Woven Fates

King Hadley

Day broke on a very different city. Bodies were piled up in the streets, the cobblestone paths washed with blood.

The 3 Kings, Ailwyn, Robert and Jaime had ridden in from their own realms using the horses Aldrich had gifted them, bred by his son. They knew they could safely enter after dawn and so they had waited. As they rode through the streets one of the kings guards stepped out in front of them and bowed.

“I mean you no harm, but I must speak to you”, he murmured.

“Move along!” yelled the guard closest to the kings.

“I have news of great importance, of he who bred your horses”, King Aldrich’s guard persisted.

King Robert held up his hand to their guard and the man fell back. He dropped down off of his horse to the ground and walked towards the guard.

“You risk your life approaching us, this must be important”, he said quietly.

“Prince”, the man whispered. King Robert stood upright turning to the Kings and nodding. They both dropped down from their horses and walked closer.

“There is a house back that way. It stands next to the house where your horses were bred.”

“I know of the property where my horse was bred, I collected it myself”, Robert answered.

“And did the handler seem at all familiar to you Your Highness?” the guard asked quietly.

Roberts eyes widened as he walked back towards his horse and mounted.

“Come”, he hissed turning his horse around and galloping out of the city.

They arrived at the property and dismounted, moving to the house. Robert pushed open the door and immediately saw Ana laying on the floor. Her face was blue with black lines through it.

“Poison”, Ailwyn muttered looking around. He walked back out the front and looked to the house further up the hill. “There’, he indicated with his head.

They mounted their horses and rode toward the small home on the hill. As they arrived an old woman walked outside, holding an old wooden staff.

“Kings”, she bowed.

“What can you tell us of what happened last night?” Jaime asked her.

“I can tell you much, but it must be for your ears only”, she said looking at the guards that were waiting behind them on their horses.

The kings looked at each other and nodded. They dismounted and stepped towards the house.

“Sir”, the Captain of the guard called out to King Robert. He put up his hand for silence and walked inside, Ailwyn and Jaime following behind. They sat at the small dining table and waited.

“You know who is responsible for what happened last night?” Olga asked quietly. The 3 men nodded their heads.

“I was the kings seer. I foresaw these events many years ago, before the birth of the prince”, she began.

“Prince”, Ailwyn breathed.

“We had always discussed Aldrich not having a child”, Robert said quietly. “Such a strong bloodline, it seemed…… unusual”.

“A son was conceived during their first mating”, Olga began. “Hadley had been relentless in his pursuit of Ingrid and so they had decided to keep the child a secret. Hadley had found out and so they turned to me to hide the child. They gave him to me and I found the home he grew up in down the hill.”

“The horse breeder he spoke so fondly of was his son?” Robert asked.

“Indeed”, Olga answered him standing up. She walked over to a curtain that seemed to divide the room into her bedroom and pulled it aside. Fast asleep on the bed was a man who could only be Aldrich’s son.

“Goddess”, Robert breathed “How did the boy not see he was the kings son?”

“I may have tinkered here and there to disguise him from himself”, Olga shrugged.” What he saw when he looked in the mirror is not what you see. It had to be this way”, she nodded gravely.

“What do we do now?” Robert asked.

“I was hoping you might have some suggestions”, Olga answered.

The men all looked at each other around the table.

“To hide him in our own kingdoms would certainly invite war”, Ailwyn began. “If Aldrich was bested, how can we be expected to win?”

“There is an Alpha who lives nearby the place where he first met Ingrid”, Robert began. “He helped Aldrich the night he first brought Ingrid back to this realm. He knows of the problem with Hadley, he has experiences it first hand”.

Ailwyn nodded. “George”, he said quietly.

“We must move quickly, Hadley will be looking for him come dusk”, Olga said, nodding.

She looked at the man she had watched over for 18 years. She was keeping him asleep with magic while they decided his fate.

“Does he know who he is now?” King Robert asked.

Olga nodded.

“Wipe his memory. Any recollection of Aldrich and Ingrid being his parents. Let him keep the memories of growing up around them”, he said quietly.

“Thankyou King Robert”, Olga smiled as she walked over and placed her hand on Todd’s forehead. She began to whisper words over him softly before turning to the kings, “Ready”, she said.

“Guards”, Robert called out. The guards began to move into the small house. “Take him out to the cart outside and move towards the portal. Cover him over so no one sees”

The men moved forward and carried Todd out to the cart. They changed over the horses and began to travel towards the portal, the kings acting as a guard as they went.

When they reached the portal Robert and his Captain of the guard rode ahead to find George. Ailwyn and Jaime stood by the cart looking at Todd.

“What now?” Ailwyn asked quietly.

“Nothing good my friend. These are to be dangerous times”, Jaime answered quietly.

Robert returned with George and a group of his warriors in SUVs. They drove straight to where the cart had been hidden amongst some trees, though they were safe during daylight hours. Olga walked towards George, a solemn look on her face.

“You know who the boy is?” She asked quietly.

“I do ma’am”, George replied quietly. “I mourn his parents passing, they were extraordinary rulers”.

“They didn’t pass,” Robert began, “They were murdered!”

George bowed his head sadly. “I advised his father on his courting of the queen. My pack mourn their loss, greatly. We are afraid for the future of our kind”. He said quietly.

“Please know that any who wish to leave the kingdom are welcome in my pack”, George said quietly.

He nodded to two of his warriors who went to the back of the cart to retrieve Todd who was still sleeping. They placed him in the back of the lead SUV.

“Do your people know who he is?” Olga asked George.

“They do not and they will not. I know of the prophecy ma’am it must come to pass before the prince can be revealed”, George looked towards his SUV.

Olga began to mutter under her breath. George gave her an odd look as his warriors looked around.

“Why am I here?” George suddenly asked.

“One of your pack made his way into our world Sir, we are returning him. It’s a dangerous time to be in our kingdom”, Olga replied.

“Indeed”, George replied quietly.

“I hope your nephew will be ok Alpha, seems he had a bit to much to drink”, Olga smiled.

“These young ones”, George returned the smile and walked towards his car. “Best get him home then”, he said getting in.

The cars all drove away together as the Kings sat on their horses watching.

“Will you do that to us too?” Robert asked.

“Yes my king, all of you. Just in case”.

“Lets get on with it then, I would like to return to my family”, Robert replied.

Olga nodded and began the incantation. She had only hidden knowledge of Todd, nothing else. They knew they must return to secure their own kingdoms.

As they returned to their own kingdoms they saw the fear and devastation that had fallen over the Kingdom of the Werewolves. Its people were fleeing, seeking shelter and refuge in other kingdoms. Those who were able had packed belongings on carts or horses, those who couldn’t carried what they could. Children ran along beside their parents. They still had the cart and as they met the refugees on the road they picked up children and placed them in it.

“We will take them ahead, you will find them in the Fae Realm”, Robert said to each of the parents. “Come to the castle when you arrive and claim your children. We will send out more carts to move this along. You must arrive before dusk.”

Robert rode ahead while Ailwyn and Jaime stayed with the cart. He reached his castle with only hours til dusk. He rode through the marshalling yard, yelling for carts to be hitched to retrieve the werewolves and bring them to the city. Teams rolled out along the road as fast as they safely could. Nobody wanted to be caught out after dark. If Hadley could over thrown Aldrich, no one was safe.

Robert rode into the stables and dismounted, walking inside. He found his wife Lydia and their oldest daughter Amelia in the conference room with some of the magical folk.

“Robert”, Lydia cried standing up and running to him. “Is it true?”

“Yes my love”, he whispered holding her as she sobbed.

“How?” Lydia asked. “Aldrich was a mountain of a man and his wolf was ferocious. I don’t understand.”

“It seems they were poisoned. They were unable to fight. We have little news at this stage, we will not know Hadley's intentions until after dark”.

“We should storm the castle and kill him where he lays,” Amelia seethed banging her hand on the table.

“He has amassed a very large army Love”, he smiled at his feisty daughter. He and his wife had always imagined their daughter married to the son of Aldrich and Ingrid but they had never had a son.

“They sleep during the day, they would not be hard to defeat father”. She cried.

“Have a look on the road to the castle Love. Our focus at this minute must be on bringing Aldrich's people to safety. Many have fled the kingdom, some into the human world and some to us. There are bound to be many more over the coming days and weeks. They are scared and desperate and angry and we must help them.”

“The Prophecy has begun”, The kings sorcerer whispered.

Robert nodded. “It would seem so”, he replied.

“Robert, have you thought about what happens if Hadley turns his eye to one of our daughters?” Lydia asked quietly. She sat at her vanity, brushing her long hair.

Robert sighed “I haven’t stopped thinking since the news reached us this morning”, he smiled at his queen. “But choosing Amelia might be to his detriment”.

Lydia laughed. “She is a feisty one. It breaks my heart poor Ingrid never had a son. I imagine their son would have been perfect for our Amelia”.

“Indeed”, Robert nodded.

“What will we do with all of the refugees?” Lydia asked quietly.

“There is an Alpha in the human world who was friends with Aldrich. His son was here looking for his mate when the siege happened. He has offered to take charge of the refugees. He has Alpha blood and grew up around Aldrich. He seemed like the right choice until we can get to the bottom of everything. We wait now to see what Hadley demands.” Robert sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands, a tear falling down his cheek.

“How did we not see this coming Lydia?” he asked quietly.

“What of Lord Anton? He calls himself father of the black hearted demon.” Lydia began.

“Jaime will approach him tonight as his land borders theirs. Jaime did say Anton seems to have found his beloved and mellowed. Nobody has heard from him in years”. Robert replied.

“We have organised for housing and food for the refugees. Its rough for some but we wanted them in the castle grounds before dusk.” Lydia said.

“I want you and the girls to stay in the castle tonight. I expect to hear from Hadley, I want you safe. We still do not know of his plan.” Robert looked at his wife and smiled.

“Of course Robert”, she smiled at him.

As the sun went down king Jaime and his army waited at the front of Lord Anton’s home. He had been offered lands as far from the other kingdoms as possible and Jaime was his closest neighbour. When they had first met Anton had been considered by many as extremely dangerous. His personality had been touched with insanity and a ravenous appetite for human blood. Over the years they had come to a peaceful co-existence. Some years ago, he had met his beloved and everything had changed. The woman held a very strong stance when it came killing humans and would only drink donated or animal blood. She had softened Anton and some years before an announcement had come through to Jaime that they had had a son. Jaime had had a fine sword made for the young Lord in waiting as a gift.

As they stood outside the last rays of the sun fell beyond the horizon. Jaime stepped forward and knocked at the large door. It was answered by a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Anton’s beloved.

“Good evening, madam. I am King Jaime of the dwarven kingdom. I seek an audience with Lord Anton”. The king said.

“I’m sorry your majesty, Lord Anton and his love, my sister, have passed”

Jaime's brow furrowed as he looked at the woman. A child of 6 or 7 poked his head around from behind her to peer at Jaime thru bright blue eyes.

“You seek my father?” he asked Jaime.

“I do young Master”, Jaime replied with a smile. “May I ask what happened madam?”.

The woman looked away before shooing the child from behind her and asking him to return to his room.

“Lord Hadley”, she began quietly.

“Yes madam?” Jaime asked encouragingly.

“He said Lord Anton had gone soft, that my sister was the cause. He was happy your Majesty, they both were. That monster didn’t like that, and he killed them both. He brought me here because he does not wish to care for the boy.”

King Jaime nodded as he stepped back. “Thankyou madam”, he smiled as he mounted his horse. “If you or the child should have need, please know you are welcome in my kingdom”.

He rode away toward his own lands.

It had been decided that the kings would all remain in their own castles until they had word from Hadley. It was widely considered the attack was due to Hadley’s infatuation with Queen Ingrid and not a bid to take over their world. They were angry, they wanted revenge for their friend, but not at the cost of their own kingdoms. It did not take long for Hadley to send out messengers. One was waiting for Jaime when he returned.

“I bear a message from King Hadley”, the man said formally.

“Ya mean the vampire Hadley?” Jaime asked.

“I mean the King Hadley”, the messenger replied.

Jaime waved his hand dismissively.

“The King wishes to inform the rulers of the 3 realms that he is now the King of the werewolf realm. You may address him accordingly when you come to dinner with him tomorrow night.”

Jaime raised an eyebrow at the messenger. Pompous little beggar, he thought to himself.

“The King expects you at 8pm. Don’t be late”, the messenger looked at Jaime and turned to walk away.

“Bow you insolent fool!” Jaime roared as he stood up. The vampire stopped but did not turn around.

“Ya are in the presence of a true king, ya will bow and show respect!”

The vampire took a step towards the door as Jaime stood and retrieved his war axe from its stand beside the throne. He stepped forward and swung, removing the vampires head from his shoulders.

“Clean up this mess”, he waved his hand towards the vampire who lay crumpled on the floor. “Burn the body”.

“With pleasure Sir”, A guard bowed and dragged the body away. Another guard stepped forward to help and the body was dragged to the forge where the fires ran hot day and night. They dumped the body into the pit and watched as it disappeared.

“I need a portal to Roberts castle”, Jaime called out, “Get the Magician”.

He sat back on his throne, watching as a servant began to clean the blood on the floor. Aldrich and Ingrid's loss was still sinking in and they all knew in their hearts that any public mourning would not be allowed. How did the kings of the bloodline of the original of their kind come to a place where they were bowing down to a vampire? Hadley had obviously spent much time in the human world creating a vampire army. He must speak to George as soon as he could, this was unnatural.

“You need me Sire?” the magician walked toward the king bowing.

“I have need of a portal my friend, I need to speak to Robert”. Jaime answered.

“As you wish”, the magician answered as he began to wave his hands to create the portal.

Jaime stood up and walked toward it. “Stay close, if another vampire arrives close this down. I will return tomorrow if needed.”

“My King”, the magician bowed.

Jaime walked through and arrived in Roberts marshalling yard. There were tents set up everywhere for the refugees and Fae running around organising food and blankets. He walked towards the castle where a guard bowed. “King Jaime, please enter and we will fetch the King for you”, he said as he stepped aside.

“I will wait in the conference room, thankyou”, he nodded as he walked through the door. He went directly to the conference room and sat at the table. He was surprised when minutes later Ailwyn arrived and sat across from him. “Couldn’t sleep huh?” Ailwyn half grinned.

“I bring news”, Jaime replied. “I’m sure Id be sound asleep if not for this wretched mess”.

Ailwyn nodded in agreement.

Robert walked in with Amelia behind him. The two kings chuckled quietly. Roberts kingdom would be in safe hands when he retired.

“You received the invitation too I take it?” Robert sighed sitting down.

“I have news of Lord Anton”, Jaime said quietly. “Hadley killed him and his bride. I am unsure exactly when but it would have to be 6 maybe 7 years. They had a child, a young boy, being cared for by his aunt.”

“How did we not know this?” Ailwyn asked.

“When was the last time you sat down to dinner with Anton?” Amelia asked raising an eyebrow.

“Indeed Princess”, Ailwyn answered with a smirk. “So, do we attend dinner tomorrow night then?”

“I feel we must but I am reluctant to be at this monsters beck and call and of course, we have to consider that his plan might be to slay us as well,” Jaime replied.

“Perhaps we might need to bring the magic folk with us or insist that portals be kept open? I am unsure of how to approach this”, Robert rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. It had been a long day and he was exhausted.

“I killed my messenger by the way”, Jaime mumbled. “He was a little caught up in his own self importance”. The 3 people sitting at the table looked at him and laughed.

“So we go?” Robert asked.

“I fear we must”, Ailwyn replied.