Chapter 31: Chapter 31

“You took a wife without informing your father, son?” Alder gave a pretentious amused chuckle as he sized down the newly wedded pair.

His eyes glanced over the intertwined hands to the pleasant smiles on each of their faces. If someone said Lucius and Madonna were not in love, then he would debate a whole day certainly. Their affection for each other was glowing brightly on their faces.

“You are not the only one, Milord.” Madonna replied in her husband’s stead with much needed sarcasm dripping in her tone. Madonna had to bite down the smirk taking over her skillful void face.

Madonna shouldn’t show her true feelings to Alder. She wanted to use the lack of knowledge of their true relationship as a benefit to mystify Alder and stall some time to find Fina. She wanted Alder to not show any of his interest in Lucius or her and just let them be on their own.

“Regardless, Father; we finally found Orla for you.” Lucius’ tone morphed into one with resentment and anger when he took his mother’s name. “With Madonna’s help, we found her. Madonna had somehow influenced to bring Orla with us.” Lucius glanced over to the bed where his mother was sleeping peacefully.

It was needed for Lucius to show his hostility towards his mother in from of Alder. Rather, he supposed he shall be hostile with her for the whole time of her stay in the Emor estates.

It was better to not give Alder or any of the staff the idea of Lucius being in excellent terms with his mother. All the trouble of putting everything dear to them on the death trap just so they could get rid of Alder and his army was getting to Lucius gradually.

What he was playing was a dangerous game of chess. He was using the Queen herself to kill her own king and the king would never know of it. When his pieces of soldiers and his allies would be making a barrier for the king to protect him from the enemy, the Queen herself shall make a move to kill the king within the barriers.

Now that the beginning phase of their tactics was in place, Lucius and Madonna shall be slowly eliminating Alder’s army one by one as alike Alder, the army he made was quite perilous as well. One of the major concerns that worried Lucius, Madonna and Orla was the capabilities of the army.

They have no knowledge of what said army was capable of. One of the allies of Alder who was his person indeed did tell him that there were thousands of them that he made all by himself. They were savages as of what he had gathered but their abilities, none of them were certain about.

Lucius glanced over the sleeping figure of his mother and gritted his teeth for throwing her with Alder to find Fina all by herself. It was a dangerous task, however, he and Madonna were to first weaken Alder’s support after weakening his magic and powers.

“How did you make the darned stubborn woman come along, Madonna dear.” Alder asked in a fatherly manner that does not go well with him at all.

Now that she was the wife of his and the Lady of the region, Alder was going to use everything that time and fate has offered him in a silver platter. That includes being in good books of the young witch.

“You shall have your answers from her, Milord.” Madonna said as she gestured him towards the bed where Orla was sleeping.

They turned to the bed and saw her waking up from her slumber. Orla was brought in the state of sleep as Lucius said to Alder that he would not travel the long way with her willingly so a trip with the sleeping mother was healthier choice.

Alder rushed to the bed as he sat beside the waking lady with much desperation that he was not prepared to show. He was looking for Orla all that time was for the reason that she was unintentionally the cause behind his daughter’s death. That was what he had been telling Lucius and all other who were not on the same boat as him.

But only he knew he was not much concerned about the dead daughter of him as the time passed. Though he was sad, as time passed by he got over it. His main motive was although was to have Orla with him for the sake of his objective to rule over all the species on Earth.

If he was become the King, he needed a Queen who could protect him and shield him from everything and Orla was just the right person with both intellect and powers.

But something that he needed to know before going for his purpose was the reason why Orla was away from them all those years.

Orla woke up feeling a tinge of ache in her head. She was cursing herself for using the strongest of her potions to sleep while her son and Madonna ship her to the Emor estates. She should have used a small amount as she was more prone to headaches.

She just wanted to be on a safer side by getting herself in a comatose state to make tale much more believable to Alder and the people in his shadow.

“What in the name of heavens am I doing here?” Orla rasped out in an angry tone which was clearly a pretense.

Orla looked around the chamber in was in and then noticed Alder sitting by her side on the bed and gasped. She inched back to have a clear look at the man who had made every attempt to kill the innocent and dear to her.

It has been such a long time he had seen him. He had aged more than he should have which pleased Orla immensely. He deserves worse.

“The young witch indeed amazed me by tricking me into getting me here.” Orla sneered at Madonna as her glare towards the young woman made Alder stutter in terror a little.

If there was he was always cautious about, then it was that anger of hers. Her glare was one thing he avoided all through the time they were together. She was one deadly woman if she set her mind to which both interested and cautioned him.

“It was not her dear. I wanted to see you with my eyes and know that you are well and safe dear.” Alder said softly as he helped Orla in a much comfortable sitting position.

Orla closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. After a moment, when she opened her eyes, she looked intensely into Alder’s eyes with contempt and determination; a rather odd mixture.

“Why am I here, Alder?” She asked in a strong commanding tone.

“I missed you, dear. Why did you leave us and ran off. Did we do anything that was not your liking? Did we not give you the love you deserved?” Alder poured his heart out, poured his selfish heart out and if possible, Orla would have scoffed at the way Alder tried to sound genuine.

Well, if Alder did not know, Orla was one great person in theatrics. She could play his game in his manner.

Orla turned and noticed Lucius and Madonna sitting on the daybed in the chamber silently watching them. She then looked at Alder, this time with defeat clearly etched on her delicate features which Alder had never seen before.

“It was for better, Alder” Orla mumbled as grief took over her featured. In the matter of moments, her eyes showed him the depths of grief and hurt she went through.

Alder could not understand what she intended. He was puzzled by the sudden change in her as he held her hand in to his softly and nudged her to continue.

“What do you imply?” He asked back.

“Father, you believe the woman?” Lucius probed in cutting the intensity in the air with his snarky remark. He looked like he was ready to rip of the head of his own mother if he had the chance to.

“Not now, son. You mother was clearly in much choatic position all the while.” Alder blared out commandingly as his eyes softened at Orla. “What did you imply, dear.” He asked softly that made Madonna almost swooned in disgust at the monster of Emor performing his part out.

“I had to run away to –“ Orla gulped down and looked back at Alder and saw him attentive to her, “- to keep you and our kin protected.”

Alder was stumped by what she had said as he did not know why his wife had said something like that.

“There was a threat that I received right after conceiving Alys that the anonymous person would kill you for something you did to him which I had no notion of. In the person’s words, I was your strength and if I do not go away from you, then they would slaughter you.”

If Alder was not looking for an bewildered revelation, then he got just that. The return of his wife and her revelation had perplexed him to a great length.

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