The Cruel King [1]

[ALANOR]

The Wynters had been good people.

A family that cared more about Udrad than even the king himself. Maybe that was why they were brought here. Or maybe they were here because they had committed a crime. Whatever it was, it was clear that they wouldn't be going home to young Alanor.

There was a rule in Udrad, that allowed the citizens to stone the thieves. And of course, everyone hated thieves, until the thieves were their friends and family. Though in this case, there was a clear somber mood.

It was different from the other Saturdays because somehow, the whole of Udrad was against this.

So they shed their tears in silence, while they shouted profanities, for fear that the king would put them up there instead of the Wynters. They lived a life of fear and horror and none of them was strong enough to go against the king.

King Eddison Stitt, or as he forced them to call him, King Eddy.

The king and his queen had believed that thieves weren't supposed to live, especially those that had used violence in their already dishonorable acts. It was a punishment the whole of Udrad had voted for, including Alanor's parents.

It was sad, how they were about to meet a fate they had agreed to.

However, to be fair, the people of Udrad were forced to agree to this treaty.

Their King had starved them for weeks and the children died because of the rebellion. No one wanted to agree to such a cruel fate, but the more they resisted, the more they lost the people they loved.

The Lycans of Udrad had to choose between their families and the unfortunate trial.

Expectedly, they chose family.

"Go my son, get out of here," his father said, his breaths coming out short because of how beaten and bruised he was. His condition was worse than that of his wife, though his tongue hadn't been chopped off.

However, they were helpless. They had never thought that a day would come when they would be bound to crosses, and set to be targeted.

On hearing his father's real voice, Alanor looked into his papa's eyes.

"Papa" the young boy called out, and using their lycan hearing, his parents looked up at him, with love in their eyes. They still loved him, after all, he was the fruit of their union. None of them had wished for this to happen, but such, was fate.

Their child would be left alone, in a kingdom so cruel, or maybe the people of Udrad wouldn't be cruel to the young boy. Then again, what was the guarantee that they would treat him any differently? There was the possibility that the kid would be stoned too next Saturday.

The people of Udrad always took the law into their hands, and in situations like young Alanor's, even he knew that he would be stoned like his parents were waiting to be.

"Papa," Alanor called out when the royal messenger announced the arrival of their King Eddy, a man they hated and despised more than anything in Udrad. Alanor was scared to look away from his parents, in fear that the king would make them disappear.

"All hail the king!" the messenger said and everyone erupted in cheers, stones in their hands like they had been anticipating this all their lives.

Udrad was the home of lycans, or so it was supposed to be. It had gone from being the home they loved to the home they hated but had no choice other than live in.

The lycans were similar to werewolves in ways more than one. They had superstrength, heightened hearing, speed, and agility among the several superpowers both creatures possessed. However, there were a few differences between them.

The lycans were natural beasts who could switch between their human and werewolf forms at their own pleasure. They had no restrictions whatsoever and were considered the most powerful creatures in the midlands.

The werewolves, on the other hand, were cursed humans who would be forced to transform into their wolf forms only on a full moon. They had no liberty to transform like the lycans and as a result, were weaker, and a little less smart than the lycans. Not to mention their superpowers were no match for the lycans.

"All hail the king!"

King Eddy was a man in his mid-forties. He was good-looking and had long hair that fell to his back. The crown on his head tended to keep them in place, especially in times when he came to such meetings.

His royal robe was beautiful and made him look like he was the hope of Udrad when in reality, he was the man the lycans of Udrad wanted to beat up and exile.

The people of Udrad wished that there was someone who could stop their King Eddy from taking matters into his own hands, but none had shown up. Maybe it would happen in the future, but would it?

Next to the king, was the queen, a woman who barely said anything in the royal gatherings. It was almost like she never had a voice, which was quite sad, considering she had the second-highest position in Udrad.

Maybe all of this was an illusion, but then with them being the rulers of Udrad, there was nothing like an illusion here. All of this was done by them and there was no doubt they would go down in history as one of the most brutal rulers of the Udrad Kingdom.

No one in the kingdom knew the name of their queen, because it was forbidden by the king. It was almost like she had come out of thin air, but the elders of Udrad knew what had happened, and why the queen had no name, but they couldn't dare tell a soul about it.

As the royal couple walked up the podium, which was set so perfectly with a few of the lycans acting as the shield, there was an increase in the condemning voices. Everyone was saying something, lest they be hanged for not condemning the thieves.

Udrad was a dictatorship and they were all aware of it.

"Good morning Udrad! Today we're here to sentence the house Wynter for larceny with violence! We all know we love our home so much, and we have to cleanse it from such characters. However, we have to listen to both parties, so you guys know we are a fair and just kingdom.

King Eddy was a royal ass. He knew so well that what he was doing wasn't right and was against humanity, but as long as no one came after him, he knew he would win. The smirk plastered on his face was all the people of Udrad needed, to know that this was a falsified trial.

They could see how excited the king was, almost like he was eliminating one of the threats in his kingship. His determination and the rate at which the trial had been fast-paced was another hint. but then it wasn't like anyone in the kingdom could raise a voice.