The Vampire's Ascendancy (Larry Stylinson AU) - Book Three

Chapter IV

With Ariel's defeat, Corin and his remaining forces returned to the Bloomwood estate. It was not a warm welcome, the estate was in disrepair. The soldiers were starving and they would often fight among each other. Ariel has not sent any supplies for many months and Corin was starting to question this alliance. He knew his soldiers would soon turn against him. 

Corin only returned with two-hundred soldiers and they could only simply be described as savages. If Ariel ordered another attack, Corin wasn't going to offer his assistance. He couldn't handle sending his men to their deaths, they needed to protect him from Xander. The vampire was going to be out for revenge, after the death of Lady Bloomwood and Commander Waters. 

Corin was sitting on his throne which one could barely call a throne room. Lady Bloomwood was not fond of her status and was never materialistic. She always shared everything with her people and took care of those in her estate. A guardsman stepped into the room and kneeled before his master. "My lord, the men are hungry. Do you have any news from Lord Blackstar?"

He didn't make eye contact with his master. "My loyal subject, Ariel has sent no word and it may be that way for months." The guardsman raised his head to make eye contact with Corin. "The men need to eat, we cannot continue to have only water. If you expect us to serve you, food must be supplied. I will no longer serve you, if y-" 

The guardsman is interrupted when a dagger is pushed into his chest by Corin. "This is my estate and no one has the right to order me." Corin stared out at the crowd of guardsmen and slowly pulled the dagger out. The lifeless body fell to the ground with blood quickly covering the floor. "No one has the right to question me. If anyone tries, I will end them!"

The guardsmen stared at their master and kneeled before him. They didn't desire to serve him, but Corin provided shelter and protection for them. The guardsmen returned to their duties and a scout came into the throne room. However, this scout was important to Corin because it was his only scout. "Please tell me, scout. What is going on in the region?"

The scout kneeled before his master and looked up at him. "As you already know, the guardsmen are hungry, but I believe our men will hold out for a few months. They should be able to survive on bread and water. I scouted the northern region and the Stylinson estate is recovering quite well. I ran into a group of Dawnbreak soldiers, they were traveling to reinforce Harry's men." 

Corin screamed and throw his food across the room. "Ariel and I should have eliminated the Dawnbreak estate first! I cannot believe Harry hasn't been executed for his crimes. He's an ugly human! I cannot wait to punish him and remove those curls from his head." The scout continued to listen to his master's rant. 

"I will destroy Harry. By my orders, I want you to investigate Harry and find all his dirty secrets. The lad must be exposed to his friends and allies." The scout nodded and started to speak again, "My lord, Louis is currently missing from the estate. They believe Louis was kidnapped by someone or something." Corin smiled and ordered his scout to report to Ariel. 

~~~

At the Stylinson estate, the officers called for another meeting to discuss battle plans and Louis. The curly haired lad was tired and could barely handle the constant meetings. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and opened them, exposing his emerald orbs to Xander. "Haz, it's time for another meeting. C'mon, you need to get up."

"What time is it?" Harry could already smell the breakfast, so it must be morning. "It's four in the morning, I had the servants make you a small breakfast." He groaned and laid back down on the bed, yawning and pulling the covers over his frame. "Who called a meeting?" Xander smiled at Harry's childish behavior and took a sit on the bed.