The Palace Beast

Seeing that this wants to be a fatal physical fight, Gerald quickly walked up to the princess, "My princess, there is always a solution to everything." He whispered to her.

"Where have you been?" The princess asked with her eyes fixed on Gerald.

"It's a long story."

"Make it short," she said.

"Then we need someplace private," Gerald replied.

Queen Afi addressed the guards and the soldiers and then walks back into the main palace with Drew.

Princess Bonnie and Gerald walked towards the entrance gate and stood beside the watchtower. "Forgive me my princess, but the queen saw us bringing Drew back to Maxis as you instructed and intercepted us." Gerald narrates. "Intercepted you how?" the princess inquired with curiosity.

"She paid some outlaws to intercept us while she rides on horseback towards us and ordered us to stand down and release the prisoner to her."

On hearing this, the princess was enraged and stared at Gerald, "And you allowed her to walk away just like that?"

"There is nothing we could do my princess. She is still a queen."

"But not a crowned queen of Maxis."

"Forgive me, my Lady. This was my fear when I asked you to ascend the throne as the crowned queen of Maxis."

"My brother is still on that throne. I have sworn to bring him back from the dead."

"I understand your love for your brother but if queen Afi ascends the throne of Maxis, Maxis will be doomed."

Gerald still does not know why the princess will risk the fate of the entire people of Maxis by refusing the throne. Queen Afi was hated by all even when her late husband King Gilbert was reigning over Maxis. And now she has given the entire people of Maxis the reason to hate her more.

Queen Afi tends to the wound of Drew and afterward, she asked him to relax on the bed. "Are you leaving me here alone?" Drew asked expressing fear and anxiety.

One could tell his face wasn't looking bright and this was because he is now scared than ever living in the palace. 'Who knows what the guards will do to me? What if I am choked to death in my sleep?' His thoughts began to have more of his being that he sat up from the bed, with his eyes fixed on Queen Afi, he said in a low voice, "I'm scared being left alone."

"You have nothing to worry about. You are safe now." Queen Afi said as she gently grabbed Drew by the cheek with both hands and kissed him passionately. "I will be back to check on you. You need to have some rest." ...Land of the Dead...

King Afa leans on the tree of the spirit panting heavily. His father leans back on the tree of the spirit too panting. There have been fighting their way through in the land of the dead with many spirits' creatures but now they have someone very dreadful to worry about.

A god known as Thanatos has been after them for a while now. Thanatos is the personification of death. Thanatos was the son of Nyx, the goddess of night, and the brother of Hypnos, the god of sleep. He appeared to humans to carry them off to the underworld when the time allotted to them by the Fates had expired.

This became a mystery to King Gilbert and his son King Afa since there are no longer in the human world but in the world of the dead. They wondered what Thanatos is doing in the land of the dead wanting to carry them over to the underworld.

He is obviously Hades' lieutenant and the god of death. He is known as the god of calm death, and the spirits of violent death, or Keres, are his opposites. One of the reasons the mortal was sent to Tartarus was because he was once tricked by Sisyphus. In an attempt to stop death until Ares set him free, Thanatos chained the god to a rock when he arrived to take Sisyphus to the Underworld. Additionally, he engaged in a wrestling match with Heracles over Alcestis, King Admetus's wife. He lost the game, resurrecting the queen. Hades has now sent his lieutenant to pursue the two Maxis kings, whose souls are now in the afterlife.

"Father, why is Hades after our souls?" King Afa asked still panting.

"I am not certain of that son. But where ever death knocks, there is Thanatos. And where ever death carries one to, there is Hades. Hades does not change and will always do what he is known for. He is lord of the dead and the god of the underworld. He is a son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea." King Gilbert narrates.

"We need to get rid of his lieutenant before he gets to us." King Afa said with a glance at his father.

...Kingdom of Wex...

It's been a while now and Kay has lost access to Abezethibou. She has prayed to her in his new place of worship she erected and has called on his name on several occasions. He promised her victory over her enemies but the soldiers of Maxis defeated them in battle, though with the help of a demon prince known as Kyle.

Kay has been restless looking for answers but Abezethibou has not shown up and is nowhere to be found.

Not quite long, Isaac approaches, "My queen." He then takes a low bow before the queen. "Kingdom of Kez, and Wessex have withdrawn their support to you."

After the last battle between Maxis and Wex, the Kingdom of Kez and Wessex feared for their lives on hearing the disastrous destruction of the army of Wex. Though they have given their full support to the former king, King Charles and they wish to keep that friendship between them and Wex that King Charles established. But there is more to being alive than being friends with a kingdom a demon prince frowns at.

This news did not please Kay, she fixes her eyes on Isaac and said in a very tiny and unstable tone, "Destroy the place of worship of Abezethibou."