VERMILLION: The fall of Zaleon

Chapter 29

‘What are you going to say to him?’ Posed Remo, watching his mate attentively without lifting his eyes or even batting an eyelash. He had spent the entire night restless, thinking of what Amana would have to do to lure Daraz out of there anyways. He had gone through every possible scenario, and concluded that the only way she would be able to lure him out is if she had to seduce him intimately. Of course, Amana had no plans as such, though found herself stuck comforting someone who was clearly overreacting. 

‘You crazy man, stop worrying. I told you. Nothing intimate, the man is obsessed with me, he’ll literally do anything for me, I don’t need to seduce him to lure him out. I say jump, he jumps. I say come with me, he’ll come with me’ she responded, and sat herself on his lap as they waited in the empty office for everyone else to arrive. Clea and Dregov had been spending the last couple of minutes together before taking off, seeing as no one truly knew how the day was going to end, and the immortal pair had busied themselves in travelling to the Galon to get the blessing of the flame to throw bring Daraz in, to throw him out into the flame. Remo knew that his reaction was a bit too extreme, nevertheless, the protective man clung into his mate, remaining silent for a brief moment and taking a deep sight of surrender. 

‘Alright, but keep your phone on and on you so I know that you’re safe. The man might be obsessed with you but he still murdered his parents. And if he does anything, kick his ass’ he said, much to her surprise and satisfaction. It had been a great surprise for him to trust her enough to know she would kick his ass, and she smiled, bending down to join her lips to his briefly before the door opened, and they composed themselves. 

Dregov and Clea trekked in, and the uncomfortably stiff brother, however comfortable he had gotten with Remo, stepped in with rigid hands, doing his best to pretend like he hadn’t just seen his sister eat faces with her mate on his lap. 

‘Where’s Paulina, Eliana and Razaar?’ He asked, changing the subject. Remo straightened up, facing him with the utmost respect he always had for his Doirekh brother-in-law, and maintained a certain distance from his mate despite not wanting to. 

‘Paulina is on her way, she’s just sorting out some final paperwork, and checking on details of the plan. Eliana and Razaar are getting the blessing from the flame’ he responded, and Dregov nodded, and they all settled into comfortable silence as they waited for the events to take place. 

Knowing the truth about the flame had been more than enough for the flame to know just how much they cared about Leopold, and returning to the Galon now had seemed different, almost like they could recognise the connection between Leopold and themselves, though had yet to find out just how connected they were. 

The Galoness raised her eyes, and welcomed the pair with open arms, allowing the pair to arrive the flame with a smile on her face.

‘Welcome, great Alpha and Luna of Gloarian, and co-leaders of Hybrids’ she spoke with an excitement in her voice that neither Eliana nor Razaar could justify. Why was the Galoness so excited? Ignoring her reaction, they proceeded to get to the point, knowing they had much to do and they were eager to get to the finish line already. 

‘Galoness, we would like to request to Leo- I mean, the flame, that he give us his blessing to bring in Daraz Vermillion’ began Eliana, wondering whether she should or shouldn’t use the flame’s real name. She had no idea how to break it to the rest of their planet the truth about the flame, though the pair knew their planet had a right to know, and knew that once the war was over, they had to make the announcement public. The smiling Galoness laughed, and the scene had started getting odder and odder for the pair, who wondered what exactly was up with the woman, and why she was so bloody excited. 

‘You don’t need it my child. You already have it. The flame- I mean, Leopold, knows what you want, dear’ she continued, and for the first time, she seemed but a casual human, speaking to them with welcoming arms and as more of a friend than a Galoness. Something was certainly unusual about the situation, though the pair kept it to themselves, not really sure of how to approach the situation to begin with. What would they even say or do? 

‘We don’t need anything? We can just bring him in and it will work?’ Razaar questioned to double check, and the joyful Galoness chuckled again.

‘Yes my child. You need not ask. Go fulfill your destiny child’ added the woman, and a puzzled pair looked at each other with mirroring expressions before thanking the Galoness and taking their leave, returning to Tetra, where they made their way to the office and gathered with the rest of their crew. Paulina had already arrived at the office, and when the immortal pair of Zaleon made their entrance, the team was complete. 

‘Did you get the blessing?’ Asked Amana, and Eliana and Razaar didn’t know where to begin with their response. 

‘We didn’t need it. Or at least, that’s what the Galoness said. She was acting really weird, laughing and smiling, it was quite strange’ mentioned Eliana, and the rest looked between one another, having no clue as to what was going on. Though this was no major concern for the commander, who wished only to get on with their task. 

‘Let’s not concern ourselves with that at the moment, we have a bigger task to focus on’ she began, and waited for anyone else to interrupt her if they had anything to say. When no one did, she carried on. ‘Well, you guys know the plan, and you know the rules. Don’t get caught or killed. Keep your phones on you, and keep them on so we know if you require assistance. Team Vienna is ready for extraction should you need it. Other than that, good luck to you all, and go get Daraz Vermillion’ she motivated, giving her last word before Remo and Clea reluctantly said their goodbye and they all made their way to the border, where after a last glance, the 4 entered Crest once again to get their plan into action. 

‘Ok, as discussed, Amana, you sneak in, and get Daraz out. Keep your phone on, if you need anything, we will be there’ Razaar recapped, and the Doirekh female nodded, and commenced taking a step towards the mansion that was nearing. 

‘Be careful’ Dregov whispered to her, and she nodded, taking off into the distance. She decided to change into her beast, flying up to her window, and climbing inside before switching back. She opened the door of her chambers, and began tip-toeing around the house, trying to be aware of the sounds that emerged from the house. She had yet to locate anyone in the house, including Daraz, though she knew that the probability of him being with Elize and Stregov were low. The two were probably locked up in their chambers, waiting for Stregov to fully recover from his burns and bruises, and Daraz and Liem probably buried themselves in their own chambers, getting on with their lives. 

She made her way to Daraz’s chambers, placing her ear on his door to hear if he was inside, and when she heard the noise, she smiled in gratitude before travelling to the room next to his, opening the window and transforming back into her Dragon. She then flew to his window, and knocked her figure into the window, waiting to catch his attention. He noticed within seconds, and with a frown, travelled to the window, unlocking it and opening it to let her in, so she could switch back to her human form.  

‘Where is your sister?’ She asked first thing, her face contoured with worry and stress. The reaction was immediate, despite his willingness to be away from her, Daraz had taken immediate worry upon her, approaching her and placing his hand on her shoulder.

‘Amana, are you alright? What’s going on? Where have you been?’ He questioned, and she knew immediately that her plan was working. 

‘I’ve been hiding. Your lunatic of a sister is trying to get me killed for no reason. She sent my own brother to attack me because of everything that happened yesterday and she still expects you all to believe that I did it. She set me up, and she’s pretending like I set her up!’ Exclaimed the woman, clearly showing signs of distress that she wanted Daraz to pick up on. 

‘Hey, hey, calm down alright? My sister is crazy, I’ll admit to that, but she’s not trying to kill you. I won’t let her kill you, alright? Just trust me. I know that you didn’t do whatever she said you did, it would be impossible. No one can just take our powers like that for a brief period of time, I know that. She just wants attention because of everything she’s been through with Stregov lately. Just let her be, why don’t you just come back as normal, and ignore her-’

‘Absolutely not, I’m not risking my life in this house again. I gotta go. Thanks for your help Daraz, but I can’t stay in this house anymore’ she responded, jumping out the window before he could react, and flying away. She switched as she arrived the ground deliberately, showing him where she was hidden, so he could follow. No doubt, the man ran out of his chambers, making his way outside to follow her into the forest, where he found her curled up next to a tree, her head buried in the nest of her hands, and he approached her slowly, seating himself next to her. 

‘Amana, she really won’t do anything to you, I promise’ he said to her, grabbing onto her hand, and it was as if Remo could feel it over the phone that he had. Remo’s fists clenched as he waited for someone to knock the man out, and awaited Amana’s voice to follow. 

‘I used to believe that too, until this happened. My brother injured Stregov because he was going to attack me after getting orders from your sister. She’s absolutely insane and she’ll go to lengths to kill me, I know it. She turned my own family against me’ spoke the woman, and Daraz grabbed onto her tighter, using this as his opportunity to get her to trust him. 

‘Hey, no matter what, I still trust you ok? I’m here for you’ he responded, his voice getting softer by the minute. Amana looked him in the eyes, and saw a man who was honest, yet lost. She saw in his eyes the man he was, lonely and desperate for love, and wished truly that he could have found someone to love him, perhaps then he wouldn’t be the lost cause he was. She stood up, ready for the next part of the plan, getting him to stand up as well. 

‘Thank you Daraz, it means a lot’ she responded, turning to face him, and letting him stare into the depths of her eyes, his hand still holding onto hers as she waited for Dregov to knock the man out from behind. Soon the impact of something strong had caused the Witch’s eyes to close, and Razaar very carefully placed the blindfold over his eyes, taking a deep breath and proceeding to grab the chains to tie him up fully. 

Grabbing onto his bound body, they began making their way back towards the borders, and made sure that no one had viewed the interaction and no one was following them to where they were going. 

Arriving at the borders, Remo rushed forward, grabbing onto his woman and pulling her to him as they approached. Paulina looked upon the man in disbelief, and then settled with a deep breath to reveal her next orders. 

‘Well done, let’s head to the Galon’s. We need to get the note declaring the open war ready, and Dregov, I want you to return after we’ve dealt with Daraz and place the note where they can find it’ she instructed, and the man nodded, causing Clea to tense up next to him. She had known that the risk of his return after this would be more dangerous, though she also knew she had no say in the matter, and this had to be done for the greater good of Zaleon. 

The Galon came into view, and Eliana and Razaar wondered if the Galoness on Amethyst lands would be equally as ecstatic and excited as the one on Ivory lands. Pushing the door open, they walked in, and their suspicions were confirmed when the Galoness came into view with her eyes open and a smile on her face that no one could ignore. Paulina herself had found it odd that suddenly the Galoness had changed her attitude, though the commander pushed it away with ease, assuming it was their first victory that had her in such a good mood, after all, she was on their side. 

Before Daraz’s body could be pushed into the flame, however, he began squirming around in the arms of Dregov and Razaar, now realising what had happened. He too, attempted using his powers, and when he couldn’t, it had become evident that his sister wasn’t lying after all, and that Amana Doirekh was up to something evil. 

‘Amana? What’s going on? What have you done? My sister wasn’t lying, was she?’ He panicked, and Remo took this opportunity to make his presence known. 

‘Now here’s the thing, Daraz, you decide to take an obsession with the wrong person. Amana and Dregov Doirekh have always been on the right side of this war, but you, your sister, Elize and Stregov have not been. Now you start paying the consequences’ he spoke, bending down so he was speaking right into his ear. Daraz shivered with surprise, not used to hearing voices that he didn’t recognise. He had never been outside of Crest, neither had anyone else been inside Crest, so where was he and what was happening. Remo’s words didn’t register in his brain as he began thinking of what was going on, and he completely ignored the fact that Remo had openly admitted to Amana and Dregov being opposed to the rest of the Vermillion.

‘Who are you? Where am I? What is going on?’ He asked, attempting to be stern, but failing slightly. 

‘Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Remo, Amana’s mate, a Warmeck’ he responded, and Daraz remained confused for the first few moments, until he really processed what Remo had just said. The rest remained silent in the background, letting Remo get his moment of glory before Daraz would be disposed of. 

‘Amana’s mate, a Warmeck? What are you on about? Vermillion don’t have mates? And how would Amana have found you anyways? We aren’t allowed out of Crest-’

‘See that’s where you’re wrong’ interrupted Remo, taking great pleasure in his interaction with the helpless Daraz. 

‘Amana and Dregov did make it to Tetra, and past the borders of Crest, and they both found mates, because they both chose to follow the path of the flame, and trust it. In fact, you yourself are currently on Amethyst grounds, inside a Galon, the Galon where you will die’ he revealed, and the Vermillion Witch flailed around, taking the news of his death seriously. 

‘Why? Why are you killing me? Why Amana, why? I tried to help you-’

The only thing you did, Daraz, is have an obsessive crush on me, lie to me and force yourself on me. You never were a friend to me, you were always trying to be with me. I feel bad for you, I truly do, because I know that all you wanted in life was some love and affection, but your way of getting it was wrong. Not to mention, if you’re not with me, you’re against me, and this is your fate, and your sisters, and my brothers, and Liem’s. So goodbye Daraz, it was nice meeting you, but this is your time to die now’ she responded, and nodded at Razaar and Dregov, who once again picked up his body, and began moving it towards the flame. Eliana and Razaar moved forward as the prophesized couple, and grasped Daraz’z complaining frame into their hands, looking straight at the Galoness as they spoke. 

‘We, the prophesized couple, give Daraz Vermillion, enemy of Zaleon, to the flame’ they spoke together, before finally throwing the shrieking frame of the Witch into the fire below them.  

He dissolved in within seconds, and silence conquered the holy place, where a murder had just taken place. The Galoness’s smile dropped, though her eyes remained open and she refused to utter a word. 

Much had yet to be done and said, and the battle was still pending. To avoid the awkwardness that lurked in the air, everyone made their way outside, making their way back to the office, where after seating themselves down, Eliana finally spoke. 

‘We did it, we just got rid of one Vermillion, and it was easier than we thought’ she mentioned, not sure how happy she should be. They all began smiling and laughing, relief and joy spreading around the room as they realised that one member was down, and there were only 3 more to go. If that’s how easy it was to kill one Vermillion, then how hard could it be to eliminate the rest? 

The laughing and joy calmed down when they all grabbed the parchment to scribble down a note of open war, and soon, Dregov, who had been given the task to take it, had contently taken the note, and made his way across the border to deliver the note, and keep it where they would find it. 

He knew that the only way they would find it is if they reunited in the lounge, and knowing that that would happen very soon after noticing the disappearance of Daraz, Amana and Dregov, he made his way up to his window in Dragon form, silently stepping out of his chambers in human form to make his way to the lounge. 

Keeping the note on the table, he began making his way back to his chambers, when he stopped dead in his tracks, and hid behind a wall as he heard footsteps approaching. 

What he saw next confused him the most, as he poked his head out to see that the person who had just walked by, was none other than Daraz Vermillion. Stunned, the man blinked several times, adjusting his sight and tip-toeing around to make sure that it was indeed who he thought it was. 

Daraz turned around many times, and there was no doubt in his mind that it was Daraz. How was that even possible? They had just killed him. He remained hidden behind the wall as Elize walked into the kitchen where the dead man stood and began interrogating him. 

‘Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you?’ She posed, and the puzzled Daraz look at her exhausted. 

‘I was in my room. I must have fallen asleep, I just woke up now’ he responded, and this confused Dregov more. Did that mean that he remembered nothing from before? Did that mean that he didn’t remember that he died? How was he even alive?  So many questions flooded his mind, but before he got caught, the man made his escape, and returned to his chambers, flying out the window and trekking back through the borders into the office where everyone sat. 

The laughing and joy had carried on in his absence, and when he returned, Clea was the first to approach him and run into his arms. Dregov, looking like he had just seen a ghost, was unable to wrap his arms around her, and this confused not only her but everyone else around him.

‘What’s wrong Dregov? Did you deliver the note?’ Asked Paulina, now getting worried as Dregov wondered how to deliver the news of what he had just seen.

‘I delivered the note’ he began, now wondering how that was going to affect their plan, and what they were supposed to do. 

‘Then what’s wrong?’ She added again, knowing that that wasn’t all. There was a tense silence in the room, and everyone stared at Dregov, waiting for him to kill the suspense with the truth of what had happened. 

‘I just saw Daraz Vermillion walking around the mansion. He’s alive’