The Blood King's Bride

"You mentioned that I have always been the centre of your visions," Elena asked Wazir.

Two days had passed since his arrival, and he had gotten relatively acquainted with the blood warriors. Daruki and his daughter Svetlana preferred to be in their comfort zone than relate with anyone they didn't know. Except when they were outlining the moves for the war, they were not seen roaming around the camp like Wazir. There was tension in the air that was not barely felt when they ended the first war. They were all expecting something big, something very immense. They knew subconsciously that the next fight would be the greatest they had ever fought in their history, and it would determine the fate of all the kingdoms in the world.

No Allikan had been sighted for a while. They disappeared, and it was like they were

never there in the first place. It was unnerving, making them all be on edge.

Wazir looked up at his niece as she sat on the chair next to his bed. He and his warriors

had camped on the other end of the field, erecting their tents while anticipating the time for war. Elena decided to pay him a visit, as something was troubling her.

"When I was kidnapped and taken into the blood kingdom, a woman appeared to me in a vision. She told me that I should wisely choose my path. I once swiped that away as a strange dream, but once you told me about the fact that you are a seer, I remembered that dream and it has been weighing heavily on my mind since."

Alert, Wazir sat up straight on his bed. "Can you remember how she looks like?"

Elena shook her head. "It's been a long time, so the picture is a bit vague."

Wazir sighed and began to arrange his thoughts.

"For some strange reason, my dream centres on you." Wazir started. "I'm seeing you as

the vanquisher, the one who has the power to end the war."

Face pale, Elena gulped and sat straight. "What?" she exclaimed. Wazir simply nodded his head.

"I don't understand why these visions are suddenly linked to you, but one thing I am extremely sure of is that the fate of all the kingdoms is in your hands. You have the power to win the war, or put the world in turmoil."

Elena's heart began to pound heavily. "B-But why me?"

Wazir sighed, dragging his hand across his hair. "I wish I know Elena. Trust me, no one

close to you would wish this much responsibility for you. But that is the way fate has written it, and that is the way it would happen."

Elena was occupied with thoughts of what Wazir had just told her on her way back to her tent. Of all things, she never expected to be the person the world's fate lay on. When Elena entered the tent she shared with her husband, she found it empty and was slightly grateful for the small piece she had. She could only imagine Calhoun's reaction were he to find out what Wazir had said.

Her husband was overly protective of her. He trusts that she would be able to defend herself in this war, but even he isn't sure of the nature of the attack they would soon face. She thought that her homeland, Pres, was now under the rule of the Alliance. Had they also disappeared from the kingdom just as they did on the border of Neba? She was still brooding about all these when Calhoun finally walked into the room.

Calhoun found his wife at unease. Obviously, she was troubled as she didn't even hear as

he walked in, causing her to jump when she heard his voice.

"Is everything okay?" Calhoun asked, frowning. He walked towards her and sat next to

her on their bed, engulfing her in his embrace. Elena simply leaned on him and sighed.

"Wazir had a revelation," she started. "Well, series of revelations." She sighed again,

searching for her husband's hand. When she found it, she linked her fingers with his. "He said that he keeps on seeing me as the vanquisher, the one with the power to win this war, or lose it." "What?" Calhoun exclaimed, gently prying her away from his embrace so he could face

her properly. Elena looked at her husband, her eyes weary.

Calhoun quickly stood up. "It's about time I talked with your uncle properly." He started to leave the tent, but Elena held him back.

"Calhoun," she said, "It's okay. Let's talk about it first."

"How is this okay?" Calhoun said, barely able to control his anger, and beneath it, the fear that what Wazir said might actually be true.

"He just told you that you could be the cause of the downfall of all the kingdoms-"

"He also said I could be the one who saves it." Elena cut in. "Let's not only focus on the bad part."

"That's impossible and you know it." Calhoun replied, coming back to sit next to his wife. He looked at her again, taking her face in his hand and caressing her cheek softly. "How do you expect me to feel? Knowing that my wife has this much responsibility? Are you sure that there isn't a mistake somewhere?"

Elena shook her head, smiling softly. "My uncle may be a little dramatic at times, but he was very serious when he was telling me this. He didn't look like he was bluffing." "Elena," Calhoun dragged out. "This is really a lot to take in."

"I know. You can imagine how I feel about this." She sighed, leaning into her husband and placing her face on his shoulder.

"My dream had always been to defeat my father and take his place as the ruler of the kingdom of Pres. Then my dream changed to simply being with you, helping you defeat Firoza and saving your people and possibly mine from her evil claws. These dreams are obviously hard

to accomplish but are simple when pointed out. Now my whole world has been turned inside out,

knowing that there is more I am meant to do."

Calhoun squeezed her tighter, and both of them remained silent together, deep in their thoughts.

"Letting you fight in this war was a huge decision for me to make and accept. But

perhaps just as your relative had said, it has all been written down by fate. You were supposed to come here. You were meant to assist me in this war. And though the thought of you facing something as huge as this scares me to death, I would support you till the end. I would fight with you and for you."

"Calhoun," Elena called out lovingly, raising her hands to his cheeks to caress it.

"I would always be there for you," He whispered, "Till the end." They both lost their gaze, and their lips found each other comforting, caressing, consoling and encouraging. Elena's arms came around her husband, while Calhoun dragged her tighter towards him, into him. He was scared; they were both scared, but if that was the path fate had parted for them, and since there was nothing else they could do to change it, they would simply walk on it together. They found their contentment in just being together for that period, lost in their world, without the world's problems hanging over them.

It had been nearly a month since the Neba warriors arrived in the wasteland. The Allikans assaulted the Blood warriors. It would be a lie to claim they were unconcerned. The warriors'

relaxed and charged demeanour led them to believe that the Allikans had carried out a strategy they were unaware of.

They had drafted out their new war plan, had made changes to their attacks and defenses, yet there had been no sign of the Alliance.

Elena used the month to her advantage. She trained harder pushed herself to the limits.

As the fate of the world would be decided by her alone, she had to make sure that she was at her best limit, able to take on even her husband's likes.

Getting married to Calhoun was another added advantage. Before they married, her husband usually had problems trying to cage in his blood lust. Now between them, the powerful essence drawn from blood is shared. She takes good advantage of that fact, using it in places where usually, her simple human form would not be able to occupy. Her sight had become sharper, and her moves quicker. She flows like water when carrying out her fighting moves, exuding grace and silence. Elion had gotten better and had been training alongside the Balaksa. Aaron, as usual, would always be found hovering around her, and even then, his affection for Elion could not be hidden anymore. Everyone saw her as Aaron's woman, though no one said it aloud. She had trained and honed her skills while at the same time teaching those who were slowly starting to be part of her specie.

On the other hand, Wazir had also trained alongside Daruki and Svetlana. Since they were all going to fight alongside the blood warriors, they taught themselves to carry out the moves that might be a little hard for the warriors to do, thereby complementing each other on the battlefield. They all felt deep in their bones that the battle they were about to face would be the final one that would shape the future of all humanity.

Elena watched from outside the tent. She studied how different warriors moved about; some training, others resting or simply carrying out a conversation. Her husband came out of their tent and found her in that thoughtful position, so he crouched in front of her. "You have been doing a lot of thinking recently." He said, smiling softly. "Is everything alright?"

Elena stared into the eyes of her husband. She had come to love this man more than anything. She couldn't even imagine a life without him. That was why, when she woke up that morning and was hit with the thought of how he would feel, knowing that not only was the fate of the world in her hands but that she could also die trying to achieve that fate, she realized that she had been selfish; thinking of herself all along.

"I love you." She said suddenly, reaching his face to caress it. "I realized that I have not said this as much as I am supposed to recently, but I want you to know that I do." Calhoun knew that there was more to what she was saying, but he remained quiet and instead smiled, enfolding her, reaching hand in his huge ones.

Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the centre of the field, causing everyone to be on high alert. Calhoun and Elena quickly stood up and headed straight to the forefront of their soldiers, where they could adequately meet the new arrivals. The sight of the thousands of men

in white garb told them what they already knew. It was time for war.

"Good day people of the blood kingdom." A tall man with a bald head that had been tattooed on spoke. "And also, the people of Neba. We apologize for making you wait this long." He said, smiling evilly.

"As I am sure you noticed, we were preoccupied with world domination. But we are done now." Something uncomfortable began to churn in Elena's belly, but she didn't let her worry show, keeping her face blank. She wished she could hold on to Calhoun at that moment, but she didn't want anyone to see her as weak.

"May introduce you to our new allies," the man continued, spreading his arm wide to

give way to the three men that walked forward. "The kings of the kingdoms of Tush, Pres and Neba."

Heart sunken, Elena watched on with dread, her mind blank, as she looked into her father and grandfather's empty dead eyes.