Lady Yula sat on the ground beside the bed. The room was the most cleanest place she had ever been at and the most comfortable. But it was not home.
This was enemy grounds. The people her were not her own. She did not feel safe. And the unease had just increase since she'd seen the King leave the castle with the Miorisi and the Elder species in the cage.
She did approve of the treatment of the Elder female but she had no say in Demon politics. She could only play silent observer with an occasional remark but her remarks would be paid Def ears.
Nikolai Shizkov was a stubborn man. He would do anything he could to get what he wanted. But he was not evil. She did not sense any particularly dangerous evil aura from him. He did have a dangerous aura but it was not evil.
His wife was a whole different story. She was Lunia Vel Miorisi. The Centaurs had forever followed and worshipped the elves, the shining folk. And for them to deem one of their own a misfit? It meant that she truly was unacceptable.
Yula, ever the traditional one did not want the wrath of the elves upon the centaurs. She would never accept the alliance with Nikolai Shizkov with the Misfit by his side.
Her baby on the bed cooed. She stood up and bent to pick up her child.
Technically, it was a faun, or satyr. Found in the forest, sleeping peacefully under a tree, her baby Yule, was a blessing to her. She named him after herself. She cared for him like her own. She loved him like her own and took him every where she went. She did not trust anyone with her precious Yule.
The door to her room opened. A maid came in.
"Here is what you ordered for, Lady Yula. " The stoic face demon girl said, putting the covered tray down and left the room.
Yula walked towards the table and lifted the cover to reveal a bowl of milk which she specially ordered. She sniffed it and tasted some. Satisfied with the taste of it, she put it to her baby's tiny lips and cooed to him as he drank the milk.
After that she put him on her shoulder and rubbed his back.
Suddenly, she went into a coughing fit.
Her baby followed her soon enough. She felt wetness on her back, she felt wetness on her hand, the hand she covered her mouth with.
It came back red with blood.
Her eyes went to the empty bowl, at the end of the bowl was a black leaf. "No." She cried out and cradled her coughing baby.
His lips were red with blood, it spread over his chin... Over his soft cotton tunic. She lost consciousness as she watched her baby die....
--
I came back to my conscious mind with a start.
Nikolai was riding on his own degnite, beside me. I coughed abruptly, remembering the taste of blood.
Oh gods, a vision, about Lady Yula's death, I had to go back. I have to save her.
And the baby!
The satyr baby! Poison in the milk. I stopped my degnite. Sheba, bless her arachnid soul, thankfully stopped.
"What's wrong?" Nikolai asked, looking over in worry. He had not spoken since my little speech. All the soldiers in the clearing had hear it. Nikolai looked deep in though but was still worried about me.
I melted a little but then I remembered my current problem. We had just started riding at a slow pace and had not come very far. I still had time, thank god.
"Nikolai, I just had a vision! We need to go back quickly!" And that was all I said before turning my degnite and urging her to go fast.
Shouts rung out but Nikolai was at my side in a jiffy, his own, well muscled Degnite running close to mine.
"Who is it?"
"Lady Yula. A black leaf at the bottom of the milk she'd ordered for her baby."
"She has a baby?!"
"Adopted. It was a satyr. She tasted the milk before feeding him. They're both gonna die."
"Shit. If she dies on demon grounds they'll start a war on us. We already have one on our heads. We have to be quick."
The highest towers of the demon castle came into view. It's gargoyle statues gave me some hope. Maybe we could reach in time?
I urged my degnite on. "Come on, Sheba. Faster. I know you hate me but we've got to do this together." I whispered in her ear, bending low.
She neighed. And her head bent low.
"Watch out!" Nikolai shouted. His voice was lost in the wind as Sheba zipped through the trees.
I screamed in glee. My hair flew behind me, some leaves hit my face and got lost in the wind. Sheba, the arachnid horse was actually listening to me! It was kinda unbelievable after what happen yesterday.
Suddenly, we broke through the trees into the familiar opening. I looked up in time to see a shadowy figure on one of the balconies.
A man, in a black hooded cape. I barely managed to make out his face.
It was the scarred man from our wedding night. He smiled his hand going towards his chest. He disappeared in thin air as Nikolai burst through the clearing.
"Come on!" He said and dismounted. I did too, paying attention to my goal. Two guards came running towards us from the castle. We pushed through them, ignoring their questions.
"This way!" Nikolai shouted as he turned a corner into a corridor. I followed him, quickly overtaking him.
"Turn left."
I turned left. I saw the maid in front of me in another corridor. "It's her!"
"It'll get her! You get Yula." He said, overtaking me to apprehend the maid.
I stopped in front of the familiar looking door, I had seen it in my vision when the maid had come in. I pushed it open.
Yula standing there with her baby satyr in her arms held the bowl of milk in her hand, I saw her lift it to her lips.
Now. I thought as I ran towards her and jumped up to slap the bowl away from her mouth.
---
"I am forever in your debt, Lunia Vel Miorisi. "
Geez. For starters, you could try and stop calling me that name. I thought to myself as I stood beside Nikolai in front of Lady Yula.
Lady Yula's gang had collected like bees towards honey in the corridor outside. They were seven of them all together. There were four men and and three women, excluding Yula, so four men and four women.
The male centaurs were naked except for the bows strung on their backs and one of them wore a scarf around his neck. And the females all wore leather bras in varying colours.
The male with the scarf was holding the baby satyr, Yule who was peacefully sleeping.
"I refused your alliance because we have always been devotees of the shining folk. And they themselves named your wife a misfit. They wouldn't appreciate me joining your alliance with her at your side but come what may, your Queen today not only saved my life but also the life of my son. I will join your alliance, Nikolai Shizkov. My people will fight beside you."
Nikolai nodded at her. His hand suddenly slid through mine and squeezed. I looked at him. Gratitude shone in his eyes. He nodded at me, too.
I smiled and looked ahead, my chin up. "Thank you, Lady Yula. I did what any person would have. A child's life is precious and I know how it is to live without a mother, I wouldn't want that for anyone. " I said the last part softly. I did not want her to feel anything of any significance for me. I had to keep up my cold exterior.
"We shall continue on our journey to the North. It is important." Nikolai said. Yula bowed and we exited the room. The crowd outside parted for us. The centaurs all bowed to us. I had my chin up as we walked through. Nikolai's hand on my back and the various faces of the people surrounding us made me feel like the Queen I am.
----
"You never told me that Lady Yula refused to make an alliance with you because of me."
"It wasn't important. " We returned to our path towards the north. The other soldiers accompanying us had stopped and waited for us on Dimitri's orders.
"What happened?" He asked Nikolai as soon as we reached them, shooting a suspicious glance in my direction.
"Lunia had a vision of Lady Yula getting poisoned. She saved her life and we got that alliance."
A low cheer rose up from the warriors. Dimitri nodded in my direction and maneuvered his degnite back in Alexei's direction, who grinned at me, flashing me a thumbs up.
The cheer had woken up the Elder female. She only sat in her cage and made pathetic noises, clawing at the bars and reaching out her hand towards the warriors.
They ignored her but her state reminded me so much of myself that I couldn't look away.
"Don't think much of it. She was going to die anyway. The Soul Shredder will at least keep her safe, clothed and fed. She'll be better off with him."
"I don't think so. Nobody would be better off with him. He'll kill her."
"She was gonna die anyway, Lulu. Don't beat yourself up for her."
"How can I not? She's a living person, Nikolai. Not a possession to just give to someone else. And why would the Soul Shredder just change side for a girl he doesn't even know." I argued
"The clan is desperate. Their last female died during childbirth. She birthed a female but they can't rut a newborn, can they? The rate of female Elders is limited.
Every clan has three females. Right now in the whole world there are only nine clans. There are two in the United States. One here, Dinhae, which is in Russia. Two in India. Two more in Australia. One in Canada and the last one in Greece, in the Vampire relm, Sohue. Each clan has an Alpha. This Alpha is controlled by the Alpha of the werewolf pack that is the closest to the clan location. But they don't usually listen. Soul Shredder is one of the most significant right now Alphas in Elder species.
They listen to what he says. All of them. But the clans guard their females very carefully. He petitioned the clans for a spare female, but the problem is not only that they don't have one but they wont give even if they do, which they don't. "
"But you said, all clans have three females. One died so doesn't he have another two?" I asked, hoping to find some way to free the girl.
"Oh, he does. One is the oldest female Elder and the other is about as old as your father. They have crossed breeding age. They're useless to him. In fact most of the female elders are old and past breeding age. That is why they have only nine clans. In these nine clans, there are hardly as many as fifteen members, three females the rest all males. "
"That's horrible. They're even more endangered than tigers. What is the reason for this...endangering?"
"There are any stories...myths most of them but we as mythical creatures ourselves must make it a point to believe in myths. " Nikolai urged his degnite forward. I bit my lip.
I looked towards him.
Damn but I was curious.