Queen's Wrath - Time without the Queen - Part 2

From above her throne, Serien looked at an elegant man.

This man was a nobleman of the Mizhar kingdom, a kingdom northeast of Basilica's new frontiers.

The princess's face was static, but her heart was racing and her pupils dilated, that was a new feeling for Serien.

A strange and uneasy feeling started to take hold of her heart and it started when she saw Duke Veron Qallhu.

The man had bronze skin, brown hair, dark, drooping eyes, and he looked youthful despite being middle-aged, which gave his smiling face a unique charm.

"What does the Duke of Mizhar want to come from so far?" Serien asked in a tone that was sure and firm despite her sudden nervousness.

"First, I want to congratulate your highness about the conquering of your kingdom..." Veron bowed subtly.

"Thank you, but I'm not the one who deserves to be congratulated." Serien replied. "Her Majesty..."

"Ah.. Yes, I heard. It's a shame." Veron made a pained expression. "I wanted to meet such a woman."

Serien laid her face tediously in the palm of her hand and smiled slightly. "You will be able to meet her, I assure you."

After so much refraining from talking about Athena, Serien was tired and now, if asked, she would openly talk about her belief in Athena's survival.

Veron didn't understand that smile and affirmation, but he didn't showed his lack of understanding too.

He wanted to look good all the time and now he had one more reason to do so.

As soon as he laid his eyes on Serien's long silvery black hair and delicate face, Veron wanted her.

"So what do you want?" Serien urged him on.

"My king wishes to form an alliance with your kingdom." Veron said with a thin smile. "A few months ago, a bard arrived in our kingdom singing 'The Battle of the Dragon Queen'. I must say that was a fantastic tale..."

At that moment the doors to the throne room opened and a subtly husky voice was heard.

"It's not just a tale." Mifa said. "It is the pure truth."

"You are..."

"Nobody important." Mifa responded as she passed the man. "Serien, six armies have been sighted marching on the northern, eastern, and northwestern borders."

Serien rose from the throne with a frown on her face. "Have you talked to Oliana and summoned Sir Noil?"

"The knights have already left with Athena's platoon. And Oliana is gathering the available Valkyries." Mifa said and Serien sighed in relief. "The problem is that we are three weeks late and they may have already crossed the borders."

"Any chance of victory?" Serien asked in a whisper.

"But of course! There is no chance of defeat." Mifa said confidently. "I too am going to the battlefield. I will defend this kingdom with everything I have until Athena returns."

The war did not last long. They weren't as fast as the wars that Athena was present, but it was still very fast.

This was due to Mifa transforming into a twelve meters tall, dark gray giant wolf that breathed air and fire pressurized that shredded and burned everything in its path.

During the war, Mifa became famous with both allied and enemy soldiers.

Whenever she appeared on the battlefield, the enemy's morale dropped and the morale of the Basilic soldiers exploded.

In a short time she was called by another name and a legend arose with that name.

Legend said that the saint of beasts was the goddess of animals incarnate.

An entity that showed its ferocity on the battlefield. Devouring, tearing apart and burning men as if they were nothing.

Two months was all the allied kingdoms endured until they declared defeat and had to face rebellions by their own people because of a war that only served to sacrifice soldiers.

In order not to take the kingdoms, Serien demanded a sum in damages and ten years of tribute, and they didn't deny it.

Upon returning from the war, Serien and Sahari were stunned by the power Mifa demonstrated and insistently asked how she was so strong.

"That's the power Athena gave me." Mifa said. "She put something inside me that changed my race."

"And what is your race now?"

"I am a fenrir."

Little was known about the fenrir race. Most of the information had about the race was mixed with legends, but it was known that the fenrir is from who originated all the beastmen.

Serien saw in this an opportunity to increase the power of the kingdom. Using Mifa's prowess as a pretext, Serien crowned Mifa as a princess consort.

Even if Mifa wasn't as strong as Athena, she was a force to be reckoned with, and Serien didn't want to lose that power.

Mifa didn't want to, but she didn't complain either as the freedom that came with the title was greater. With it she could enter the reserved wing of the palace library, where older grimoires were stored.

Days passed and Mifa realized that something was different about Serien. Especially when she was with the Duke of Mizhar, Veron.

They were closer and Serien smiled foolishly next to him, just like Mifa smiled when she was with Athena.

(This can be bad...) Mifa thought when she saw them in the garden.

Mifa didn't like Veron. They spoke little, but she couldn't form a good impression of the man who always had a smile on his face.

(I'll keep an eye on him.)

Another two months passed and Athena had been away for ten months.

Serien was very happy wearing a beautiful evening gown, jewels that brought out the black of her hair and flowers that matched the purple of her eyes.

"Are you really going to marry Duke Voron?" Mifa asked.

She was wearing a short white dress, her hair was loose and falling with all its volume over her face.

She was sitting in an armchair near Serien's bedroom window and reading one of the grimoires she spent so much time reading.

"It's 'Veron', Mifa. And yes, I will marry him." Serien said with a huge smile.

Mifa breathed her disapproval. "You know he can be an enemy, right?"

"..."

"Look, I don't want to hinder your happiness, but you are acting as the ruler of Athena's kingdom and I must warn you that in the first aggressive move he makes, I will kill him."

"I'll keep that in mind." Serien replied in a low voice and she was no longer smiling.

Serien and Veron's wedding was majestic.

All of Basilian celebrated and partied with the couple who took a carriage ride through the capital.

Without a king or queen to perform the ceremony, Mifa was the one who married them even though she was reluctant and vigilant towards the groom.

Months passed and during that time, Veron traveled frequently between the kingdoms.

Normally, Veron was to have been stripped of all titles given by the king of Mizhar and would lose possession of his territory in his home kingdom, but that didn't happen.

Veron remained Duke of Mizhar and still had possession of his territories, and it was very suspicious to Mifa that had placed a spy among Veron's servants.

"That's weird..." Mifa told Serien.

"What is weird?"

"Your husband travels so often."

"Apparently he has to manage his possessions..." Serien said as she read some documents. "Do you still keep your spy with him?"

"..."

"Be calm, I won't tell him." Serien looked at Mifa. "But I want to know if I can still trust him as much as you do."

"Afraid he has another wife in Mizhar?"

"No... You know I don't trust him blindly either."

"Really? I thought you were crushing on him."

"I love him, but I also loved my dad." Serien replied.

With that answer, Mifa got her answer to her doubt for Serien's sense of priorities.

For Serien, the kingdom always came first. Friends, family and love came after her people.

She had what it took to be a good queen, but she wasn't strong enough to protect her people and that made her disqualify herself.

Time passed, Serien became pregnant and Mifa continued her surveillance of Veron while researching spells that could bring Athena back.

Veron's movements got weirder at this time. He began to travel more often and his core friendships with the nobles of Basilica increased considerably.

And one night, in bed with Serien, Veron made his first obvious slip.

"My love, don't you think if you had the nobles helping you run the kingdom, things wouldn't be lighter for you?"

At that moment Serien was silent. She didn't want him to get in more trouble.

He knew that the political power of the nobles had been abolished in Basilica and yet he was trying to get Serien to empower those same nobles.

Serien was in her eighth month of pregnancy and she didn't want Veron to be killed before her child was born and so she made the matter drop without even starting.

After that, Veron went on to meet former Dukes of Basilica. They had several secret meetings in isolated places. But just as Mifa had placed a spy among Veron's servants, Serien had spies with every noble in the kingdom and was aware of what was happening.

(Why?) Serien asked in her mind when she received the information.

She already knew the answer. Veron was just a puppet of the King of Mizhar. She didn't know the whole plan, but with the obvious stuff from the information gathered, she was able to deduce some of what was going on.

Veron was urging the nobles to act and take control of the kingdom. The purpose of this act was still unknown to Serien, but it was crystal clear that Veron, her husband, her first love, was a damned traitor.

But it was too early to make his actions public. Serien had a big belly and spent most of her time in bed. She wanted more time, just a little more... So she hid the information about the matter.

This information was something that Mifa's spy couldn't get from just being Veron's servant, and Serien took advantage of that fact.

She didn't know that love could be so detrimental to the decisions a person should make.

This love that made her want her husband to meet her child, made her make a stupid decision.

(Just another month...)