The Diabolical

28

Third Person PoV

"How many were killed from the last attack?" Rose asked when she finally arrived at the war camp. Catherine sighed before she showed Rose the devastating numbers.

"Zora just wiped out a whole village to the ground?!" Rose couldn't believe that she was too late to take action.

"On the bright side, I manage to salvage what's left of the village, and not everyone is dead. The survivors are now at a safe place." Rose nodded as she looked at the map that the scouts managed to obtain.

"The crown prince soldiers are now making their way into our territory. The village was on its path- that's why he decided to get rid of it. And I wasn't informed that Zora has their dragons. How many, I'm not sure, but the one they used seems to be the cause of the fire." Catherine turned to Rona.

"Any ideas how to counter this?" Rona hummed.

"I have a few ice dragon as pets, and some of the lesser demons under my control knows water magic. And I also have a few ancient weapons that could help. Gisele will surely have a field day using those in the battlefield, I'm sure." Gisele smirks at the thought and smiles.

"Oh yes, I will. Besides, I've killed a dragon before. Killing another one is not hard. I have experience in dealing with a fire-breathing dragon before. I'm sure everything will be in our favor." Rose sighed.

"How are you so confident about this? What if we made a mistake and involved innocent people again? Will I be able to handle those losses? The village was a wake-up call. We need to stay a few steps ahead of the enemies if we strive for victory." The empress leaned back to her seat while Catherine looked over at the map.

"Prince Kian, dame Gisele, I have a proposition. If you don't mind, that is." The prince and Gisele look at each other before nodding their head.

"Each of you will have to lead a group of knights and be on standby on these mountain roads. I believe the crown prince will send some of his troops on these mountains. If they didn't, we could take over the mountains and use its position to spy on the enemies. Unless they use the mountains as a trap." Catherine hummed.

The prince seems intrigued with the ideas, and so does the dame.

"That's a great idea, Catherine. We shall take charge of the mountain. The crown prince won't know what hit him." Kian and Gisele high five each other before smiling at Catherine. Rose sighed, and she began to worry about the two.


LATER THAT DAY,

"Rose, did you know where I put my daggers?" The empress avoided making eye contact with her husband until the prince lifted his wife's chin.

"Why are you acting this way? Are you that worried about me? I won't be alone- Gisele will be there with me." The empress sighed.

"That's what I'm afraid of. You're going to the mountains with Gisele." The empress cupped her husband's face with both hands before kissing him. Kian was surprised.

"I didn't expect the empress to treat me like this. If I had known, I wouldn't be wearing this armor." Rose placed both hands on her husband's chest before shaking her head.

"Are you trying to make me feel better?" Kian nodded his head.

"I'm worried about you. No one here knows you better than I do. What if you went on a rampage again? I won't be there to stop you from destroying everything. It's time for you to let go of this artifact and trust your strength, Rose." Rose rested her head on her husband's chest.

"I wish I could, but you know it's hard for me to do so. I am not you, Kian. I was a weak woman who thought she wouldn't survive as a ruler of such a vast empire. But this artifact gave me strength and-" Kian wrapped his arms around his wife.

"You're wrong. I have never seen a woman as strong as you. Rose, you've been through many shitty things while growing up as the heir to the throne. I was there, and I watched you grow to be the person you are today." Rose chuckled.

"You mean as a tyrant?" Kian shakes his head no.

"No- as Rose Hawthorne. You grew to be a wonderful person, Rose. You shouldn't look down on yourself this much. So please, while I'm gone, stay with Catherine. Please do not put yourself in danger. Also- refrain from feeding your sword with blood. We don't know how it'll turn out to be." Rose sighed.

"But If the situation needs me to act, I have no choice but to act to protect others. Either that or I'll be dead." Kian smiled.

"Oh, honey- I'm sure the crown prince will find it hard to end your life. How many had tried and failed in the end? As I said, you're strong without the artifact. Your aura alone is enough to make the enemies bow to you." Rose chuckled.

"Maybe you're right, honey. Maybe I shouldn't depend on the artifact and work on my strength more." Rose looks at her husband from head to toe.

"Please come back. For Kiera and me- please come back to us. Whatever you do, you have to promise me that you'll come home. I- I don't want to-" Kian hushed his wife with a smile.

"I will. Don't worry too much. After all, we promised to have another child, right?" Rose blushed in a deep shade of red.

"Oh my God- please don't do that face. It's embarrassing enough that the whole court knows about our plan, and you're talking about it again. Do you know how hard it was for me to keep a straight face?" Rose sighed.

"Why are you embarrassed? All married couples do the same as we do. There's no exception." Rose placed her hand on Kian's mouth.

"Just go!" Kian laughed.




THE NEXT DAY,

"What took you so long?" Gisele asked Kian, who finally arrived.

"I've been waiting for quite some time. Did you and Rose get it on?" Kian sighed as he mounted his horse.

"I take them as a yes." Kian turned to Gisele with a calm expression.

"You'll understand once you're married to the courtesan. Anyway, is everyone ready?" Kian realized that everyone was waiting for him. He cleared his throat before lightly kicking the side of his horse. Gisele followed suit.

"Kian- are you ready to die?" The prince chuckled.

"Always. The moment I decided to marry Rose, I've prepared myself for any emergency where I had to put my life second and my wife as my main concerns. She is, after all, the empress, and the empire will never be the same without her. But I promised my wife I would come back. You should be doing the same since the courtesan is carrying your child." Gisele smiled.

"Calypso told me that if I decided to die, she would march to the underworld and pick up my soul so she could torture me in my afterlife. I think I just found my fear." Kian laughed.

"Well- a pregnant woman can be quite sensitive. Does Calypso hate anything about you?" Gisele shakes her head no.

"When Rose was pregnant, she hates it when I share the same bed with her. For nine months, I have to sleep on the couch. Not only that, she has such a keen sense of smell. I have to take a shower five times a day because she thinks I smell bad." Gisele laughed.

Kian raised his hand as he pulled his horseback. Gisele did the same while looking at her surrounding.

"Something is not right. It's too quiet." Kian said while placing his hand on the handle of his sword.

"Gisele, get rid of the spell." Gisele nodded before she snapped her fingers. The thick fog started to disperse in no time.

"Your highness! Behind you!" A knight screamed when an arrow suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Gisele threw her dagger to intercept the arrow before it hit the prince.

"Nice try-" the prince catches the dame's dagger before throwing it in the direction where the arrow comes from. Everyone heard a thud not far from where they were.

"It's a trap. Do you know how blessed we have Catherine on our side?" Kian chuckled as she charged forward with his knights while Gisele stayed and dealt with the remaining enemy wizards.

"Attack!" Gisele charged forward while swinging her sword around, killing the enemy who lunged in her way. The dame continues to path her way through while spilling the enemy's blood all over the ground.

As Gisele unmounts her horse, a barbarian comes in her way, swinging its ax, but Gisele doesn't seem fazed as she avoids getting sliced open. The dame continues to avoid every attack until the barbarian's movement gets slower.

"You barbarians lack the stamina for such a big attack." It didn't take long for Gisele to decapitate the barbarian's head with her sword.

"How is everyone?" Gisele asked the others, who seemed to be having too much fun.

"Elfie- keep the others for the rookies. Teach them how to survive this war!" Elfie nodded his head. Gisele kept her sword inside its scabbard before she walked towards the prisoners of war.

"Tell me- was it a trap for us to be here?" One of the prisoners nodded his head.

"That woman was right all along. I hate that she's right, though." Gisele was referring to Catherine. Gisele orders the knights to take care of the prisoners as she mounts her horse and goes through the fog to find Kian and his knights.

Gisele kept a steady speed as she went through the thick fog.

"Gisele- look." Kian waved his hand for Gisele.

"What the hell is this place?!" Gisele asked while kicking one of the many carcasses of an animal.

"This is not the only one too. Look around you; it's everywhere. As if something just sucked these animals' blood dry." Gisele clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Vampires." Kian doesn't seem to be impressed.

"Vampires? In the middle of the day? That's impossible." Gisele sighed.

"Look around you; what other creatures can do such things? If it's a demon, they would have eaten the whole thing. And if it were werewolves, there would have been large bite marks, but the only marks I can find are these two puncture wounds. We need to get the knights away from the fog!" Kian hates the idea, but he has no other choice.

"Fuck!"

"I can't believe the crown prince would lured those creatures of the night to work for him. But from what we've seen, I don't think the crown prince is providing enough food for them. If this continues, not only the crown prince would be in trouble but the people of Goterra will have to be fed to the vampires too. We should find a way to stop these bloodsuckers from rubbing wild. But how?" Gisele realised something as she turned to Kian.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Kian nodded.

"We have no other choice but to have Rona do the honours to fight these vampires off." Gisele nodded.

"Damn it- why do I have to rely on my mother?"

"Because I have more experience." Rona suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a smile on her face.

"Don't worry, Gisele. Mommy's here."