Chapter 76

76 Night is come

The next day, Zavian was seated in a meeting with his council chiefs when a Druid boy came to the Castle carrying a letter. When the guards saw him, they questioned him about why he was there.

“A letter for the king.”

He said, taking out the sealed letter from his bag. A guard took it from him and he turned immediately and left the castle.

The guard went to the council hall and delivered the letter to Zavian. Zavian stared at the seal and he knew where it had come from. He did not open the letter until he was done with the meeting. When he was left alone, he broke the seal and read the contents.

“...I do not have much time left on Earth. I wish to talk to you before I go. Come to me as soon as you get this letter.”

Zavian read the letter a few times before he blinked and closed the letter. He had seen the rise and fall of many witches, but Eloise had been his most faithful servant. Witches cannot turn to demons or else they lose their powers. The only way a witch could be a demon was to be born of a witch and a demon.

He had asked her to turn into a demon and remain by his side even though she would not have her powers but she refused. She said her life would have no meaning without powers, and she would rather die a witch than live forever.

Eloise had gotten old. Very old. He knew her time was coming to an end, but he wished it would have taken longer. How frail human life was.

Zavian thought for a long while before he stood up and walked out of the Castle.

.....

“Bring my horse.”

He said to a guard and he rushed to the royal stables and brought his horse to him. Zavian climbed the horse and rode out of the Castle. The witches’ coven was quiet when he arrived. Everyone walked solemnly as if something bad had happened.

Zavian alighted from his horse and walked towards the doors, afraid that he was too late. When the guards saw him, they bowed, and greeted him;

“Where is she?” he asked, impatiently.

“She’s in her chambers. She has been waiting for you, your majesty.” The guard replied and Zavian heaved a low sigh;

“Lead the way;” he ordered the guard and he led the way to Eloise’s chambers. When they reached her room, the guard opened the door for Zavian and shut it after he walked in.

Zavian’s eyes fell on the woman on the bed as a low sigh left her lips. She had shrunk incredibly and her heart was beating slowly. When she heard someone come in, her eyes opened weakly. A smile stretched her lips when she saw Zavian;

“Your Majesty,” she called weakly, trying to sit up, but Zavian walked to her and held her back down;

“Don’t move, it’s okay.”

Eloise smiled as she stared at his face. “Maybe I should have listened to you when you asked me to turn. Dying does not seem like fun.”

She joked but Zavian could not laugh, it wasn’t a thing of joy. Taking her weak frail hand in his, he patted it with the other.

“How is the girl?” Eloise asked and Zavian looked at her. He suspected that it was the reason she had called him, so he was not surprised.

“Good,” he replied curtly and there was a long silence before Eloise spoke again;

“Your mother came to see me.” At her words Zavian frowned in surprise;

“Why? What was her reason?” Zavian asked inquisitively. There was no reason for her to see a powerful witch, except...

“She had some nerves to come to ask me to pledge my loyalty to Aloysius, your father.”

Zavian’s eyes grew dark at her words and he clenched his jaws. She was really pulling his strings and he did not want to snap. Although she had proved time and time again that she did not care about him, he was letting her be because she was his mother. But she was really crossing the lines this time...

“For her to come to my coven, your most trusted witches, she sure would have gone to other covens, and you cannot tell how many would have swayed.

She was confident in her words that Aloysius would return, that it was just a matter of time. She had said that when he returned, he would kill everyone that did not fight with him. The only way to be saved was to pledge to serve him. I turned her away, obviously, but how many other covens in other kingdoms would do the same?”

Eloise asked and Zavian was quiet as his mind was filled with thoughts. There was a long silence in the room before she continued;

“I did not call you to tell you to send the girl away or kill the girl, it is already too late. You could have avoided all of this if you had listened to me when I asked you to;

She stopped, coughing a loud cough, Zavian patted her chest as he brought her a cup of water and helped her drink. After she was done, she took a deep breath and continued;

“You’re a strong one, Zavian. I wish I was still strong enough to fight with you. Because a fight must come, and it is at hand. But do not worry, the coven would fight with everything in them, I trained them well.”

Zavian breathed; “The girl is not evil, I have not seen someone as innocent as she is, I don’t think you are right.”

“Oh Zavian, have you fallen for the girl already?” Eloise asked and Zavian looked at her in surprise;

“Obviously not. She is only here to bring Lilah to me.”

“Hmm. Are you sure about that? Are you sure you feel nothing towards her, nothing at all?”

Zavian grew uneasy at her question. He was sure about it. Everything he did for her stemmed from the fact that she looked like Lilah and he did not want to see her hurt.

”I am sure, I feel nothing for her.”

Eloise smiled as she looked at Zavian;

”Very soon, you would be asked this same question, but your lips would be too heavy to say these words.”