VERMILLION: The fall of Zaleon

Chapter 7

Travelling back to Tetra was the best thing the pair had done in a while, and it brought them great joy to do so after only a short time on Crest. They knew they had to return shortly to continue living in a location they disliked, but the mere thought of being out of that mansion brought them pure joy. Paulina had received their letter, and had been impatiently waiting for her best students by the borders of the Amethyst lands. Seeing brought a smile to her face, and the pair mirrored it as they approached her. 

‘Paulina, it’s so good to see you’ began Razaar, and the woman simply continued smiling in bliss. 

‘It’s only been a few days Mr Solonov, miss me already?’ She poked, and the lot laughed briefly. 

‘You have no idea how badly we’ve been waiting to return. Crest is worse than we imagined’ explained Eliana, the trauma flying past her head as they began making their way towards the Galon of the Amethyst. 

‘Are you sure about bringing Dregov and Amana to Tetra? How do you know this is not a trap?’ She asked, ensuring the safety of their planet as they trekked along. 

‘We followed them after our conversation, in fact we’ve been following them around for a while, they’ve never given us reason to doubt, they seem sincere and genuine. We trust them, but I think you should probably meet them before we decide to reveal ourselves to them. You are, after all, our commander’ responded the Hybrid leader, flattering the woman. 

‘Very wel, let’s hope the flame gives you their blessing’ she commented, though the pair had no doubt that Leopold, the man who had done so much for them, to the point where he had revealed himself to them, would give them the necessary support to get through the way adequately. 

Walking through the gates of the familiar Galon, the pair confidently approached the Galoness who remained with eyes closed. 

‘Welcome Eliana Genova, Razaar Solonov, I see you come for more blessings’ she mentioned with her eyes closed. Awkwardly, the pair agreed, and thought of the right words to convince the woman. 

‘We are Galoness, times are tough, the planet is at war, but we mean no harm, we come in peace to make peace for this planet’ the Alpha spoke. The Galoness chuckled and opened her eyes. 

‘I wasn’t asking for an explanation Mr Solonov, I know where your heart lies, and you will get the blessing of the flame’ she agreed, making the task way easier for the pair who rejoiced at her words. ‘Place your hands in the flame’ she instructed, and they did, noticing nothing for a while. After a while, she continued ‘extract your hands now. When you touch the hands of the members you are trying to pass the blessing onto, they will have the vision they need’ she explained, and they thanked the woman, leaving the Galon behind to bring the special members of Vermillion into Tetra for the first time. 

‘That seemed almost way too easy’ Paulina said, wondering how the flame constantly supported them no matter what. ‘I don't know what it is about you two, but the flame seems to adore you, every request you have, the flame grants it’ her tone was casual, but the immortal pair knew there was more to it. They had yet to reveal to anyone the true story of Leopold and their world, unsure of what it all meant and whether people would believe them or not, but all in due time they would reveal it all. Remaining silent at her comment, they kept moving back towards the land of Crest, where they would re-enter only for a brief moment to usher the Vermillion out to Tetra. It was a decision that had made them severely nervous, yet they went along with it anyway, knowing that they had to take a leap of faith to get anywhere. If they could make this war easier on themselves and better for the planet then they were certainly not willing to miss that chance. Having Dregov and Aman on their side only proved that they were on the right side, and if it was all genuine, then they had a greater chance of winning.

Amana and Dregov had been anxiously waiting to join the pair in their journey, and had been planning ideas to get out of their territory without the rest finding out.

‘We need an excuse, one that will work’ mentioned the Doirekh female, pacing around her room, looking for a plausible excuse to be off grounds for so long. 

‘You were sleeping?’ Suggested Dregov, and she brushed it off. 

‘What if they come into my room and see that I’m not there?’ She countered, forcing herself to dig deeper. 

‘Amana, when does anyone ever come in here? I’m sure Elize won’t even notice we’re  gone. She’s probably too busy boning our brother as we speak-’

‘What if she calls another one of her meetings?’ brought up Amana, and Dregov tensed. 

‘You’re against them openly, they won’t care, I’ll just tell them I was working out. Come on, they have no reason to suspect anything’ responded the Doirekh male. His sister had her doubts, but had no choice but to agree. There was no way she was going to give up a chance at travelling to a different zone of her own planet. For the first time in her life the flame was giving them a chance, and it had all come from befriending the rest of their planet instead of hating on them. If only the rest of the Vermillion would see things that way, the war would have been completely unnecessary. Nevertheless, the lucky siblings rejoiced and trekked downstairs, where they would slowly begin the process of leaving their mansion, meeting the pair in the forest and travelling to Tetra. They felt like rebellious teenagers sneaking out at night, and it was a feeling that brought chills down their spines after a long while. 

‘Alright. Are you nervous about getting into Tetra?’ She then switched, her palms clammy from all the overthinking she had been doing. 

‘Amana, why are you this nervous? This is our path, it’s our journey now, we just need to get on with it and end the war, as unfortunate as that may be’ he responded, taking a seat next to her and grabbing her hands into his. ‘Stop stressing’ he repeated, and she listened, nodding for confirmation. 

‘Let’s go, they must be waiting’ she mentioned, the both getting up from their seated position and heading out their door towards the front doors of the mansion. It just so happened that their luck had been imposed by a curious Elize who -as they neared the front doors- caught sight of them, and decided to run her own investigations. 

‘Where are you two going?’ She interrogated, and they stopped in their tracks, thinking of what to tell her. They wanted to give away nothing, and Amana shrugged her shoulders, though Dregov was forced to reply. 

‘None of your business Witch’ Aman began by saying, before her brother carried on.

‘We’re just going to shift outside for a bit’ he responded, and she frowned in confusion. 

‘Shift? Why would you want to shift?’ She inquired, and the Doirekh female was losing her patience with the now suspecting woman.

‘Why do you care so much Elize? What are you, going to boss us around now?’ Amana pressed, and the Witch was starting to lose her patience, before the fight could go any further, Dregov ushered Amana outside, sending her out to have a conversation with Elize on his own. 

‘Amana, go wait for me outside, I’ll be there in just a moment’ he insisted, and she reluctantly listened, leaving the sight and leaving the trouble to her brother. ‘Do you want her on our side or not?’ He asked Elize, and she felt even more confused. 

‘You think a bonding session with your sister is going to change her? You must be naive’ commented Elize, buying into the lie he had been feeding her. 

‘Well she is my sister, and I need her to be on my side, so forgive me if I try all sorts of lame crap to get her to our side. Besides, if she does join us then we’re stronger, aren’t we? So you should be grateful that I’m at least trying to rope her into this’ he answered, and she shrugged, nonchalant about the situation. 

‘Whatever, good luck’ were her final words as she made her way out of his sight. Sighing in relief that he got through it, Dregov cleared his head and walked outside to where his sister paced. 

‘All done’ he simply stated. 

‘What did you say to her?’ She obviously asked. 

‘Told her that I was bonding with you so I could get you on their side’ he revealed, and she had been impressed by how smoothly he handled the situation. In silence, they began travelling through the woods, evading all spots that were visible from windows or their dragon views, and sticking to the hidden, more concealed spots. 

Razaar and Eliana had asked them to discreetly make their way to a particular spot, where they would be collected, and taken through the Tetran borders. When the immortal pair came into sight, they gleamed with excitement and approached them hurriedly. 

‘Did it work? Did you get the blessing of the flame?’ Asked Dregov, and they nodded, each positioning themselves in front of the other.

‘It’s transferred by touch’ responded Eliana, and within seconds they made the swap. Eliana had held onto Amana’s arm and Razaar had Dregov’s. All it took was one touch and the sibling pair could finally see the streams of gold that would lead them to a new zone. They the began trekking towards the borders, where Remo and Paulina were awaiting their return. The one thing they weren’t waiting for or expecting, was for the very impossible to happen.

As they approached the borders, Razaar and Eliana went through first, Dregov followed next, and the last person to cross the threshold of the invisible barriers had been Amana. The very first thing that came into sight for the woman was a bright pair of eyes that captivated her immediately, and before he could stop himself Remo found himself muttering the words he had not been expecting to say in the presence of a Vermillion.

‘Mate’ he whispered to himself, stunned at the discovery. The rest looked around, puzzled and confused, and Amana looked into the eyes of her soulmate with the utmost confusion. 

‘How is this even possible? We are not supposed to have mates’ Dregov commented on the side as the pair were still lost within themselves. 

‘I have no idea, funny things are happening on this planet, and I think we have loads to talk about. Amana, Dregov, I’ve heard loads about you. I’m Paulina Stem, commander of Warmecks, welcome to Tetra. Please follow us’ she introduced herself, and everyone followed, including Remo and Amana who had yet to exchange words. They travelled to the office near the borders, avoiding the display of the ancestral Doirekh body just for a while to clear things up and get things straight. ‘Right, Dregov, Amana, I was told that the two of you are keen to join us in this war, may I ask why?’ Her question had been ignored by Amana, who could not stop thinking about her new found mate, and kept peeking glances at him as he did her. The pair clearly had a lot to talk about, and wished to have that time alone, but Paulina didn’t seem to be giving it to them at that given moment. ‘Ms Doirekh, I understand that you and my top guard have a lot to talk about, and I assure you, you will get the time, though right now I must ask you to hold off until we don’t have our discussion sorted. So I will ask you again, please, if you could tell me why you would like to take our side in this war, that would be helpful’ she added. Amana nodded, moving her gaze away from her mate and taking a deep breath. 

‘We hate everyone on Crest. Elize thinks she’s the boss, my brother’s too whipped to see the lines, Daraz is too obsessed with me’ at this Remo clenched his fists tight, but held it together and let her continue ‘Liem is a creep. It would be an absolute waste of time for us to stay on Crest and support a bunch of angry idiots who just want revenge against the flame for no reason’ she explained, raising more questions for Paulina. 

‘Aren’t you two angry at the flame?’ Her question only made Aman laugh at the irony of  the entire situation. 

‘Well I wasn’t because at the end of the day we are the Vermillion. Supposedly the strongest 6 of Zaleon, living in a mansion, not working, not taking care of anything but our own selfish needs. We have access to things you don’t, and that should make us grateful. The conclusion is, I had no hate for the flame for not giving me a mate or a Galon because I appreciated what I had, and in the end the flame rewarded me by giving me a mate, and now there is absolutely no way I can turn back’ she responded, barely whispering the last part, avoiding the gaze of Remo as she said so. The man smirked in the corner, and already the immortal pair knew that they would be perfect together, and frankly that is what Remo really deserved, someone free willed and strong, just like him.

Dregov had been shooting daggers with his eyes at the man that kept looking at his sister, and for the first time he felt a certain discomfort surge within him at the thought of his very own sister being with someone. He wished for no man to be near her, and life on Crest had enabled that for him, though there was little he could do and he knew that. 

‘Very well, Mr Doirekh, what about yourself?’ Asked Paulina, now targeting the question at the overprotective brother.

‘I’m here for her. She’s my little sister and I can’t leave her alone. Though she’s right, everyone else on Crest is not worth my time. My brother thinks he’s doing the right thing when he’s simply too blind and concealed by Elize, whose a downright pain in my ass’ he expressed freely for once, not getting judged or silenced. For once Dregov got to voice his thoughts and opinions and no one had been there to go against him or tell him off for doing so. He was a free man, and he loved it. The commander nodded, coming to terms with their answers and putting forward a verdict. 

‘Alright, welcome on board Doirekh’s’ she began, and smiles erupted everywhere. ‘Now, let’s before we proceed to discuss War strategies, why don’t we give Remo and Amana a moment to get to know each other, shall we?’ she suggested, ensuring that everyone left the room. Dregov, who was much too reluctant, walked up to Remo before leaving.

‘You already know what’s going to happen to you if something happens to her’ he said menacingly, before walking straight out. Remo, understanding where he was coming from, let it slide, and in their lonesome walked towards his mate shyly, not knowing how to react. 

‘So, you’re the Warmeck top guard eh?’ She asked awkwardly, attempting to make conversation. The woman was completely unaware of how the mate stuff worked -not having expected to find her own- and had no clue how quickly the bonds developed between mates, unlike humans. She had been used to the human version of things, and the speed would perhaps take her aback, but then again the woman was well aware that she was on a planet unlike the human one, where creatures of the dark were creatures of the day, and that’s all there was to the planet. Remo chuckled at her attempt, and leaned against the table. 

‘I am, yeah. Been top guard for a while now’ he answered. She nodded, looking away and not knowing what else to say. ‘Look, I don’t really know how this all works-’ her words were interrupted when he grabbed onto her hand, and pulled her to him, which she did with a gasp. 

‘I can teach you’ he whispered to her once she was closer. The physical contact had already initiated the bond, and she found herself sucked in by the sparks it created. 

‘Am I meant to be this tingly?’ She asked absentmindedly, her eyes not leaving his. His face turned serious and he inched forward ever so slightly. 

‘Yeah’ he answered simply, grabbing onto her waist and encircling her with his arms. It was a feeling she had never felt before, only seen in human movies, and to say she was loving it was an understatement. ‘Do you accept me as your mate? Are you willing to be mine?’ He asked, his face getting closer and closer to hers. She had no fear or doubt in her head as she looked into his eyes, and the very fact that he was asking for her consent differed him from people like Daraz. She nodded eagerly without even noticing it, and inched closer as he did. 

‘Yeah’ her voice came out as a whisper, and before any more words could be exchanged, their lips connected for the first time, and they embraced each other fully, losing themselves in the new luxurious feelings the mate bond created. Through it she realised that there was no way she could take revenge on the flame after giving her something that wonderful. The feeling was like no other, and she remained lip locked to her new mate for what seemed like an eternity, seeing nothing else but the bliss of being in his arms. 

When they did finally part, it was with great sorrow upon the opening of the door and the return of the rest of the members. Their faces flushed, and Dregov began storming over to the man before Amana stopped him. 

‘Stop, you need to understand Dregov, he isn’t like Daraz. This is the real thing, it’s my mate’ she told him as he snarled back at the top guard, who merely overlooked it understandingly. 

‘It’s normal Dregov’ mentioned Eliana, coming forward. ‘When the bond is initiated there’s no escape’ added the Hybrid leader. The male Doirekh took a moment and stepped back, calming himself down. 

‘Well, I think it’s safe to say you and your mate have somewhat gotten a start and are building things up. Now, I’m afraid it’s time for all of you to return back to Crest. Remember that the two of you need to continue pretending to be on your brother’s side, and I’ll organise more meetups with you in the coming weeks. Tomorrow we will reunite here and discuss War strategies, and we will explain to you exactly what we have been planning’ Paulina revealed. Remo grabbed onto his mate tighter, not wanting to let go. In particular he had no wish to let the woman return to a place where Daraz could be around her. Amana had felt the same discomfort, which was weird for the independent woman, yet she did not protest, knowing that she would be back tomorrow, and perhaps in the long term she would not have to worry about the distance. 

‘Keep Daraz away from you’ he whispered to her, though everyone seemed to have heard it, and everyone except Dregov was smirking at the new pair. 

‘Don’t worry, I plan on keeping Daraz away from her’ he said, and Remo could do nothing but appreciate it. They began walking back towards the Tetran borders, and with each step the top guard gripped onto Amana’s hand tighter, wanting desperately to keep her with him and to get to know her. They had only just met each other and already they had to be separated, and no one knew that feeling better than Razaar and Eliana, who were chuckling to themselves at seeing Remo go through something they never expected to see him go through.

When they arrived the borders, Aman pecked her mate on the mouth, not wanting her brother to have another go at attempting to murder her new mate, and with great reluctance they all travelled back into Crest, with new mindsets and a new priority: ending the war as soon as possible.

Returning to the mansion, they noticed Elize waiting right by the door, who was confused to see them all return at the same time. And so they knew they were back in trouble land, and they would have to face questions they would have to lie through. 

‘Where have you guys been?’