Henrietta, the king's mage is antsy. The men she had sent to capture the real king and his aid must have returned by now. But they haven't.
It means something is wrong, terribly wrong. Are they too late already? Has he regained his powers?
No. If so, then she wouldn't be standing here alive. It means that they are missing something vital about the aid.
No matter. She has to capture them both. Just then the vampire enters the room she is locked in.
"You promised a captive Henrietta. Yet you failed. Tsk... tsk... tsk. That's so bad of you. Now, what shall we do?" He asked, staggering inside the room at a leisurely pace.
"My... my king, it's just a minor hitch. Nothing more. We will capture them soon"
"Is that so? Not according to my reports Mage"
"Wha... what does it say?"
"That they are going north. Farther from here. Why do you think they are traveling on that route?"
"I... I..."
"Let me tell you. Because they are looking for a mage. A powerful one that can surpass even your runes. What do you have to say to that, Henrietta?"
Her lips turned upwards slightly, trying to form a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Nonsense. I'm the powerful mage outside of the Mage kingdom," she said with false bravado,
"I want to trust you, Henrietta. Really, I do. But you have already let me down so many times you see. I can't help but doubt your capabilities"
"My king. It's just nonsense. Give me one more chance. I swear I will get them back. They are not far from us. We would catch up to them. We can use the werewolves to drive during the daytime. We can beat them before they could reach the mage. We can-"
"Shut the fuck up!!! Your ramblings won't help bring HIM back. I need results and you failed to bring them. Now you have to face the consequences"
"No... no. My king... I love you. You can't do this to me. I'm your lover"
"Can't I? It's funny you think I'm capable of compassion. You still have to learn so much about me"
"Please... please. One chance. Spare me... please"
The vampire grabbed her by her hair harshly, exposing her neck.
"You should have thought that before giving me the promise you can't keep"
He then sank his teeth into the pulse of her neck and tore the skin. He gulped as she thrashed under him to get away from the pain. A bite can be made painful if the vampire wishes.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she struggled to lessen the impact.
After a long time, the vampire rose his head satisfied to see the paleness of his Mage.
But he needs to teach her a lesson. A lesson she will always remember to not cross him. A lesson she will see and regret.
He took out the iron knife from behind his back and cut her finger while she swayed from blood loss.
A scream tore from her. She clutched her hand, blindly panicking, feeling disoriented, her head dizzy from the bite.
"Now, you will remember dear. If you don't deliver as promised, it would be your neck next time"
"Yes... yes, of course," Henrietta has the sense of mind to obey him meekly. Though it is faked. She bent her head to hide the hatred she felt for him.
The vampire called the guard who stood outside of the room.
"My king?"
"Alert the army. We drive through the morning," the vampire said, his lips lifting up in a sinister smile. HE wouldn't know what hit him, wouldn't expect. And that is the ace up his sleeve. He could fight 5 alone, perhaps 10 but not over 100 skilled mercenaries. This time he is going to make sure he is dead and stays dead.
"So... are we not going to talk about it?" Willow asked Lothaire looking outside the window, not meeting his eyes. They are on the road yet once again by this time they could feel the finish line. Anxious to reach there as soon as possible, they started driving earlier than before.
Soon. Adrenaline ran through them both. Lothaire can almost taste it on his tongue. All their restlessness is coming to an end. Finally!!!
"About what?" Lothaire questioned his eyes on the road, his hands on the steering wheel.
"We are pretending then. Ok. Cool"
"I won't know if you don't say what you are talking about Tinkerbell. I'm not a mind reader"
"No. But you can walk under the sun. A talent that every vampire would give their left fang for. How come you didn't tell me before? Is this another of your 'must keep secret' things? Because I'm fed up with it. Can we talk about it now?"
"Wouldn't I have said it before if I knew? Why would I risk getting captured again if I could travel during daylight and cut the time in half?" Lothaire countered in a tone that indicated "duh".
"You mean to say..."
"That I don't know. I feel like I'm doing it for the first time. No, I believe that it's a first time"
"So, it's a recent one. God, you must be so old to not get affected by the sun's rays. Does it have anything to do with you being king?"
"I don't think so. And haven't you heard? Age is just a number Tinkerbell," Lothaire said smugly.
Willow rolled her eyes.
"Whatever you say, grandpa. I'm afraid you didn't grow cobwebs under your armpits yet"
"Willow," his smile slipping from his face, he looked at her sternly.
"Just saying. As if you are not cocky about it. If a rock could talk, you would compare notes with it to see who is older. Don't give me the 'Willow' look," she wrinkled her nose.
"Why do I let you hang around?" Lothaire grumbled to himself.
"Because you love my ass"
"No contradiction. It's one hella ass," he said with heat, raising the temperature around them.
Willow cleared her throat. She peeked through the window and sucked her breath.
"This is where it ends," Lothaire informed her after a while as the road turned to a rocky path. Just a few more miles.
Willow knows he is not talking about the mage but the mission.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because HE will come with his Mage"
"And what made you say that? After all, we are just two against them. He could easily send his army to wipe us out"
"No. He wouldn't take the risk of me gaining my memories"
"What happens if you gain them?"
"Then I will end his and his army's existence"
"Wow!!! Just wow!!! Cocky much? What makes you think you are a special unicorn?"
"One- I'm a vampire. Not a fucking unicorn. And two- I'm the king sweetheart."
"God, it must be tiring carrying that ego around you."
"It is what it is, Tinkerbell. Better get used to it"
"Don't hold your breath"
"I will kill that imposter and his army," Lothaire repeated stubbornly, not understanding why she is not believing him. He scoffed as she rolled her eyes.
"Ya sure... Do you want me to press the doorbell of his castle or will you do the honor? Once there, we will politely ask him to crane his neck. He must oblige you. After all, you are the king"
"You are making fun of me"
"And we have a winner, folks. Are you this bright by birth or is this a new trait you acquired as you age?"
"What are you saying?"
"That you are older than dirt, grandpa and you miss a few brain cells. We alone can't kill his army."
"You don't believe me?"
"How many times I have to tell you that I'm not stupid like you?"
Lothaire growled with no heat behind it.
"There, there. See, you are already making sounds that old people make when they try to talk"
"Call me old one more time Tinkerbell and you will see what happens"
"No need to raise your blood pressure grandpa. Your body can't take it"
"I will show you what my body can take when I pin you to the ground and pound inside you"
That shut her up like nothing else. Vivid, colorful images of him doing exactly that to her played in her mind.
"Who do you think the imposter is?" Willow asked in a husky voice, trying to dislocate the images.
"That's what I aim to find out"
"It must be frustrating not remembering a part of yourself," Willow chewed her lower lip as she looked at him. A muscle ticked in his jaw. What can he say, that he doesn't feel whole, that he feels like he is living through a glass bubble? He doesn't want to frustrate her too much with his admission. Instead, he said,
"They will pay. I will make sure of them"
"Ya, ya. I can see that happening. Careful, you might trip over that ego," Willow said playfully, trying to lighten the mood.
"One day woman, you will give me the respect that a king deserves"
"Ha!!! In your dreams Bones. Where is the fun in bowing to you?"
"I could make it pleasurable"
Willow's cheeks burned red. Trust Him to bring the discussion to sex. No matter what she talks he has to instigate sex in the middle.
"Do you really think that the imposter and the mage will come?"
"They won't miss the show"
Willow thought for a few seconds, biting her lower lip deep in thought.
"I think we better call reinforcements. If what you say is true then we are in bigger trouble. We hardly handled 20 of those werewolves. What if there are more than that? I better call someone," Willow thought of the Fae king. He will send his men if needed. She is sure of it. She can use Reagan's name if push comes to shove.
"And then what? By the time they come here, everything ends"
"Shit!!!" Willow hit the dashboard before her with her right hand.
"Yes. And we don't know if this Mage your friend said will really help us. We are presuming much, so much here"
"Shit!!! Shit!!!"
"What do you think we do?"
"You leave from here and I stay and face them alone" Lothaire replied with a straight face, hoping she will agree.
"I'm serious, Bones. What's the plan?"
"I wish I had Tinkerbell. But there is no plan. We just pray that they won't appear and be prepared if they do"
"That's it then, huh?" Willow asked after a few minutes, their situation finally sinking in. She never doubted she couldn't make it while she worked in the Guild. Why would she? There was always her team and if needed more her fellow assassins. She was in a group then. Safe in numbers.
For the first time, a seed of doubt inserted itself in her brain that she won't be able to make it.
"I won't let anything happen to you Tinkerbell," Lothaire said intensely, parking the truck and cupping her jaw.
Willow snorted. "You are not God, Bones. Just a king"
"I could always turn you"
"And I would stab you if you did that. I don't want to lose my identity"
"You won't. You know that"
"Let me stay as I'm Bones. I mean it. Promise you won't turn me in?"
"You make a hard bargain Tinkerbell"
"I'm waiting," Willow held his eyes. Coercing.
"We will see"
"What if the mage disagrees? What will we do if she asks for something we don't have?"
"We will cross the bridge when it comes"
Really, at this point, there are so many bridges to cross, so much depending on their assumptions that she feels like they are doomed but didn't say it out loud.
If even one factor's outcome didn't come as predicted, they are as good as dead.
They both looked at the terrain that would take them to their destination.