LARA’S POV
It has been almost a month since they went to war with Diamond Cut and nothing is been heard from them after their request for more mercenaries. When the request came, Chamlee immediately sent a good number of soldiers to the battlefield after that, and till now, the fight is still ongoing.
We learned that it is a fierce battle and that Diamond Cut came as prepared as they are known for, but they were not expecting to meet such a level of resilience from our men. Each team is fighting ferociously and unfairly.
I sat at a corner of the palace, the exact spot Rich led me to on the night of Scarlet’s marriage, thinking about what would become of the war. We still haven’t received any wounded soldiers from the fight, and no word about Scarlet, our queen yet. How is Rich doing? I hope this fight gets over soon and our people return to us in one piece.
I am trying to be strong for them, but the palace is now more like a graveyard since they left. These days, everybody moves on quietly, and no one says as much as a full sentence to another.
Going to war with Diamond Cut is no child’s play. I was there, I grew up there, it is my home and I know just how vicious they are in battles.
Or maybe it was a bad choice, maybe Scarlet should have agreed to their offer, and prevented this war. I shrugged and waved off this thought as soon as it registered in my head.
What was I even thinking? Going to war is the best for the circumstance and we are prepared and ready to accept whatever be the outcome.
Succumbing to the whims of Diamond Cut is a death wish. They only care about the brother packs and would keep making endless demands on us until we can take no more and by then we would not even have the zeal or strength to fight for our rights.
Ours is not a wolf Pack and so they would only treat us as second class and below them if we were to agree to their terms and bend to their wills.
I was still deep in thought when I sighted the Chamlee from afar, coming in my direction with two guards following right behind him.
He was not on the battlefield, but I can tell that he would have been better off on the battlefield than here. All day, he allowed himself to be consumed by thoughts of what was going on on the battlefield and I know that if not for the firm order of the queen, he would have long been out of here.
He appeared lean these days. He always skipped his meals. It was when I noticed that I started to stay by his side and persuaded him to eat and finish each meal.
What if he is called for in the battleground, what strength would he have to fight when he has made himself weak from starvation. Scarlet would not like to hear that he has been depriving himself of food.
I smiled at him as he drew closer, and he in turn put up a weak smile.
“Lara” he called.
“My Chamlee” I replied.
He came and sat beside me.
“It gets lonelier by the day, my Chamlee” I murmured.
“I will go there tomorrow if no word is heard from there” he revealed bluntly.
I remained calm. “My Chamlee, the queen would not hear of that, she needs you here” I replied.
“I cannot remain here and act as if nothing is happening when I can’t even tell if there are alive. It is Diamond Cut out there, I should not be here” he was pained as he spoke.
“It is just you and I here to watch over the kingdom. Please let’s remain here until a word is heard from them. I know nothing bad has happened to them” I begged.
“How can you be so sure? Chamlar should come back while I go in her stead” he retorted.
“I am a wolf and my wolf can feel if something should happen to Rich and even to the queen. I connect with them on a different level. Please, my Chamlee, don’t worry they are fine” I explained.
He shook his head in disapproval. “Even you don’t appear calm to me, Lara. I can’t continue like this, I am dying slowly. I am meant to protect her and not the other way round” he said.
“I think staying here and watching over her kingdom is of paramount importance to her now and that was why she asked you to do that. okay, I’ve got an idea” I replied.
He looked at me and said nothing.
I continued. “What if by tomorrow, you send the rest of our soldiers to the field with an order that half of them should return is everyone is alright? Their return would give you the answer that you sought for”
He grinned, he loved the idea. “I will give them only three days and if they don’t come back, I will go to the war”
Now I was relaxed. I am quite sure that the soldiers would return as instructed. I don’t think I would be able to take care of this kingdom all by myself.
CHAMLEE’S POV
I think her idea was the best. I will send some soldiers to the field and if they don’t return after some days, I will proceed to the battle.
“I will give them only three days and if they don’t come back, I will go to war” I replied.
But I hope it does not get to that, all I wanted was to be sure that my Chamlar was doing okay, I also want to make sure that the soldiers are alright.
I cannot leave the palace all to Lara, especially if I don’t know how long I would be gone. The palace cannot be left for too long without the Chamlar or me as there may be some eventualities and it will be too great a risk to take.
“I feel like getting hold of alpha Fred this very minute and squeezing out life from him” I roared in anger.
“I am positive that we would come out of this victorious, Chamlee,” she said quietly.
“We have to. They started this fight and Diamond Cut…” I was not done with the name when a loud voice called out to me. I know the voice, it was that of one of my guards.
“My Chamlee… my Chamlee… Diamond Cut…” he came and fell at my feet struggling to breathe.
“Diamond Cut, what is wrong with Diamond Cut?” I asked, stunned.
“I… I was… I” he stammered as he struggled too hard to speak in his state.
“Calm down and take a slow breath first, and then you can speak” I ordered.
He rose and inhaled and exhaled a couple of times. When he felt that he was okay, he began but was still speaking very fast. “We were on our usual patrol around the kingdom when one of the guards on secret watch outside the kingdom accosted us…” he stopped and began to breathe fast again.
“Please slow down and speak. Give him some water” Lara order the guards and they quickly handed a bottle of water to him.
When he was done with the water, he inhaled deeply and continued. “The guard told us that warriors from Diamond Cut were sighted in their numbers coming to Pixolands” he revealed.