A Queen's Redemption

Chapter 2- Strange Happenings

"Hey mum,"

She glanced at me. "What's up baby?"

I put my crochet tools aside and faced her. "Who or what is the Rabid Prince?"

She froze mid-knit, then slowly turned to me. "Where did you hear that?"

I shrugged. "In the store the other day. Some guys were talking about it, and also something about him looking for a feeder." I said the last part quietly.

She sighed deeply, put down her knitting needles and gave me her full attention.

"A lot has changed...in the 13 years you've been gone honey."

"I can see that. Tell me about it? From the beginning?"

She looked at me for a split second then patted the spot next to her. I came over and she started.

"11 years ago, just 2 years after you left, Asnuelia started getting attacks."

My brows furrowed.

"They seemed to happen every other day, that's how much they were. As you know at the time the country thrived on just the rules of the Council, although...I guess that's probably enough reason. We were pretty much defenseless. But, we had no enemies on the outside, so we had no idea as to why the attacks were happening."

I nodded to show her I understood.

"We couldn't handle it. We didn't have an army, we were and still are a country that's mostly humans so magic users are limited and obviously weapons would have been no help." She took a breath. "So the only other thing the council could do was..."

"Get help from a Royal Senate." I concluded. "What's the name of the Senate?"

"House of Crois."

Crois...huh...why's that name so familiar? I shook it to the back of my head. Later.

"So they stepped in...Okay I understand but Senates don't help countries or anyone for free. What was in it for them?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer so I just went ahead and said it. "A seat above the Council?"

She confirmed.

"House of Crois, huh." I mused.

"They did...wonders for the country. Obviously new laws had been put in place and honestly we're still trying to get used to them...even after all these years." Then her face turned. "Apparently the council wasn't all grand as we thought they were."

She stood and started pacing. "We found out that the Council was basically selling us."

I raised an eyebrow.

"They had an underground corporation. You know about those dark agencies right?"

"Not about them more so of them." It clicked. "Wait, the Council was involved?!" I shrieked.

"Yes. for years." She shook her head in disappointment. "The Senate sniffed all of it out in a matter of months. Within two years the change was incredible."

"I know. I noticed as soon as I got here. It's so very different from what I remember as a child." I smiled, remembering. "So the Rabid Prince..."

"His actual name is Prince Amir Crois. He's a Vampiric Demon." My eyes widened at that. "His parents are Sebille and Mirza Crois. Vampire and demon. And one other child named Hazel Crois. A Healer. She's their youngest and inherited her mother's vampiric abilities as well. No one's sure how she has a Healer's power though."

"So who's ruling? Amir has Prince in his title so I'm guessing it isn't him."

She took a deep breath in. "Demonic powers are hard to control. Even if you've been alive for centuries. The King...or I should say, Former King Mirza...he went insane...because of his powers. Apparently he never really got a handle on them and as he got older they spiraled out of control. They had to demote him."

"I see." I paused. "So, um, where does the "rabid" part come from?"

She stared out the window for a few seconds. "He had a mate." She turned to look at me. "He had a mate...and she died. 3 years ago."

My eyes were as wide as saucers. "A Vampiric Demon having a mate?? That's practically unheard of!"

"I know. She smiled sadly. "But he had one."

"How'd she die?"

She stiffened slightly. "I don't think that's important right now baby." she plastered on a fake smile.

Wait what? What the hell is she hiding?

"After she died...Amir went...crazy. His demon took control. It was a killing spree. Men, women..." She sighed. "And children."

Speechless... was an understatement. Oh my god...

"He was...a monster." she shook her head. "His family was finally able to capture and stop him from killing anymore people. He was locked and chained for the past couple years until he got his control back. No one knows where they stashed him though."

"But there wasn't any guarantee he would've gotten his sanity back though."

She shrugged. "I guess that's a gamble they were willing to take. During that time his mother ruled in his stead."

"But if he's back then why is she still ruling?"

"He's still pretty unstable." she stared me straight in the eyes. "Hence where the feeder comes in."

Oh right I forgot about that part.

"When he had a mate, naturally she was able to keep his emotions and nonhuman sides in control with her blood. However, now that she's gone, he's practically a ticking time bomb. He needs blood to be able to stay in control, so the Senate came up with the idea to find feeders for him."

The air turned icy. "You mean enslave feeders to satisfy his blood lust?" I sneered, practically feeling my eyes switch between blue and violet.

"No baby."

I cocked my head in confusion. She sighed. She's been doing that alot today.

"They're not like the leaders of years ago. They...respect feeders."

My eyebrows raised at that. "That's not possible. Especially the feeders that were also witches." I rolled my eyes. Like me...

She smiled gently. "It is. I witnessed it. They found a feeder 2 years ago. Clearly someone didn't get the memo of not touching them because she showed up with bruises. The people who were responsible for escorting her, lost their heads immediately."

Yes, I choked on air.

"When asked if she still wanted to assist the prince she said no, and she was allowed to return home." She drew me into a hug. "They're not like the leaders before baby. Things have changed."

I scoffed. "Yeah, whatever mama."