Chapter Twenty One: Back To The Flame

It had been about a week since Victoria had stormed the castle of Witches and Gabriel has shown no signs of progress whatsoever. Santara had done what was asked of her and kept him safe and kept a watchful eye on him. Not letting anyone near him until Victoria had returned.

Since her return however, Victoria had begun planning the attack against Auroras Kingdom. As much as she would love love to by Gabriel's side, she had to plan this attack. She hoped that he would wait for her.

She would have to be smart if she was going to take down the entire Kingdom that was almost completely fortified. Because, while it looked beautiful and delicate, it had been seiged many times before. Which means that constant improvements had been made over the course of several years making it almost unpentratable.

Victoria looked down at a map of the area, trying to figure out the best angle for an attack. She had locked herself in her room so that she wouldn't be disturbed. A familiar sound crackles behind her and she Sighs " Shawn what are you doing here" Shawn had not seen Victoria since the last time they fought together. And Victoria was too focused on the map to even bother looking behind her where he had appeared. " I had to take care of things. Back home. I heard about Gabriel " Shawn stepped foward so that he could also get a better look at the map.

" Victoria. You know how much he means to me.." he places his thing bony hands on the table. " I know Shawn. I know. He is in his room if you'd like to see him. Santara will let you through. Just...try to understand..he isn't the same as the last time you saw him. " Shawn looked down at the map, twirling his finger across the table.

" Victoria. The reason, I am here, is because...dont you think you are making a really quick move here? I mean..I'm not saying you can't be angry. Hell. I'm angry about this too. But..if we are going to go after people. I think we should invest in going after the right people. And to me, it seems like going after the Aurora is way too obvious " Victoria gently pounds her fist onto the table and finally looks up. " What are you talking about Shawn? Who the hell would we go after then?

Shawn Let's back down at the map, he had been thinking on this for sometime and thinks he has a basic idea of how things should be handled. " I think, we should wait. And before you get mad, allow me to explain why " at the very least he has Victoria's attention.

" Yes, your people have a been attacked. And Someone also attacked the woodlands. And someone also infested your people with a disease. But it seems to me that they're trying to direct you towards the witches. Which to me seems a little too deliberate. Why would they want you to focus so much on the witches unless they wanted you to keep your attention away from something else" Victoria thinks on this for a moment.

" Surely, you are not implying that someone from our Kingdom has something to do with all of this. I'm sorry Shawn, But there are just no indicators for that. Now I don't know what Kara has got going on with Pierce, and to be honest with you I don't care. But it feels like their alliance is definitely benefiting Both sides a lot more than it is ever even remotely helping us..

And another thing, why the hell would Queen Aurora consistently turn around and ignore us especially when we need help. No, not just anyone Because if it was just anyone and particular from our tribe, maybe that would be understandable. But we are talking about the man that she personally selected, to have watch over her daughter. The man, that she owes so many things to and has yet to repay him on any. Is the same man, who is lying in his bedroom right now, dying, and is in need of magical aid to which Aurora is not providing. She gives no real reasons for this other than red tape. But at the end of the day if she wanted to help she would. But she doesn't. Which is kind of ironic considering that this would have never happened if she had helped the first time period but she didn't do that either, even when he directly himself asked her to"

Victoria of course was bringing up a lot of good points, but Shawn still felt as though things were being misconstrued in some way and did his best to get that across to Victoria. " Shawn, I have an immense amount of respect for you. Especially after fighting alongside of me. So I promise you that I'm going to take what you say under advisement. And by that, I'm going to keep it in mind when I know that my temper is rising. But, this doesn't excuse what has happened" Victoria looks back down at the map.

" Okay, but what if I go talk to her. What if I find out what is going on? Would you at least be willing to delay the war for a little. Just until I can find out the truth. And if what you say is true, then I will say no more and let you have it."

Victoria looks back up and nods " I will delay it, but I do have a question. Why didn't you go to them first and find out before you even came to me? " Shawn turned around, away from Victoria.

Because he was not just my friend. He was like a brother to me. And if I find out that what you say is true. The Lycans are going to be the least of the Witches problems " And with that Shawn dissapears.

Meanwhile, Aurora is preparing her defenses for war and having the nearby villages gather what they can and get as far away from the kingdom as possible. She wanted to do her absolutely best to ensure their safety. She knew that the wolves could be brutal. And she knew they had every reason to be. Even if they were misguided, she knew the anger they must be feeling.

Queen Aurora felt horrible. She wanted to go see Gabriel so badly, but she felt as though she would not be welcomed there any more. If only she had known sooner, all of this could have been prevented. She hadn't talked to Kara about the orders that were given given to the guards yet. Mainly because now it no longer matters. Now it is too late. Because now, all of their lives are in danger. While they do have magic on their side, The wolves are brutal and savage Warriors. And even magic can't stop them all.

Kara had been sent away with Pierce back to his home. And whilst Aurora was against having her ever go there. She also figured this would be the safest place for her. Whixh was ironic because not too long ago. She would have had to say the opposite.

" Please tell me it isn't true " A familiar voice rings in Auroras ears. " Shawn..I didn't hear you come in " She laughs and turns to face him. She can tell by his body language that he was not in a pleasant mood. " I don't see exactly how it matters all that much now but for your information, I wasn't even informed of the fact that Gabriel needed help. At least not until the following day. Of course I would have sent help to him. I love that boy, I love him almost like a son" She explains though Shawn remains firm. " Then why didn't you send troops to help him in the first place? " Shawn asked. Not being in any mood to deal with excuses.

" After he left, Kara Talk to me and show me the error of my ways. I admit that I was in the wrong for that. I guess I was just trying to keep everybody safe. You know how bad the wars got. You remember the bloodshed that happened. I didn't want to see that again. I couldn't afford to see that again. After I lost my husband, I couldn't bear the thought of Losing my daughter...yet again" she knows this doesn't make up for it but this was the truth.

" Shawn steps closer to Aurora who backs away from caution. " They tortured him Aurora. The Vampires. They tortured him. From what we were able to tell, he was tortured for days non stop. At the same exact place, that you just sent your daughter to. How could you approve of that marriage? How could you let that happen given what you know happened to both your husband and what happened to Gabriel's parents? "

Aurora shook her head " I...didn't know how bad it was. I didn't know he was tortured. I...God I sent Kara there.. I have to get her back. I didnt..I didn't mean for this. I didn't want to approve of the wedding. Hell, I still really haven't. Something is wrong with Kara. I don't know if it's a trance or a spell of what it is. But she is not the same person. Victoria crashed her head through that column over there " Aurora pointed the crumbled wreckage. " And she didn't have a single scratch on her. I'm concerned and I don't know what to do. And now with Victoria coming at me too..I just..I don't know anymore. I'm losing hope. Fast Shawn. And I don't think we are going to come out of this. I know you are not on my side, and that you probably don't believe me. But I'm giving you nothing but the truth. And obviously, I paying for my ignorance. I want to fix everything but I don't even know how to start." Aurora looked down and cried. Not know what she could say or do anymore. She gazed back up but Shawn had left without warning. She wasn't sure wether this was good or bad. But..she knew, it wasn't over.

Meanwhile, and the vampire Kingdom , Kara and Pierce are getting settled in to his Room. She hasn't officially met his parents yet but the plan is for her to meet them tomorrow. She has only heard a little bit about them and from what she can tell, They are very family Oriented. So, needless to say, she is slightly nervous. But Pierce assures her that everything is going to be fine.

Kara kissed him softly on his lips as a thank you and appreciation for the reassurance. They spent the rest of the night just holding one another. As closely as possible. While his bed is a little hard to get comfortable on, she does eventually manage to do so.

The next day she awakens to see Pierce getting dressed and encouraging her to wake up as well. " We have to go downstairs and get breakfast. You'll be meeting my parents today. I know they are super eager to meet you. So Like I said, don't be nervous. They are going to love you...just like I do"

Kara smiles and they make their way down to a room where a giant table sits. She would call it a dining room but it seems like something far more grander than some basic dining room. It has ancient architecture that would Rival both Greek and Roman. It's quite beautiful.

As they make their way to the table and sit down, Kara notices one familiar face at the table. A face that she never thought she would see. It was Jack.

She had not seen him since she left Earth. He is wearing that same evil smile as always as he greets her " Hello Kara. Long time, no see! " his tone is something that sends chills down Kara's spine. " My parents should be down here shortly " Pierce added as Kara and Jack just stare at one another. Almost dancing over their history silently.

" So Kara, you might find this interesting. But I bumped into our old puppy friend. Gabriel. " Jack grabs a glass of water and a packet off the table and pours something white colored into it and begins stirring.

" Who..? " Kara responded Which made Jack lower his smile slightly. He looked back and forth between Jack and Pierce astonished and amazed. " You don't remember Gabriel? " To which Kara shakes her head. Pierce leans over and whispers " He is dating the one who attacked us a few days ago" to which Kara nodded in approval.

" Oh yes. I do remember him now. Stupid Mut. Him and his stupid Bitch. I hate them both. " Kara's eyes began to darken which made Jack smile even more. " Yes well I think you'll be happy to know that we had him here with us for the past several days. He managed to escape when his made broke him out. But. We did get to torture him. We tortured him over and over again and man oh man let me tell you. He was not happy when he found out you and Pierce were married. He looked like he wanted to rip my head off" he rejoiced and Kara just nodded in an approval with a smile. Her eyes never left Jack's.

" To think. That stupid worthless mutt was in love with you" he shakes his head and laughs. " I swear to you. It was the best thing getting to tell him that. You could literally not only see..but hear his heart shatter" Jack begins snapping his fingers. " Oh what is that saying they have on earth..um...um.. OH YEAH. I think I broke the dogs spirit. It was priceless. And luckily by the time she got to him, there wasn't much left. He will probably die soon. And this world will be better off without him. To think. He was a King...a fucking King? Am I right? For such a beloved King..he broke so easily. " Jack continues laugh and Pierce joins him in the laughter.

" Um...can you excuse me. I need to go the bathroom. Baby? " Kara leans over to Pierce and Whispers " Where is the bathroom? " and he explains the directions to which Kara stands up and heads in that direction. The halls were long and Dark but filled with a beautiful, almost classical asthetic. She finds the door, closes it and locks it behind her. It is then that she begins crying. She had been trying so hard to hold it in but she couldn't do it anymore. It hurt to much. She had no idea that Gabriel had been captured and tortured. Hearing them speak of Gabriel in that way infuriated her. The sheer fact that they even spoke his name made her want to destroy them all. " Fucking assholes" She cries.

She had to make sure that he was okay. She had been putting on this act on for so long now, and it was difficult but she knew this would be the way she could get to him. But apparently Victoria had gotten to him first. This was not good. And yet...perfect at the same time.

Kara felt an overwhelming sense of anger forming inside of her, making her energy come to a boil inside of her. Kara, pulled down her hair which had been a bun, and began tying it up In a ponytail it was time to make them pay for what they did.

Kara steps out of the bathroom, her eyes tightened, and her fist clenched as she makes her way back to the table, standing at the end of it. Both Jack and Pierce are still talking and joking about Gabriel and only turn to see Kara raising up her hands. Green flames pertruding from them.

" I hope you understand that what I am about to give you both. Is far more than you actually deserve" Kara says in a calm and steady tone.

With that Kara releases an immense explosion of green flames engulfing the room which explodes out a the entire wall, letting the breeze flow through which extingues the flames. Kara walks forward to see the charred remains of both Pierce and Jack. Kara raises her hands again and proceeds to burn the bodies over and over until they are nothing but Ash.

Once they are, Kara walks through the charred remains of the table over to the ashes and looks down at her work. " Again. This was too good for what you deserve. You sorry pieces of shit. She then proceeds to spit on the ashes. And with that final act, she turns away back to the now open exit and stands at the edge.

" I am sorry Gabe. I am sorry " tears stream down her face as she leaps off the edge. Dissapearing into the darkness below.