The Cunning Alpha Queen

CHAPTER 2

Three years passed as the kingdom and villagers of Artesia under the queen's rule became worse every day. She creates a law of paying taxes for the villagers until nothing is left for them and their lives easily fall apart, old people die of sickness and the children are forced to be sold to the queen inside the establishment that she made only for children, preparing them to be her new set of soldiers and servants.

Only the queen and the people of Samarian inside the palace live wealthy and well, as the queen provides them with everything, but her younger brother Axel feels pity for the villagers, so he starts approaching her sister.

"Don't you think this is too much your highness?"

"I know what I am doing."

"No, you don't!"

Axel exclaimed and caught his sister's attention to him and threw him a death glare.

"I aim for wealth, and this meager palace can't afford it, so prepare my things. I will be visiting another place"

The queen bluntly said and then walked out of him. Knowing his sister's sentiments, he tried to understand her in every way he could.

As the queen rode on her horse wearing only simple clothes, covering herself with a hoody cape, she quickly left the palace.

Near the Artesia kingdom in the west, where the Rowan kingdom is and is ruled by a young king who only wants to enjoy his throne and despises marriage, they have been on good terms with the Artesia kingdom in all its matters.

The villagers are all wealthy enough and the palace holds an everyday party for the king, but hides a very dark secret at night.

On every fifth day of the week, the king commands his men to get an appropriate teenage female to be his woman for a night and that's what the villagers hate about the king.

"Everyone! You should all follow what the king wants and you know what to do, offer us a rightful woman for the king and you will be rewarded!"

The general said, interrupting the villagers in the market, then a group of men approached the general and handed them a woman with a cover on her head.

"She is a great catch. Look at her skin and body; I know the king will enjoy his night with our offer!"

The man said, holding the woman's arms.

"And what's with the head cover?"

The general asked confusingly, which made the man walk seriously close to him.

"Isn't it exciting and mysterious? We all know how the king loves surprises, but one thing I assure you, her beauty is more than any queen to be for the king. Maybe this is the first time that we will get what we all wanted, to have a new queen."

The general suddenly put into silence and realized the importance of the chances that the man explains.

They quickly get the woman even though she tries to beg for her freedom. They eventually bring her to the palace.

The time when the king meets his woman of the night, he keeps laughing hard as he gets into his chamber when he suddenly becomes quiet seeing a naked woman lying on his bed with a cover on her head.

The king walked directly to the woman and spoke.

"Tell me, woman, what is your name?"

"It is non-sense to say my name if you are not going to see my face"

"I only want your body; your face is nothing to me."

"I understand your highness, do what you must."

The king then starts touching the woman when she suddenly speaks again.

"What will happen if this kingdom finally found a new queen?"

The woman asks a question that he is strongly forbidden and right away, the mood of the king changes and quickly removes the cloth covering the woman's head.

The shock was all over the king's face seeing the image of the woman whom she was familiar with.

He starts running towards the door but only hears a shout and cry from his people inside the palace.

The woman starts to walk towards the king and looks at him seriously as she suddenly turns into a large white wolf that shakes the king in fear.

"P-Please spare me, I did nothing wrong, it was my father and not me!"

"I don't care if it is you or your father, this kingdom should bow down on me since it will be mine after tonight, but do not worry as I will just end your life exactly the same as you ended my mother's life.

"I beg of you, I was just commanded by my father, it was not my choice. Artesia has been good to us and so we must support them with what they want."

"Alright then, I will accept that story, but how about you give me all your wealth and gold coins? Maybe that will satisfy me."

The king quickly headed to the dungeon of wealth, as he used to call it, packing all the gold coins and highly valued things that Rowan's kingdom had, together with other wolves, Queen Astrid made a way out of bringing all that she needed, but before the night had ended, she still took the king's life and replaced him with a new queen, a Samarian woman, who was the queen's alliance, so no one would oppose her, since the entire Rowanian in the palace, as well as the soldiers, has all been killed by them and no one even knows the tragic event inside.

The new Samarian queen announced the death of the king at the hands of the blood beast that everyone had feared.

Queen Astrid returns to the Asteria kingdom with a broad smile on her face, bringing all the treasure, coins and wealth that she got from the Rowan kingdom, which is now under her rule and power.

In the red mountain where everyone believes that the witches' lair is inside and Celia took her a few years to get there, no one wants to talk about the cursed mountain, even asking for a few men to help her until a living witch among humans helps her.

The female witch took them inside the red mountain but cannot go on to the very bottom of it.

"I can only go far; this is only your path to take. Good luck"

The female said and then left. Even full of doubt, Celia chooses to fulfill her destiny and make up for her plan.

As she reached the center of the mountain, Celia saw a small lake that, if she could remember, the female witch said. To get to her destination is to throw yourself at the water as it will, reflect you to the other side where the witch's altar can be found.

Celia brings down all her things and belongings and then slightly strips and then jumps into the water, as she swims as deep as she could and almost get out of breath, she suddenly realized that she was now going up to the surface, which amazed her.

"She is right, the more it gets deep the more it gets shallow until it reaches the surface."

Celia mumbled as she finally got to what she was looking for.

After getting out of the water, she quickly walked towards the rock door and entered. She was stunned to see a few women currently worshipping something.

"Look who is here...the princess of Artesia."

"I am quite famous huh"

Celia said in cross arms to a woman who was now walking towards her.

"Familiar rather...a family...you are here to connect with your history"

"Well, not all that, there is something more."

"More...hmmm I am fascinated dear with your courage to come here and claim to awaken your power, but that can wait. A few talks first, then we will go there."

"Talk? I don't need a talk; all I need is to awaken whatever damn thing is in my blood!"

"Then we should really have a good talk."

The woman said with a smile, then walked towards the middle part and reached the sacred small black church.

The woman starts to read a few books and histories of their nature as Celia learns that their land is built by a few supernatural kinds; the wolves, the witches, the oracles and humans.

She explains that everyone has a role to fulfill but only the witches hold great power through spells and dark magic but need some time to learn it all.

Amazement is now formed on Celia's face as she aims for a greater power before coming back to the queen and that was noticed by the woman.

"I can see how you really want to learn this, huh? Tell me, dear, what is the reason behind your entire journey just to get here?"

Celia hesitated to answer the question and instead remained silent, which made the woman speak again.

"Is she that strong that made you looking weak? A wolf is beating the hell out of you dear"

The woman mocked Celia, which made her grip form, but she tried to control herself and continued to listen and just answer the woman nicely.

"The queen is indeed strong, everyone knows that."

"Then why do you think her family lost under your father and the Rowan kingdom if Samaria's royal blood is strong? Haven't you questioned your father about that? If the queen is strong, then I assume her parents are stronger than them all."

The woman said that put confusion on Celia's face. She realized what the woman was trying to say.

"My father did something to them before the attack, am I right?"

Celia asks what made the woman smile while walking closer to her and holding Celia's hand.

"Your hand, don't you know that you got your mother's ability and power, she is the most powerful of us all, but your father ended her life in a very insulting way that no one knows, despite what she did for him just to win over Samarias!"

Celia begins to feel terrified as the woman starts to show her raging anger while remembering her mother's unfortunate life.

"What happens? What did he do to my mother? All I know is, while I was in the battle, she got sick and died."

Celia explains to the woman filled with madness and anger in her eyes.

"A big lie!!! Our kind is not immortal but we can live longer than a human and we cannot just die of any illness unless someone tries to kill us with that sacred flower. We have zero tolerance for that flower. I know that your father used it in Hellia. She was murdered after helping him, making spells for all the Samarians on that day. For the whole time, they would not be able to use their power to turn themselves to wolf. They will become as weak as a human and that is the reason why Artesia and Rowan's kingdom defeats the strongest and most powerful kingdom in Endium!"

The woman explains facing the teary eyes of Celia, who realized now the tragic end had happened to her mother.

At this point, Celia decided to stay at Red Mountain and learn what she needed to learn and get the power that she deserved.