Wolves of War

The Demitte

Why is there so much paper work? I mused as I stamped Asai’s official royal seal on a document. Since Davineeya is considered a dead city, all the land within and around it is all up for grabs. As settlers move in, they stake a claim to the land in the age old game of finders keepers. I did make an exception to persons who can prove that land belonged to them and their family by producing an old deed to the property or even land permits. So far, only five families have been able to prove past ownership of land. I even made them part of the city council.

I sighed and stretched my arms to the sky. I’ve been sitting at this desk since dawn. It's past lunch time now. Thea lay on a rug resting her head on a velvety plush pillow. Her ears are at attention and alert for sound and movement. When she stirs, I know that someone is approaching my office. Her ears twitched once...twice, then slowly her head rose from off the pillow and turned towards the door.

“What is it?” I asked her.

The door burst open. Ramune came running with hands waving. Galga, startled by the sudden invasion, nearly dropped the tea pot she was carrying. Ramune came to a stop at the front of my desk.

“What’s wrong?” I asked Ramune as I got out of my chair.

“You have to come quickly to Asai’s bedroom. Sanna is committing Demitte”, he answered

“Demitte? What is that?” I asked.

“No time for questions quickly come!” Ramune went to the desk and picked me up.

He threw me on top of Thea and ordered her to run back to the cottage as fast as we could. The urgency and desperation in his voice urged us to move without question. My office is inside the volcano where Serberus’s shrine is. At full speed, Thea could get me to the cottage in 15 minutes or less.

She took the stairs at break neck speed. I nearly fell off with how fast she was running. There are plans to have an elevator built so that I don’t have to depend on others to get up the side of the volcano/mountain in a timely manner. I did it on my own one time, it damn near took me all day. I may be part wolf but I am not as fit as I should be.

At the top, the tree that severs as Serberus’s anchor to the physical world is healthy and thriving. The children that normally play near the tree have gone. Serberus sat in front of Asai’s window with a look of concern on his face.

Thea made a mad dash towards the cabin, kicking the door open. She flew up the stairs to the second floor of the cottage, heading straight for Asai’s bedroom. Thea skidded to a halt at the center of Asai’s bedroom. My eyes took in the scene of Sanna sitting next to Asai. A priest I have never seen before is praying over him. An ornate knife is on a cloth on the bed next to Asai. Several other wolves stood nearby, probably witnesses to whatever this mess is.

“What is going on here?” I asked.

Sanna shifted her gaze over to me along with the priest. The priest took a step back from Asai's bed. He looked nervous. Sanna patted Asai on the hand and stood up from the bed. If she was surprised to see me, she didn’t show it. She slowly walked across the room, looked at me with a smile, then placed a hand on my shoulder as she tried to push me towards the door.

I blinked at the audacity. Does this b***h not know she is in my house? This is literally my house, my grandmother's house. I grabbed her wrist and pushed her off of me, forcing a now visibly shocked Sanna to take a step back.

I turned to the Priest. “This is my house, I am the one in charge here. Are you aware of this?”

The Priest looked from Sanna to me clearly uncomfortable. “I was only made aware that my services to perform the Dimitte was needed.”

“Someone please tell me what Demitte is” I asked.

The priest gulped and took another step back.

“The act of sending a trapped soul to Sanctuary.” Ramune answered my question

“We are not doing that” I stated firmly, then turned to look at the priest “Your services are not needed.”

“It is not your call to make. I am Asai’s official Consort. In the event that something happens to Asai and a decision on quality of life has to be made, I make that decision, not you.” Sanna argued.

She points to Asai, “This is not a way for anyone to live. He has been asleep for far too long. We must face the fact that he is not going to wake up.”

“The City Davineeya and the Golden forest are under my domain. I have an absolute say, at what happens here.” I reminded her, pulling rank.

I turned to the priest, “I say that we are not doing that today.”

The priest nodded his head and left the room with his witnesses behind him.

Sanna gritted her teeth and marched up to me. “You will have the prince stay in this state forever!”

“No” I said, taking Sanna by surprise. “But he deserves a chance to come back. A chance to recover his mind, body and soul. His body has recovered now. His mind and soul needs to recover. This process takes longer than two weeks.”

“Well, how long should we wait?” Sanna barked at me.

“Why the rush to kill my brother?” Ramune asked. "If you want to separate from him so badly, why not just divorce him once he wakes up?"

Sanna gritted her teeth, then stomped away.

“Why not just divorce him?” I asked.

“She wouldn’t get an allowance. If she had a child she would have, but since her marriage bared no fruit she would walk away with her possessions gained during the marriage and nothing else.”

I see…

"We should place guards on his room round the clock. Keep Sanna and anyone not approved by me or you out." I said

Ramune nodded his head, he looked over at Asai briefly, then turned back to me. “How long do you think it will take for him to wake up?”

I pursed my lips, shrugging my shoulders. “I don’t know. Let’s hope he is the same Asai that we know. Death-like experiences tend to change a person.”

Ramune nods his head. “You stay with him. I will go put together his security.”

Another week went by with Asai sleeping soundly. I have noticed, however, that every once in a while his breathing rhythms would change and his heart rate had been increasing much more frequently and for longer periods of time. Part of his medical care requires a health check every few days to make sure there aren’t any infections or loss of weight. Asai is not able to feed himself on a honey water / meat or veggie broth diet. He also gets liquid vitamins in order to keep him healthy due to the limited diet. During his regular weight checks, I observed that his weight had been steadily increasing. After a quick measure of his body mass, I confirmed that his body was indeed growing instead of shrinking.

“What is it?” Ramune asked, concerned.

I shook my head. “Nothing is wrong but something is happening with Asai, a change.”

“What kind of change?” Ramune asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know.”

I looked up at Ramune’s worried expression and smiled “But this is a sign that our prince will be okay.”

“Well, that’s good news.”

Ramune and I spun around at the voice.

“Keylyn!” I exclaimed. With Asai unable to fulfill his duties as 3rd prince, Keylyn had to temporarily fulfill this role. He has been traveling back and forth between the capitol, the Dukedom, and South Akkadia. He is at least very appreciative of the convenience of travelling via the underground tunnels. It made his job a lot easier.

“It feels like I haven’t laid eyes on you in a long time”

“Yes, it’s been a while, princess” Keylyn smiled at my enthusiasm, but the smile faded as he handed me the note.

“What’s this now?”

“Sanna sent word to the King he is coming here to assess the situation.”

Why is Sanna such a thorn in my side?

“According to law, Sanna has the right to request Demitti, and it will most likely be granted.” Keylyn says.

“We have recorded proof that Asai is getting better, he is going through some sort of change and his body just needs more time. I mean, look at him, does he look like a dying wolf? He’s literally just sleeping.”

“I’ve pleaded the case to the king myself multiple times but he insists on just coming up here himself. He sent me ahead to let you know this.”

I sighed great. The King is coming and no doubt Queen Minthe will be here too.