met at a royal gathering actually. I was a servant there and we happened to bump into each other that night. Fifteen years later, we are happily married with two children."
Johan turned to her, his eyes shining with love and I couldn't help but smile. They looked so good together and you could immediately tell the amount of love they had for each other. I looked over at Tatum and Sasha and gestured for them to tell me their story,
"Well, Tatum was also a General before I was. She was my hero. I was kidnapped by a warlock and held captive for three years. I didn't think I was ever going to get out but one day, Tatum came and saved me. She said that I was her admirer. I didn't believe it at first but the sparks didn't lie. We were and still are the first same-sex Generals in our realm. It didn't come without ridicule that's for sure but Tatum puts them in their place. She's my rock, has been for the two years we've been together."
I looked at them with admiration, "You remind me of Corinne and myself."
Just as I spoke Corinne's name, she walked into the room, "Who reminds you of us?" She asked. I unconsciously smiled at the sound of her voice,
"The Generals." I replied.
She looked past me and gave a small bow to the Generals, who bowed their heads in reply,
"It's a pleasure." She said,
"The pleasure is ours your majesty." Johan replied.
Corinne sat down in the chair next to me and tilted her head over at Tatum, "You're Tatum Wolfram." She stated, to which Tatum nodded in confirmation,
"I am."
I looked at Corinne confused, "You know her?" I asked. She shook her head slightly,
"Not personally but I've heard of her. She is the first female General ever to be appointed by any King or Queen. I read a lot of books. I always used to look up to her, even now."
Tatum smiled, "Well it's an honour but you are a Queen now, you no longer need to look up to me, you have achieved much as well."
Corinne smiled and nodded before clearing her throat and turning around, gesturing for Leon to step forward,
"Okay so let's get down to the reason as to why you're here." She started, allowing Leon to sit down next to her,
"Unfortunately, we have started a war with the vampires. He has made a proposal that is outright ridiculous and the consequence of not accepting it was war. We have called you here just to fill you in and because we specifically need the help from Tatum and Sasha."
Sasha raised an eyebrow and leaned forward slightly in her chair, "Help with what?"
"Leon here," She started, nodding towards him, "Was found guilty of breaking into the royal vault," Cue the gasps, "I have released him due to good behaviour but anyone who can break into the royal vault, can break into the vampire kingdom. In order to do that, we need your help to mask his scent so that he smells like a vampire. With him inside, we can gain inside intel and move one step ahead of King Symmons."
"I don't like it." Serena stated, "Do you understand how risky that is? Even if you do mask his scent. King Symmons has one of the highest security in the world, attempting to break in would be suicide."
"It would be suicide to sit and wait. For all we know, King Symmons could spring a surprise attack on us at any moment and we would be unaware. I'm not prepared to take that risk."
Serena sighed and shook her head. Johan rubbed her back in order to her calm down. Sasha played with her fingers, letting me know that she was nervous. Tatum placed her hand on top of Sasha's,
"Masking his scent shouldn't be a problem," Tatum stated, "Getting in will be. I don't think you realise the extremity of what you are trying to do."
"If we didn't, we wouldn't have invited you here." I reminded them.
We knew exactly what we were doing and we were never going to know if this would work or not if we didn't at least try. It was a big risk, I would admit it but it was a risk I was willing to take if it meant my kingdom would be safe.
"Excuse me," We all turned to to face Leon who ducked his head slightly at our gazes. The gaze of one of us was enough to make anyone cower but all six of us was a different story entirely,
"I know you think this is a bad idea," He continued, "But, as much as I regret it, I managed to get in and out of that royal vault without being detected. I only got caught because I felt guilty afterwards and pleaded exactly that. I know I'll be able to do this, you just have to give me the chance. Give me a chance to redeem myself, please."
The Generals turned to each other and silently communicated. Wolves were the only species who had a mind link so I knew they weren't mentally communicating with each other. However, the eyes tell everything and it wasn't hard to communicate with someone through them.
After a few tense minutes, the Generals turned back to face us again, "Okay, we'll help you but I personally want to ask a favour in return." I nodded and gestured for Tatum to continue, "Everyone knows that you have one of the most beautiful royal gardens in the world. I want to marry Sasha there."
I looked at her confused, "I thought you were already married."
She nodded, "We are. We want to renew our vows."
"I see. Of course you can have it there. In fact, I'll take care of it all if that helps. What you're doing to help us makes us in your debt. It wasn't our intention to call upon the service of a witch but here we are."
Tatum's eyes flashed to red for a split second and her face darkened. If I wasn't a Queen and hadn't come into contact with many species over my reign, her expression would've scared me, but I wasn't scared easily although I couldn't say the same for Leon or Corinne who ducked their heads slightly, Leon more so than Corinne,
"Did I say something wrong?" I enquired.
Sasha took Tatum's face in her hands and shook her head, letting Tatum know that whetever she was doing, it needed to stop.
Tatum nodded and closed her eyes briefly, before opening them towards us,
"Sorry, Tatum doesn't like being called a witch."
I furrowed my eyebrows confused, "But she is a witch is she not?"
Tatum narrowed her eyes at me, "I am not a witch. The word witch is degrading. Those humans have turned that word into something horrible to dress up as on Halloween. I am a Mage, not a witch."
I held my hands up in surrender, "Sorry, I just assumed you didn't mind being called a witch."
"Seriously? Again?" She asked incredulously, making me and the rest of the table laugh,
"I'm only playing with you. You are a Mage not a witch."
She nodded, "Exactly. It's frustrating because no one else has a problem with it. I don't see how. The word alone sounds horrible."
"Witch." I spoke, making her cross her arms,
"Are you going to keep saying that?" She asked, making me shrug,
"I haven't decided yet but for now I'll stop saying it." I smiled over at her and I saw the corner of her lips curve up slightly, letting me know that she wanted to smile but didn't want to show it.
"Okay, so are we all in favour of sending Leon in to gather intel?"
Everyone around the table nodded their heads. I stood and walked over to a drawer that had a map in it. There was a normal map, which was just a world map but then there was a mythical map which was identical to the normal one, with the exception of every realm being shown on it.
I took that one out and rolled it out on the table so everyone was able to see it,
"Here's our kingdom," I began, pointing to the wolf kingdom on the bottom of the map, "And here's the vampire kingdom." I pointed to the left of our kingdom. It looked close on the map but all of the realms were fairly far apart from each other,
"If Leon leaves today, he should roughly be able to get there in a couple days, maybe three at the latest, depending on what side he enters from."
Serena moved forward, "You are to the west of him so naturally, it's assumed that's where he'll come from. I do think he should come from any other direction but that one."
Everyone nodded in agreement and Johan picked up one of the red pins we keep on the table and placed it on the south side of the castle,
"I know first hand that security is the strongest of the left side. I don't know why but there are more guards there than anywhere else in or around the castle."
Sasha waved her hand over the map and both the south and west side of the castle disappeared from view, allowing us to physically see where we could enter from; the north or the east.
"The only problem will be getting in. His scent will be masked so once he's in, it should be okay from there."
I nodded in agreement with Corinne, "I know the kingdom faces to the north, meaning that will be the only side of the kingdom with a gate or at least some kind of entrance."
Tatum closed her eyes and raised her hand above the map. I didn't question it. She closed her hand like she was grabbing and rose it. Before our eyes, a 3D image of the vampire castle lifted out of the map. My eyes widened. I had never seen anything like this before and I've seen a lot of things during my reign.
She opened her hand to allow the image to stop rising. She then opened her eyes and ran her hand across the side of the image, manipulating it to spin. Grabbing two ends of the image, she spread her arms out, making it zoom in slightly,
"We can now manipulate it however we want, it's easier this way."
Sasha gave her a kiss on the cheek, making her blush slightly, "Well done my love."
I smirked at the embarrassment on Tatum's face. It was definitely a sight to see.
I spun the image around so that I could see the entrance. The image being shown was the last mental image that Tatum had of the castle. It seemed pretty recent but I wasn't too sure.
I zoomed into the image and noticed something. The wall surrounding the castle was made of brick, which usually meant it was impenatrable, however, I could see that in a certain section of the wall, a portion of the wall was a different colour.
I spun the image around so that it was facing the Generals, "You see the different coloured section? What is that?"
Johan zoomed into the image even more and his eyes widened in recognition, "It's a change in structure. A wall such as this one is centuries years old and the structure starts to wear eventually. This change in colour is fresh bricks. The problem with bricks now than centuries ago is that they are much weaker. This could be our entry point, we just need to figure out how to knock through that weak spot without being detected."
"There is a spell we could use." Tatum stated, making me perk up,
"Go on." I persisted.
"It's a time spell. It freezes time for everyone who's within a certain distance away from the person using the spell. It only lasts one minute though, which could be just enough time to get through that weak spot. I would have to gain permission from the King and Queen as it requires a certain levelled Mage to perform the spell."
"What level would they need to be?" I asked curiously. I didn't know much about the witch and warlock kingdom,
"Level eighty-five plus. The highest level you can be is one-hundred, which is the level of the King and Queen. I am level ninety-two. Sasha is level eighty-seven. We however, will not be able to assist you with that spell, it's forbidden for us because of our title."
I nodded in understanding, "Here's hoping the King and Queen allow us to use someone who can then."
"Only a few are above level eighty-five. So few that I could count how many using both hands. Finding them is easy, persuading them to do it is a different story entirely."
I ran both hands through my hair. This war was so stressful. I wanted to be confident that we would come out on top but I wasn't. I was putting my warriors lives in danger and I would never forgive myself for it.
Sighing, I leant back on the chair. I felt Corinne place her hand on my thigh, making me look over at her. She gave me a reassuring smile letting me know that everything was going to be okay. I really hoped so.
I leant forward in my chair again and made the 3D image zoom out again, "I've heard that King Symmons has upped his security system, broadening the perimeter slightly. Meaning that this area," I pointed to the forest area in front of the castle gates, "Will be trapped. Fact."
"And how do you know this exactly?" Serena asked,
"A couple weeks ago we sent one of my guards to give the King a letter. He was caught in a trap while in wolf form. He was made aware that if he came back on the King's territory again, there would be many more traps where that came from. I don't know whether that was an empty threat or not but I'm not about to take that chance."
Corinne turned the image slightly so we could see part of the east side and the north side, "You said the traps are only on the north side. We know the west and south is out of bounds but he can still come in from the east to avoid the traps and then make his way around to the north side, find the weak spot and then get in through there. It would be longer but safer."
"That would set us back at least a day or two but I think it would be for the best." I stated.
"If we're going to try and get in through that weak spot, it is impossible for Leon to go today. We still need to find a high level mage or warlock to help us and that won't be done by today. The latest time he'll be able to start his journey is in five days, the earliest being two. You need to think carefully about whether you still want to go through with this because once you say yes, there is no turning back."
Tatum was right. Was this really what we wanted to do? Was this the path we wanted to take? Breaking and entering was not a crime in our world but could be punishable nonetheless. We were going to risk Leon's life just to gather information and although he very much agrees with this, I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to him. I would never be able to look his family in the eye again knowing that I was the one to cause his demise. Breaking into the royal vault was hard I admit but breaking into King Symmons' castle would be even harder. Fifty times harder in fact. Was this really a good idea?
I turned to face Corinne and she gave me a reassuring smile before connecting our mind links together so she could mentally talk to me,
'Whatever you want to do. You know I will stick by you whatever it is we do.'
I looked over at Leon before looking over at everyone else at the table. We called them here today because me and Corinne didn't want to sit around and wait for the war to come to us but is this really what we want?
I stood up from my chair and walked out of the room. I just needed a few minutes to think without everyone's eyes on me. I needed to think this decision through properly.
I leant back against the wall and closed my eyes. Raising my hand to the locket Corinne gave me, I thought about what my parents would do. Would they want this?
As I thought that, I felt a small breeze pass over me. I opened my eyes and they widened at the sight in front of me. My parents.
"I-Mum? Dad? W-what, is this a dream?" I asked incredulously. They both nodded,
"It is. Only a short dream." My mum replied. Her voice was exactly how I remembered it. My eyes started to water at the sound of it, it's been so long since I heard it, even if this wasn't reality,
"Don't cry Princess." My dad said. The tears fell from my eyes. My dad always used to call me Princess. Although I was a Princess by title, he called me that all the time. I could no longer control the tears that were falling down my face,
"I miss you guys so much." I whispered.
"You have a beautiful family now Princess. We look down on you every day to make sure you're okay. Corinne is a perfect match for you and Corey is adorable. The Goddess chose a good family for you."
"I know daddy but it's not the same. I wish you could've met them."
My mum smiled, "We already have."
I looked at her shocked, "When?"
"In one of their dreams. We thought it was only polite to introduce ourselves to our daughter-in-law and grandson. Just because we are not physically with you, it doesn't mean we are not there. We sensed you needed our help and here we are."
I sighed, "I don't know what to do. I have started a war and I know this is not what you would've wanted for the kingdom."
She smiled and shook her head, "We are no longer there. What we want no longer applies Callie. Wars happen all the time, it was just unfortunate that it happened to you sooner than you hoped."
"What would you do in my position?" I asked. I needed some sort of guidance to help me make my decision and who better to ask than my own parents?
"We can't tell you that." My dad replied, "It is your kingdom now, this decision has to be down to you and Corinne. What I can tell you however is that no matter what decision you make, we will still be very proud of you. We have always been very proud of you and we're sorry we didn't tell you that more often."
My body shook as I started to cry again, hearing that from them made all the difference to me, "I love you guys."
They both smiled at me, "We love you too sweetheart, never forget that. Tell Corinne we love her as well, even if we've never physically met her and give our grandson a kiss from us."
I nodded, "I will. Will I get to see you again?"
"Of course." Dad said, "We'll know when you need us and we'll be there."
Smiling, I blew them a kiss. They caught it in their hands and blew one back to me. My eyes then closed unconsciously and I sucked in a deep breath before opening them again. I looked ahead of me and realised I was still leaning against the wall. I looked down at my watch to see that only five minutes had passed, it seemed a lot longer in the dream.
I touched my locket and smiled. I knew what to do now.
Running a hand through my hair, I adjusted my crown before taking in a few deep breaths and walking back into the meeting room.
Everyone's heads turned to face me and Corinne looked at me worriedly. I smiled at her and she nodded, letting me know that she understood I was okay,
"I thought about it and I know what we have to do." They all looked at me, waiting for me to continue,
"We are to go ahead with this. It's risky I know but we are not cowards and for us to sit around to do nothing after King Symmons hurt our son, sent men to stab me and allowed his son to make sexual gestures towards my wife is cowardly. It's about time we gave King Symmons a taste of his own medicine."
Everyone nodded and the Generals stood up from their chairs, "If that is what you want to do, we will stand by you and I am sure our Kings and Queens will stand by you as well."
Tatum placed her hand over her royal crest, along with the other Generals, "We will go back to our realm and find a higher level mage in the next three days' maximum. It has been an honour."
Me, Corinne and Leon stood. We gave them a single bow, except for Leon who bowed a lot longer out of respect,
"The honour has been ours." Corinne said, "I never thought I would meet one of my idols and this has been a meeting I will not forget."
Tatum smiled, "It's been a pleasure your majesty."
The Generals bowed to us and Tatum ran her hand over the map, allowing the 3D image to disappear. They then made their way out of the room and Leon bowed to me and Corinne before following behind them.
I sat down in the chair and ran my hand over my face. I felt a small breeze pass over me and I smiled. That let me know my parents were okay with what I just did and that made me happy.
I felt Corinne place her hand on my shoulder and I looked up at her, "Are you okay?" She asked.
I turned in my chair and put my arms around her waist, gently pulling her down onto my lap, allowing me to lean my head on her shoulder,
"I'm perfectly fine. Do you think I made the right choice?"
She nodded, "No matter what decision you made, I would have stood by it. However, I do agree with giving King Symmons a taste of his own medicine."
I hummed in agreement, placing a gentle kiss on her shoulder, "We'll get through this. Oh and by the way, my parents said hi."
She turned on my lap and looked down at me confused, "Did you dream about them because they came to me in a dream not long ago as well. It was weird."
I smiled, "Yeah I did, it was so weird. One minute I had my eyes closed and the next I opened my eyes and they were standing in front of me. It just put into perspective the fact that they're not physically here but they're watching over me. I feel happy knowing that they're proud of me and they very much love you."
She smiled and leant her head on my shoulder, "That's good to know. Do you think we'll get through this?"
"Of course we will. We are together."
She sighed, "Your parents were together as well and look what happened. We may have the strength but he has the numbers and when it comes to it, we will be evenly matched. For all we know, he could be planning nothing and we would've wasted our time gathering intel."
"That is true," I agreed, "However, we won't know if we don't try. The difference between us and my parents is that they waited for the war to come to them and they were eventually caught by surprise. They were prepared but not as much as they would've liked to be. We can't afford to make that same mistake."
She nodded, "Okay, no matter what we'll be together yes?"
I nodded, "We will."
"And no matter what we'll tell each other everything? I don't remember you telling me that Prince Hunter made sexual gestures towards me."
I rubbed the back of my neck, I forgot I didn't actually tell her about that, "It happened during the ball. I just didn't want it to ruin our night and I'm sorry."
She leant forward and leant her forehead against mine, "It's okay, it doesn't matter now, I just wanted to know why you didn't tell me. I just want this war to be over so we can get on with our lives."
"I know. Everything will turn out okay in the end, I promise."
She closed her eyes, "Don't make promises you can't keep." She whispered.
I gave her a peck on the lips, "We'll be fine, I promise."
Opening her eyes, she looked me directly in mine, allowing her to see that I was telling her truth. I would do everything in my power to make sure that we ended up the victors of this war and I would stay true to my promise.