[THIRD-PARTY POV]
The leaders of the midlands spent the rest of the day discussing how to deal with the beast. Some were of the idea that they eliminate him, while others were scared. Ulrike, who had just offered to be bait, however, wasn't scared one bit, or maybe he was the beast.
Ulrike being a beast wasn't exactly a wrong assumption considering he was a hound already. They were all beasts at some point in time and it was part of who he was.
No matter what happened, nothing could change that. Ulrike being the beast fit so perfectly save for the part where he was always scared of children.
Yeah, the big bad hound of the southern forest was scared of the pesky little children. No one ever knew the source of his fear, but anytime anyone wanted something from him, they could just come along with a kid, and the hound would be ready to offer even his life.
It was crazy, but weren't they all living in a crazy world?
"The night is here, are you sure the children do not know that we will be going after them?" Ulrike asked for the hundredth time.
They were currently hiding in the thicket of the forest in the midlands. They were close to home, just in case the beast decided to make an example out of them for not being helpful to the children, even though they had that power and ability in their hands.
The night was quiet and cold, with the winds buzzing, and the night animals trying their best to keep it low. It was almost like they were eager to see how things would turn out for the different factions of the midlands.
The curiosity was evident because even the moon was shining brightly tonight. It was almost as if nature itself wanted to know what would happen when the beast showed up tonight. Or maybe, it was a warning to the faction leaders, to go back to their homes and protect their children.
The women and men sat so close to each other, each with a stench that they could only hope didn't lure the beast to them. The wind blowing was assuring, but was it even enough? None of them knew what would happen and nothing scared them more than the fact that the gates of Acrod were closed till morning.
The warriors of Acrod and the escorts that the faction leaders had come with, were behind those walls, carefully watching, and yet somehow ready to attack the beast if ever there was a need for it. This whole idea was absurd, but what could they do?
They were just warriors and their leaders had to make the choices on their behalf.
In the middle of all the chaos and bad decisions, King Cassius marveled at how beautiful his home was. the castle-like houses, the warm air in the kingdom, the lovable people, and everything about Acrod made him feel proud about his home.
The walls of Acrod made the kingdom attractive and the lighting, made it seem like it was some fairyland, only that today, the lands were being threatened by a beast who walked among them.
Maybe when tonight was over, they would be able to sleep easily. Then again, why was it so hard for their people to keep their hands off the kids? Why wouldn't they just listen to the beast and keep the children safe? Surely, there was nothing wrong with that, right?
"What if I never come back?" Ulrike said, making everyone look at him defeatedly. The man had VOLUNTEERED to go and meet the beast, and now he was scared?
Maybe he needed to stay back, because what was the point if he was worried, also, how the fuck had he become the great leader of the hounds if he was this scared? Whatever was going on in his head really needed to stop because he was affecting everyone's morale.
Ulrike knew what he was doing. When the plan had been drafted, he had been worried a lot. However, he wasn't worried about the beast showing up and tearing him from limb to limb, like he was making everyone think right now.
No. Ulrike was he was worried that the beast wouldn't be able to sense the fear in the children. He was worried that the beast could find out that this was all some shady plan to trap him. He was worried about the beast of the midlands coming after all the kingdoms.
It wasn't something they could put past the beast of the midlands right now.
However, what was the assurance that the beast already didn't know how things were being planned? There were so many risks in this plan, if anything the beast was a man and had managed to infiltrate every kingdom, including Udrad.
The beast had saved kids over the years which is why no one could say they were free from the man that roamed the night. They were all guilty in the eyes of the beast, but hey, Ulrike had offered, right?
"Yes, Ulrike, stop being a whiny ass, or do you want me to go instead?" Gideon said irritatedly to Ulrike. He was angry that kids were being forced as a social experiment and a trap for a beast they weren't even sure would show up.
Gideon was always an angry kid, but right now, he wanted to punch Ulrike in the mouth, hopefully, that would make the hound finally shut his trap.
"Relax, little witch," Ulrike said to Gideon, in the same condescending tone that Gideon had used on him. Everyone else let out a laugh but it was obvious that there was some rivalry between Gideon and Ulrike, then again, what was it with them really?
The two were from different worlds, both of which didn't have many reasons to come together.
Greroth was farther from the southern forest and it wasn't like they were friends who could go visiting each other.
Zelina and Criselda rolled their eyes at the boys who seemed to find this the time to try and prove who was better than who.
"If you guys are done, Ulrike, you can please go on. We don't have the whole day, we also have kingdoms to rule, now shoo!" Criselda said.
"Okay, fine, I'm going," Ulrike said as he walked out of the place they were currently hiding. However, as he walked, he added, "of course, I had to volunteer myself, and the kids are annoying as fuck. Who would even want to treat the pesky animals?
"Oh goddess, if I don't make it back home, please tell my mother I loved her so much," Ulrike said as he walked deeper into the dark forest. He was hopeless, and his friends knew that. His mouth would get him in trouble even before the kids did.
It however helped that he had night vision, otherwise, he would have had a hard time going in. They didn't have a way to communicate with the team, so it was just him, out there, and alone, with kids that terrified the living wits out of him, and worse, a beast that would probably tear him apart.
Sure, he had said he could handle himself, but he was regretting life's decisions right now, and his friends knew that. How a man could be so powerful and cowardly at the same time was beyond them.
However, they knew Ulrike would do whatever it took to ensure there was peace in the midlands, no matter what the cost was. They trusted him with their lives, which was more than they could say for each other, save for their homes.
"Do you think he will be okay?" Gideon asked Grant, who just looked at him like he was someone else. Barely five minutes ago he and Ulrike had been bantering like it hadn't been a significant mission, and now Gideon was worried about the hound of the southern forest?
Damn, maybe this is what mood swings looked like, or maybe Gideon was bipolar.
What the hell were they supposed to do?