Throne of the Beasts ✔️

Family

"Are you sure he's dead?" I asked. I feel like a face burn could be survived with the right treatment, and that dropping his body off at the castle would give him access to said treatment. "He has to be. I checked his pulse and I couldn't feel anything." Biming replied. I wanted to speak, but couldn't think of anything else to say. If he was dead, he was dead. As we neared the castle, I realized that there were more guards now than when I had first arrived here. This would make things a lot more complicated.

Biming was dressed as a normal townsfolk, and I had to admit that even common clothing like the stuff I used to wear looked dashing on him. "Stay here. I'll handle this." He said, flicking his hair. When I looked at his face again, he had tears running down his face. I gasped and before I could ask if he was okay, he laughed and said, "This is just a quirk of mine. I'm fine. Now stay hidden, I don't want any guards to find their precious queen." He grinned.

Before I could react, he was walking towards the entrance to the palace, dragging a dead Henry with him on his back. "Guards, help me, please!" He pleaded. If I didn't know he was faking it, I would have guessed that he was actually in some kind of danger. The guards, upon seeing their king's corpse, threw themselves onto him and let out a cry of lamentation. They thanked Biming generously and said they would give him a proper burial.

What a performance, I must say. He even had me fooled. He walked back towards me, wiping the faux tears off of his face. On our walk back to the camp, I had a sudden thought. "Since King Henry is dead, and the prophecy has been fulfilled, than can I go back to the castle?" Biming shook his head. "No. A queen cannot rule by herself- she needs a king." He paused for dramatic effect. "And since Henry was never meant to be royal, we need to find someone who is to turn everything back to normal."

I cocked my head to the side. "Man, what a quick and unsatisfying prophecy." I muttered. There were still many flaws I could find within it though. "How do we know who's supposed to be royalty anyway? I-"

"I was just getting to that. In our camp, we have our own shaman. She's young but talented. I think you might know her." A small smile grew on his face. It disappeared though as soon as we reached the gate. It was ripped open, the gatekeeper slouched over, dead. "But first, there are... other matters to attend to."

He grabbed my wrist and yanked me inside. It turns out, the Lenai had won, and the soldiers from the castle had lost. The remaining few were lined up against a stone house, their hands against the wall. Dakota was pacing back and forth, speaking. "Your leader is dead. And you will be dead too, if you don't surrender yourselves to us." His hoarse tone and blood-soaked body did nothing to ease the situation. Not that he should- it was war- but it seemed to pressure not only the enemies but the people around him to submit.

There were many animals surrounding the crowd- presumably everyone's animals. Some whimpered while others growled, hissed or grumbled. "Seaman, take care of them." A man with a shotgun walked up to each individual and asked them a question in their ear. Most shook nodded vigorously and ran back towards Dakota, while two shook their heads no. Seaman took no time aiming the barrel against the backs of their heads and firing. They and an animal from the crowd dropped in a synchronized fashion. Seaman leaned the gun against the stone wall, waiting for directions. "Take them to the medic. They're all bleeding. Report them to me when she's done." Dakota ordered, and on cue he lead all of them to a small building that looked like it was part of the land, where an old woman sat.

As Dakota turned his head, his eyes landed on me. A smile spread on his face like a disease as he rushed to greet me. "Eliza!" Good to see you." He said genuinely. He looked at Biming and nodded. "We have someone we want you to meet." He rested his hand in the small of my back and lead me to a smaller version of Dakota's hut, but with more decorations plastered across the outside.

Without calling inside, he ushered me through the tarp and into a shack that smelled like incense and decay. A young lady was hunched over some bottles of liquid and herbs, mixing them together to make a brown fluid. She turned around and handed the glass to me. She had a huge smile from ear to ear, which made me question what was in my cup.

Nearly giggling, she uttered, "I foresaw meeting you this day, Eliza." She was a beautiful girl, a little younger than me, with two Vinson each side of her head, freckles, and emerald green eyes. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap. I gave her a perplexed look, receiving a hurt look in exchange. "Do you... not remember who I am?"

"Uh, no. Sorry." I said with empathy. She frowned. "Oh." She stuttered. Her usual smile returned to her, and she blurted, "I'm Caroline, your cousin."

"Oh, and don't worry about your drink. It's only tea." She said, smiling wider than ever.