CXVII ||| All the Things We Do for Love

"What the hell?" I gasped dumbstruck. "My mom?"

A nod, "I had a fat crush on her since always," he giggled blushing. "I was so damn obvious that she totally knew it. In fact, I think I loved her. She was definitely my first love, and only until now, Hel. That's why I got so stunned when I learned you were her daughter, and then when I learned everything else," clenching his jaw, he stared at his hand. "I was already a thousand years old when she disappeared, and I hadn't settled in the Dragon Court yet, even though they had invited me to. I was training around the world, and I would eventually come to see her. She told me…"

He closed his eyes, "She told me the last time we saw each other, that she was mated to Russell. Until then, I still had a bit of hope that we could have something. I was green with jealousy. Her friend always mocked me, damned Abellona. I would only see crimson-fangs sometimes, and she would always joke at my face because she totally knew about my crush too. And I would have fought her, if she wasn't Shay's best friend," what?

"No one knows what we talk about when we are in a place where time is frozen, it's actually like walking into a different demension where time is different from our own. So, the Queen can't know what we say in here, even if she tried. I was never able to try talking to you before, because she had a tighter grip on me. But since she freed you, it got weaker and weaker, and I think that's because she wants to make me just an army general, and turn you into her right hand, because you won against me. Plus everything you can do, and what you are. It would be beneficial in her damn eyes!"

I blinked more confused than ever, "What… what do you mean? I don't understand. And I'm never going to be her fucking weapon, never."

He smiled proudly, and that also shocked me, "I know you won't, kid. But the Queen is self-centered, psychopathic, and only sees what she wants to. I knew you were playing the submissive when she came around, to make her underestimate you exactly as I taught you how," and his smug grew wider. "But she has no idea you actually an unruly little serpent, as you and I know this. She has no idea that she potentially caused her own demise when she freed you. That's why I was so happy that you defeated me. I knew if that happened, she would definitely want you to be her new dog and would try to discard me, thus, she wouldn't need to waste her power on me anymore, and would weaken her control."

I have no idea what he's talking about. "Explain, please."

"You don't know?" And he seemed genuinely confused.

Which made me even more confused. "Know what… exactly?"

His eyes turned to where Oliver was and then back to me, "Didn't your fanged boyfriend tell you what Meredith real power is, Hel?"

I blinked, "It's blood manipulation."

"That's one of her powers, and she can only use against those of her bloodline," he pointed to me. "No one told you? Not even Mia?"

Okay, I'm even more confused. "What is it? What's her power?"

"Mind manipulation, Hel. The Dragon Queen can manipulate the minds of anyone who's weaker than her. As long as they aren't touched by the Goddesses," he pointed to me again, "as you are," then to Oliver, "as he is too. I don't know how, but both of you, and some other kids in here, like my nephew Felix, are touched by one of the Goddesses, and that's why she can't control your mind. That's why she opted to try taming you the hard way. She tried to break you so much that you would lose your will to fight and would become her perfect puppet. From the beginning she wanted you to be her dog, but she needed to hone you after locking you in stasis for so long." It must have been the Crone. Mia.

"That's why she put me there, because I'm her strongest lackey. I have been under her control for almost two thousand years, Hel. We don't get mindless like zombies, but the strings of her magic are so powerful and into our brains, that we can't do anything we want, anything she does not tell us to. The Dragon King Preston, who's her mate, have been under her talons and being manipulated even before he became King with her. Same goes for most of the Ministry. The only exception is the Vampire King and Queen, who are also insanely strong, and can't be manipulated, but can't defeat her either."

Again, he pointed to Oliver, "They created him as a weapon for this and to be able to put her down. That's why I thought it was so ironic that both their ultimate weapons began dating," he chuckled amused. "And I may not be a fan of that boy, but he's strong, and he's probably the only one who might be able to go toe to toe with you in here. I know your strength, as I am the one who raised and trained you, kid. And when you defeated me on that last test, she realized that too. She freed you from the stasis because it was around the time Strauss-Khan was freed, so she freed you and Felix. And it was always in her plans to make so you would come to Belladonna in the last year," I can't believe this.

"She sent Felix here to be seen as her secret weapon, while she kept the real one in secret, letting me hone you. Build you to be the strongest that there are. Another reason was because she got bitter since Mia took fangs as her pupil, and not even her messes with the headmaster. And given how his parents are also a bunch of fucking psychos, I can't even phantom what that boy went through. You two are like… a match made in hell," he bit his bottom lip, holding his laughter. "It's so damn ironic, and I can't wait until I see their faces when they learn you two are actually together. Seriously, I may not be a fan of it, as I said, but a part of me is overjoyed it happened."

"So, yes. I was manipulated by her for centuries, and I couldn't say anything about it even if I wanted to. Whatever you think you saw that made you and anyone else think I had a crush on her, was a lie. She made it like that. She killed the love of my life, darling, how would I ever love her? That is pure bullshite. But if people believed that I was in love with her, no one would even try to persuade me to go against her. Which is precisely what happened."

"Darius and Violet Strauss-Khan only haven't used Oliver against her, because she has some kind of… amulet, that protects her from that disintegration of his. They know about it, since she made sure to warn them. She always carries that with her, because if there's something she fears, is her fall, and death by disintegration doesn't sound cool, does it?" So, it's an amulet? "She got that amulet somehow, around the time he left stasis and we got word that he had the power to disintegrate shite. Some say she got it from one of the Goddesses, but we don't have a way of knowing."

Could it be Annabelle? But why?

"Though I have a feeling the King and Queen of the Vampire Court made the same mistake as the Dragon Queen, of raising the one who will bring their demise without realizing. Your boyfriend clearly has something against them, and I wouldn't be surprised if he killed them. Again," leaning back on his seat, he played with the bracelet I gave him, his eyes full of love which I now know it's because mom made it. "his parents are psychopaths who want the power of the Supreme throne of the Ministry for themselves. I dare to say they are as bad as the Queen, and if they got the chance, they would be worse."

Sigh, "That's why, though he and you are enemies given the top 1 of Belladonna, I don't think you are with an actual enemy, who answers to a couple of psychos like that. If that was the case, I wouldn't be okay with this at all. I'm good at reading people, and I know that, while fangs, his little brother, and the kids of the Circle hate the Queen, and potentially me, they are not bad at all. They don't have psychopathic tendencies, or gluttony for supreme power. That's good enough in my eyes."

When his eyes met mine, they were unsure, and he held his hands up for me, and I took it, leaning closer, "I'm sorry I couldn't be kinder to you, Hel. Believe me, I wanted to die when I learned that you were Shay's daughter and had been suffering for so long in her hands. I was unable to actually show my emotions for you, or to take care of you as you should have been taken care of. I always wanted to tell you that, we may not have a blood-relation, but you are a daughter to me. Now that she's seeing me as disposable, I'll be able to help you as I've always wanted."

"You are a father to me too, master," I squeeze his big hands. "See, you may not have been with mom, but you ended up having a daughter with her. I don't give two shites about who Russell is, even if he's my birth father because he's nothing in my life. Mom partially raised me for 7 years, but it was you who took me in and taught me everything. Being a pain in the arse or not," I joked, trying to ease the mood. "And you should be happy with the job you made, because everyone has been telling me, my personality is a copy-paste of yours," I winked.

He chuckled, "Thank Goddesses, that's the case. I'm amazing. That fanged boyfriend of yours must have been so annoyed when he realized he was with a female version of me," he grinned widely.

That made me laugh, "Oh, he was. But it can't be helped," I played with my hair, acting condescendingly like him. "I'm still getting that ruby crown out of his pretty head, though. You will see, I'll be winning. Though Mia made some changes for the final match, since everyone know it'll be ending in my team facing his."

Arching his eyebrows, he clicked his tongue, "What changes?"

"We won't be able to use either time magic or disintegration."

His eyes widened, "Is that seriously? She did that?"

A nod, "Yes. She said we'll be playing a fair match. If Oliver just disintegrated my whole team except me, or I froze time and got the Crown, it would be too much like cheating. The fight would end too quickly, and she said she wanted to make so our match would be the most enjoyable ever. And well, it's not like Meredith or his parents will have a saying in this. You said it yourself, they don't mess with her."

"Oh my, headmaster Mia is more interesting than I remembered her to be from my time here. Well, whatever is it, you will still be winning with or without using time magic. They are fools if they believe that's the magic you are stronger in," he played with my hands. "Yes, it did get more even now, but it's only in your match with him, right?"

"Yes. She said our match will be the spotlight, and the sacrifice of our powers for the match will be worthy. Mia said the others didn't matter because even if we didn't use it, they still would have no winning chance."

Giggling, he leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms over his ripped chest, a crooked grin on, "Bloody damn straight. Your siblings are in his team, right?" A nod. "How do you feel about that?"

I bit my bottom lip, "We had a terrible fight about that, actually. But now we are good. The kids kind of guessed what we are, Philippa pretty much freaked the fuck out when they asked about me. Saying I'm dangerous and they should avoid me, and that I wouldn't bring them any good. She must be terrified of me now that I'm out."

"So, they know you're their sister?" A nod. "Didn't see that coming at all. They are smarter than I gave them credit for. You know, they were tortured by Philippa and the Queen before they came here. They are weak near you, and I've always disliked them because they shouldn't even be in the position they are, to begin with. Russell was mated to your mother, and you were supposed to be the Crowned Princess, Hel. But the Queen is a psychopath obsessed with blood purity, and couldn't let that happen. Those two kids are pitiful, their mother uses them and they know, and Russell is a ghost of what he once was." He clenched his jaw in disgust, "I also can't help hating him for not doing anything."

We share the same feelings on this. "Is he under her control?"

"Yes. But even so, he should have fought harder for Shay. He was too scared of his mother to fight for their bond. Everyone knew how she is obsessed with the bloodline purity, and he did too, as her only child. Almost no one knows about their mating bond, and those who do, are under her tight grasp. I've heard that he tried to break their bond to save her from his mom, but before he could find a way, she used her power on her own son," his words made me feel sick.

Isn't that… isn't that what I am doing?