I had a nice long visit with Queen Lilliana. We had quite a few things in common. The fact that she thinks something needs to happen about the place of the Women in Leandre being one of them.
"And she wouldn't move until Alpha Lafras gave her permission even though it was obvious that she wanted to go to her son. Zanne, my sister, stepped forward without any permission and hugged the Alpha Female. The men didn't even dare make a move to object with my icy gaze on them." I told Queen Lilliana
"That's exactly what I mean! And the worse is that the women actually allow it! I'm embarrassed to say that even my son has trouble seeing women as his equal sometimes, but with a true love like you he will soon be put in his place" Queen Lilliana said with a proud look on her face.
There was that true love thing again. Ryan left after a half hour of us chatting his ears off and I decided to ask her about it.
"Why do you call me his true love?" I asked her unable to contain my curiosity any longer.
"Because that's what you are dear. The Zevron race has the ability to sense their soul mates approach before they actually meet. Mostly through dreams. He saw you in dreams long before he met you and that fire ball" she said with a chuckle. I could hardly believe that this women was the same women I met just an hour ago. Her eyes were shining brightly with joy.
It seemed like Ryan told his mom every little detail of his day. As I could figure out she doesn't leave the room at all. It explains why I haven't seen her around the castle even though I've been here a week. I remembered the first night we met. He said something about not being able to sleep because his nightmares became too vivid. Was I a nightmare? I wondered.
I continued chatting with Ryan's mother for a while before my stomach forced me to leave. "Thank you. For sitting here and just talking to me. Ryan tries his best but it's not the same as having a friend to talk to." She said as I stood up to leave.
"I'll be back tomorrow. I have a feeling that were going to become great friends Queen Lilliana" I said with a genuine smile.
"Please call me mom" she asked, her eyes begging for more than a different name, begging for me to truly become her daughter.
"Of course mom" I said softly before leaving her be. It seemed that she accepted me as a daughter instead of as a girl that her son kissed only twice.
I was lost. I had no idea how to get anywhere and my stomach was complaining loudly in protest. I concentrated on picking up Ryan's power. 'Ryan, Ryan where are you?' I thought to myself. 'In my room' I heard an answer in my head making me shriek and look around as to where the voice came from. 'What the hell was that?' I asked myself, but the same voice decided to answer. 'You're my true love, I have to be able to keep you safe. This is a Zavrons way of doing it.'
Once the initial shock wore of and I knew that I was not going crazy I thought it was actually pretty cool. ' oh my brave King, won't you please come and save your true love. A terrible fate has befallen her. She has been trapped in a maze with no way out and a terrible hunger has taken control of her every thought' I thought out to him with a small laugh
'Oh my true love, what a terrible thing indeed. But, never fear. Your brave King will save you from the hunger after he finds a way to get through the maze. Be strong my beloved. I'm on my way and no turn, left or right, will keep me from you' he replied as serious as possible
I decided to just sit there and wait for my brave King to come and save me. I was singing a song when I felt Ryan's power approach. I got up and ran in the direction I felt him. I ran and ran and finally I turned a corner to see him standing at the end looking for me. He spotted me and his face brightened. I started to run as fast as I could and jumped into his waiting arms. He spun me around in the air and when he finally put me down he said "Oh my true love, I was so worried that I would be too late to save you from the hunger that has befallen you. "
"My brave King" I replied "You have saved me. I would be eternally in your debt for the act of bravery you have shown in order to get to me, how will I ever be able to repay you?" with a little bow.
"Oh but my rescue mission is still not complete, fair maiden. The hunger is still after you. I have to save you by travelling to a place where only hungry people have dared to travel before!" he said seriously lifting his arm in the air for dramatic effect
"You don't mean..." I said in fake shock
"Oh yes, my lady, we are going to... the kitchen" he said in his most determined voice.
Before I knew what was going on he had me in his arms bridal style and was running as fast as possible down the corridor.
When he put me down in front of the dining room doors my hysterical laughter was replaced by a small chuckle. He opened the door and with a gallant bow waited for me to enter first. Still with a smile on my face I entered to see Zanne looking towards me in surprise. Ryan came in after me and held his arm for me to put my arm through. As soon as she saw Ryan a knowing smile came to her face.
Suddenly it hit me. She heard his thoughts when he thought about the dreams he had about me. She knew I was his true love. That's why she's been so focussed on getting me to talk to Ryan! As I thought this a guilty smile appeared on her face. I tried to give her a stern look of disapproval but a smile kept taking it's place.
Ryan pulled out a chair for me to sit and ordered me breakfast. A whole lot of it I reckon with the way the waiter is struggling trying to write everything down.
I turned to Zanne. "You knew! Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her
"It wasn't my place to do so Rey. He had to do it himself." She explained
I now realized why Ryan took me to his mother in the first place. He knew she would tell me.
"Why didn't you tell me yourself?" I asked him when he took his chair next to mine.
He rubbed his head nervously at the question "I didn't know how. And maybe I was a little afraid too." He said with a sigh
"What were you afraid of?" I asked him the same thing he asked me earlier.
"That you would reject me as your true love." He said looking at me with a little fear. He was still afraid that I would reject him. Would I? I looked into his eyes that shone brightly with love for me. No! Never.
To show him this I bent forward and pressed my lips to his in a soft kiss. 'Never' I thought to him
His whole face lit up as he heard my thoughts. He bend down to give me another peck but was interrupted when Zanne cleared her throat.
"Guys! Can you just hold it in when you're in front of me?" she asked pulling a face
"Like you held it in that night in the woods?" I asked sweetly, causing her to turn a deep shade of red.
Just then the food arrived and we changed the conversation. Somehow we ended up talking about Razzardus once again. It seemed like everyone was worried about it.
"But Zanne did have a point the other night. If I became as strong as you we will be able to defeat Razzardus won't we?" I asked him anxiously
"I don't know." Ryan replied with his hands in his hair. "If we could announce that the rightful queen of Zahee was back to take the throne then the people of Zahee will mostly stand with us but..." he continued
"Mostly? What do you mean mostly?" I asked confused. Why would anyone want a ruler that kept them as slaves?
"It's been 22 years. Some people have started to adjust to their new way of life, even started to become as evil as the copiers. Especially the warriors Razzardus recruited from the death games" he explained.
"Death games?" Zanne asked
"Yes. Well, actually he calls it the tournament of death. It's held once a month and anyone, from prisoner to citizen, can take part in it. It consists of a number of obstacles where everyone who chooses to do so, as well as those Razzardus elects, has to battle each other to the death." Ryan tried to explain
"But why would anyone want to take part in something so barbaric? To make a game of killing each other, that's just horrible." I said in shock
"The people that enter these games do so because they have no other choice. Prisoners do it to escape cells or the death row and citizens do it to escape slavery or to have a chance to provide for their families with the salaries paid to the warriors, those that win are eternally grateful towards Razzardus for giving them the chance to do that. They forget about the fact that it was because of Razzardus that they were trapped in those heinous situations to begin with. My point is that Razzardus won't lose his warriors even if you came forward as their rightful queen. But that's not what's bothering me" he continued with a frown
"Then what?" I asked
"Our army will still be stronger than theirs with everyone that will follow you even if all his warriors stays, but my fear is with Razzardus and his head guard." He said
"His head guard? Do you mean Bibby?" I asked him with a frown. Bibby would have been child's-play for someone as strong as Ryan. Why would he worry about him?
"Bibby? How do you know that little troll?" he asked surprised
"Didn't I tell you?" I asked him confused. He shook his head. I guess I must have fallen asleep before I could. "He attacked us once we entered through the portal and killed the copier guarding it. He was too strong for us to handle and I had to use my wings to escape. I suspect that he told Razzardus about a royal coming through the portal and he was back with a horde of copiers on Zanne's wedding day but he's dead now." I gave him a short version of the events
"You killed Bibby?" he said even more surprised than before
"Hey! There's no need to look so surprised. I'm not that weak you know." I said with a huff crossing my arms across my chest
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to, but killing Bibby after only having your powers for a couple of days is impressive to say the least. Bibby was one of your people and he turned to be one of Razzarduss's most trusted guards. He even wanted to kill you after he knew that you were his rightful queen, that's what I meant when I said that some of your people changed. But no, Bibby is the one Razzardus lets people believe is his head guard in order to keep his power level confidential." He said
"What do you mean?" I asked confused
"Well there's a lot of tales regarding Razzardus's true power, but one legend stands out above the rest, the one that I fear most. You see on the day our forefathers received their wings another promise, that is now seen as a threat, was made by the sun gods and moon goddesses. It was said that every royal would receive wings and extraordinary powers to go with it, powers that can grow and make you more than you are" He explained
"More than we are? What's that supposed to mean?" I asked confused. Man I hate riddles
"Nobody knows. It is believed that since Razzardus was King of the underworld, thus a royal, that he was able to unlock the ultimate power from the sun gods and moon goddesses, he was able to become something that we don't know or understand. I believe that he received this power but he didn't want anyone to realize this, especially me." He said with a scowl. I remember him mentioning something about that on the night we met.
"Why not? Won't people fear him even more knowing that he is the most powerful being alive?" Xander chipped in with a mouth full of food
"Yes, but if I thought that there was a chance that I could be able to defeat him then I would've started a war long ago and that is exactly what he wants. He wants me to start a war with no chance of defeating him. If I start a war he could take over the whole of Leandre without question, but if he started the war he will not be able to take my throne even if he kills me." He said
"Why not? He took over my parents' kingdom and they didn't start the war." I asked confused
"True but he didn't start the war either. Zorgan did. And your parents didn't have someone appointed to take over the throne. They wanted a tournament to be held after which the sun gods and moon goddesses can approve or reject the new King, this is a respected tradition amongst the races, but it left their Kingdom vulnerable after they were thrown into another dimension. I however have already appointed a King if I should die without an heir, if others wish to battle the King I chose for the position, then they will be able to do so after the King I have appointed made sure that no one outside of our Kingdom is a threat to my Kingdom." He explained
"So he chose Bibby to be his guard because his power pales in comparison with yours, but his true head guards power doesn't?" I asked starting to understand
"Exactly." He said nodding his head
"But wait. How do you know he has a guard that is more powerful? And why do you believe so strongly that he did in fact get these powers that were promised?" I asked
"I was in your palace only a handful of times after Razzardus took the thrown, but every time I was there I sensed something. I can't completely explain it but it was like a power trying to be hid from me. Because of that I sent one of my best guards to spy on them and I found out that an ogre was being kept locked up in his castle. But according to my guard he has never seen anything like the cage this ogre was in. Unfortunately that was all he could find out but that, as well as the fact that I can't sense Razzardus's power at all, was enough for me to know that Razzardus was hiding something from me. And I'm not willing to take the chance and storm in there leaving my people to the mercy of that thing" he said, pure hatred shining in his eyes.
"I understand. If I may be so bold who did you appoint to be the King if something would happen to you?" I asked curiously
"No one knows but I guess I should tell you if we're going to do this quest together. Actually the person I appointed in my will is Xander." He said with a small smile towards Xander
I was surprised to hear this, Xander seemed to be too as he choked on his food "Xander? Why?" I asked earning myself an elbow in the side from Zanne
"The werewolves consist of some of the strongest warriors on Frixon and Xander is well known and respected under my people. Other than that he has a good heart. He will protect my people until his last breath. I was worried about his temper at first but seeing him with his mate I know that they will do a fine job in leading Frixon." Ryan said clearly confident in his decision
Xander got up and gave Ryan a solid handshake " I won't let you down man" he said thankfully towards his friend
I knew he made the right choice. Xander and Zanne would both make wonderful leaders, but I got a pain in my heart every time he spoke so casually about his replacement.
I gave a sigh and got up from the table. I couldn't eat any more even if I tried. This whole situation was getting too much to handle. To think that Razzardus had a guard 5 times stronger than me made my blood froze. How was I supposed to defeat Razzardus if I wouldn't even be able to land a fire ball on his guard?