HAPPY DEEPAVALI :D
May the festival of lights bring health, joy and prosperity to you :D:D
A VERY BIG THANK-YOU to everyone who has wished my pappa in the previous update :D It means a lot to me. I Love you all :D :-*
Presenting, Chapter 23 and it is dedicated to @Gayatri2406 :D
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OIL BATH:
One of my favourite rituals of Deepavali is the oil bath. Generally, baths tend to dry out our skin which is why oil baths are a must now and then as it helps to heal and enliven our skin.
Gingelly oil (sesame oil) is best for oil baths. Gently rub the oil all over your body. Use light pressures where the skin is thin and deeper pressure elsewhere. The massage part before the actual bath is very important as it tones the muscles, stimulates circulation and removes dead skin layers. Once you applied the oil all over your body, wait for a few minutes to let the oil soak and penetrate the deep tissues.
Step into a warm bath. To cleanse the oil gram flour is a good cleanser as it exfoliates our skin by removing all the dirt, dust and dead skin layers leaving the skin healthy and hydrated. Oil baths once or twice a week makes you feel fresh and relaxed and diminishes the problem of dry, sensitive skin and blackhead and acne problems.
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"She's a jellyfisher: You have a conversation with her that seems all nice and friendly, then you suddenly feel like you've been stung and you don't know where it came from."
― Helen Fielding,
___
CHAPTER 23 - FRENEMIES
Waving at the little fairies who were practising archery, Queen Rhonwen flew across the length of the castle, forest green wings open and horizontal in the air.
When she saw the open courtroom of the palace, she began descending after dismissing her bodyguards for the day. The Sylvan clan courtroom was located right beside the palace, in open ground, the floor of which was covered in white, pristine marble.
Ronnie's wings folded back into her back and her heels made a click-clack sound on the marble floor as she walked across the length of the courtroom, towards her throne seat. Seven sets of thick stone columns stood proudly on either side of the aisle.
The only wall in the room was behind the throne seat and it was built solely to support the stairs. The queen was supposed to step down those stairs and walk towards her throne seat, but Ronnie, who had always been a rebel, followed her own set of rules.
Climbing up the five stairs that led to the platform, Ronnie walked past her throne seat and stood behind it to stare at the only wall in the room, adorned with a painting that was for years covered in yards of fine gold silk.
Her palms itched to pull the strings and let loose the silk curtain to reveal the masterpiece hid behind it.
"Ochi" A voice behind her gasped and Ronnie clenched her fists.
She turned her head to look at her aunt, Ianthe with a nervous smile which vanished when she saw the tear-stained face of the former queen.
"Please don't do that" Ianthe said shakily in Greek. "I understand you are the queen now and I know, I have no right to ask you of this, but please... until I tell everything to Cyane, please don't do anything that is going to bring bad memories to her."
It pained Ronnie to see her aunt so broken like this because, in her eyes, her aunt has always been a strong, immovable force of nature. But now, she looked older than her age.
"I understand," Ronnie said and walked a few steps away from the painting.
Ronnie deliberately did not sit on the throne seat because it would be giving a stark reminded to her aunt that Cyane was not the queen. Ianthe managed to hide it well, but Ronnie knew that her aunt was unhappy with the fact that she became the queen instead of Cyane.
Where Cyane, who had been training all her life had failed, Ronnie had succeeded through twisted events of fate.
Everyone in the family secretly knew Ianthe was unhappy with that fact because she had never really warmed up to Ronnie. Had always preferred and loved Cyane more simply because Cyane was her own and Ronnie wasn't. Ronnie was her niece, while Cyane was Ianthe's grand-daughter, born to her only child.
There was an awkward silence and Ronnie lowered her head to the floor, waiting for her aunt to say something because she knew if her aunt had followed her all the way here, then she had to say something personal.
But neither of them dared to break the silence because it had always been like this. Growing up in the palace, since she was a child, she had noted that the former queen had always frowned at her actions. Ronnie's mom, Theola, and her aunt had an age difference of nearly seventeen years and they had never formed a close sister bond due to their age gap. The fact that Theola was a rebellious child and Ianthe a silent, orderly one hadn't helped matters either.
After Queen Varya passed away, it was Ianthe who had looked after little sister like a mother; and she had been very disappointed when much against her wishes, Theola had descended the mountains and gone to university for further studies. In college, Theola fell in love with Ronnie's father and the fact that he had not been a fairy had not helped matters.
Theola and Ianthe's relationship became further strained when Theola went on to live with her husband, in Scevola. When that marriage did not work out, Theola had returned home after gaining full custody of her daughter— Rhonwen.
However, by then the relationship had gotten worse as Ianthe blamed Theola for her corrupt influence on her daughter Eleni, who too went to college for further studies and later fell in love with a wolf, for whom she gave up the throne.
It came as a shock to everyone when despite the ongoing family feud, Theola had chosen Queen Ianthe as her daughter's guardian in her will.
From the start, Ronnie had noted that her aunt had never been happy with her and had considered her to be a threat to Cyane's title. Even with the age-gap of just two years and living under the same roof, Ronnie and Cyane had never formed a close bond. The fault of which, Ronnie acknowledged lay upon her because she had repeatedly ignored Cyane's attempts at friendship and had purposefully pushed Cyane away so that her aunt wouldn't blame her for being a bad influence on Cyane.
Ronnie had been aware that Cyane had no real friends in the kingdom and had always been lonely but had repeatedly overlooked the fact, believing she was happy and busy training to become a queen.
She had always put her aunt over Cyane and it was only after Morsimus had urged her to do otherwise, did she realize that she too was to be blamed for Cyane running away from the kingdom.
If Cyane had a friend, if she had trusted someone in her family, maybe she would have shared before the wedding how unhappy she had been and how Gian wasn't the right one for her.
Ronnie knew she was a black sheep in her family, just like her mother and she too liked to bend the rules according to her will. However, to please the queen, she had followed the rules specially done to over-protect Cyane and now, she deeply regretted it.
"Dion told me that Ari and you were planning to go to Alfonsi clan" her aunt began hesitantly.
"Yes. We are."
"When?"
"Gian has declined our appointment thrice so far. His secretary has informed us that he has been doing some research study and he is busy with that" Ronnie shared.
"I see" Ianthe whispered looking away.
"It is kind of suspicious though," Ronnie said immediately and Ianthe looked up, purple eyes inquisitive. "They are repeatedly declining our calls and I am getting suspicious of him."
"You think... you think Cyane has gone there? To Alfonsi clan?" Ianthe asked hopefully.
"No. I don't know Theía" Ronnie said sincerely. "But Gian is avoiding us and I believe he knows something."
"Then do something. Send someone spies there and let them find out" Ianthe said taking a couple of steps ahead, in urgency.
"Our spies there have informed me that Gian had the royal library sealed down and the only people to enter there are him and his secretary. He has locked himself there for the last two weeks."
"Why seal down a library?"
"I don't know. The only two people who do, have surely not shared it with others and so our spies are unable to find out anything."
"Do you suppose they have kept Cyane there? In the library?" Ianthe asked, her eyes wide in panic.
"No" Ronnie frowned. Gian wasn't that bad and she knew that for a fact. He was a weak man but he wasn't vile.
"Then where is my Cyane? Where did she go?" Ianthe cried and Ronnie gulped when she saw tears staining down her aunt's cheeks.
The last time she had seen her aunt crying this much was on her mother's funeral and it was at that moment Ronnie had realized that despite all her faults, Ianthe had truly loved her little sister and had been miserable for weeks after Theola's untimely death.
Cyane's grandpa Ricky was looking for her all over Scevola and he had assigned someone to look for her in Aelius. So far, they have not found a single clue that she is living there and it meant that that the search has to go beyond the island of Clara Collis and the three kingdoms within it.
Stepping forward, Ronnie closed the distance between them but was still very hesitant to touch her aunt's hand, feeling such a gesture would be rejected.
"We will find her, Theía" she promised her aunt.
"Then do it. Please, I am begging you" Ianthe cupped Ronnie's hands with her own and then looked at her with pleading purple eyes, swimming in a pool of tears. Ronnie swallowed at a loss of words. "You are the queen now, and I am begging my queen to please find my grand-daughter and bring her home."
"Theía" Ronnie whispered in an aghast tone as her heart hammered in her chest. It was also the first time her aunt was asking something of her and she knew, she would do everything in her power to find Cyane and bring her back.
"I will find the Cyane. If I have to go there myself, then I will do it too" Ronnie swore. Seeing the firm determination in her eyes, Ianthe nodded and then, hastily dropping Ronnie's hands, she took a couple of steps back and turned away, so that she could compose herself.
Knowing that her aunt hated showing weakness and was too prideful to say anything further, Ronnie bowed her head in respect and then flew away from there to her wing of the castle.
Once she set her foot on the wide balcony in front of her bedroom, she retracted her wings and strode towards her room. All she needed was some privacy to carefully plan things from now on.
The clip-clop sounds of a horse's hooves made her stop in her tracks and she huffed.
Of course, privacy wasn't granted to you when you have an ancient spirit always around you.
She turned her head to look at the pure soul animal of her clan and Morsimus neighed loudly. Smiling, she closed the distance between them and gently brushed his hair. As a kid, she had a habit of brushing and braiding his blonde locks.
"I have promised Theía to get Cyane back home" Ronnie whispered in Greek, slowly moving around him towards the stone balustrade.
"Then it's a promise you must keep." His voice was calm and soothing in her head.
"I know you are not going to tell me where Cyane is but can you tell me where do I start looking for her?" Ronnie questioned sitting on the stone balustrade and staring at the palace fountains.
"You already have the answer to that question my dear" Morsimus intoned from behind her and one corner of Ronnie's lips tilted upwards.
"Alfonsi Clan" Ronnie whispered, pleased to find out that her guess was correct. Gian did know something. "But he has been refusing my request for a meeting."
And she couldn't barge in there either because things were strained between their respective clans. When Ianthe had found out of the affair between Gian and his secretary, she had humiliated them both in the wedding hall and had publicly broken ties with the Alfonsi clan.
"You are the queen now. Let it be known to them that you are extending a peaceful hand. They'll be eager to take it" Morsimus advised.
"I have to go there?"
"Yes. You have to go there and see things for yourself. You cannot send others on your behalf" Morsimus added carefully and Ronnie turned her head to look at him.
"Why not?" she demanded.
"All that glitters is not gold my dear" Morsimus stated and Ronnie sucked in a breath because it was his way of saying that she couldn't trust everybody. "Besides, Gian is scared of you."
Scoffing, Ronnie turned back to her view before muttering, "Everyone's scared of me."
She did not need to turn her head to see that Morsimus had vanished again. Her fingers tapped against the top railing of the balustrade as she looked sightlessly at her view.
They called her the black sheep of her family and now, she would prove them right. She would extend a polite, friendship hand to the Alfonsi clan but she would also make it clear to them that declining that hand was not an option.
•••
"I am sorry sir. We have got nothing on Roderick Swafford or Cyane. There is no one by that name living here" the clerk in the Sub Registrar's said shaking her head and Lysander furrowed his brows.
He stared at the computer screen and sure enough, there were no results for Roderick Swafford in the computer files of the Sub Registrar's office.
Placing his hands on his hips, he turned away and scratched his head. Roderick was living here in hiding and sure enough, he must have changed his name. But what could it be?
Lysander had searched for Cyane's father's name in the file too but he came up with nothing.
"Uh... sir" the clerk called him nervously and Lysander turned. "My payment?"
Gritting his teeth, Lysander pulled his wallet from his back pocket and counted the bills, but before paying he paused and looked at the clerk. The woman needed money and he needed to find Cyane's grandfather.
"Can I get a copy of this file?" Lysander questioned.
"Well, it's illegal."
"What's the price?" Lysander prompted.
Blushing, the clerk readjusted her glasses and then whispered, "The file of this magnitude is loaded in our core processor and it's not something that can be cut and pasted. To get in, you either need to have the necessary codes or you hack it."
"Give me the codes then" Lysander growled.
"Sir, I don't think you understand." The clerk shook her head in sympathy before saying, "It can only be logged in through our office systems because we have the necessary software required to open it. Your laptop will not have it. That kind of software is specifically developed for this particular reason and you know it's developed by Ash and Co. They are known for making water-tight software and someone really smart can only get into their system. You need to hire the best hacker for it and you need to break into our office."
Gritting his teeth, Lysander pulled out the bills and placed the money on the table with a snap. He did not want to hear about Ash or his achievements. However, he was mildly curious too because why would Ash develop a software that would help the Scevola administrators.
He turned to leave, but paused and demanded, "Is he registered here? Acheron Zeke?"
"Yes," the clerk's face lit up and she immediately typed on Ash's name. Lysander lowered his head to have a proper look at the face displayed on the screen and blinked because it did not look real.
"It's a computer-generated face. It's based on one of his photos as a child." The clerk clicked an icon and a younger, more natural version of the photo appeared on the screen of the blonde and blue-eyed Acheron Zeke, smiling widely at the camera.
It was the photo that had first made the rounds when he rose to fame. The boy in the photo seemed jolly and carefree. But of course, one year in the inhumane imprisonment had changed him and made him what he was today.
Initially, Lysander had felt sympathetic to Ash's plight— just like everyone else from both the kingdoms— but had slowly come to a realization that the more the king and his men attacked him, the more ruthless he became until eventually the people became confused on whether to paint him all black or all white.
Lysander knew what it was to be young and hot-blooded, he was once the very same, but there comes a time when a man has to learn that violence isn't the answer to everything.
When he had chopped off the king's hand inside the palace walls, he had thunderously declared why he had done so, but by the time he had reached home, the news had completely changed and the people had labelled him as cruel.
Stanislaus, who had been lying on a pool of blood, and withering in agony had put his calculating brain to work and made sure to label himself as the good guy and Lysander as the evil, manipulative kidnapper. It didn't matter to the people what Yolanda and he were going through at that time, all they saw was that he had turned a daughter against an old father.
That was the first time Lysander had realised that as long as the king had people's support, it would be difficult to take him down. For the past twenty years, Lysander had been secretly trying to get together a group of like-minded individuals to create a rebellion when the right time comes.
But Ash had come out of nowhere and kept raining fire at King Stanislaus. So unexpected, so continuous were Ash's blows that some people in the kingdom thought he was simply being cruel to the old King Stanislaus.
When Ash had been charged with rape, he was booed. Later, when he was proved innocent by the court, he had made a public statement for the first time saying that he feared his life was at risk by the king and his men.
It made the people suspicious of the king for the first time and though no one openly admitted it, many believed the Hynson pack members had been behind the rape. It had been a good move on Ash's part and many had turned against King Stanislaus at the time but they had no side to go because they did not get any further assurance from Ash.
It was the only time Ash had made some sort of public announcement and the people had come out to support him and respect his wishes, but after that, he had shunned away from the people and kept his focus entirely on King Stanislaus.
If at the time, Ash had declared why he hated King Stanislaus than a rebellion would have risen against the Imperium Throne, but in staying away Ash had once again confused the people and without any stronger support, they fell back into the clutches of King Stanislaus because he was the devil they knew.
"Who put up this photo?"
"I don't know. It just popped on the internet and then one day it found it's way into our system" The clerk shrugged.
"Someone hacked into his software then?" Lysander asked curiously because it seemed so to him.
"Possible. Although I highly doubt it because, you know, Ash is known all over for his security software. It's not easy to get into his system."
But someone had...
"Yes. It isn't" Lysander agreed but he was also curious to find out who had done it.
"So, is that it?" the clerk asked, looking at him from above the rim of her glasses. "Do you know anything else about the person you are looking for? Like the neighbours, friends or any places they have been to recently?"
Then it flashed to him. The police station where Cyane had been to.
Lysander pulled out another fresh note and placed it on the table, "Three more people."
___
It had been difficult to find out at first because Jack was a popular name in the kingdom and Anna even more but Max wasn't so popular and the fact that the three were related made it easier for the clerk to narrow it down. Within a minute, she had then provided him with information about the nearest police station.
It had been a two-hour drive and since it had already been late last night, Lysander stayed in a hotel and then drove early the next morning to the police station where Cyane had been first taken.
Cyane had mentioned to him that she had been there and there must be some record of her uncle who had come to take her home that day.
Lysander took off his aviators and pocketed it as he walked into the police station in a completely different getup, wearing a fake beard and a fedora hat. There was a certain officer Palmer on the desk and he approached her.
"Yes?" the officer looked up from her screen.
"I found a woman unconscious in the woods yesterday. We have admitted her to a nearby hospital because she is unable to walk. She had mentioned to me that a few months ago, she had visited the same police station and her uncle had come to take her home from here. I would like it very much if you could contact her uncle again this time" Lysander lied smoothly.
The officer frowned, "Who is this woman?"
"She told me her name was Emma and she had been here on June 21-25th. Some guy named Jack had brought her here" Lysander replied loudly, carefully watching all the officers in the room.
One particular officer turned his head to look at them and Lysander knew instantly that he was a wolf.
"Let me see..." Officer Palmer opened a registrar and Lysander peeped at it.
"There is no one named Emma here" Officer Palmer looked up with a frown.
"What about Jack?" Lysander probed, his eyes drifting to the book when Officer Palmer bent her head.
He immediately noticed a name Cookie in the same line as Jack and it was repeated in the next line too, but before he could see the other name, Officer Palmer shut the book close.
"No Jack with Emma is mentioned here," Officer Palmer said firmly.
"Well, she did say she was here... do you remember her? She was short, skinny, had dark brown hair and purple colour eyes" Lysander described loud enough for the whole room to hear.
"Which hospital is this woman admitted to?" the curious officer, who had earlier paid attention to them, demanded.
"Golden Rays," Lysander said without skipping a beat.
"I don't think it's the same girl you are looking for Kevin. He said her name was Emma" Officer Palmer told Kevin.
"The description matches," Kevin told the officer and then looked at Lysander, "Did she say her name was Emma?"
"She's a bit disoriented. I couldn't find any ID with her and when asked this is what she told. I don't know how much of it is true" Lysander shrugged.
"Give me the hospital details. I know a person who has been looking for a missing family member. We will be there soon" Kevin said urgently.
Lysander wrote down some false details on the paper and then walked out.
Once inside the car, he pulled up the tinted windows and threw the fake beard. He had carefully parked his car in a blind spot of the cameras and patiently waited for Kevin's men to show up.
But to his surprise, it was Kevin and another officer who rushed out of the station and drove away. Lysander followed them carefully, not wanting to be noticed.
When they went to the hospital road, Lysander smirked. This was going better than he expected.
Ten minutes later, Kevin and the other officer stepped out of the hospital with a furious look on their face. They went back into the police station and the next time they came out; Kevin was holding a rolled-up paper in his hand.
It was, without doubt, a print out of his image taken from the CCTV camera inside the station. Kevin was going to show it to someone and Lysander would find out whom.
He had expected something of this sort, which is why he had used the fake beard. The soft copy of the image wouldn't be enough... they had to describe to their leader.
Lysander turned on the ignition and then slowly trailed after the police car. Roughly ten minutes later, the car came to halt beside another SUV and through the front seat windows, the paper and a pen drive were passed over.
While the police car took a U-turn, Lysander continued following the SUV. There were three men inside the SUV and from his vantage point of view, he could see that one in the backseat was talking in the phone.
After a drive of another twenty minutes, they came to a halt in front of a bar and Lysander furrowed his brows when he noticed the name, Bard's Bar. The bar was heavily guarded and there were around ten wolves outside of the bar.
The effects of the silver sulphide were wearing off and in no time everyone in the area would catch his scent. Knowing he had to be careful and not let the one lead that he had gotten waste away, Lysander climbed out of the car.
He looked at the name Bard's Bar and an uneasy feeling crept all over him. It couldn't be... he tried to convince himself.
Several heads turned to look at him as he walked through the parking lot- Tall and ominous. The wolves furrowed their brows but some of them stared at him in astonishment.
His wolf paced inside him, repeatedly trying to get a scent. In a couple of minutes, it would happen.
"Lysander Zeke." One of the wolves recognized him instantly and Lysander nodded. Once.
Several men growled and amused, Lysander raised a brow, while also raising a hand in surrender. He wouldn't fight them, not until they make the first move.
"Keep an eye on him and don't fight him," the man who had recognized him, stated and then rushed inside the bar.
He came out a minute later and then motioned for Lysander to come in.
Lowering his hand, Lysander walked ahead, but with every step he took, he felt several follow him. The same man opened the bar door and Lysander entered quietly. Everyone in the room was already waiting for him and they all looked at him suspiciously.
Wolves. All rogues. He knew their kind because he had been one for a long time.
When the effect of the silver sulphide completely wore off, his wolf caught the scents inside first and there was one particular scent that had his wolf snarling furiously.
"Zander" His name was whispered in shock.
That voice... Lysander could recognize that voice from anywhere. He had grown up with the owner of that voice.
Clenching his fist and meeting everyone's gaze in his view, he slowly turned his head and then met Bardo Talcott's brown eyes.
"It is you" Bardo murmured shakenly.
Lysander couldn't take it anymore. His whole body shook in the pent-up rage of nearly twenty-eight years and his growls turned menacing.
Bardo blinked, guilt evident in his face and that's the moment Lysander gave into his wolf and shifted into his wolf, right in the middle of the bar, not caring of his surroundings.
Baring his fangs, he growled nastily at his once-upon-a-time best-friend while the wolves around stepped forward.
"No" Bardo commanded everyone in one clear voice and they all stopped at the same time. "No" he whispered and then when he looked at Lysander, his eyes were filled with sorrow.
As Lysander snarled violently, Bardo fell on his knees and that shook the wolves around them, but it had no effect on Lysander, whose fury increased ten-fold when he looked at his traitor friend.
That day, minutes after Yolanda was taken from him, Lysander had laid on the ground, covered in a pool of blood belonging to him and his dead uncle and had vowed to kill Bardo the next time they met.
Born in the same village, Lysander and Bardo had been friends since the day they could learn to walk. That friendship had grown stronger when they were pups and there had been a time when Lysander had trusted Bardo more than his uncle Xander.
But then his best-friend had done the unthinkable and had betrayed his trust in the worst way possible.
It was because of Bardo's betrayal that Lysander had lost three most important people to him in a single day. One, whom he would never get back. One, he had to fight very hard to get back and one, he didn't know if he would ever get back.
While Yolanda's friend, Lisa, had risked her own life and them escape, Bardo had been selfish and had given King Stanislaus their location.
Lysander's uncle Alexander, who had been the only person in the family, who had truly ever cared for him was brutally killed because of Bardo.
One life lost. Several lives permanently damaged all because of this one man.
Lysander ran to attack but immediately two other wolves tackled him. Quickly rolling over, Lysander stood on his fours, a powerful grey wolf and growled at the others, that made several in the room tremble.
They knew he came from a long lineage of powerful werewolves. He was of the old Zeke blood, the rightful heir of both the Kingdoms of Scevola and Aelius. The Zeke's were the first Alpha blood to rule these lands and they had done so for several centuries.
The wolves have all heard about him, how powerful he was and how many he had killed when he was in his prime. But if they thought he was not in his prime now, then they were heavily mistaken because Lysander's earth-shattering growls rattled the bottles on the shelves.
His ears were pointed and his fangs were long and sharp as he pulled back his muzzle to display them.
Three wolves dared to lunge at him and he overpowered them all by going for their throat and throwing them off him. Wounded, they had to shift back.
"Zander, please give me a chance to explain" Bardo begged.
Lysander leapt high in the air and tackled him to the ground, his claws digging into Bardo's arms and chest. He was thrown off by two more wolves and he crashed against a table set, toppling it.
The moment Lysander rolled and stood up, Cyane's grandfather, Roderick Swafford, pushed away from the wolves and stomped in.
"Lysander" Roderick called out loudly and the grey wolf turned to look at him, dark eyes full of suppressed rage. "Do you know where my granddaughter is?"
There were unshed tears in Roderick's grey eyes and his chest was heaving up and down when he breathlessly asked for Cyane.
It reminded Lysander of why he was here in the first place and he stopped growling. It was very difficult but eventually, his wolf stepped back and gave him the control to compose himself.
"Will you shift back?" Roderick asked him quietly and Lysander nodded.
Roderick turned his head to look at Bardo who was being helped by his men. There was blood on his neck and cheeks and Roderick frowned.
When he had met Bardo for the first time in Scevola, Roderick had asked him why he had left Aelius. Bardo had been vague in his reply and Roderick now realised that he had never really got the answer from Bardo.
Of-course Bardo was living in hiding too, but he was hiding from his best-friend Lysander himself. If Lysander went into the attack to kill Bardo the moment they met, then it was sure to Roderick that Bardo had done something terrible in the past.
A wolf came and threw a pair of trousers and a t-shirt at Lysander and clutching them, he walked behind the bar to shift back.
Roderick chose that moment to address Bardo, "I want to talk to Lysander for a few minutes. Can you and your men leave and give us some privacy?"
Bardo's eyes kept drifting behind the counter when he said, "I want to talk to him too. Can you... can you make him listen to me? Please? I need your help... I know he won't ever forgive me but I... I want to apologize... please."
"Okay" Roderick agreed and Bardo gulped audibly. Blinking repeatedly, he stared at Roderick, who was looking at him in suspicion.
Bardo immediately averted his gaze, because he was unable to meet the older man's eyes. For years he had deliberately kept the truth of his betrayal from Ricky because he had known no one would forgive him for it. Especially not Roderick who valued family and trust over everything else.
With his head, Bardo motioned for his men to leave. He then looked at Lysander, who had his back to him and Bardo smiled when he saw the tattoo on his friend's nape.
They had done it together. They had both written their mother's name on the nape of their neck because they had both loved their mothers and loathed their father's. They never had a father figure in their lives until Lysander had met his uncle Xander.
That was when the first seed of insecurity had been sown in Bardo's mind. When Lysander had met and fallen in love with Yolanda, it had intensified and it had gotten so bad that in a spur of the moment, he had taken a decision that had proven catastrophic.
When he had found out what had happened to Xander and Yolanda, Bardo had been so ashamed of himself that he had left Aelius in shame and regret. He had thought he could have fun with the money given to him for his betrayal but he had been unable to touch a dime of it because it had blood on it. He had blood on his own hands and they had been of two innocents.
Bardo had been suicidal when he had first met Roderick and it was the old man who had helped him slowly get over his guilt. No. He could never go back in time and change what had happened that day, but like the old wolf Alexander Zeke, Bardo had decided that very moment that he would not let other young men go the same path as his.
Since that moment, Bardo had been adopting these boys. Rogues, who had been shunned by the kingdom and he had helped them to lead a good, normal life.
For a while, Bardo had forgotten but now as he looked at his friend, who was growling repeatedly and not even looking at him, Bardo realized that nothing he did or said would make Lysander forgive him because what he had done was truly unforgivable.
___
"They are all gone now," Roderick said slowly, as Lysander repeatedly kept cracking and popping his neck to push back his wolf.
"I cannot talk to you here. I cannot stay in this place" Lysander hissed. "His scent is all over here and I cannot breathe the same air as that traitor did."
"Okay" Roderick agreed immediately. "We will talk in my place. Let's go."
Lysander refused to look at Bardo as he walked past him, in a rigid stance, and got inside his car. Roderick drove ahead and Lysander followed him to his house, some ten kilometres away from the bar.
Roderick owned a large estate in the foothills of the Sylvan mountains, towards the northern coast and his two-storeyed house was right at the centre.
There were two wolves already guarding the entrance and Roderick introduced them. There was also another she-wolf and her daughter, whom Roderick introduced as his house-keeper and cook.
Later, Roderick escorted him towards his office and Lysander sat opposite him and looked at the old man. His office was made of redwood and there was a fire mantle at one corner, a collection of books on the shelves and several photos on the wall behind his desk.
The one that stood out the most was that of his late daughter Lisa and Lysander was startled to see how much Cyane resembled her aunt. He gulped when he saw the infectious smile on Lisa's face.
'You better treat my friend right...' That was the warning Lisa had given him when he had first met her. He had always been annoyed with her and had often thought of her as a third wheel, but he had also genuinely respected her because from the start he had been aware that she was a true friend to Yolanda, unlike Marcella.
He had been truly grateful to her when she had helped Yolanda escape from the palace but he hadn't been able to convey the message because a day later, they had found out that she had been killed.
Several families had been destroyed because of their love all because King Stanislaus had refused to accept Lysander for his daughter.
Sweat coated his upper-lip and Lysander lowered his head, unable to look at the photo because whether he liked to admit it or not, Lisa had been killed because she had helped them. Yolanda had been right when she had said, they owe a lot to Roderick's family.
Lysander had not been as close to him as Yolanda had, but he had heard things about Roderick. Good and bad.
Roderick had been a close friend and an ally of King Stanislaus but he was not cruel like the king. He had not hesitated in calling Stanislaus out if he believed his friend was in the wrong.
"So, do you know where Cyane is? Can you take me to her?" Roderick asked hopefully.
"She was at my house" Lysander replied.
"Was?"
"The last time we spoke to her, she told me, she had returned home to you. I did think she was lying and now, I know she was" Lysander sighed.
"If Cookie was at your place, why didn't you come to find me before?" Roderick growled.
"It was what Cyane wanted and I just respected her wishes. She did not take kindly to you lying to her about what happened to her parents and she wanted to take sometime before going home. That's what she told my wife and Yolanda agreed to let her stay after finding out that she was Lisa's niece."
"How long was she with you?"
"At our home, for about a month and a half. Before that, she stayed in the hospital."
"Hospital? She was sick?" Roderick asked in an aghast tone.
"No. She worked with Yolanda there."
"Working? She doesn't need to work" Roderick frowned and Lysander narrowed his eyes.
He had his doubts that Cyane was brought up in a wealthy family because she wasn't used to bringing plates to the table. She wasn't used to taking plates back to the kitchen either. She expected to be served. Yolanda was the same when they had first started living together and he could efficiently recognize the trait.
Cyane had not worked a day in her life. She had never done any household chores.
"What work did she do there?" Roderick demanded.
"I honestly don't know. I doubt Yolanda had given her any heavy work to do" Lysander answered carefully.
"Where is she now?"
"I told you she lied to us. At first, she told us she was with her fiancé and then, she told me she was with you."
"Fiancé? She would never go to him" Roderick's eyes darkened and Lysander raised his brows. That means, there was no chance Cyane would have ever gone there. She had been lying from the start!
"Well, that's what she told me" Lysander muttered.
"Why didn't you follow her?" Roderick growled.
Lysander gave him a blank stare before saying, "Your granddaughter has wings." Roderick scowled at him and Lysander nodded, "I saw them. When I found her unconscious in the road, I saw her wings."
Roderick leaned forward in his seat, his face turning ashen in a space of a second, "She was attacked?"
Sighing, Lysander placed his entwined fingers on the table and then said, "I am going to tell you everything I know Roderick. But in return, I want you to tell me everything you have hidden from her."
"If she is not with you, I do not have to tell you everything" Roderick hissed.
"Have you heard about Acheron Zeke? Ash?" Lysander asked abruptly and Roderick leaned back with a frown.
"What about him?"
"He wanted to meet Cyane. He was after her. That day, when she left my house with my daughter, it was because Ash asked them to come to a food-court. Minerva came back but not Cyane and ever since then, Cyane has been calling us in unknown numbers that I cannot trace. Ash has spoken to my daughter several times after that but he has never once asked about Cyane after that day" Lysander explained.
Roderick stared sightlessly before looking at Lysander with eyes as hard as coals. "You think Acheron has Cyane?" Roderick spoke through clenched jaws.
"No. I doubt that but I want to know why was he asking about her, what's the connection?"
"There is no connection" Roderick yelled getting off his chair. "She has nothing to do with him."
"But she has something to do with the Liberi, doesn't she?" Lysander questioned quietly and Roderick's eyes widened. "Please sit down and talk to me. Tell me everything. Maybe I can help."
"Help?" Roderick asked. "Your help?" he chuckled humourlessly. "I wanted your help only once. Once. I wanted you to kill Stanislaus. You had an opportunity to kill him and what did you do? You cut off his hands and let him live when you know that what you should have cut was his head off his body" Roderick spat and Lysander inhaled sharply.
"You disappointed me. Your mate did too. My daughter was her best friend and she helped you both. My Lisa was killed because she helped Yolanda escape from her psychotic father. If you or your mate had ever truly cared about Lisa and what she had done to you, then you would have avenged her" Roderick finished angrily and Lysander closed his eyes.
From Roderick's point of view, he was correct but Lysander had his reason for sparing Stanislaus that day. Death was too easy for King Stanislaus and Lysander wanted to punish him by righteously defeating him. Lysander wanted to show Stanislaus that though he had played several games over these years, at the cost of several lives, Stanislaus would not succeed in the worst game he had ever played. He would lose. He would experience defeat and only then did Lysander want King Stanislaus to die.
"Roderick—" Lysander tried to explain.
"No" Roderick cut him off abruptly and raised a palm in front of his face.
"If you do not have Cyane and you do not know where she is, then you are of no help to me. Please leave" Roderick said flatly.
Nodding, Lysander got off the chair and moved towards the door, but his conscience stopped him. He wouldn't barter with this old man, who only had Cyane has his family and had lost everyone too young.
Roderick genuinely loved and cared for Cyane and Lysander was sure he had his reasons to hide things from Cyane. It was their family matter and he swore, he wouldn't cause any more pain to the Swafford family because they were already hurt enough by him and his mate.
He turned to face Roderick who was slumped in his chair, looking older than his age.
"I will just finish what I had come to tell you and then, I will leave" Lysander began and Roderick looked up.
___
"I never knew she had a pet" Roderick whispered in a shocked tone.
"Well, they are shape-shifters. Not exactly pets. They have thoughts and feelings too. Only they cannot express it in words because they are cursed to be mute creatures" Lysander shrugged. "She told me growing up, he was her only friend."
"It's true. She never had any friends" Roderick said, his eyes far off as he recalled Cyane's childhood.
"Well, Mr Black is a genuine friend to her and I just have the feeling that he is going to protect her."
Roderick moved abruptly. Searched for something in his laptop and then turned the screen towards Lysander. "Is this him? That creature?"
Lysander watched the photo on the screen with narrowed eyes. It looked like it was taken in some sort of parking lot because of the number of cars present. There was one black wolf, biting on a leg of some man, whose torso was inside the backseat of the car.
"That's only a wolf. Show me the eyes" Lysander asked and Roderick showed another picture. "Yes. It is him. That's Mr Black" Lysander claimed because the golden eyes were clear in the photo. "He was the one who brought those girls to the hospital and they claimed, he was the one who had been helping Cyane fight against Liberi."
He looked at the photo again and frowned when he noticed two dead bodies on the ground. The men in those photos were wearing different clothes.
"Where did you get this footage photo?"
"From the airport. We had to steal all footages and delete everything and take away all the bodies before authorities started questioning. It was very tough to hide it all away but we had no other choice" Roderick answered and then looked at Lysander.
"Sit down Lysander. I will tell you everything."
___
Two hours later, Lysander walked back towards his car in a state of daze. Roderick had asked him several times to stay the night and leave tomorrow but Lysander repeatedly refused. However, when he noticed his trembling hands, he realized that Roderick was right.
He dropped his hands on his lap and leaned back in the seat.
He would go back in and stay for the night, but before that he needed some time to just think.
In his forty-six years of life, he had seen several bad things happen and he had wished at times to forget all of the pain, but he also did not truly want to forget because those difficult times had made him the man he was today.
They were bad memories, yet he was grateful to have them only because he learnt some very valuable lessons from those moments.
But what if his wish had been fulfilled?
Lysander shuddered to think of it but Cyane was living through it. Every single day!
She hadn't been lying when she told she doesn't remember anything because she truly doesn't. It was a blessing to reverse the curse and yet, it didn't seem much like a blessing.
It took a part of her, away from her and that was something, she would never get back!
Cyane had been a mystery to him and now, that the mystery was solved, he did not feel any better. He hated that he had gone digging where he shouldn't have. He had roused bad memories and left Roderick in tears.
He had to find Cyane and reunite her with her family because she was a danger to herself more than others and the only people capable of protecting her was her family.
Sighing, he got off the car and went back into the house.
All he wanted was to talk to Yolanda and hear her soothing voice, but first, he had to help the old man who was sad and lonely.
•••
"Crush him Xan. Kill him!" Miki bellowed from the top of his voice and Cyane winced.
He didn't need to encourage Xanthos, who was already breaking the bones of his opponent. Another wolf from the vulture's nest.
This one though wanted to take revenge for Gordon's death.
Cyane looked away when she saw the other wolf struggle to breathe through Xan's chokehold and a split second later, the crowd cheered while Miki jumped high in the air, raising his hands in victory.
"Good job Xan" Brody clapped while the crowd started dispersing.
Xanthos, whose jaws and torso was covered in his opponent's blood, nodded once before standing up and looking at Cyane. She focused only on his icy blue eyes and smiled hesitantly.
Of course, she liked it when he won a match but she didn't like the fact that this was how he made his money. By killing people!
Cyane supposed her disapproval must have been very visible on her face because one corner of his mouth tilted upwards as he strode towards the cage gate.
Sitting on an abandoned bench, Cyane kept her head low. She was bored and she missed Jayson who couldn't attend the match because he had some practical exam tomorrow. Sighing, Cyane got off the bench and stared at the football match flyer all around the pillars. It was to happen three weeks from now between the clubs Red Ambers of Aelius and Scevola Seagulls. It was the 37th annual match between the two kingdoms.
It was the third time she was seeing the same flyer, the other two times being in the mall and the food-court and she wanted to ask Xanthos if he would be going to the match. Though she doubted he did because he did not seem like the guy who would sit in the bleachers and cheer for someone else.
No. Xanthos wouldn't cheer for others. People either cheered for him or feared him.
Still, Cyane wanted to go to a match because she wanted to be part of that excitement. Wanted to support a team and watch the game in a large stadium. She had never had that kind of experience before and she wanted that. She decided to add it to her list.
When she turned, the first thing she saw was Miki accepting a handful of cash from the manager of the arena. It was a thick wad of notes, but she had no idea how much it was worth. Nodding once, the manager left, while Miki began counting.
She saw him remove some five bills out of the total and pocket it. He looked up at that moment and when his carnelian eyes clashed against hers, her cheeks flushed in mortification and she quickly looked away.
Growling, Miki walked up to her. "It's not what you think" Miki muttered.
"I am not thinking anything," Cyane said without looking at him.
"Good. Do not think and do not utter a word about this" Miki warned and she turned to frown at him. She was about to tell him off for stealing but then she remembered what Xanthos had shared with her the other day. Sometimes the king paid them and sometimes he didn't.
When the king didn't pay them, they didn't have money and they resorted to other means. While Xanthos earned money by fighting in a cage, Miki...
"You know, there are other ways to earn money" Cyane began softly, hoping she could make him consider changing his ways.
"What do you know about it?" Miki sneered, "You are someone who has been born into a rich family. I can easily recognize your type with the way you walk and talk. Rich and ignorant. I bet you don't even know the price of a newspaper."
Cyane reddened to the roots of her hair because he was right about that. She didn't know the price of basic things like newspaper, pencil, coffee or even a cup of ice-cream and they had all noticed it. When she had been surprised to notice that an ice-cream cup was that cheap, Xan and his friends had stared at her like she was an eighth wonder of the world.
"I cannot help that I was born into a wealthy family. Nor do I wish to change it" Cyane said slowly.
"Then go back to them" Miki snapped.
"Not until I get what I want" Cyane said through gritted teeth.
"And what is it you want?" Miki demanded, stepping closer as Cyane compressed her lips, refusing to answer. "A little experience? You felt trapped in your home and now you want to stretch your wings here? Is that it?"
"What's wrong in wanting that?"
"Nothing. But you have chosen the wrong place and the person. Xan cannot give you the fantasy that you want" Miki stated bluntly and Cyane flinched. It hurt and it shouldn't. Not when she knew that whatever Miki just said was the truth.
"He cannot play house with you. His first obligation is to the king. He will always put the king first" Miki growled.
"Even when the king is in the wrong?" Cyane couldn't help but ask.
"Yes," Miki confirmed. "Didn't you see the other day? The king's men purposely burnt his new car because they are jealous of his achievements. They don't know the sweat and money he had spent in buying that SUV. They don't care" Miki said in disgust.
"Does Xanthos know about this?"
"He does. It's not the first time the pack wolves are doing this to him. They have repeatedly harassed us and why? Simply because we weren't born into a wealthy family like theirs. When they see us, all they notice is a rogue who has no class or wealth. Nothing we do matters to them. We all have noticed that but while I have stopped caring about it, Xan hasn't. He is still hellbent on keeping his promise to the king" Miki ground out and Cyane realized that his anger wasn't directed at her.
"What promise?" Cyane questioned.
"Loyalty"
"Of-course" Cyane rolled her eyes. Loyalty was very important to King Stanislaus and that is the price he has demanded from the boys he had rescued from the Crescere prison. He had instilled in the minds of those pups that he was their saviour and master and that they owed their life to him.
Loyalty is given freely where there is kindness. But King Stanislaus twisted it and made it a purchasable product. He had manipulated the pups and Minerva had already told her that king Stanislaus was an expert in playing mind games.
Miki was watching her with narrowed eyes, before he said, "You don't like the king."
"Do you?" she countered because she had gotten the impression that Miki was not that great a fan of King Stanislaus. At least not as much as Xanthos.
"No" Miki admitted straightaway and Cyane's eyes gleamed in appreciation. "He might have rescued us and I am grateful for that but I do not feel indebted to him in any way. The nuns who had picked me up as a baby from the dumpster had rescued my life too but they didn't ask for anything in return. They were and still are selfless" Miki responded.
Cyane was so shocked by that news that she stared at him, completely speechless. What kind of a sick person would keep a baby in a dumpster? A baby was a tiny being that needed proper care and safety when they are born? How could someone leave their baby in a dumpster?
Miki smiled, but there was a bitterness in his eyes as he said, "As you said, we don't get to choose which family we are born into. The nuns brought me up and for me, they are more important than the king."
Clearing her throat, Cyane nodded. It was a sensitive subject to him and she grasped that from his rigid stance.
She quickly reverted to the earlier topic, "Have you ever not tried to change your friends mind?"
"I cannot control the way they think" Miki shrugged.
"And what way is that?" Cyane prompted.
"Did Xan ever mention our other friend to you?" Miki asked out of blue.
"Ash? Yes. Xanthos told me he was one of you."
"Yes. Acheron. I had met him first in the shelter home. We were kidnapped and taken into the prison where we then met Xanthos. The three of us shared a cell. Xan was determined to escape and he kept giving us hope. One night, we set about looking for an escape route. None of us found it and that was the night Xan changed" Miki shared thoughtfully.
"He lost hope?" Cyane whispered as her heart went out for the little boy, who had tried to be a positive light but eventually had to dim out to darkness.
"Yes. After that, he never talked about escaping. He became like what he is today. Cold and—"
"Stoic" Cyane finished and Miki nodded.
"He took the beatings unflinchingly. He never cried like the rest of us, no matter how much pain he was given. Edmond hated him but he also started growing vary of Xan. Xan's lack of emotion scared everyone in the prison. Eventually, we were rescued by the king. We were all going in a line, to the van that was to take us to a better place when all of a sudden, Ash lunged at King Stanislaus" Miki told and Cyane furrowed her brows.
"Why?"
"No one knows. Till this day, we don't know why Ash did that. I knew Ash, he was a weak little boy but that one day, at that one moment, he showed bravery and attacked King even though he knew he was no match to others there. But Xan, who had stopped showing any kind of emotion by then, went to rescue Ash. It was the first emotion he had displayed in months. Together they ran away. The king's men followed them and unluckily one bullet had caught Xan's leg and he had collapsed on the way. Ash did not return Xan's favour. Instead, he left Xan for dead and escaped, never to be seen again" Miki shook his head with a sigh. "Even though Xan fought the king and his men, the king still helped him and I suppose Xan felt grateful for that" Miki shrugged.
Cyane nodded slowly as she finally got a better picture of Xan. Betrayed by a friend he trusted, Xan was rescued and shown kindness by someone he thought was the enemy.
King Stanislaus was there for him when no one else was. King Stanislaus could have left him for dead but no, instead, he had helped Xan and that is why Xanthos continued to be loyal to the throne.
Sighing, Cyane looked at Miki who had a frown on his pretty face. "Thank you for telling me this. I can understand why Xan is loyal to his king, even after all the bitterness around. I can understand why he feels he is obligated but you don't" Cyane pointed out. "I don't understand why you are still working for the king."
Miki looked uncomfortable by that question and taking a step back, he ran his fingers over his curly hair.
He was avoiding her gaze and Cyane's eyebrows rose in surprise, "For Xanthos?" she asked and Miki confirmed by nodding. "Why?"
"He took my share of beatings several times and I owe it to him. He is selfless and he doesn't ask for anything, which makes him worthy of my loyalty" Miki shrugged and Cyane nodded. Just like the nuns... Cyane finished what he hadn't said.
Miki might hate her, but he truly cared for his friend and that immensely pleased Cyane because no matter what happens, she knew Miki would always have Xan's back.
"You care about him," Cyane said with a smile and Miki scowled at her.
"You make it sound like I am in love with him" Miki spat in revulsion. "I am not. I like girls" Miki stated flatly and then looked her up and down mockingly before saying, "Sexy and curvy girls."
Cyane knew she wasn't sexy or curvy but she didn't need that reminder from him. For a moment, she thought, they bonded over their mutual dislike for King Stanislaus but now, they are back to square one.
"Come to think of it, you are not Xan's type at all" Miki continued, infuriating her. Theos! He was Xan's friend.
"He has a type?" Cyane hissed, rolling her fingers into a fist. She was trying hard not to punch Miki.
"Remember Everly?" Miki taunted and Cyane glared at him. "Hot, wasn't she? That's exactly—
"Siopí" Cyane spat in her mother-tongue.
"If you abuse me in a foreign language, it bounces over my head and I won't be offended" Miki drawled amusedly.
Narrowing her eyes, Cyane took a step closer and looked up at him. "If you want to continue seeing other girls, then I suggest you shut your mouth now before I destroy your man-pride." She intentionally looked at his belt when she said that.
"Why you—"
Miki had to stop when Grayson came in, panting heavily.
"Where's Xan? Xan?" Grayson shouted.
A split second later, Xan stepped out of the changing room. "What's happened?" Xanthos asked, pulling down his black t-shirt.
"We found Johnny. We found him"
****
More of a filler chapter but this was important to what comes in the upcoming chapters 😊
If you liked the chapter please do vote and comment.
Next update on 28th November.
Stay safe!
Love:-*