Chapter 3 – The Message

• It was an unusual day in the land of Arthenis. This has never been heard of before in ages. At the palace of the Fenrisulfurs who ruled Arthenis, sat on her throne was Queen Leah Fenrisulfur, and before her, sat on lower seats to her right and left were the members of her royal council. Queen Leah had her left elbow on the left arm of the cushioned, golden throne she sat on. Her jaw rested on her left palm as she awaited the visitor she had been informed of. Her lips were pressed firmly together, and her eyebrows were lowered. She was annoyed. The identity of this visitor had caused her to be this way.
• This was the same for every member of the council sitting before her. This visitor was from the kingdom of Scyta, which they had been at war with for decades. They loathed this kingdom and its people. The only reason why the throat of this citizen of Scyta was yet to be slit was that they were curious to hear what they had to say.
• The two guards who stood by the two doors that led to the room the Queen was in, pulled both doors open. Standing by the entrance was a man whose ankles and wrists were bound by chains. This was the Scytan visitor. Standing by his side were the Arthenis guards who had brought him in. They nudged him to go forward, closer to their Queen. With his head facing the ground, he approached the throne. The clanking of the metals he was bound by disrupted the tranquillity of the whole palace. Now the members of the council could see him. They looked at him with scorn, many resisting the urge to shred the helpless-looking peasant into bits.
• "That mutt shall come no closer to the Queen!" A member of the council, an elderly man, ordered, and immediately, the guards restricted the man from moving any further. They forced him to get on his knees and bow to the members of the council and the Queen. Queen Leah screened him. She could sense that he was nothing more than a measly omega. By sending him here, Scyta must have meant no harm. This confused her. She wondered what else the enemy kingdom could have wanted. Well, seeing that this man was powerless, she knew that there was no need to bind him.
• "Rid him off those chains!" Queen Leah ordered the guards who brought him in, and immediately, they took out the keys and began to loosen the chains. Several members of the court turned towards the Queen in disappointment. That was all they did. They knew better than to protest. The Scytan man was now free.
• "Explain yourself," Queen Leah ordered.
• "Good day! Arthenis' Venerable Queen I am undeserving of having you listen to my voice, but thank you for the honor! I've come to ask for something on behalf of my King, his majesty Roy Adolwolf," the man explained, still bowing to the Queen.
• "Raising your face and informing me of what your troublemaker of a king wishes to communicate to me," Queen Leah asked.
• The man raised his head.
• "I'll just go on and read this letter written by the King himself." He said as he pulled out a scroll from a sac that was tied to the waist of the old robe he wore.
• "Greetings, Queen Leah of Arthenis. I know that our kingdoms have a rocky relationship and, quite frankly, we are gaining nothing from it. The berserkers are gradually becoming quite a problem, and I think it's high time we set our differences aside and face those monsters. Of course, merely stamping a treaty with ink won't solidify our kingdoms. If you also wish to unite, I hereby ask that you offer your princess to my prince as his Luna. This way, we can be united by blood rather than ink. If you wish for this to happen, you will keep to this term as there is nothing else I want from you. You do well to not hurt my messenger. As much as scratching him would translate to you asking that this war between us be prolonged. Thank you for reading, Queen-"
• "SILENCE, you fool!!" The very same council member from earlier roared at the messenger. He rose from his seat, a walking stick supporting his frail frame. He turned to the throne.
• "My Queen! Permit my insolence, but you must agree with me that Roy of Scyta is only insulting us. How dare he requests that you send your daughter to his son? What does that man think of us? He pays us no respect! " Greg explained softly. Every other member of the council nodded in agreement. The man took his seat and silence followed.
• "For speaking my mind, I will forgive your insolence, Jermaine. Do well to not lash out next time, "Queen Leah warned. Greg nodded.
• "... and as for you fool, who dares deliver such a ridiculous message? Just how shall I deal with you?" The Queen asked the messenger, her voice remaining calm.
• "Apologies Queen! I know how you must feel, but I have only done as my king ordered. Well, your majesty, I suggest you ponder this with your hate for Scyta kept aside. The war between our kingdoms is not benefiting either of us! If the berserkers meet us in this state, it will surely be the end of us all! If your princess simply marries Prince Juan of Scyta, everyone will see that we are ready to set aside our differences, and then we can triumph over the berserkers! Please consider this your majesty. My king requested that I stay no more than two weeks in this land. After this time has elapsed, I will either return to him with your daughter or with a negative answer from you, which will only continue the war! The choice is yours, your majesty!" The messenger explained, with his head pinned to the ground. The muttering of the council members amongst themselves followed, and Queen Leah remained mute.
• "Very well, I have heard the words of your King and I will consider them. In two weeks, you will surely have an answer to return with," Queen Leah finally spoke.
• "The guards will show you where you and those you came with shall stay for these two weeks. You folks will be fed as well. Try to enjoy your stay," The Queen continued.
• "Thank you for hearing me out, your majesty!" The messenger said, with a bow. He rose and handed the letter he had read over to the guard. Other guards escorted him out. The guard who had the letter approached the throne and offered it to the Queen.
• Later that day...
• Grinning broadly at the Queen as she stepped into the room, Chief Greg rose in respect.
• "Thank you for the privilege of coming out to see me, my Queen," Greg said, bowing to her. She took her seat on the throne and, returning his smile, she gestured to him to have his seat.
• "Nice to finally see you today, Chief. Well, to be honest, I wish I had seen you earlier today when the council and I had a meeting," Queen Leah uttered her first words to him. Slowly, the smile on Chief Greg's face vanished, and he raised his brow.
• "Pardon me, my Queen, but a meeting without me? The head of the council? " Chief Greg asked, forcing a giggle-filled with confusion.
• Relax, chief, it was an impromptu one and the rest of them just happened to be here with me discussing trivial matters. I will fill you in after I've heard your reason for summoning me," Leah said. Chief Greg nodded and his smile from earlier returned.
• "Well, my Queen. You see, we've always known this was bound to happen and sometimes we casually spoke about it. My Queen, I know I should be the one to make the first move, and I think the time is now right for me to do it. This is about your daughter, Princess Ashina, the next wolf to grace the throne of Luna, our Kingdom, Arthenis, and my son, Decker Hemming. My Queen, you will agree with me that the connection we've seen between these two shares is not ordinary. It can never be broken. Not to brag, but it is quite obvious that my son will rule alongside her. Also, not to sound disrespectful in any way, but we are going to advance to the level of laws. I'm aware I speak too much, my Queen, but the thing is I have come to get the ball rolling by asking what you demand of us the Hemmings to present to you on behalf of Decker," Greg explained, with his head bowed the whole time. Finally sitting up, he retained his grin as he awaited the Queen's reply. Queen Leah forced a chuckle as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had anticipated this moment, but she had not prepared as she wished it was not going to come. Now it had and she knew she had to do it. Heaving a sigh, she began.
• "You have done well, Greg. Indeed, we've had this in mind for quite a while now, and you made the right move by coming here. Well, before we advance, I'd like us to talk about something," Queen Leah said.
• "Oh, okay, and what might that be, my Queen?" Greg asked nervously as he wondered what this must have been.
• "Chief Greg" I'm sure you've heard the reports of the heat of the ongoing war reducing as Scytan warriors slowly back out of our land and their numbers reduce. What do you think could be the cause of this? " The Queen asked. Chief Greg laughed as he wore a smug look.
• "Of course, it must be that they've seen that our warriors won't relent, so they're trying to subtly retreat now," Greg answered. Queen Leah nodded her head slowly.
• "Greg, you see, I thought so too. We all did. Well now, this brings us to the impromptu meeting I had with the council earlier today. " Queen Leah said. Queen Leah cleared her throat. Chief Greg nodded, giving the Queen an intent stare that seemed to say "I'm all ears."
• "King Roy sent a message earlier today. It appears that he brought down the heat on purpose, in hopes of me giving into his proposal." Leah continued.
• "And what is this proposal of his?" Greg asked impatiently. Queen Leah let out a sigh.It has to be done.She thought.
• "He wants my daughter to join blood with his son. With that action, he will not only end the war, but he will also join forces with us, so even the berserkers can't hurt us," she said speedily.
• Greg exploded. "What?! What nonsense! Of course, that's impossible! The nerve of that damned fool! How dare he? I'm sure we have slaughtered the damned messenger!" He roared as he jumped off his seat.
• "Chief, be civil," The Queen warned calmly. Greg sat back down as soon as he heard his queen's voice.
• "You don't understand it, Greg. At the sound of the messengers' words, my blood boiled in rage. Even though it would be a suicide mission, I even thought of having our troops make a forceful entry into Scyta. Well, I am Queen. I care dearly for this kingdom, and I will sacrifice anything for our peace. My happiness and my daughter's will not be excluded. Please understand that our children can no longer become one," she said Behind her emotionless tone was pain. She wanted the union of Ashina and Decker just as much as Greg did. The chief fell to his knees, breaking down.
• "Does it have to be this way?" He cried. Being unable to bear the sight of the weeping man, Leah rose to leave.
• "I'm afraid so." The queen muttered as she walked away. She wondered if, truly, sacrificing her daughter's happiness was going to bring her kingdom the peace she always hoped for.