Rising from the Ashes
Chapter 29

Nakoa's POV

Nakoa grips the sleeve tightly. He had never thought it would come to this. He had always thought any mate he might find would easily settle into the Kingdom but this is a death sentence and she would have known. Elenora is smart. The smartest woman he had ever met and by far the most beautiful yet this is perhaps the dumbest thing she has ever done.

Call Alpha Bardrick. Your daughter for mine King Stavros.

She kidnapped the princess and wrote it on what looks to be a sleeve. Never before had he stood before the King in a situation like this. Queen Stavros is crying silently in her mates arms. Prince Ardon looks like he wants to rip Nakoa's throat out. "She is my mate." Nakoa explains "And I had no idea she might do this or I would not have let her come." He whispers to the King and chuckles to himself. It is bitter. The type of bitterness that comes with knowing he might be a traitor to the Kingdom come tomorrow. Nakoa will not stand by as King Stavros kills her. He will not let it happen even if it means dying himself. "I thought you might kill her if she came here so I had her brought to the cells but I had no clue she might be desperate enough for-"

"Explain the note not what you did to stop her." The queen manages to say through her pain "Your daughter for mine King Stavros." She repeats the words written on the sleeve.

"Charlotte was kidnapped. Her daughter." Nakoa explains. Even he notices the automatic shift in the room. Hatred turns to sympathy though Nakoa knows full well they will still sentence her to death. "You have my sincerest apologies King Stavros I-"

"Stop.

King Stavros snaps. Nakoa pauses for a moment before bowing his head and continuing "I had given her the letter with the hopes you would read it and help her Uncle Maverick." Nakoa explains and then a terrible thought hits. If he were smart he would not voice it. If he were smart he would keep the accusing tone to his head. "Did you even read the letter or did you see a rogue and have her thrown in the cells to be killed?" Would he have done the same in his shoes? The kings hatred for rogues goes as deep as his own if not more so. It was a rogue -supposedly trustworthy- that had kidnapped his daughter though not many know that truth.

"Letter?" King Stavros voices after a moment. When Nakoa looks to the king all he sees is confusion. Did she not give it to him? "Warrior Kent!" King Stavros bellows.

The door swings open to reveal the large man immediately. Kent and him have never really gotten along. Mostly because he has always been a no good swine. He cannot help himself it would seem. "Were you the warrior who had the rogue escorted to the cells." It is a mere statement to which Kent nods his head.

"Yes your highness." Kent confirms without hesitation. If it were just the two of them Kent would have been bragging about his catch and insulting Elenora. Just for that Nakoa cannot help but want this man dead no matter how unreasonable that is.

"There was a letter." This time Kent pauses. Nakoa smells the fear before it is visible on his face. The king never got the letter. In fact it seems Elenora had never made it past the wall. That explains one of his questions. She must have done something to warrant her capture. She would have seen it as the only way past the wall at that time. Perhaps that is true. Perhaps she would not have made it past if not for committing a crime but why kidnap the princess? She could have easily broken free. Elenora had proven as much in Bluemoon. Though people do not know most of the details they do know that there is a lost princess. Why couldn't Elenora try to appeal to the Queen? She would have been sympathetic. Even for a rogue.

"Yes your highness." Kent nods once more looking a great deal more stiff. "I had Warrior Lance burn it." Everything makes sense as Kent tells the group this. Nakoa can only imagine the look on his mates face as she watched the letter burn. It would have been her only hope. She had already thought the worse of the Kingdom. In fact her going was another desperate attempt to save Charlotte and Nakoa doubts Elenora had believed the King would help her. She went in hoping, trying to give King Stavros the benefit of the doubt only to be proven right. She would not have believed them to help her no matter the case. The worse had already been proven. They wouldn't even let her past the wall.

"The letter was addressed to the King and you saw fit to burn it?" King Stavros is not happy. In fact Nakoa suspects it is only the queens comforting hand keeping him in control.

"I had thought-"

"You had thought wrong!" King Stavros interrupts "Warrior Hans!" King Stavros bellows once again and once again it only takes a moment for the warrior to step in. Nakoa has always liked Hans. He had been a mentor of sorts and he is definitely old enough to retire though Nakoa doubts it will happen within the next decade "Escort Warrior Kent and -you said Warrior Lance? Yes? Escort Warrior Kent and Warrior Lance to the cells. Warrior Kent is to be stripped of his title immediately." Hans does not waste a moment before he is pulling Kent away. Kent the imbecile that he is tries to escape. He would not make it out of the castle alive. Nobody would except it seems his mate.

"Tell us more about the kidnapping." The queen orders softly "When did it happened? How did they get past the border control? Was it another rogue? An enemy perhaps. Maybe-"

"Truthfully I am not sure about much Aunt Vanya. I was there when it happened but I did not hear them. I don't understand how I failed to hear them" Nakoa had failed his mate. He had thought nothing of the noise but she had. In his frustration he walks to the window to look down on the Kingdom. Land stretches for miles and then forest. Lots of forest. "She has not looked at me since that night." Nakoa whispers and he flinches as he hears his voice crack. "They had gotten in because they pretended to be me. Somehow they had mirrored my face and they walked right into the cabin. The few times she falls asleep I think she dreams of me kidnapping Charlotte. I do not think Vermont would have been capable of this."

"Who is Vermont?" Queen Stavros questions and it is her hand that touches his shoulder. She wants him to turn around. She wants to hug him but Nakoa cannot bring himself to look at her. For good reason they want his mate dead. "I find more often then not people surprise me with their capabilities."

"Vermont is the man that kidnapped her." There is a pause in the room as they try to catch up. "Elenora had thought she killed him in her escape from the pack but it seems he had survived. He was the Alpha of Stonebridge-"

"Stonebridge? Flint was the Alpha of Stonebridge up until Luna Jackson took over." Prince Ardon interrupts once again. "I have never even heard of a Vermont before. Are you sure she did not lie to you?" Nakoa turns around to face the young prince and tries to resist the urge to punch him at such an accusation. "I apologize for the accusation but that is the least problematic scenario. It is better one liar than an entire pack Nakoa."

"Is this relevant right now? I thought we were discussing the girl. What was her name?"

"Charlotte my king." The queen mutters with a light smile before she tilts her head "I think it is quite relevant. Two kidnappings within the same family supposedly done by a man named Vermont? Assuming Elenora is not lying Vermont had hid himself every year you two went to visit the pack." The queens thoughts on the matter is clear. Her mind had gone to one thing. One possibility. One hope Nakoa wants so desperately to crush though his own thoughts are the same. The queen had dared to hope many times before and each time she ends up worse off than the last.

"What does your mate look like Nakoa." It is Prince Ardon who asks. King Stavros had already retreated to the corner. Nakoa suspects he will indulge in a drink or two when he can. The room had taken a dark turn in a matter of seconds. It is more than surprising Prince Ardon is so interested in this. It had been years since he had dared to hope he might find his lost twin. Something must have called out to him this time.

"I would rather look for Charlotte than discuss-"

"Nakoa." Queen Stavros interrupts, grabbing his arm to gain his attention. He had been glaring holes into the wall. Better that than look at their faces right in this moment "Please." Queen Stavros begs.

"She has red hair. Curly. Blue eyes. She is tall and powerful. Pale." She has the kings nose and the queens face. The same freckles. She looks the female version of Prince Ardon.

"Any special abilities?" King Stavros steps forward. "Elements? The ability to-"

"Can we please focus on finding Charlotte?" Nakoa finds himself begging "Please." They will have none of it. It is too much. Too many coincidences. The first time Nakoa saw Elenora he did a doubletake. She looked so much like the queen he had looked into her having sisters. When he met her wolf for the first time he had seen purple eyes and it all seemed right. His mate was the lost princess. He planned to tell her except what if he was wrong? Fire. The ability to feel emotions. That is a rare gift. Rarer still to have two gifts.

When Nakoa learned just how much Elenora hated the royals he had hoped for the contrary. Now it seems a mere childish hope. "You still need to look for Princess Lydia I assume? Lets focus on her."

"We can focus on all of it. What are you hiding Nakoa? Do you not want me to find my daughter?" The queens voice goes cold. Emotionless. Nakoa flinches and turns away from her ire.

"I want you to find your daughter Aunt Vanya. I just do not want that daughter to be Elenora." Nakoa pauses and turns his eyes to the wall "She hates the royal family. I suspect more so now than ever after being turned away at the border" This silences the room once again.

"Charlotte." Prince Ardon voices "Lets focus on the girl first. I know a few creatures with the ability to shapeshift. We will go to the library and have a look while mother and father look into the whereabouts of Lydia. I have a suspicion they are in the forest somewhere." With that Prince Ardon drags Nakoa from the office "While we walk you can tell me how your mate has a daughter, brother." The walk to the library feels long and when they reach Nakoa is shoved into the first chair. "Now tell me about your mate."

A sane person would not test Prince Ardon while he is like this. Nakoa had never claimed to be sane and so he meets the Prince's familiar eyes with a crooked grin "She is 23 years old and she had adopted a girl from the orphanage at a very young age. She-"

"Do you think this rogue is my sister?" Prince Ardon interrupts "I do not want to hear why you wish it was not true. I do not want to hear of her hatred. Do you think this rogue is my sister?" Nakoa's silence gives the Prince the answer he is looking for but still Nakoa nods his confirmation "If it is true that will save her. Father will not kill her. She will walk away unharmed. If it is true she will need to come here to live in the castle for-"

"Please brother. We need to focus on Charlotte." That is all it takes. Prince Ardon drops the topic entirely and walks to a certain section. Nakoa watches him as he pulls out the books he thinks might be relevant. Then the prince sits across from him with a sigh. The book on top reads Posuvník tváre. Prince Ardon grabs that one and holds it up

"This is the worse case scenario" He smiles "So I think it best we start with them. The Posuvník tváre are a myth to most. They have not been sighted in over a century or at least we think they have not been. Posuvník tváre is roughly translated to face slider. They are a shape shifter of sorts and they are very accurate. Everything changes. Their face. Even the freckles and birthmarks will be a match. They were all banished to the Opalite realm by my grandfather."

Nakoa watches the prince as he explains what exactly the creature is. He seems to be a mix of fascinated and disgusted all at once. Prince Ardon had always liked dangerous things but of all of the things he has taken interest in this is by far the worse. They bond with those they think powerful. The bonding ceremony is enough to make him sick. Especially when Prince Ardon tells him there is a chance they might try and bond with Charlotte. Charlotte has to accept the bond without magical assistance or it will not be as strong. They tend to torture people who resist them and they will eat them alive. They feed on flesh. Raw flesh.

The other books do not fit what had happened that night but still Nakoa finds himself hoping. "You said you did not hear them?"

"I heard one of them in the kitchen but I thought it was Mia. We found her in an alley missing a bite out of her arm." Prince Ardon nods and with another piece to the puzzle Nakoa sees the shift. He thinks it is the Posuvník tváre. They can only hope they do not see Charlotte as powerful enough to bond with.

"There probably was a watch involved. The witches had always been close allies with the posuvník tváre. Are there any older witches in Bluemoon? It is likely the witch lives in the pack or close to it." And once again they dive into the posuvník tváre except now Prince Ardon talks about getting into the realm. They would need King Stavros for that. Even the prince does not have access. This is mostly because of Queen Stavros who does not want Prince Ardon near the creatures. The horns of the kingdom blow loud. Prince Ardon glances up. "We have found the Princess. Both of them." And then he slams the book shut and stands "Care to join me brother?"

Nakoa follows close behind. They will bring the both of them straight to King Stavros office on order. They will want to look at Elenora and they will want to hold Princess Lydia without prying eyes.

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