Chapter 13
Theo's POV
When Esther mind linked me and told me that Dory had been kidnapped, I immediately concluded that Emily had done it. Luke and I cancelled all schedule and rushed back overnight.
I may have looked calm on the surface, but underneath I was panicking to death. I knew that Emily, that crazy woman, could do the most vicious things, and I was so worried that Dory could be hurt.
Emily's father Paul was kind to me. He had been the chief Elder since my father's reign. I still remembered when I was five years old, and he brought me from my mother to this massive Palace.
He knelt down in front of me, wiped away the tears on my face and said to me, "Your Majesty, you don't have to be afraid, I am here for everything, you can rely on me. "
Since then, Paul has been my most loyal supporter, teaching me how to run the kingdom and teaching me the skills of combat. I have nothing but gratitude and respect for him.
I know he always wanted to marry his daughter to me so that he could consolidate his position of power. I really didn't like Emily at all, and I knew her evil deeds on the outside, but because of Paul, I tolerated her.
But I suddenly felt like my heart was being cut open by a knife. It must have been my Dory who was suffering. I don't know why I have this sense with Dory, even though we don't have a bond.
When I rushed into the cell, I heard Dory's voice cry out, " What makes you think you are more noble than me? Why should a rogue not be worthy of being Luna?"
A thrill ran through me, I liked her words, it was exactly as I was thinking. No wonder we feel for each other, because we are the same kind of people. We are both people who don't give in to fate and admit defeat.
I was overjoyed when I saw the fierceness with which she choked Emily. My Dory was getting strong and she could defeat her enemies by herself.
When Dory told me about her bizarre experience in the cell, I was calm on the surface, but I had an ominous feeling in my heart: Could Dory be part of the ancient myth? I wish she would shift to a wolf soon, so I can figure out where this came from.
"Luke, find out where Dory's deceased mother, Lilian, came from" I commanded.
"Your Majesty, are you serious about Dory? So you want to find out about her mother's background? " Luke's tone lightly mocking.
"You have too much imagination, you should go and write a script!" I glanced fiercely at him.
I knew that Paul would not be idle after I punished Emily and burned down the cells where Dory had been tortured.
As expected, the next day a lot of rumors about me appeared on the Internet, saying that the King was bewitched by a rogue, this rogue was jealous of Emily, and so she attacked Emily because she was favoured by the King.
A few days later in a Council meeting, David, a venerable old councillor, stood up and addressed me directly, "Your Majesty, I heard that a rogue beat Miss Emily to death, but because of a cover-up sanctioned by you, this rogue was not punished."
Then Mark, another councillor, stood up to beseech me, "Your Majesty, do not let a lowly inferior rogue ruin the reputation you have worked so hard to build for yourself. Many rumors are now being circulated questioning your origins again, saying that you are not worthy of being King of GIAPABNTA Kingdom."
There was an immediate chorus of agreement from all corners of the chamber.
I clenched my fist and listened to these hypocrites' spouting nonsense and turning white into black; I really wanted to have them beaten one by one and dismiss them all.
"Enough! do you know the truth? Since you all heard about weren't actually there, and you all know it's only a rumor, why do you still believe it?" My sharp gaze swept over them, and they looked petrified, as they bowed their heads in humility.
"What actually is inferior origin? If you track your ancestry, how many of your origins are really noble? "
I pointed David out, "David, wasn't your grandfather the product of your great grandfather's dalliance with a serving girl?"
I then turned to Mark, "And you, Mark, didn't your great great grandfather make his fortune as a robber?"
My face was red, my eyes bulging with fury, and my voice booming with rage. It was as if my anger could shatter the walls and bring the whole building down.
"Since I became King, our kingdom has tripled the size of its territory and become the most powerful and wealthy of the six Lycan kingdoms, so how can you question my abilities to rule the Kingdom because of my origins?" I snapped.
"Men, take David and Mark out of here and give them 50 lashes each."
David tried to protest, "Your Majesty..." but the guard cut him off by covering his mouth and dragged him out.
The whole council chamber fell silent. I froze them with my aura, and they were even afraid even to tremble for fear of angering me.
After the council meeting ended, Paul approached me.
He was completely livid, and his voice was low but full of authority. "Your Majesty, what is that rogue girl to you, that you are fighting me for her?"
"She's mine, that's enough!" I stared at him and pursed my lips.
"I can support you as King, but I can just as well be against you. Think it over!" Paul snorted coldly, and his voice was threatening in tone.
"Then why don't you try?" I raised my eyebrows and curled my upper lip.
We stared each other up and down, and when the golden light shining out of my eyes met the silver light of his eyes, he swayed a little and was forced to take a step back.
I confronted him, sneered and warned him, "Paul, you're getting old."
Paul trembled with anger, and I walked away with my head held high.
Why did I dare to do this to him? It was because I had him in a deadly grip.
The day before yesterday, I took my men to rescue Dory. With the help of the ring on Dory's hand, I came to the mountain where Dory's cell was situated.
But after I entered the mountain, the signal from the ring became weak, and we had to search around for the place where Dory was being held captive.
We found a cave, but when we went in, we found nothing inside. Just as we were about to leave, I noticed that the walls of the cave were covered with moss, but that at one point there was a clear spot.
I thought it was strange and took a closer look at the spot, where I found a secret passageway hidden behind it.
At first, I thought it was Dory's cell, so followed the secret passage to what turned out to be an armoury. In my haste to save Dory, I ordered my men to secure the guards here first, and then come back to interrogate them after I had saved Dory.
Once the guards here saw me, they wet their pants with fear and they hurriedly told me what they knew. It turns out that this armoury was Paul's, and that Paul had trained a team of soldiers in using the weaponry that was stored here.
I flew into a rage! In our world of werewolves, the use of arms is strictly forbidden. Now Paul had hidden so many weapons, what might his intentions be?
We considered the confessions of the guards and soon learned that half of the officials were involved in this matter; these officials were all Paul's close friends and henchmen.
Towards the end of the council meeting, Luke had mindlinked me that he had arrested all the soldiers that Paul had trained.
So I was no longer afraid of Paul at all, and I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he came home and found that his soldiers were in our custody.
Sure enough, when Paul came home and learned that I had not only found the armoury, but had taken his personal soldiers, he became flustered.
Paul went so far as to betray Emily in order to hold onto his position, saying that Emily built the armoury and hired the soldiers it behind his back and that he had no idea about it at all. This old fox was simply too cunning, and happy to give up his own daughter in order to save himself.
But just think about it: a disfigured girl who offended the King no longer has any value, so she can take the blame.
Dory must have seen the comments about her on the Internet, and as soon as she saw me, she asked me worriedly, "Your Majesty, I've caused you so much trouble, I'm so useless."
I looked at her haggard and worried face, and my heart ached.
I held her close to my chest and whispered, "Babe, it's not your fault, you don't have to blame yourself. I won't abandon you because of those rumors. Believe me, I never do what others think is right, I only do what I know to be right."
I understand Dory's feeling of being abandoned by her loved ones and her feeling of being alone because I had similar experiences to what she has gone through.
I had sympathy for with her, especially when I heard her say those words outside the cell. "Why can't a rogue be Luna?" It's just what I thought about myself: Why can't a bastard be a King? "
We were a perfect match!
I used the armoury incident to eliminate many of Paul's henchmen. Paul saw his momentum had gone, so he made out that that he was ailing and resigned from the post of Chief Elder.
As for the members of the council who had been involved in Paul's conspiracy, some were arrested and some resigned of their own accord, with the result that one-third of the positions on the council were vacant.
That was exactly what I wanted! I had wanted to reform the council for a long time, so that they would not simply inherit their positions, but that each man could earn their position by his own ability. Now Paul can't control me, I thought, I can implement my reforms.
Dory, however, was a bit of problem, because the media and public were talking about her, trying to get pictures of her and dredge up information about her. Although I ordered Luke to block all news about Dory, the media is too powerful nowadays and all-pervasive, so I can't control it.
Thinking about what Dory's stepmother did to her, I was afraid that if the media found out who she really was, then she'd be exposed to those who want to harm her, and she wasn't strong enough yet. It was not yet time for her to fight head-on with those who would wish to harm her.
Thinking about it, I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I needed to think of a way to hide Dory so that no one knew she existed.