The Demon Wolf (Book 1 of The Devil and the Huntsman)

Chapter 15

"Father? Father, wake up!" A female voice said. The voice sounded so much like someone Julius has known for a long time, and he could tell who it was just by hearing it.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked up and wondered where the voice was coming from; he was so tired he could barely tell what was happening. Then, he looked to his right and saw it was Lagertha who was trying to wake him up from his sleep. She slept all night after eating her dinner, and Lucy did the same, and they were both worried about Julius not coming home. He rubs his eyes for a few seconds to get his vision back together and he could see much clearer than before. That wine he was drinking from last night was much stronger than the wine men were very used to drinking; he did not know it was mixed with high demonic ingredients.

"Are you alright, Father?" Lagertha asked.

"I'm alright. Did your mother lock all the doors as I told her?" Julius asked.

"She did. She didn't tell me a single thing about you and why you left," she said.

"Yeah, good. It's best if we keep it that way. It's something I cannot force myself to tell anyone about what's going on."

"I don't understand. You're hiding something from me. I can tell just by your expression. Someone or something is holding you back from us, and I need a simple explanation. Of course, my mother won't tell me anything that you're going through. But I need to know why all of this confusion."

Lagertha was very hesitant about what she was talking about with her father, and him being in silence made her question almost everything around her. She did not care about anything that could leave her without a single clue and begging someone to tell her it would not work. Julius was always the type of person to be silent about different benefits that he could try to do. That would have worked a long time ago, but he was already on the brink of temptation by the Devil himself. Any more trial and error would cost him greatly; everyone important to him would soon leave him.

"Lagertha, this will not go the way you think. It might work fine for other people, but I am not like them," Julius said.

"Father, we can help you. It's not too late. There's nobody out here. Just tell me what's going on," Lagertha said. This time, she was not holding back, and she refused to leave until her father gave her an answer.

Julius tries to sum up what happened last night and needed to find an explanation, but it was nearly impossible to do it with his daughter.

Then he said to her, "It was in the line of duty, Lagertha. There was some business I had to take care of, and I didn't want to drag you into all of this mess. They were getting very close to this house, and the wind caught me and told me to kill whatever was waiting for me. After that, I got exhausted from pretty much everything that occurred. And so, I came back here and fell asleep next to the door. Enough of an explanation for you?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm pretty sure my mother is getting worried about you. She doesn't seem like she wants to be talked to," Lagertha said. Then, Julius gets himself up from the ground and stretches his arms to get himself situated and ready for the new day.

The day of Lancelot's sacrifice has come, and the city of Loftain is preparing itself for the feast that will take place in the night. Harald was already gathering his servants to make preparations and decorations for the walls and the palace. His wife was looking at all the buildings of the city, and her son was talking with his friends as they helped him gather seats for the tables. The city itself was already blessed upon the power of Lancelot and his kin; that heavenly power came from Lancelot's father, and his grandfather passed onto his descendants. Meanwhile, Julius was taking one last look at the morning sky before he went back inside his house.

Lucy was already awake, but she did not want to be talked to or wish to talk to anyone after what has happened. Julius tried to think of something to say to his wife, but nothing could be said or done about her silence. Lagertha did not want to talk to her mother either, because even saying a single word to cheer her up would not go well. Her mother remained silent and could not speak a word to anyone; her being worried about her husband caused her to be speechless. And so, Julius went back to his bedroom to forget everything that had happened last night.

Then, Lagertha tries to think of a solution to speak with either her mother or her father, and she bites her finger to figure something out. Unfortunately, she did not think it would be easy to comfort any of her parents; both of them were exhausted, tired, and not feeling any good. At first, she goes to her mother to see if she could talk to her and say something nice to her.

"Mother, you've been quiet for too long. I want to know what's wrong," Lagertha said.

"Nothing's wrong. I don't want to be talked to," Lucy said.

"I want to know what's happening between you and father," she said.

"There's nothing to be discussed, you hear me? You will not talk to anyone about our situation."

"What are you doing?"

"I won't repeat myself, daughter! When I say don't talk about it, I didn't stutter!"

This time, her mother was talking to her like a strict person, and she was too depressed to be thinking about anything else. The thought of her husband being in danger has caused her to meltdown in a manner of disgust and despair. The way Julius spoke to her wife last night was unlike him, and he spoke as if something abysmal could happen to anyone in his family. Lucy's eyes were red and burning up because of so many tears she shed as she slept without her husband. But she was letting out all of her frustration on her own daughter; she did not realize for a second that even Lagertha had feelings.

"I didn't think it was real. You've been like this for the past week! Mother, I can help you," Lagertha said.

"Listen, I need you to just leave me be, alright?" Lucy asked.

"Fine by me. I don't even know why I'm even here trying to cheer you up."

"Please, just leave me alone."

This time, she actually meant it; she really wanted to be left alone by nobody around her. Then, Lagertha angrily walks back to her room and slams the door behind her, and she locks the door. She already understood that her mother was a very sorrowful person who has been acting the same ever since those ancient men came by her doorsteps. It was probably a terrible choice for them to come to her when her husband needed to be with his brother. When Lucy married Julius, she thought she met a man who would not leave her depressed and angry at him.

Then, she gets up from the sofa and walks to her bedroom where Julius was on the bed trying to forget everything that occurred. Helvegen was definitely a demon from Hell who lived to bring wisdom to strong knights and to bring agony to his relatives. Julius knew that he would meet him again and understood he would take him to a place that no other mortal has ever walked. Then, Lucy looks and stares at her husband to see if she can figure out what to do with him. She could no longer resist the secret from the men of Anduin and prepared to break her promise with Brynjar.

"You feel alright, Julius?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I could ask the same question as you," Julius answered.

"How's the knight-leading job going? You've grown far too attached to it. Seems Harald is pretty envying with you," she said.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"I need an explanation, Julius! You left me extremely worried with you and made me wonder if you were going to die!"

"And I'm sorry about that. But even I need an explanation from you. What is going on?"

Julius and Lucy were at a difficult truce with each other and found it challenging to accept each other's justifications. Lucy tried to come up with something simple to say, and her husband was just as confused as she was.