The Witching Hour

Ch. 7

Capital of the Kingdom of Aster,
Castle Nitehardt

Queen Anthena slowly placed her black, leather bound book back on the stand and made her way to the messenger in her throne room. She moved so gracefully, so inhumanly, that she seemed to float across the floor beneath her. She stopped and traced her long, red nails over the throat of the young solider standing before her.
"Tell me again..." She began after a moment. Her long, dark red-brown hair fell dead straight and stopped past her shoulders. She was tall, for a lady, and wore her crown and garnet red gown perfectly. She spoke slowly, and in a way that was both beautifully seductive and chillingly terrifying.
"...Exactly... What did the Oracle report to you?"

The young messenger looked straight ahead intently, yet Queen Athena could already see a bead of sweat forming on his brow and watch as he began to be gripped with fear. She grinned slightly, biting gently at her full red lips, thoroughly enjoying this man's terror.

"The... The Oracle, your highness. She summoned me earlier today and ..." He stopped out of nervousness, but Anthena's eyes made him continue,
"She said to tell you in her words, that the spark had ignited, and this time... This time you won't be able to snuff it out." He backed up slowly and looked away from the Queen.

Queen Anthena looked down at her nails and contemplated what the Oracle had said. For the slightest fraction of a second, a mix of anger, shock, and even... fear, was seen on her face. She recovered herself with little effort and ran her fingernail gently down the messenger's neck to his waist.
"Well... My brave... young man. Will you please go and tell the Oracle that..." She grinned widely and came within a hair's width of the soldier.

"She is going to need a new messenger."

And with that, the Queen drew the soldier's sword from the sheath on his waist and slit his throat so quickly and efficiently that the man did not make a sound before landing on the cold, stone floor in a pool of blood.

The Queen dropped the sword and let it clang on the floor before returning to her throne. She sighed and sat down as her servants quickly cleaned up the mess the soldier had made and disposed of the body. She rubbed her temples gently and her husband soon entered the throne room. The servants all bowed lowly to King Leonidas as he took his throne. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and wore his usual dark-colored kingly attire. He had a goatee with long, dark brown hair, held neatly under his crown.

"What troubles you, my love?" The Red King asked his queen as he sat.

"Tis nothing..." She replied softly,
"Simply put, my king... The Oracle... she had a troubling vision that I did not agree with." She stated, placing a kiss on her husband's lips.

"Another vision? Was it about magic?" He asked, spitting out the word and suddenly becoming much more serious.

"Yes, my love. It seems to have popped up again, but this time the Oracle... She states that we will not defeat it." She said as she rubbed the King's arms gently.

"Perhaps it is time we reminded the citizens of Aster how we became known as the Red King and Queen" the King stated and smiled as his wife's eyes seem to brighten with delight.

"Tomorrow, we will consulate with the Oracle to see where exactly this magic seems to be. Once we find where, we shall send out the Red Guard and have them bathe the roads with the blood of those devil spawn so we can rid ourselves of them, once and for all." King Leonidas stated decidedly, as Queen Anthena smiled so widely that she revealed her teeth and began to laugh. A slow, deep, hauntingly beautiful, laugh.