Hope
I was summoned by my husband.
I had just returned from the library and had a weird conversation session with Amara when Orion came stomping into my room and demanded that I come along with him because Darius summoned me.
As we walked down the hallway to the east wing of the palace, my heart kept thumping. Perhaps he found out that I was reading erotic books and conversing with a crazy woman who claimed to be a witch. If he did, then what would my punishment be?
Would he send me back to my home or kill me right away? The possibility of the latter made my heart race.
“My goodness, stop that! Your heartbeat is too loud. Control yourself.” Orion snapped at me, and I stiffened.
That was right. They could hear loud heartbeats. I should control myself. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Calming thoughts. He couldn’t kill me just like that. He would be killing his wife which should be a crime as far as I could tell. He would warn me off the library and lock me up in my chambers.
That was the worst thing that could happen, right? I shouldn’t think too much.
“I’m sorry.” I whispered to Orion. He responded with a deep frown. And to think he would’ve gotten used to me by now.
Orion stopped in front of a room with high double doors and four guards patrolling outside. My goodness, was this a dungeon? Orion spoke to one of the guards in hushed whispers before the guard nodded and instructed the others to open the door.
Once they did, I saw that it wasn’t a dungeon. Instead, it was a… meeting room? Orion led me inside, and I saw that a large oval table took up the space of the room and about thirty people were seated round it. The person who caught my eyes was my husband who sat at one end of the table.
The two chairs by either side were empty. Orion started to walk over there, expecting me to tail after him. Since I couldn’t just stand still in the room, I moved my feet and ended up sitting on the left side of King Darius.
The people who sat round the table stared at me like I was a little child who lost her way and found herself in a den of lions.
“Let us begin the meeting. First agenda of the day.” Darius’ voice boomed and a man on the left side of the table picked up a document and started to list things out.
Hold on, was I in a political meeting right now? Why did no one tell me this? I glanced at Orion who sat across to see that he was staring straight at me. I wanted to ask him why he put me through this but I knew I couldn’t do that. He wasn’t even the one to blame. It was my cruel husband.
From the corner of my eyes, I watched as my husband listened intently to what the other man was saying. I noticed that he was looking more kingly. Not that he didn’t look like a king on a normal day. But today, there was this do-not-mess-with-me aura exuding him strongly.
On top of that, he was putting on a crown so… The fact that I was dressed so subpar compared to him. I was wearing what I wore on a normal day, tunic and pants. Orion could’ve at least dropped me by my room so I could have changed into something more formal.
The meeting dragged on with lots of argument from each side and shutting down aggressively from Darius’ part. That is, until the talk about human rebels came up.
“They protested openly at the borders with weapons. Before the soldiers could grab onto them, they disappeared with a fog. They are becoming more and more of a nuisance each day.” A man spoke up. The disgust and spite laced his tone told me that he must’ve hated rebels very much, or humans very much, or human rebels very much.
He was among the people who were on the younger side in the room. He looked either Orion’s age or my husband’s age. Maybe one or two years older. He had slight bushy beards with thick brown hair and piercing brown eyes. I could tell that he was incredibly tall from his seating position, his broad shoulders and muscular frame said enough.
“Ignore them, Thaddeus. That is all they can do.” Orion spoke in a dismissive tone.
So the man’s name was Thaddeus. He did not look pleased with Orion’s suggestion in the slightest manner. I saw as he locked his jaw and ground his teeth before he spoke up.
“No, I cannot ignore them. My land is at the borders, and I am constantly being on the end of their little protests and stunts.” He said through gritted teeth, like he was trying to control himself from saying too much or saying something offensive.
“I understand you. But they are humans. What’s the worst they can do to us?” Orion leaned back on his chair.
A small frown formed on my lips. I could feel eyes on me. I bet that they were waiting for me to cause a scene after having to listen to the words that Orion just said. I was bitter, yes. But I couldn’t start a fight with Orion. I couldn’t start a fight with any Lycans.
Though his words might’ve been condescending, they were clearly right. Humans were just humans; powerless against Lycans. This generation more so. Back when the original Vitalis led a war against the Lycans, humans were stronger and better built.
They had a goal, and they strived to achieve that goal. They trained hard. But the humans of today aren’t necessarily involved in combat. Even the guards and soldiers. Knights only needed to purchase a personal sword to join the army.
I wondered why human rebels were stirring trouble. What could they possibly have as a weapon that they thought it smart to rebel against Lycans who could wipe out our entire race if they intended to?
“Are you seriously asking that question? The woman who sits on the left side of the king, what is she?” Thaddeus asked, pointing directly at me.
“Don’t start up a ruckus about this today.” One of the Councilmen said with a sigh.
That meant he talked about such things every other day. I felt so misplaced in this meeting. The argument continued about the rebels. Some people suggested that they be put to death, while others suggested locking them in the dungeons. The entire room was just sweeping with devices to get rid of the human rebels.
“Why not negotiate with them?” A small voice spoke up.
It took me a few seconds to realize that I was the one who spoke up. Everyone turned their attention to me, eyes wide like they could suck my soul by just looking at me.
“What did you just say?” One of the elderly women in the room asked me with a genuinely curious tone.
“Um… why not negotiate with the rebels and find out what they want, so that-”
“Who do you think we are? Street rats? We do not negotiate with rebels.” Thaddeus was the one who cut my sentence midway.
I saw as his dark eyes burned in hatred for me. No one in the room said anything else as they let Thaddeus speak for them all.
“I’m sorry, I just thought that it would be a better option instead of killing them.” I slapped my face repeatedly inside me because of the embarrassment.
“No one asked you to think anything. Keep your thoughts to yourself, human.” He spat before turning his attention from me and resuming his argument with the others.
I waited for someone to speak in my favor and say that he shouldn’t have spoken to me like that but no one did. Not even my own husband who acted like he didn’t know me. My cheeks burned in shame and annoyance.
Annoyance at myself. I should’ve just kept quiet. I just had to speak and have myself shut down in an embarrassing manner. The meeting continued with me feeling sorry for myself while others freed their destructive thoughts and suggestions.
Once it was over, the men and women left the room in a hurry. I was among the last to leave but the second I stood up, I got backed against the table by a being towering over me. The person’s hands were placed on either side of me, palms spread out pressing against the table. I had nowhere to run to.
I looked up to see familiar dead, onyx eyes.