Queen Of Adis

"...I understand. I'm coming so please wait for a moment."

After saying such, Haru pulled Vladimir's hand and quickly walked towards the balcony. She looked around and smiled in relief upon seeing the familiar trees and plants in front of her. She extended her right palm and softly blew on it. Numerous glowing pollen drifted in the air and onto the trees.

With an enchanting voice, she whispered her decree. "Unto the King, deliver thy plea; this Queen has heard thy King's voice. Now, an old comrade has come, I shall await you to our lover's ground."

The branches of the trees quivered, then one-by-one, their roots snapped up from beneath the soil. Several trees suddenly came alive, with branches as their arms and roots as their feet, they scampered everywhere to look for their King and deliver their master's message.

Haru continued her enchantment and a gigantic root with intricate stems slowly creeped out from the ground to the balcony.

Her bedchamber was located at the fourth level of the palace, and considering the high ceilings of each room, life would surely end once a mortal slip and fall from her location. She suddenly felt dizzy and staggered upon seeing the ground below.

Vladimir immediately held her arm to steady her stance. "Mother, are you feeling okay?"

She smiled and nodded. She refused to show her son her vulnerable state. "Quickly stepped on the root and hold tightly on the stems so you will not fall. Mother will be right behind you."

"Haru? Is everything all right?"

She snapped around once she heard Pier's voice again. Her eyes grew wide and beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. "Y-yes, forgive me if it's a while," she stammered and turned around to help Vladimir on mounting the root. She added, "I... just woke up and I am currently changing my clothes. It would be preposterous to show you my shameful state."

She heard Pier softly chuckled on the other side of the door. "What are you worrying about? It's just me. We have seen each other's unwashed faces many times in the past. Your beauty won't be marred by such a trivial thing. Why don't you open the door so I can help you, hm?"

When no one answered from inside the room, Pier furrowed his eyebrows. "Haru, can you hear me? Haru, are you there?" After calling out multiple times and was still confronted with silence, Pier finally snapped out of his patience. "Haru, open the damn door, now!"

Haru and Vladimir had completely climbed down from the balcony. Nothing could be heard inside the bedchamber except the sound of a paper being burnt by a black fire, slowly eating the love letter that was once read happily by the Queen, as well as the postscript that foretold the truth.

'P.S. Do you still remember your oath, my love? Pier was no longer the man you once knew. He is the man behind the tragedy in Lumine, the fake oracle and your kidnapping. Run or hide if he comes to you. Do not attempt to confront him. I trust that you will heed my word. I love you.'

Haru was currently going down on the gigantic root with a turtle speed, careful that her feet won't slip. When the wind harshly blew her small frame, she stopped and gripped at the stem on her right, while her left hand protectively held her stomach.

"Mother, please hold on tight! Watch your steps." Vladimir yelled out as he looked up at her.

"You too, Vlad. To you right, you should see the library. Use your scythe and smash the window to get inside."

The library was on the second level of the palace and they were still at the third.

BOOMMM!

A large explosion coming from her bedchamber occurred and shook the walls and the ground, as well as the root that she was on.

"Aaaaahhh!" She screamed at the top of her lungs while hugging the sturdy stem and her stomach. She was more afraid for her unborn child and Vladimir than for her own life. "Vlad, are you okay? talk to me, sweetheart!"

"I'm okay, mother!" Vladimir yelled back to assure her of his safety. Then, in one fell swoop, he used his scythe to smash the thick glass window of the library into pieces. Due to the strong impact, a piece of broken glass slit his smooth cheek. Red blood oozed from the injury but the wound instantly healed before he could wipe his cheek's clean. He skillfully maneuvered his weapon to deflect other incoming shards of glass.

Once the coast was clear, he looked up at his mother to urge her to go down. However, his eyes dilated and his lips quivered upon the sight of the bulky man looming over the balcony. "U-uncle Pier," he nervously breathed out. He unconsciously felt danger at the deranged glint in his eyes.

"Haru, what are you doing? Why are you running away from me? You might fall off. Here, grab my hand." Pier coaxed Haru with an odd voice as he extended his hand to her. He cursed inwardly when he heard various footsteps fast approaching his location. "Haru, you will just hurt yourself. Hurry and grab my hand now!"

Haru couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man in front of her was not Pier. Despite his nice words, she couldn't see the good friend she once knew. Gone was the warmth in his eyes nor the sincerity in his smile. He looked... so broken. "Pier... what happened to you?"

Pier was stunned at her question and the sympathy in her voice. His hands and lips flinched while his eyes looked in pain. "What do you mean, my love? It's me, your Pier. And though you have forgotten about me, I have never once forgotten you. Can't you see? I am here... to finally set you free."

"Not gonna happen," a deep and hoarse voice suddenly countered and snatched Haru away. The dark shadow jumped back and landed on the lower part of the root, right in front of the library.

"Adis!" she exclaimed in relief and hugged him tightly, burying her face against his c.h.e.s.t.

Aqua and Zen also appeared at the balcony and cornered the madman.

"Demon King!" Pier roared, making his face red and contorted in anger. "Give her back to me!"

Adis pulled Haru closer to him and stopped her head from seeing the hideous face of her once good friend. His eyes met Pier's murderous stare with equal passion as he shot him with dark wind blades and lightning bolts.

Before the spell could touch Pier's mortal body, a barrier had enveloped him and thwarted the fatal attack. Then, a being gradually appeared beside him and quickly grabbed his body. "Master, you have extended your stay for far too long. We need to leave at once!"

The three great Kings looked astounded at the sight of a man in a butler uniform. Although he looked much older, the Kings' would never mistake him for anyone else.

"A-Alfred?" Zen's eyes budged out as his body trembled.

Alfred took advantage of their shock and hastily disappeared with the Duke without leaving a trail.

"No! Don't let them get away!" Adis' roar woke the two Kings from their reverie and tried to chase after their fading body but they were too late. He barked a series of expletives before ordering them to interrogate the shapeshifters that they have caught. "Immediately report back to me once you obtain new information about his whereabouts."

He took Haru inside the library and carefully placed her on the table while he positioned himself between her t.h.i.g.hs and embraced her tightly. He confirmed with his own body that she was still with him and not just an apparition.

They buried their faces in each other's neck, felt each other's warmth and inhaled each other's scent.

All of a sudden, Adis felt Haru's shoulders shook as she silently cried in his arms. He let her vent out while stroking her back and whispering sweet nothings to her ears, assuring her that everything would be all right. "You did a good job, my love. I am thankful that you remembered your promise. You are now safe, my dear. Adis is here for you." He showered her face with lingering kisses as he chanted his affection for her. "I love you... I love you... I love you."

When Haru finally calmed down from his cajoling, she started to ask him a question while her head was still resting on his broad shoulders.

"What happened to him, Adis?"

"I am... also not sure, Haru. That's the reason why I hid the truth from you. I wanted to gather more information before I tell you the grave news. However, the information I have is still limited." Adis looked at her face as he intertwined their fingers.

"After our wedding, Pier suddenly disappeared. When he came back, he had endless wealth with him. He used it to buy many nobles and elders. Then, without the royal family's knowledge, they gave him the title of a Duke and he gained immense power in the court. I tried to check the source of his treasury but my people couldn't break through his security. I admit that I did not put much effort into investigating him at first since he was an old friend of yours and he did not do anything to hurt you... until the fake oracle incident happened."

"We found out that the uproar of the elders and the church against the royal family was actually lead by him. He was the main support of Helèna and he was the one who let the criminals of Gehenna escaped. I ordered a manhunt of his many allies, but he's the only one I wasn't able to track down. When Zen and Aqua raided his mansion in Lumine, mountains of corpses were found in his bas.e.m.e.nt and backyard. And the majority were... v.i.r.g.i.n women.