It has been two years and a few months now since the war between Shelbrooke and Vampire City began. The were-cats have been attacking the city constantly and they had done a lot of damage already. The people no longer felt safe in their homes and they were losing this war. Luana sat beside Zeidan who was lying down on his bed. 

Zeidan has been sick since Lyne left two years ago. Everyone around him felt he was greatly heartbroken as his marked queen left him. The city has been without a very functioning King ever since then. The state of the city was not known to him due to his health. Luana herself had made sure she told the guards and everyone around him to keep this information from him as it could affect his health greatly. 

Zeidan’s heart keeps deteriorating despite the medications he has been receiving. She stared at pale Zeidan as he lay there on his bed. He still looked as manly and handsome as ever but she knew he was dying.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

“Well, I am still breathing.” He said and gave a weak smile. 

“I know very soon, I’ll go back to my normal self. A lot needs to be done.” He said and it made him cough loudly.

“Water.” He said in a hoarse tone of voice stretching towards the glass of water placed on his bedside table a little bit far from his reach.

Luana felt a little guilt deep inside her and she replied reassuringly,

    “You will be fine Zeidan. I know you will be. You need to accept the fact that Lyne is gone. She is not coming back. Her death was too much for you, I know that is the major reason you’re lying here on the sick bed. Maybe you need to let go of her.” 

    Although she knew all that was deception as he was not going to get any better. Zeidan could have probably killed her by now or pressed a lot of charges against her, well she was probably going to be killed even with that. She had to save herself and this was the only way she could think of. 

First, she plotted the disappearance of Lyne, making it look like she died before she swung into action against Zeidan.

Right after Zeidan had asked her to go and fight, she had made sure she kept her eyes on both Lyne and Shelbrooke, so that they met and it would be a good opportunity to kill that bitch who stole her man. She was tired of being lenient. Her plan failed but she had an alternative of convincing Zeidan she was dead. All thanks to Chloe's cooperation. Only a log of wood near the waterfall was all it took. Lyne frowned was what she told Zeidan.

Her supposed death was rumored to be the reason why he is still sick. No one was going to think she killed Zeidan. The poison she was feeding him only damaged his heart gradually and there was no way he was going to recover from that despite all the medications he always receives from Dr. Stevenson, the royal doctor. 

    “How’s the war looking like?” He asked ignoring what she had said about Lyne.

“You don’t have to worry about it. We are winning and Shelbrooke will surrender pretty soon.” 

    Just then, a palace guard stormed into the room where she was seated with Zeidan to inform her that she needed to attend to a pressing matter outside the palace. She stood up immediately and told Zeidan that she would come back soon ignoring his demands to know what was happening.

    She followed the guard and as they came to the hall in the palace she halted the guard and demanded what was happening. She could hear a lot of noise coming from just outside the palace. It sounded like an angry mob.

    “What is going on outside the palace?” She asked.

    “We just saw an angry mob approaching and they wanted to know the whereabouts of the king as soon as they got here.” The guard replied.

    “Didn’t you try to assure them everything was under control and that they should all return to their various homes?” Luana asked again with a rather troubled look. 

    “We did all of that your highness. But the mob demanded we provide the King. They said it was only fair their king spoke to them amidst this war, even as victory does not seem to be coming their way.” The guard explained.

    Luana bowed her head and supported herself with the long table in the palace hall as she thought about what to do. She instructed the guard to go outside and inform the people that they will be attended to shortly and find a way to calm them down before she comes out to address them. 

    “Tell them their questions will all be answered.” She instructed further.

    As the guard stepped outside, she heard the noise grow louder. She thought of what to tell them now as she knew they were now very angry and frustrated because they have not set their eyes on their king for a year now and the attacks kept increasing. She couldn’t tell them of the king’s illness so she decided to cook them a lie that will solve the unrest for some days. She breathed in deeply and hesitated a little bit before walking outside the palace door. 

    She was surprised to see a lot of people outside clamoring for the king’s presence. As they saw her, the noise subsided a little. 

She opted to speak before she heard someone shout from the crowd.

    “Send forth the king.” 

    “The Werecats won’t stop killing us.” Another person shouted from the crowd.

And the crowd shouted in affirmation. She waited for calmness to return before she began to speak. 

    “I greet you all brave men and women of this city. It has been a very difficult and indeed trying time for all of us. This war has claimed a lot from us, some of us our homes, some of our loved ones, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, and children. Some of us have lost our friends.”

The countenance of the crowd dropped and she could see the sadness on some of their faces as she spoke while some others maintained a straight face.

“The king is not in the dark about all of this. He is working tirelessly with the rest of his crew to bring peace back to our city. He has sent me to commend you all for your bravery and that it has come to his notice of the attacks of the Werecats. He needs you all to be patient because everything will be over soon. The war will be over in a week. The king and his royalties have come to terms with the enemy who has in turn agreed to become our ally. An era of peace will follow and there will be no need for further bloodshed in this land.” She said raising her hand as she was expecting a positive reaction from the crowd. 

Then someone threw a stone at her and shouted in disagreement.

“We want to hear it from the king you bitch.”

“Fuck off.” Another one shouted and before she knew what was happening, the whole mob began to throw stones and dirt at her and the guards present. She retreated a little bit and out of anger she ordered the guards,

“Kill them all.” She said and entered the palace, leaving behind the screaming and agony coming from outside the palace.