War-Bloodied Claws

Chapter 4: Palace Uproar

The Elder Council and the Heads of the Nobility all sat locked into the meeting chamber; arguing over the message that their King had sent days ago. Informing them all of Indulal's successful pregnancy and his decision to allow the rest of the court to wait for an attempt due to the rebellion. He also made point to outline his smugness and his happiness at them; because of writing about Indulal bearing twins.

"It has to be untrue." Elder Desdemona said curtly with hardened eyes, "There has not been a multiple birth for the Poisoned Fangs clan in nearly five-hundred years now...perhaps longer. He's bluffing us; getting our hopes up due to all we have endured of late."

She then hardened her hands to fists, "Never-mind that I don't believe that Hadrian himself even has the natural magic to really be ready for creating heirs. He's barely war-tried, and hasn't yet had to turn anyone to one of us. It's unheard of for a King not to have turned at least one other to a vampire and been tried in battle multiple times before an heir is conceived."

Heiress Dominova snorted to that as the room turned to her, "That's because our rulers of recent centuries haven't been as magically powerful as Hadrian is. Also, our rulers were not as...family oriented or minded; Diantha even as much as she wanted children of her own blood...she held to hope for a mate that did not come forth. Hadrian became her joy and her pride."

She then leered with a nasty smirk to Desdemona, "You're just jealous that Hadrian isn't into females, and wouldn't have chose one of your daughters. Sour that he killed one of them for attempting to lure him illegally.

Especially since you should be kissing his feet in gratitude; because he didn't strip your family of its noble title for it."

Desdemona's eyes reddened, "Watch it, Dominova. Just because you're a little kiss-up to the new King and he favors you for your advice; does not mean that the rest of us are. To many of us; Hadrian is still a foreigner and usurper. He was not born to us; brought in as a weak and pathetic human child...leeching off Diantha's wealth and guilty conscious from the war we aided to Riddle before this all happened."

A male voice broke in with a cough as the women death-glared at the other.

"I think the tale is entirely untrue." Said Hugo Bloodward of House Bloodward, "Hadrian was recently turned and he is merely almost fifteen realistically; so while his hormones are quite active, I don't believe there is any way that his body is ready for such things on top of adapting to all the supposed powers he has that was left as a record from Diantha."

"It's too soon." He said

Elder Nyxta scowled, "Yet all in this room knows well that Hadrian is exceptional. Extraordinary, even. He was a human child brought to us when malnourished, weak, fragile and sensitive. Yet, he triumphed all those obstacles. He learned our ways. He embraced them. He was taught to fight vampires as a human and he won.

He was turned; became one of us, and then our King went hunting on his own by himself only hours after waking. That feat alone is unheard of; no other ruler...be they King or Queen of past, has ever done this at all. He is magically more powerful than everyone in this room combined, and he used his own vampiric powers as well in that same night he first hunted alone; without training.

Another near impossible feat.

What's to say this is not yet another exception? A show of how right Diantha was to choose him as her heir?" She spoke cold, "All the elder's have stuck their noses up to Hadrian and looked down on him since he arrived; even after he proved himself as capable time and again.

The nobility had turned their eyes away; sought to hide their own weaknesses and failures from the crown for too long. Hadrian has never done this! He has admitted to his own faults, weaknesses and failures. He laid his faults out bare to all and built himself up from them right before our eyes; stronger than before for it."