SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Thirty Three: From Dawn to Dusk
The first battle was yet to strike. None of them thought that the other was prepared enough for the war. For it was a mystery to the both of them as to who all were in their respective armies. Although Lord Mikhail was aware of a few secretive things from the castle with the help of his messenger, he was not as sure of it since he had not gotten any recent messages. Or maybe he had not bothered to contact the messenger in the first place.
As they sat there waiting for the King – unable to look each other in the eye for they feared that they would end up in a duel – they wondered how the war was going to end up. Would Lord Lucifer and Amara succeed in protecting the prophecy? Would Lord Mikhail be able to find out what the prophecy held? Would Lord Lucifer’s coven be destroyed? Or would Lord Mikhail end up dead? Similar questions ran through both their minds. Lord Lucifer had received a message from Erasmus on the previous day saying Lord Mikhail had realized that Lilith’s spirit was no longer where he had hidden it; which had infuriated Lord Mikhail to no limit and he had ended up punishing a few of his coven members in frustration.
Whether he was frustrated with himself or his army, Erasmus did not know. But so far, Lord Mikhail had not tried to get Lilith’s spirit back for he knew it was under extra protection than it was when he had it under control. Besides, the war was about to start, and if Lord Mikhail won, he would surely get Lilith back under control to help him with the prophecy.
When King Orcus walked in along with Minister Leontues, and the guards closed the doors, Lord Lucifer and Lord Mikhail stood up.
“Your highness,” said Lord Lucifer, bowing his head in respect.
The King offered a smile and settled himself on his throne. Lord Lucifer and Lord Mikhail sat back down on their respective ones followed by Minister Leontues.
“Good evening, Lord Mikhail, Lord Lucifer,” the King said, giving a nod of acknowledgement to the both of them.
“Your highness, let us not waste time and proceed with the meeting,” said Lord Mikhail, stoically.
“Certainly. Lord Mikhail¸ please tell us what the war is about,” the King said and Minister Leontues flipped the parchments on his table, holding the quill in place to begin writing.
“The Ministry believes that Lord Lucifer is trying to win the throne by creating a strong coven under the alleged reason of guarding Acanthus,” said Lord Mikhail and Minister Leontues scribbled on the parchment.
“What does Lord Lucifer have to say to that?” The King turned to Lord Lucifer.
“I only wish to protect our land and if that means starting a monarchy of my own, I would not hesitate in agreeing to what our High Minister has said,” Lord Lucifer responded.
“Describe the strength of the respective armies,” the King said.
“Three covens assist our army, your highness, Lord Alistair and Lord Riordan from the land of Silene Noeturna and Lord Vane from Adiantum.”
“And you, Lord Lucifer?”
“From Murier Albys, the covens of Lord Theodore, Lady Nysa and Lord Vincent, your highness” answered Lord Lucifer.
“Where will the battles take place?”
“The battlefield of Artemisia is at the borders of Acanthus, your highness,” said Lord Mikhail. “The Ministry believes it would be suitable.”
“Very well.” The King nodded as Minister Leontues scribbled away on his parchment.
“Do you, Lord Lucifer, wish to extend a white flag of peace to solve this dispute, avoiding destruction?” The King turned to Lord Lucifer.
“I do, your highness,” replied Lord Lucifer. “If Lord Mikhail and the Ministry agree to it, I am ready to extend a hand of peace where my coven peacefully guards Acanthus and the Kingdom can function just as normally as it does as of now.”
“Do you, Lord Mikhail, wish to accept this flag of peace?” King Orcus hoped that Lord Mikhail would agree to this and settle the dispute mutually instead of raising a cry of war. It was better that way, nobody needed destruction. But his prayers went unanswered.
“I do not, your highness,” said Lord Mikhail. “The Ministry believes that Lord Lucifer’s coven is too intrusive regarding the protection of the land and a war is essential to end this once and for all.”
The King sighed in defeat. Lord Mikhail could not be stopped and he knew it.
“The battle strikes anytime after the fortnight, correct?” King Orcus questioned.
“Yes, your highness,” said Lord Mikhail.
“Well then, if there is nothing else left to say, the court is dismissed.”
The King left the courtroom, and Minister Leontues pressed the hot seal onto the parchment that he had sealed in an envelope, before following the King.
Lord Lucifer left to go back to his castle, pulling the hood of his cloak onto his head. Lord Mikhail stared at the fading figure of Lord Lucifer and vowed to end his existence when the war began. For it was due to him, that Lord Mikhail had lost all the glory that he could have gotten.
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“What are you talking about?” said Amara, pushing past Iris and walking out of the kitchen chamber where she was busy having tea.
Chuckling, Iris followed her out and fell into step beside her.
“Amara, I was the one that woke you up from your beautiful dreamland with Azrael. I saw the way you two were asleep all night,” she said to Amara who suddenly turned red in the face as she attempted to hide it by looking away.
When have I ever blushed in a hundred years? She wondered.
“We were talking about some important things and must have fallen asleep due to exhaustion. You know a lot has been going on these days,” she answered, stuttering as she searched for words in her mind.
What was she going to tell Iris? That she had talked about the silliest things with Azrael and they had fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder? How could she possibly tell Iris that she had done something inane the night before? It was something that she had never done in her entire existence as a witch.
“Of course I do. But that does not change the fact that you were sitting in such close proximity with a male. In my time here I haven’t seen you do that with anyone,” Iris said slyly.
“Iris, nothing happened. I might have lost track of where I was and my silly head must have fallen on his silly shoulder sometime during the night. Why is it such a huge matter?” said Amara as she stopped walking and let out a frustrated sigh.
Iris was being a pain at the moment and Amara had a lot of important things to do. What happened to those important things while talking complete nonsense with Azrael, she thought and mentally hit herself.
“I never said something happened, Amara,” Iris replied, smirking.
Amara stared at Iris for a long moment with disbelief before rolling her eyes and turning around to leave. Iris was purely delighted when she had found Amara and Azrael peacefully asleep in the woods, the time that she had gone to look for Amara at dawn. Iris wanted to talk to her about Erasmus, but upon encountering the couple in the woods, she had forgotten all her worries and a beautiful smile had graced her lips. For years-she knew Amara had never developed so much of a simple conversation with a male, let alone fallen asleep so carelessly. Iris knew Amara had never been able to sleep so easily. Seeing her sound asleep with such content was a priceless moment, and Iris would cherish it for her entire existence. She was happy to see Amara with Azrael and she could sense that unbreakable bond developing between the two even though it wasn’t the slightest bit of obvious.
And if Amara was happy with Azrael, Iris would be all for it. After having faced worse things in her life, Amara deserved all the happiness that she could get. If it was Azrael who would give that lost smile back to Amara, then Iris would worship him for eternity and beyond. As she watched Amara walk away, a tear full of glee slipped out of her eye and she smiled in content. Sighing, Iris returned to her chamber where Leandra had promised they would meet after she had grilled Azrael. Of course she had told Lea about what she had seen. It was only fair that she knew what her brother had been up to.
There was no doubt about how happy Lea was. As soon as Iris had given the news, she had rushed to find Azrael. He was heading out of his chamber, drying his hair after a bath. When his eyes fell on Lea skipping towards him like a little girl, he frowned in confusion and dreaded that Iris had informed his sister of what she had seen in the morning. He waited for her to reach him and when she did, he was pulled into a tight hug.
“Do you plan on crushing my bones, Lea?” He asked.
Lea chuckled and let go of him. She dragged him back into his chamber and they sat on two chairs opposite to each other.
“I will crush your bones if you don’t tell me how you ended up in the woods with Amara all night,” she said to him as she smirked.
“We have a war to fight and you are asking me about something so silly and unimportant?” He raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
But of course it wasn’t a surprise. He did not know how he had ended up resting his head on Amara’s all night. It was strange, but it was the best feeling he had ever experienced in a long while. Never had a woman done something close to touching him apart from Lea. Never had he felt what he had felt with Amara. He wanted to feel that again and again, because it was the most beautiful thing he had ever experienced. But he had to push all of those thoughts away, for there was a battle to fight and a prophecy to protect.
“The war is a fortnight away, Rael. But I won’t ask you anything more and waste your time. Just tell me one thing. Do you or do you not fancy Amara? Because I know you, even though it has been twenty years since we met. You are my brother so I am well aware about the amount of time you spend with a witch. Falling asleep with one is just unbelievable, so you do fancy her, don’t you?” She said with a glint of mischief in her eyes.
“I am not going to tell you anything of that sort. We were talking about something important and fell asleep because we were tired. It is only natural. I would have slept so peacefully if I were in my chamber. So it isn’t anything new,” he told her.
But he knew how much of a lie that was. It was nothing important that they were talking about, neither was it because they were tired that they fell asleep. Azrael was well aware of the fact that none of them would have had such a peaceful sleep if they had been in their own chambers that night. For it was that invisible lingering trust that made them feel so safe with one another, and nothing else.
“Oh come now, Rael. You’ve fancied her for a while now. You’re just not ready to accept it.” Lea threw her arms in the air in frustration. Her brother was an idiot.
Azrael rolled his eyes.
“Am I allowed to go now? I have to meet Amara and discuss something important,” he told her.
“Of course you do. By all means, dear brother, go on.” Lea smirked deviously.
Azrael just shook his head and left the chamber with a grinning Lea. Smiling softly to himself he made his way towards the library where he knew Amara was.
There she was, seated on a chair behind a table in the farthermost corner of the library. She held a huge book in her hands, but both of them knew that she wasn’t reading it. Her mind was obviously elsewhere. They had not exchanged a single word after the morning when they had woken up, startled to find themselves sitting that close to one another. Amara had avoided his eye and so had Azrael, for it was extremely strange for the both of them and they did not know what they would say to each other. But now there were essentially some vital things to be talked of. As he made his way towards Amara, Azrael could not help but wonder how effortlessly beautiful the witch was. Shaking all of those stray thoughts out of his mind and telling himself to concentrate on what he was there to do, Azrael proceeded towards her. Amara looked up at him when he settled himself beside her on a chair.
“What are you reading?” He asked.
“Nothing,” she replied and shut the book of Spirits of the Doomed.
“Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about the summoning of spirits for guarding Lady Calypsa,” he told her.
“The Lord is going to talk to Sienna tonight. I think he already is, since he’s returned from the King’s palace. He will let us know,” she said, looking away.
She did not know how to look at him without getting her face to flame. It was awkward for her. She knew it was the same for him. But it was not important right now. They had a war to fight, which was soon to come.
“Alright. Is there any-anything else that you want to talk about? About the protection I mean,” he said, scratching the back of his head.
“No,” she replied, shifting in her seat.
Why was it making her so uncomfortable? Why was talking to him so complicated suddenly even though she felt better than she did with anyone? She wanted to get rid of those thoughts but they would just not leave her.
“Amara, I don’t want things to be uncomfortable between us. We-” he began.
But before he could continue, Sienna walked into the library and proceeded towards the two of them. Azrael and Amara looked up at her. She settled herself on the chair opposite to them across the table and let out a sigh. Amara and Azrael raised their eyebrows in question.
“The Lord spoke to me,” she said, clearing their doubt.
“About the. . .” Amara trailed off.
“. . . Spirits for guarding the Sea of Cypress,” Sienna completed, nodding. “I have a suggestion though.”
“What?” Amara and Azrael asked at the same time.
They glanced at each other for a second before turning back to Sienna.
“We won’t need to summon those spirits. Back in the woods there are a lot of wanderers. I have been acquainted with them a long time. If I request them, maybe they would help us. Besides, Amara also is quite friendly with a few of those spirits, aren’t you?” She said.
“To some extent,” replied Amara.
“We need a team. I reckon at least ten spirits will be necessary,” Azrael suggested, glancing at the two witches.
“No matter, I think I can convince them with the help of Amara,” Sienna said.
“Well alright then. When do we do this?” Amara asked.
“I think we can start right now, if you don’t mind,” said Sienna.
With a nod of agreement, Amara stood up and so did Sienna. Azrael bade them goodbye and the two of them left the library while he sat there wondering why he felt so empty after Amara left. Shaking his head, he blinked and then sighed before grabbing a book and starting to read. He had to spend some time until Amara returned and they proceeded to the Sea of Cypress together. He was hoping they would go together. Why, he had no idea.
Out in the woods, Amara and Sienna stood in the deeper parts, looking around and wondering as to how many wandering spirits were lingering there. Their eyes were closed as they took in the surroundings. Sienna opened her eyes first and turned to Amara.
“There’s plenty. Do you want me to communicate or do you want to help?” She asked.
“You do it,” Amara replied, beckoning Sienna to go ahead with the process.
Nodding, Sienna closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, exhaling it out slowly. With her mind focused on the spirits that she had befriended, she pulled out her flute from inside her cloak and began to play the soft melody that echoed around them in the woods. The sound of the gentle winds mingled with the music and created a beautiful symphony that calmed Amara’s ears. It was a different melody than the one that Sienna had played when summoning Lilith’s spirit, and while driving it away after Nicholas’s Death. Yet it was just as soothing as it had been before. Amara leaned on the tree beside her, listening to the sound silently.
The air around her suddenly seemed to change. Amara felt the souls whirl with the wind as though rushing towards something. Then a few silhouettes appeared. They were suspended in mid-air, right in front of Sienna in a semi-circle. It felt as though they were communicating to Sienna in soft whispers when she stopped playing the flute. The spirits stood there hovering above them in the air as they communicated with Sienna. Amara could not hear a thing. Whether it was the normal language they were conversing in, or it was some secret one, she did not know. Sienna then turned to look at Amara, gesturing her to go forward.
“They ask why Lady Calypsa needs to be guarded by them,” she whispered closely to Amara.
“It is for protection since the war is about to start. The Lord and I won’t be able to guard Lady Calypsa so efficiently with the battles going on. The Lady requires added protection in times like these,” Amara whispered back.
Sienna gave a nod and then whispered something to the spirits; something that Amara neither understood nor heard properly.
“They agree. They would like an audience with the Lady,” Sienna said.
“That is perfectly alright. We shall leave whenever we can,” replied Amara.
Moments later, the two witches were back into the castle after having talked to the spirits. They parted ways and Amara left to go to her chamber when she bumped into Azrael who was walking along the passageway with Eridanus.
“What happened in the woods?” He asked, stopping Amara.
“They agreed. We’ll leave when the Lord says so,” she replied.
“Okay. And I had to tell you something. We have a new addition to the coven,” he told her.