The Howling {Sequel to Ripped Away}

Chapter 8

   Fallacy had flown Encre home a few hours ago, and he had called a meeting of the vampire council. Everyone had arrived soon after, and they were all eager to share their own stories of the bizarre happenings.
"Its like somethings off in the world.." Fallacy muttered to himself as Dream, the last to share what had happened in his village, sat down.
"My lord, you have an urgent letter from Queen Toriel." Suave said, interrupting the vampire kings thoughts.
   Fallacy took and opened the letter, and his face froze in horror. The others noticed, and Felicia urged him to tell them what it said.
"The statue of the werewolf Nightmare.. it's begun to ooze the black liquid...." he said softly.
    Everyone began talking at once, fear quickly seizing the room. If he was correct in memory, there's only one thing that this could mean; Nightmare had returned.

***

   Encre was working on unpacking, a bit frustrated that her honeymoon had been interrupted but knowing that it was probably for the best. She had heard Fallacy making quick preparations, and felt a rush of love for her husband. He was always looking out for his kingdom, and that was just one of his great qualities. She let out a soft sigh as she looked at the dress she'd worn to their wedding. She smiled quietly as she remembered the ball when they'd first danced together, and stood up. She gently touched it and felt the soft texture, reminiscing about the good parts of that night.
   Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knocking at the door, and she turned to look at who was there.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, my lady." Fibi said softly and politely.
"Oh, no worries! Is something wrong?" Encre asked gently, offering a soft smile.
"Lord Fallacy just wanted me to check on you and make sure you were alright.." She hummed out quietly,  looking at the ground. Fibi was the most shy of the servants around this house, and normally just stayed in the servants room or kitchen.
"Well I'm perfectly fine." Encre said with a kind smile. Fibi nodded, giving her a shy smile, then turned and left.
   Encre got back to unpacking, now with a soft smile on her face, and let her thoughts roam over some new painting ideas. She relaxed, having no idea what was going on in Fallacy's meeting room below her. She was perfectly happy, and that was all that mattered for now.

***

"A trip to the Forbidden forest?!" Azure demanded, looking both offended and terrified.
"Azure, we've been there before. Besides, weren't you the one who wanted to see Encre?" Eterna asked, frowning.
   Dr. Lofy had said that the Vampire King, Fallacy, may know what the liquid is. Eterna was the last person to want to trust vampires, but with how she'd been feeling lately she was down to try anything. Azure was now pacing, shooting nervous glances from Rufous's home to her. She knew he must be worried for his new lover, and she sighed softly.
"Look, you don't have to come if you don't want. But I thought I'd offer, cause I know you've been wanting more experience to join the army." She said gently.
".. I want to go, I really do.. but who's gonna protect here while you're gone?" He asked nervously.
"Hm, im not sure.. maybe the army??" She teased softly, and Azure let out a nervous giggle.
"Okay, okay, I'll go. When are we leaving?"
"Dawn." She said, and after saying goodbye went to her own home. She had plenty of packing to do for herself.

***

"Useless!!" Nightmare roared at Cross, who flinched at his tone.
"You couldn't get a single wolf for my army?! How shall I take on the entire kingdom with just you?!!?" He screamed, causing Cross to cower.
"My king, just listen to me!! I didn't want to be locked up before I could complete the ritual, and I didn't want anyone even suspecting you were returning! Now, you can pick your own army!!" He yelped out.
   Nightmare raised an arm to slap Cross, but paused. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to pick out his own army, and now that he was here he could pick out any creature he wanted...
   He let his arm drop to his side and looked down at Cross. Cross stared up at him, having forgotten how cruel his king could be. Or, perhaps being trapped in stone for so long had made him bitter. Regardless, Cross had brought him back. Nightmare owed his life to Cross. So, it wasn't too much of a stretch that in return, his king would let them rule together.. side by side. Forever.

***

   Celeste stared down at the freshly buried graves with a blank look at her face. 'Too late..' she thought, feeling tears spilling down her face. She had found Geno and Reapers corpses nearby. How did they die? She had a sinking suspicion she knew. She'd done a brief study in magic spells, and this seemed to be a summoning one. Usually just a few drops of blood would do the trick, but the amount she saw... this must have been used to summon a very, very powerful creature. She shuddered at the thought and sat quietly. They'd been buried together, and should live on forever. She couldn't sit here for too long, she knew that, but they deserved at least a few minutes. They deserved to be remembered. And she needed time to start planning how to avenge them.