Chapter Eighty: The Kingdom that Suffers

Ember made her way to the Kingdom of the Withches whilst Raven and Penny made their way to the Lycan Kingdom. Penny and Raven had decided that it would be best, to settle as close to the palace as Raven had an ally within the Kingdom that would allow for them to do so under the premise that they were there to observe and aid the Lycans with their needs.

The name of the ally was a lone Lycan by the name of Sybil, whom had an impartiality with Witches unlike most Lycans whom did not trust witches based on the unstable history between the two Kingdoms.

" You both can stay here, but I am not going to be able to get you within the palace. I know that this important to you both but right now, tensions are still high after the news of the Thornbloods.

" That is all we need Sybil. And we thank you for your kindness" Raven had been an ally of Sybil for years but the details on their friendship was unknown to Penny. Though she was elderly, and seemed rather reserved, she was still very kind. And she understood that there were bigger things than the common squabbles between the Kingdoms. If more people had thought like her, then perhaps the world would have not ended up in such a mess in Penny's mind.

" I won't ask the real reasons for you both being here, but we need help here.." Sybil confessed. " On one hand we are presented as a strong and thriving people but the Witches, much like my fellow citizen's, can see that we are slowly being strangled. Supplies, are at an all time low, and that is slowly killing us. But, there are promises of peace and that gives some of us hope. That also makes others mistrust because we wouldn't be so desperate if we weren't being...punished for things we never did" Sybil continued.

" We know about the Thornbloods attack on the Witches. And any attack like that, would have never been ordered here. It would have never happened because despite the anger and frustration that we do have, we have put it aside for the pursuit of peace. And we would not jeopardize that..at least the Royal Family wouldn't" Sybils words broke both Raven and Penny's heart. They saw so much pain within her eyes and yet, through that pain was still an ounce of hope. It took strength to be a Lycan, in ways that they should never have to face.

" So, now the talks of peace are a bit comprimised and tensions do run rather high here. I'm telling you both this, because both of you being here..both of you being Witches would probably not look all that great. But, I know that you mean no harm. I know that you here for a good reason and that is why I have offered my home to you. But all I ask, is that whilst you stay here, that you do help us. Because we are struggling, daily here. And most of us, are too prideful to ask for help.." Sybil grabbed a pot of tea off the kitchen counter and brought it with her to her living room.

" The relations could see nothing but a benefit if you are a positive experience here" She added.

Penny and Raven completely agreed and whilst they were not sure what they could do, they would do their absolute best to make sure they were helpful. Though Sybil did have one more word of caution to provide the two. " Lysette, is the Royal Guard here and part of the Royal family. I would advise you both to avoid having a negative light under her gaze. She will act swiftly, and she will act accordingly should the need arise.

Penny smiled softly at the mention of Lysettes name, this was her guardian and her friend and confidant for many years. And perhaps, Lysette would be a bigger asset to them than a threat to them, or at least that is what Penny had hoped.

" I think that we should perhaps tour the town, so that we can get a better feel for what we would need to do. And perhaps we will be able to learn a little more information while we are here" Raven suggested to which Sybil smiled and nodded. " I can take you around the town" And after having some tea, Sybil took the duo out on the town.

It was a cross between majestic and strong, and sad and shocking. The stone buildings stood, with the finest of craftsmanship and yet, they were not being upkept. Most of the buildings had been abandoned and others were crammed full of families that seemed to be huddled together by choice rather than by lack thereof.

"So it would seem that supplies are your biggest issues. And whilst we wouldn't be able to get our hands on everything you need, we might be able to help somewhat.." Raven took notice of the long stetches of streets, the emptiness where perhaps a market could stand. A market that lacks the supplies to actually sell.

" There have been talks of going within the woodlands to hunt again. If we were to do so, we would be able to stock ourselves with proper amounts of food but storage is hard to do. Salt isn't common around here anymore, and so we had to aquire it from other places. And those other places are less inclined to provide us with the things we need based on the Thornbloods.

" So your main issue, or at least part of it, stems from the Thornbloods? " Penny questioned.

"They have never eased troubled waters..if anything, I would say they make it impossible to ever have the waters calm at all. And now, they have done enough damage that I'm not sure they will ever be calm again. But if they were to be removed from the equation..it couldn't hurt us" Sybil explained.

" Then perhaps that should be our first order of business" Raven and Penny continued to follow Sybil through the town until they came to what was left of the once, grand market of the main street. Only a few carts remained, selling wooden chairs, tables, and clothes.

" If you were able to gather the wood more efficiently, and you were able to craft furniture, you could probably restore the economy that way to some degree" Penny theorized.

" Yes but that would distupt the home of our prey. Our hunting grounds would be comprimised to restore our economy and then we would starve either way. Trust me, we have all thought about it" Sybil explained.

" Well what about the clothes? " Raven noticed the dresses and the shirts, and whilst they were not top quality, they would still provide something economically.

" Most of these were not crafted here. They are supremely old clothes that were given to us at one point or another and we have patched them. And then we resell them" Sybil walked over to one of the clothing stands, to look upon the wares.

" So we have to remove the Thorns from the equation, or at least get others to see that the Thorns are not acting for the Lycans and perhaps offer protection against the Thorns" Penny's mind raced with possible solutions.

" Well before we do that, we need to make sure that we think our moves through carefully. We know a bit but not enough about them or their whereabouts. But they are desperate and they are dangerous but they are not the priority here. If we are going to handle this, we have to be smart about it" Raven walked forward to speak with Sybil for more information as she did so, Penny felt a firm hand on her shoulder, which prompted her turn around and much to her surprise, seeing an old friend.

" Hello Lysette.."