Lockwood and Co. One-Shots

The King's Choice: The Bond (Interlude)

"The Bond" - Interlude

Lockwood and Co. Series

Summary: a deal that cannot be broken

Warning: NSFW (kinda)

————

The rain's heavy falling and the roaring thunder were the only things that could be heard around the whole kingdom. The trees were shaken around by the terrible wind that wrecked the lands, brought by the dreadful storm. River Sinforte ran ferociously at the edge of the forest and crashed against its rocky banks, the water jumping out madly to the trees.

Everyone was firmly tucked inside their beds for the night, covered by their soft and warm quilts as they snored quietly, peacefully. The children were fast asleep since hours ago, the women and men laid on their beds, holding each other lovingly, guarding the warmth of their bed.

No soul should have been wandering the streets and roads of the towns at such hour of the night, or in such weather as the one that rocked the houses and stores. No one ought to walk the lanes of the silent city in conditions as the one that oversaw the land that night.

And yet one did.

My horse's hooves clicking against the cobblestone of the roads was completely drowned by the rain, the neighing and huffing from the nervous animal eaten up by the thunders that boomed high above us. The shops and stalls were of course closed, the fruit and vegetables having been taken inside the houses so they wouldn't get ruined by the weather. The smell of spiced meat, roasting inside blazing ovens was obviously absent, the usual glamour of the marketplace stolen from its rightful place.

I made my way quietly through the districts of the city. There were some Guards stationed here and there in the corners of the avenues, pacing around the streets, standing in silence in the alleys as was their duty. They would eye me curiously from their posts, and many approached me to question my intentions, or likely to send me on my way back home, but they'd immediately back away when they caught the glare I gave them from under the hood of my cloak.

Soon I was out of town and making my way through the dirt-roads to the wide forest that bordered the land. My horse neighed anxiously as we advanced, entering the mass of trees that separated our city with the next.

No one dared to enter the forest, not during the day, and even less during the night, given the countless stories and legends of horrible monsters that devoured men, of the vicious devils and demons that lured people into their heinous ploys, of the godless women and men that devoted their lives to the wicked dark arts.

It had to be here somewhere...

The white light of the moon above the treetops was slowly becoming less and less as we went deeper into the forest, making it harder for me to recognize my surroundings. Not that it was easier before- the woods looked fairly the same everywhere you looked no matter the lighting you got. It seemed like everywhere I turned I would see the same tree with twisted roots and thick branches, heavy leaves that were weighted with the water of the rain. The sound of owls hooting from their nests inside tree trunks, the tiny claws of the wood's critters agains the branches, the slight hissing of animals resting in their dens surrounded me along the rain.

Eventually I managed to see a small dot of light among the trees and I directed my horse towards it. Ignoring its nervous whining and the slightly struggle on the reigns, it followed my command and marched towards the light source. It steadily grew bigger, then another light appeared. Then another. And one more.

I pulled the reigns back, my horse stopping with a fearful snort. We stood before a great oak tree, its trunk thick like a castle's towers, and long and tall just like one. It had some holes- windows on some parts of its trunk, which allowed to see a bright, slightly flickering light coming from inside.