Dead Men Smiling

6.1

I'm a bad person but don't give me a reason to show you that.

-----

King Beryl had made up his mind about several things after watching Hex leave and was pleasantly surprised when he didn't bring up the last conversation they had. He then returned to his office and stare at the two letters he received; depending on how he responded to them, he could alter the way the whole story flows.

He let out a heavy sigh and sat behind his desk and began to write down the reply to the letter he received months ago.

There is no way I can say this without feeling like I have betrayed your trust. I owe you the world for what you sacrificed for my people and I love him with everything in me but I must always put my people first; I must look out for the majority. No matter how much it hurts.

I'm terribly sorry.

Sincerely, Berry.

He then re-read his short letter and nodded at the ambiguity before turning his attention to the letter with the Emperor's seal. He worried his lower lip and briefly considered pretending the letter hadn't arrived but decided against it when he heard a low screech. He locked eyes with the Emperor's eagle and sighed as he opened the letter.

Your Majesty,

It has come to my attention that your people are not extinct as multiple have come to believe and you still roam free. According to ACT 345 which speaks on the registration of all Humanoid Creatures, I am allowed to spare your species seeing that you have not violated any rules and have remained neutral thus far. I, however, wish to inform you that if you do not speak a side, I will find and destroy the remainder of your Kingdom and your people will be nothing but a fairytale told to children.

Please do not feel pressured to choose to fight on my side, its only your people who will get affected by your decision.

Sincerely, Emperor Nero.

"She'll never forgive me if she finds out." King Beryl muttered as he wrote a response to the Emperor, pledging the allegiance of Vampires to him. He handed the letter to the massive bird and watched s it flew out of his window with conflict written on his face.

He closed the window, took off his crown and threw it to the ground while cursing violently and tugging on his hair. He continued with this behavior for a few more minutes before slouching in the chair and burying his face in his hands while breathing deeply.

Being a ruler was a chore.

---

Dolan had never had any reason to doubt his map reading skills and it was very rare for him to lead himself or others astray when it came to directions and map reading. With that in mind, he studied the map in his hands before looking up and taking in the waterfall before him with a frown that clearly expressed his confusion.

It was either he miraculously became a horrible map reader or he was missing something. The frown slowly disappeared as realization dawned on his face making him chuckle slightly; the map was old so of course it was somewhat out of date.

He scratched his cheek. "But the map shows The Crystal Cave should be here. Not a waterfall.". He then frowned; if the cave was destroyed, he'd never forgive himself. As the sun set, he mentally noted that the thirteenth of July would be in practically a day.

Malum rubbed her head against him and let out a tired mewl. She then shifted to her panther form and slept on his on his lap. Not questioning her need to sleep, he held open a shimmering curtain that seemingly appeared from nowhere and took out a small, hardly formed magical creature. He set it in front of him and Malum and unsheathed his wand and murmured random spells under his breath.

No matter how much magic Dolan did, it never seized to amaze him as the remnants of the spells got absorbed by the creatures he'd create. The magic gave them life and personality; free will and the right to obey or disobey him. As the once hardly formed lump took the shape of a bird of prey, Dolan carefully set down the wand and smiled at his newest creation. "Hello, Jez. I'm your creator, Dolan or Hex."

The bird sniffed him before stretching their wings and flying away, making Dolan cursing under his breath at the gesture.

He felt his back hit the grass and closed his eyes as he calculated the possibilities of creating another creature. Maybe a hamster whose primal form is a lion. "I'd call it Jez the second." He absentmindedly ran his fingers through Malum's fur spoke vaguely. "It could kill me though."

He then remembered the day he made Reign and Malum, letting out a chuckle at the near death experience. He then furrowed his brow. "Where on Earth is Reign?"

Malum looked at him at his question causing him to frown even more; it wasn't like Reign to mysteriously vanish without a trace. He shook his head, expelling all the worst case scenarios from his thought process. If anything bad had befallen the Wolf, he'd know because he'd feel it; Malum would know because it would show on her body.

He sat up. "Let's go you hunt, shall we?"

As Malum stretched, Dolan cast a protection spell around the camp sight and a few warding spells to keep everyone away. He then whistled at Malum who followed him deep into the woods while sniffing the air before she ran ahead of him. He shook his head at her enthusiasm to hunt; he jumped hoped that whatever she found wasn't a sacred animal. "That would not be pretty."

He smelt blood. With that thought, he turned and pointed his wand to his left and narrowed his eyes. "Whose there?"

Just as quickly as the scent came, it left, leaving Dolan wary before he shrugged his shoulders and stalked after Malum who he was certain had found herself something to eat.

Blue eyes watched him with interest as the owner let out a sigh of relief before glaring at their palm and cursing the stone they had cut their palm on.

While Malum devoured half an antelope, setting the other half aside for Reign, Dolan looked around before placing a yellow crystal in his mouth and pinching his nose in order to recover from the high the blood made him feel. He stared at the cloudy sky with a slight smile tugging at his lips. When the smell became too much, he stood, muttering to Malum about how she knew how to get past his wards.

His expression darkened. "Show yourself because if I find you myself, you won't like me one bit."

Dolan was simply a nineteen-year-old Vampire and he could proudly say that he had seen it all. That was until, as the sun began to rise, Malum was dragging a body towards him. He stared at her coat that had blood stains on it as she limped into the curtains just as the person Malum brought stirred. "Where am I?"

The lizard like eyes landed on Dolan briefly before the person sat up and narrowed the eyes at the young Vampire. "Who are you?"

"You're injured." Dolan noted as he rummaged in his bag and handed the younger a bottle with a dirty green liquid. "I'd heal you myself but I'm currently a little too drained."

The yellow eyes male furrowed his brow as he stared at the liquid. "What's that?" He eyed the potion in disgust while Dolan sighed heavily. "Just drink it."

The reptilian eyes assessed Dolan for some time before the former drank the liquid in a go, nearly sighing in relief as the pain receded. He felt the wounds close up and bones heal as he flexed his fingers. "I'm Hope."

"That's an odd name in these parts. Is it that your original name is difficult for an outsider to pronounce? However, my name's Dolan."

Hope nodded slightly as his brain worked quickly. He took in their surrounding and smiled slightly as his eyes landed on the waterfall behind Dolan. "Are you a magic practitioner by any chance?" "Why would you want to know?"

He gestured to the waterfall. "My father told me that only Mages, Witches, Sages, Warlocks, the occasional Wizard or Alchemist or any of the people who work with Magic." "And if I'm simply a tourist?"

"False," Hope said with a smug smile. "Tourist can't heal nor do they have access to healing potions but if it's true then I can't let you see the place of your desire."

In the situation that I'm merely curious about why this place is such a Magic User hotspot?" Dolan asked as he rose a brow.

Hope's eyes sparkled in amusement. "Then you're looking at the cave's reflection."

---

When Leilani opened her eyes, she realized two things at a go.

1. She was tied up.

2. She was in the Imperial Courtyard with a crowd watching her.

She took in the scene before her before she started to panic. Was she still in her mask?

She then shook her head as she studied the faces, relieved to see the usual combination of afraid and curious; Dolan's charm is still working.

The crowd fell silent as the sound of riding boots came closer to her. She soon felt someone lift her head by her chin and she narrowed her gaze behind the mask; dear father decided to make it a show.

"Now isn't this funny?" He mused. "The hailed terror and thorn in my side graces us with her presence. Where's the rest of your team, King?"

Leilani, now King, looked away from The Emperor as she tried to figure what the best path of escape was. Her vision was soon obscured by the enemy and her father who was tutting. "For a King you have the worst manners? I'm not that big on capital punishment and I believe every being has their use so why not swear allegiance to me and tell me where the rest of your team is in exchange for your life?"

She shrugged her shoulders, feigning indifference, she wasn't going to betray them.

She then dropped her head as the image of Dolan staring at her in betrayal and hurt flashed in her mind. That look had haunted her for days and she could never seem to escape him after her horrible actions towards the younger; she owed him an apology.

Or perhaps her death will make him forgive her.

The Emperor mistook her sudden sadness for defeat and frowned. Was she truly willing to die and not reveal the rest of The Rebellion?

Her action actually made him wonder why he had thought that his daughter was the woman before him; Leilani was a lot of things but she had never been a self-sacrificing fool. She had always had a strong sense of self-preservation. With that thought, he stood and spat at King who flinched in disgust.

She suddenly noticed the shadow above her and looked up, eyeing the boulder above her with a frown etching itself into her features. There was no way she'd be able to survive that falling on her without the crown.

The Emperor smiled. "Any last words?"

She spoke in a low voice. "Perhaps you should work on being a better husband and father."

Someone in the crowd let out a snort at her sentence as The Emperor glared at her n rage. She would admit that her words were below the belt but when it came to the man who simply donated half of his genetic information to create her, she never really considered playing nice or by the rules.

She watched as her dad gestured for the people to let go of the rope and watched the boulder shadow get bigger. She braced herself for the impact that never came and looked up, half expecting to see Hex casting a spell or carrying he boulder only to see Beast. "Hey."

"Do you mind? This thing is heavy."

"Oh, I'd love to not be crushed to death but alas I've been tied up and genuinely can't move anything that isn't my head." King sighed sympathetically. She then looked around. "Why on Earth aren't they trying to stop you?"

She then looked to her right where Autumn had a sword that wasn't his pressed against The Emperor's neck. The latter, however, looked calm and glanced at the guards. "What are you waiting for? Attack."

Autumn drew a line of blood causing the guards to hesitate. The Emperor narrowed his gaze. "He won't kill me, attack."

Muse strummed his guitar and smiled at the illusion of Empress Nica being dangled by an illusion of himself that gave The Emperor the liberty of choosing his next move carefully since any decision he made would result in her untimely death.

The Emperor blanched at the development. He had a sword at his throat and his wife was in danger. If either Beast or Autumn was attacked, he had a feeling that Muse would actually drop her without batting an eye. He caught sight of a blonde slowly creeping behind Beast and pressing a conjured knife against that back of the other's neck.

"Check." Leonardo's cool voice sounded as he took in the scene before him with a smile. "Tell them to back down, Muse."

King let a low whistle as a falcon landed in front of her before placing her crown on her head and flew off. They had a chance.

"Drop the boulder and fight," She said to Beast who shrugged his shoulders and dropped the boulder before rounding on the red eyed blonde behind him and fighting the man who seemed to know how to use the knife.

As chaos broke out, Muse dropped the illusion and jumped from the roof in hopes of reaching Autumn before anything went wrong.

King, however had handled the problem.

Autumn was on the ground groaning in pain while King had the sword pointed at the throat of a terrified Emperor who was on his back, staring at the lady before him with fearful eyes. "We can talk about this."

"Isn't funny facing death, is it?" She asked with a low voice.

King Leonardo picked Autumn's limp body and backed away from King. "Step away from The Emperor."

"You step away from Autumn."

"Here's the deal, King. I'll tell my men to stand down if you do the same to yours. Then we'll both release our captives unharmed."

She considered the former's words and let out a heavy sigh. "Beast, Muse, come here."

Beast said some not so nice words as he walked to King with Muse on his tail. The confident yet defiant walk shifted to that of pure annoyance, signifying a swap. King Leonardo beckoned the severely injured blonde warrior towards him. The blonde rolled his eyes before waving a wand and healing himself. King Leonardo looked at King. "How do I know this isn't a double cross?"

King shrugged. "You don't. so on the count if three, we'll throw them." "Throw us?" Emperor Nero panicked. He turned fearful eyes to Leonardo. "You can't let her throw me."

King Leonardo ignored The Emperor. "Fair enough. One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

The Emperor let out a scream and decided that if he miraculously survived, he'd let all Unwanteds live freely.

"Gotcha." King Beryl smiled before setting The Emperor on his feet and bowing.

King frowned when it came to her attention that neither Beast nor Muse had Autumn in their arms. She glared at King Leonardo who despite not knowing what expression she was making had a feeling it was one of mistrust. He rose his hands in mock surrender and grinned sheepishly at his wife who turned to face the newest face amongst them who was approaching The Rebellion with Autumn in her arms.

Emperor Nero assessed the woman before him before realization dawned on his face. "You're the wife of the woman who refused to tell us the whereabouts of the Vampires. If I remember correctly, I was the one who killed her."

Wynter stopped in her tracks. "Indeed."

She then looked over her shoulder and narrowed her gaze at King Beryl. She then sent him a sad smile. "Clearly her death is in vain and I do hope you don't live to regret it, Your Majesty."