Chapter 76: Chapter 76

The palace is very calm and empty. The day has started rising, the outside is still barely dark. Maids are waking up for their daily routine, as usual before the first cock crow. While Maryline has been loitering around till then.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Veruska the oldest maid asks. She hates Maryline and always calls her a slut for sleeping with kings to gain favour. "Mind your business!" Maryline slurs and moves away. "Hmmm..." I the old woman grumbled.

"What happened to us?" the guards finally wake up dancing with headaches after a few hours of sleep. They are still weak due to the effect of the poison but strong enough to start worrying about their lives.

The raising day meets the King already seated in the great hall contemplating his next move. He didn't sleep the whole night. But how could he after receiving the greatest disgrace of his entire life as if his defeat at the boundaries of the Terre kingdom weren't enough?

Now he was going to be the laughing stock of all the kings and kingdoms and that made him mad. He had to quickly remediate the problem to be considered fierce and powerful as always.

His right-hand man moved into the silent room where he found the King seriously meditating. Without wasting any seconds he broke through the silence saying "My kind, it's morning already and Adam hasn't shown up yet. I think it's time for us to kill the Queen before the news reaches our foes!" he suggested.

"I know I should have killed all those foolish noble men instead of allowing them to go and now my reputation is at risk. Tom, it's inevitable I'm sure by now my foes are laughing at men" he tightly clutches his fists, so tightly that his claws slightly cut into his palm.

"Hmmm... Let me think" he grumbles for a long time without saying anything. Tom, looked perplexed. "My son will soon come back, and he will continue from where we ended... We ain't killing her today and she should be well-taken care of" he said.

"My King, what if he doesn't get back as soon as you think and someone kills the Queen and runs away with the alpha ship!" Tom said thoughtfully.

"Shut the hell up!" the King furiously hit his fist on the chair on which he was stating "No one can dare do such a thing?" he glared at him bitterly "Or do you know someone who can do that and he's in the four corners of this place?" he curiously asked.

"Nobody, my King. I was thinking of all the possibilities. No one knows anyone's thoughts!" he said with a trembling voice.

"Hmmm, ok! Has the messenger been sent to the Caelum kingdom? I want Andrew to be here as soon as possible. If Adams doesn't show up on time then Andrew will kill her and become the next Alpha!" he ruled.

"I seriously doubt Adams will have the balls to kill that thing... girl. But Andrew" he eyes glowed when he called. "Andrew has the balls. He's ambitious and very brave just like me and nothing like his useless brother that somehow always occupies the first place in my heart. Adams should be very grateful to his mum and for the love, I had for her if not he would have been a dead man by now!" he said deciphered.

"Anything else, my King?" Tom asked. "No, I think it's ok for now. Just make sure the Princess is well taken care of. I'm retiring to my room. I'm not as young as I used to be. I need to take a good bath and rest. Tell the maids to give me the best wine of the palace, -- I need something strong!" he stands and leaves then he turns back "One lasting," he says.

Tommy immediately turns back as well, facing him "Yes my king!" he bows. "Adams should be captured and caged as soon as he gets into this place, didn't forget that. I don't want to take any useless risk. That is all!" with this said he finally leaves.

Unfortunately, as soon as he reaches the exit of the hall leading to the corridor to his room. He heeds several men running into the great hall panting heavily.

That immediately calls for his attention but he does turn back until he hears "My King, my king -- she's... The girl, my king..." heavy panting follows.

"What?" the King turns frantically. "I hope what you have to say is worth the disturbance" he expands as he moves back to seats on the throne. They are trembling and sweating despite the cold weather of the morning.

"Go on, I don't have all the time!" he scolds them. They open their mouth and no words come out "Fuck! Will you speak, before I kill all of you!" the King threatens.

"My King," one took a shaky step ahead with a trembling voice. "Yes! Go on!" the king says. "The girl is not more..." he pulls his words and this seriously annoys the King. "What?" he immediately stands from his chair and clutches the man's neck, lifting him above ground level.

"What the hell are you talking about, which fucken girl is not more?" he presses his neck. The man can barely breathe with veins carved on his neck and face.

"While you speak before I squeeze the life out of you?" the King press harder making it difficult for him to utter a word. Yet, painfully he struggles and says "The Queen, she's not more!".

"Fuck!" the King squeezes his neck so furiously that the man convulsed and gives up his last breath.

"All of you will die, now but before that, I want to know every that happened. Why is she not more?" The King frees his hands and the man's corpse heavily falls onto the ground.

"What the hell are you standing here and doing?. Take me to the fucken cage and let me see it for myself. Guards follow us!" he called for his special guards to follow him while the guards of the Solis were following ahead.

Down in the cage...

It's a basement cage with a vast opening towards the outside of the compound of the palace. "Hmmm!" the King grumbles as he sees an empty cage. Tom, hits his hands on his forehead with an exclamation "Fuck!" anxious he is.

"What happened!" the King asks. "We have no idea, my king. The last thing we remember is eating the food you send to us... after that everything is blurred..." they cry and continue "the next minute we woke up the cage was empty!" they all speak at the same time. They are terrified.

"Shut up, Damn it! I send nothing here. Who served the food!" the King yells at the top of his voice. "The chief maid... Hmmm..." they search for her name and the King exclaims "Maryline!... Foolish men"

"Two of you go get Maryline for me!" he tells two of his special guards "Take these four foolish men to the compound they will serve as a lesson to the others!" with that said he leaves for the throne home.

He takes a seat while waiting for Maryline "How could I be this foolish not to cage her as well!" he reprimands himself.

The guards move to the kitchen, pushing everything and everybody on their way like nothing matters, not even the food that gives them the strength to work that hard, talking less of the ladies cooking the food for them. Nothing matters at that moment, aside for MARYLINE!.

They move to the dormitory and still nothing. "Where... the... fuck... is Maryline!" the guard brutalises all the poor maids they see on their way... "I don't know, please let me go!" nearly all of them implore... "Fuck, how do you expect me to know?" a few get hostile despite all the fear simmering in their stomach... And a very few are speechless and impatiently waiting for them to end the chaos and leave.

"You will all die one by one until someone speaks!. Hey, gather all the maids in the compound, we will make them speak!" says a guard from Caelum.

Unfortunately, for them, no one knows where Maryline is and they are about to pay for not knowing the truth.

A drown portrait on a huge woody frame hanging on a wide rocky wall. A portrait of late King Edward found in his office is where Maryline is kneeling just below it and watching the frame. The portrait in question isn't a fair representation of the late King, yet it's enough to make Maryline burst into tears like a newborn baby.

It's enough to solace her pains and fear "My King, my everything you were... Please, come to your daughter's aid as she embarks on an unknown journey. Please, Edward, harden not your heart. She's still..." with swollen eyes tears helplessly roll down her cheek and her skin has reddened despite her dark complexion.

"Not forgetting our daughter, our blood which we abandoned!" she crises, heavily swallowing her spits and the mucus from her nose is rolling down to her mouth "I think we renounced..." the office's door brutally opens halting her from ending her statement.

"We have found her! She she is. Tell the king and the others" he screams while moving in. "Get up, stupid woman!" he brutally clutches her hair pulling her up with disrespect.

"I think it's your lucky day today. You all return to your duties!" the guards say to all the maids kneeling in the compound, some were so terrified that they were crying already.

They flee away.

~ ~ ~ ~

"My dear love everything is working as planned. Very soon I will cast the spell from the Karat gate and we shall be free. I will the rule the world" malicious grins follows.

"What's the Karat gate?" Lilith asks. "It's a gigantic magical wall separating both worlds. The Human world from our world. But when I will break the spell that was cast on the wall many years back, we will be able to go to the human world with our powers. I will rule over the world!" he burst into laughter, and he has annoying laughter. "I will be the king of Kings in both dimensions!" he chuckles.

"And I will be the queens of Queens!" she exclaims.

"For that I need Eve. I need her blood," he says. "So what are you waiting for to get Eve? I can't wait to be the Queen of Queens and to the role by your side." She eagerly says.."Oh, Really?" he laughs seductively while moving toward her.

He clenches her waist pulling her close to him "I have sent a few men to the Kingdom this morning. I think by evening, Even will be her" he kisses her.

"My lovely Lilith," he says.