Prince Lysar-III

He was being daring and unbashful. The words were more of a threatening nature which I could not help but stiffen over. 

Raising my hand, I snapped my fingers in front of his face making him flinch back into reality. He had been staring at my face.

"Prince Lysar," I began, "thank you for commenting to me on my beauty. It is very much appreciated."

"Yes, yes," he snapped back and finally took his eyes off me to look away. 

"It is a given that the future queen of Astria has to be beautiful." I smiled when I saw him stiffen up a bit. Well, my humor must meet raised in the barbaric Kingdom of Lethoris as well.

"Now, please warn me." I wave my hand at myself, "I am sick and shivering. Please, my kindhearted prince, kindly warn me and then allow me to continue my rest." My words were a taunt and he recognized them as such.

In an instant, his eyes flashed back to me and he glared back. "Not scared of what I could do to you, are you?" He hissed, his eyes narrowing as well. He was upset at the disrespect shown by me towards him.

For a moment my breath hitched as I saw his muscles tighten. He was controlling himself. 

I was thankful for the fact that my sickness did not demand of me to stand in his presence because if I did so, I would have not had half of the courage as I did now which only made me realize how much courage I had.

"Prince Lysar, I am sick and I am in pain but here I am in the audience with you because you demanded that yet you have prolonged our conversation and complimented me twice on my beauty. Excuse me but anyone attending this audience would doubt your intentions of meeting me."

My lips thinned as our eyes met showing my disapproval. "All I am asking you to do is to be kind enough to finish a conversation and let me rest." Or free of your suffocating presence.

He stared at me without any expressions and muttered under his breath. "You are too beautiful and intelligent to be taken away..."

"What?" I didn't hear it. Why was he muttering?

He sighed and bent down to sit. His back was next to my knee, both of us were facing the same direction.

I casted a wary glance at him. What was he doing?

"We are to believe that creatures of the night are taking away our young boys and girls, most girls, but yes. They are gone for months and then when they are seen in public, they are very much willing to stay with their abductors and they look different."

"Different?" I repeated, perplexed. "Do you mean tortured? Or broken?" Because if they willingly wanted to stay with their abductors something must have made them stay perhaps forcing them to do

so.

"No, they look better." He glanced at me before looking away. "And by better I mean they look more beautiful, fuller. Their features or more defined."

"I think you need rest." I said making him turn to look at me with annoyance. "Please your highness I am not joking you look like you need rest." I firmly tell him but he liked away instead back to the moon outside.

He pointed to the moon and then spoke, "Very soon you are going to hear howling on the full moon nights and complete silence on where there is no moon. It will bring you chills even though you will be safe in your castle with guards surrounding you."

I knew who he spoke of and I shuddered lightly at it. Should I take his words seriously? Or could it all be a play?

"The Wolves you speak of, why would they come to my nation?" That was the point to be focused on.

"Because the families from my country are sending their children into yours which only means one thing.."

I completed his sentence as I caught onto it. "That they will follow the girls here too." Only our breaths could be heard. Thick silence blanketed us as both of us once again fell silent.

My thoughts were still on the fact that it all could be a play and he was just trying to distract us from the coming war. What else could he be here for and why him and not his brother; the crowned Prince or the king?

"Princess," he caught my attention and continued, "What you must do now is up to you. Heed to my warnings and prepare early or like us, you cave into them."

I sat up straighter as I realized "You have stopped fighting?"

He nodded sullenly. "Yes, the odds would never let us win. One of those creatures could kill tens of men."

Shock rippled through. The army which was feared the most said that? Then what of ours?

"Are they a punishment of God?" Just like any other, I had chosen to blame God for it. For all, I could know it was a punishment for the sin that we have committed as his followers.

He shook his head. "God, won't have been so cruel to us." He stood up and still looked at me as he spoke, "My warning would be to watch out. Barricade your door and guard the children. No one knows what these people want or if they are building an army for the uprising. All I can tell you is, they are stronger than any of us."

"Are you saying," I gulped as the words seemed to have stuck in my mouth? "That we give in too?"

He stared at me before his eyes flickered away to Marilyn and then to the floor. He nodded shamefully. "You have no resources compared as we do so you have no chance of fighting them which only allows you to give in and save the army that you have left." He bent down and I immediately moved back into the back of the chair more. "I apologize for giving you such a vary warning for something so dangerous but that is all we know as well." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, "May God protect you, princess, for I wish to see you again." He held my hand where the ring of betrothal was proudly shining, "Preferably as a free woman."