A Tale of Two Kingdoms Ch. 01

Nyobi respectfully nodded her head in the direction of King Vulcan, showing him the respect his title demanded, before making her way out of the throne room. The entire Council followed her lead by standing and quietly exiting the throne room without uttering a word. Each of them silently agreeing with everything Nyobi said. The only ones left in the throne room were King Agot, Olivia, a few of Olivia's soldiers, and King Vulcan and his men, with Marcus still in chains.

"King Agot," King Vulcan started, "while I was doing a routine security check in my forests near the outskirts of my border, my men and I were ambushed by a rather remarkable group of men. You see, they would have been quite skilful had they not been drunk and already wounded. Your son in particular threatened to take off my head when I told him who I was. I thought it only appropriate to come here and deliver the news myself so you and I may come up with a solution we can both live with."

The story was shocking yet true. Olivia could see the truth in King Vulcans words and she was more than disappointed by her brothers' actions. She eyed her brother and saw the shame on his face. Marcus knew he had done wrong by his people and once again it was going to fall on his sister to clean up the mess.

"State your terms, King Vulcan," King Agot said, his patience growing thin.

"You forfeit your kingdom to me and I will give you back your son, if you do not he will remain my prisoner until I decide he has been tortured long enough, only then will I grant him the peace only death can bring."

"You cannot possibly think that I would forfeit my Kingdom to your rule simply because you hold my son hostage," King Agot countered, hoping to figure out Vulcans true motive.

"I have my entire army camped a mile outside your city gates. I will attack this city and take it by force if needed," Vulcan replied with false conviction.

King Agot chuckled. "You have a mere ten thousand men, King Vulcan. We out number you four to one. You couldn't breach the outer city walls even if you had fifty thousand men at your command. We have over forty thousand skilled soldiers in this city ready to fight to their last breath. We have twenty thousand soldiers stationed at the borders of this Kingdom, all of which will come when called. We have three neighboring Kingdoms, all of which owe loyalty to me and will come when called. You are, in fact, out numbered," he said, clearing his throat.

"King Vulcan," Agot continued, "you seem a capable man. And if everything I have been told about you is true, then you're no fool. Will you please spare me your empty threats and tell me what it is you wish to gain from all this. I am a sick old man and my time is precious, I don't wish to waste it playing games."

King Vulcan looked at King Agot, taking in his words. He knew trying to scare the king into getting what he wanted wasn't going to work. The old man may be sick, but he was as strong as steel. He decided then that telling the truth was his best bet at achieving his goal. He only hoped that King Agot was as noble a King as legend told.

"My Kingdom is being attacked by a force more powerful than you can imagine. Slowly my men are being picked off, one by one. Those ten thousand men are the majority of my army. Five years ago I had thirty thousand men and I have not engaged in open war for over seven years," King Vulcan said, trying to emphasize the importance of what he was saying. "This force is beyond me. They kill without discrimination, women, children, entire villages have been massacred in hours by this one leech that is sucking the life out of my Kingdom."

Olivia's interest was peaked, and so was her fathers. Over half of Vulcans army had been destroyed without engaging in open warfare, such a thing was unheard of.

"Only the Fae would be capable of doing such a thing," Olivia stated, talking more to her father than to Vulcan. "King Sibohan has been our ally for centuries, his daughter has a seat on our council, there is no way they would chance any involvement in destroying an Elf Kingdom, not after what happened last time."

Vulcan looked at Olivia for the first time, only now noticing her presence. She was short, with long curly white hair that framed a sun kissed face. Her shining silver eyes were piercing. Everything about her was delicate, from her plump pouting lips to her soft small hands. She wore a powder blue gown that sparkled as it rippled in the breeze, the layered sheer silk showing every curve of her body. The low neckline of her gown showed off the strand of fresh water pearls her father had gotten for her on her last birthday. Vulcan then noticed the silver shield pin above her left breast, identifying her as the Easter Kingdoms General.

Vulcan looked back at Marcus, who was still in shackles, and then glanced back up at Olivia. He realized then, she was his sister, the great warrior he had boasted about the entire way here. Vulcan and his men had thought he was bluffing, and quite a bad bluff, because none of his men had been fearful of a female warrior. But she stood before him, proof of her brothers' word. Vulcan looked over Olivia once again, taking in the small details. Her hands, though small and soft, were calloused and strong. Her arms were toned and covered with small scars that were barely visible. He pushed his magic out towards her only to realize she held magic as well, an ancient magic that couldn't be explained.

"The Fae have nothing to do with this," Vulcan stated, "the Fae come from nature, they are inherently neither good nor evil. The thing that plagues me is pure evil, from the very pits of hell itself...Vampires," he said. He looked at King Agot, who seemed shocked.

"That is not possible," Agot said, eyes wide with fear. He was trying to convince himself that King Vulcan was mistaken. Vampires had not plagued this earth for many, many centuries. Agot's grandfather, King Farris, had led the final battle against their kind. It was that victory which inspired the king to change the laws on citizenship in his Kingdom. It was how the Council started. King Farris knew the only way to survive was for every creature to come together and fight as one.

"King Agot, I do not expect you to take me at my word. Which is why I have brought one of the creatures with me, so that you may see for yourself."

"You captured one," Agot asked, baffled even more.

"Yes, one of the witches in my kingdom made a potion to slow it down. From there we were able to chain it in silver and place it in a gilded silver cage for transport. There is no chance of it escaping, it is too weak from being unable to feed. But I can show you proof, that the creatures do exist again," Vulcan said. He was hoping that this would help sway King Agots' decision.

"You have still failed to state your reason for coming here, your reason for threatening war against my people, your reason for holding my brother ransom," Olivia said, anger clearly visible in her eyes.

"I am here to acquire a peace treaty, with a clause to aid one another while in the state of emergency." Vulcan said, very matter of fact. "Like I said, your brother threatened my life, in my Kingdom that is more than enough reason to sentence him to death. However, I saw an official peace treaty as something we could both benefit from. If you're unwilling to cooperate, I am more than happy to take my leave and send your brother back to you in a pine box."

"And how do you see us benefiting from this exactly?" Olivia said, ignoring the bit about him killing her brother.

"We both rule over very strong and powerful Kingdoms," Vulcan said, directing his words to King Agot. "Your kingdom is rich in resources like wheat, gold, cattle, granite and silks, and you have a strong trade rout to the south. My Kingdom is rich in other resources like, silver, steel, salt, jewels and oil, and we have a strong trade system across the sea to the west. We have always existed in an undiscussed peace because waging war against each other would be too costly, we are too evenly matched. By forging an official peace treaty we can discuss terms for trade, which will help both of our Kingdoms grow and flourish."

"You right," King Agot said, "but unfortunately I alone cannot make this decision. I must consult the Council. And I must tell you, the reason that this Kingdom has not sought out peace terms with you earlier is because of your slave trade. That is something many of the people on the Council will not over look. It is not something I, myself, am willing to overlook either, but I will if the Council agrees it is best." King Agot waved a soldier over to him. "Many of the representatives on the Council would be considered slaves in your kingdom, it will be hard for them to see past that. I suggest you think hard on how you are going to present this to them."

King Agot then gave orders to the soldier, asking him to have the Council return. He also requested that Vulcans men bring the Vampire, to show the Council proof of his word. Vulcan sent Coal to retrieve the beast, and he spent the time waiting trying to keep himself focused, but it was difficult with Olivia in the room. It hadn't taken him long to realize why he was so drawn to her, he could practically feel his magic reach out to connect with hers. They were Chosens, soul mates, their magic was meant to bond together.

Finding your Chosen among Elf kind was rare, but highly sought after. Many refused to bond with someone who wasn't their Chosen. An Elf's soul can recognize its mate the instant they meet and the man will pursue his soul mate at all costs. Women don't have as strong of a reaction but they do feel a draw towards their mate, and a woman can always tell because her mate's eyes will change color with their emotions. A male who has found his Chosen will have eyes that shift in and out of a bright violet color, the stronger the emotion, the more vibrant the color.

When you bond with your Chosen, you are bonding your souls and your magic. You become, essentially, one entity. Those with very strong bonds can communicate with just their minds. Every bond creates a life thread, where one can draw on the strength of the other if they are in danger or injured. In some instances, if a Chosen has died then their mate dies with them, their lives so closely entwined, but those tales have passed into legend. Most mates live on even if their Chosen has died, but many choose to end their own life after losing half of themselves.

Every instinct told Vulcan to claim Olivia. To pick her up, toss her over his shoulder, and find a private room where he could fuck her till the sun set. He took deep breaths and bit down on his own tongue to keep himself in check. He didn't know how he was going to acquire Olivia out of this arrangement, but he knew he needed to make that happen or he would never see rest again. The draw towards her had started out as a gentle tug, but now it was an aggressive force pulling so hard on his chest it was difficult to breath.

The Council had finally all arrived, each of them taking their seats. King Agot gave Vulcan the floor. He gave the same speech he gave to King Agot, explaining his trouble with the Vampires and his hope for success in trade with a lasting peace treaty. The Council had to be asked to remain quite more than once by King Agot, many of them were in uproar about a trade system being implemented with a slave labor Kingdom and even more were fearful of the Vampire's and the threat they posed.

"This peace treaty is the only solution to the problem facing all of us. And trust me, this is a problem for your Kingdom as well as mine," Vulcan said as he looked over the faces on the Council. "My Kingdom is placed at a strategic advantage for the time being. We know what we are facing, we know where they are coming from and now we only need to work together to acquire the means to destroy them. My mines are filled with enough silver to protect every creature in both of our Kingdoms from this threat, but we don't have the man power to mine all of it or forge it into weapons. And we don't have enough men to fight in our armies. I cannot do this alone. If my Kingdom falls, then you will have increased the enemies number by at least ten thousand. At that point, this city—no matter how sophisticated the plans of defense are—will fall. And after the Eastern Kingdom falls, every Kingdom on this continent will fall prey to death. We must strike now, despite our differences."

"I'll not agree to fight with some Northern King who uses my people as slaves!" Klum said, the Councils dwarf representative.

The Council erupted in conversation then, people agreeing and disagreeing, some even threatening King Vulcan. Olivia couldn't believe what she was seeing. They were suppose to come across as a united front, and here they were playing into King Vulcans hands. Nyobi warned them he would try and do this, create tension and discourse. Olivia looked to Nyobi who was sitting calmly, shaking her head in exasperation. She locked eyes with Olivia, then nodded her head in understanding. Nyobi was held in such high respect by the Council, they all fell silent when she stood to approach Vulcan for a second time that day.

"It is apparent that we have some varying opinions on how to proceed. A peace treaty with you is mutually beneficial for both of our Kingdoms, for many reasons as you have stated. However, in order for this to work, we are both going to have to make some concessions. Returning Marcus to his family will indeed grant you a peace treaty" she took a breath and looked at the members of the Council. "However, it will not grant you the trade routs you so desperately need and it will not grant you the extra workers you need in your mine. This is where compromise comes into play. We are not in agreement with your salve labor laws, and as such request that you implement a termination of such laws."

The Council murmured their agreement.

"That is ridiculous," Vulcan interjected.

Nyobi shot him a look that silenced him. "Seeing that implementing the termination of such laws would render your economy useless if done all at once, we will provide you with someone who can help aid you in this transition. Someone whom we trust, to see that every creature effected by the slave labor laws is well looked after. We will give you five years to completely shut down all slave activity, which is a more than sufficient amount of time."

"You want me to completely shift my Kingdoms way of life in five years. That is not enough time, how could I possibly accomplish such a task without starting a civil war?"

"You start out small," Nyobi said. "The fact that your Kingdom is being attacked will only force your people to rely on the ones they consider slaves even more, they will be more vulnerable to viewing them in a humane capacity. Eventually your people will realize that the only way to survive is to work together as equals."

"And who would you be sending with me, to oversee this transition?" Vulcan asked, his tone agitated and annoyed.

"Well," Nyobi glanced up at Olivia, "What better way to solidify a peace treaty than through marriage. The King has three daughters, all of age, I'm sure you'll find one of them to your liking. Each of them will know how best to approach removing the slave labor laws. They are all very well educated in such matters."

Vulcans gaze locked with Olivia, and he knew then that he would agree to anything so long as he could have her. He just couldn't let on that he wanted her too badly, or they would choose one of her sisters for him.

"Not a chance in hell!" Marcus said. It was the first time he had spoken sense arriving, and unfortunately no one was paying him much attention. "Father you can't," he continued, "I would rather die than see one of my sisters stuck with this barbarian."

"So which daughter will he merry?" one of the Council voiced.

"Olivia, of course, she is the eldest," David said. He was looking for any opportunity to rid the Kingdom of her all too watchful eyes.

"Olivia cannot go," Kias replied, "she is the Kingdoms General. We cannot afford to loose our best warrior to a rival Kingdom."

"They won't be our rivals anymore, you crone," David smarted back.

"Enough!" King Agot stated. The room fell silent as their King sat and thought. Many things were going through his mind, one of them was the coming grief he would feel at loosing one of his daughters. The other was the realization that there was only one daughter fit to do this deed, his beloved Olivia. The third was that the entire Kingdom would feel her loss, for she is very much a part of the culture in the Eastern Kingdom. He knew, that in order to satisfy the Council's needs and protect the future of this Kingdom that Olivia would have to go, but he also knew he could not order her to do so, it would be something she would have to choose to do of her own free will.

Olivia turned to her father and knelt down before him. "Father, you and I both know that I am the only one who can do this. Aleksandra, Marianna, they are both strong, but you know...you know they can't do this. It has to be me. This is the only way," she said as she took his hands in her own.

"I cannot make this decision for you my dear, you must make it for yourself. Just know, that whatever you decide, I will support you," Agot said, leaning forward to kiss his daughter on her forehead.

Olivia kissed her father's hands, wishing she didn't have to let go. She knew if she didn't agree to these terms her father wouldn't allow Aleksandra or Marianna to merry King Vulcan. The treaty would likely never get forged and her brother may never return home, for King Vulcan was within his rights to keep him prisoner. Her brother would eventually be killed, and the war in the North would spread to the Eastern Kingdom. She knew she could probably lead in that battle and they would probably win, but at what cost? How many lives would end because she didn't marry a King?

Olivia stood and turned to face everyone in the hall. She took strength in her father's steady grip on her hand, knowing he needed to stay connected to her just as much as she needed to be connected to him.

"I agree to the marriage," she said as she looked over the Council and then to Vulcan "if he will have me."

Vulcan felt the magic of the Chosen bond surge forward, he wasn't able to control it, his vision bled into nothing but vibrant violet color, all other colors fading. A few members of the Council gasped when they saw his eyes turn violet, 'they are Chosens' many of them murmured. Olivia looked as if she had seen a ghost, her eyes wide in wonder and confusion.

"You are Mine," he said, voicing an official claim. It was only then that Olivia felt the bond start to form, and she was surprised at how strong the pull was. She knew there was no going back. No changing her mind. Her whole life she had wanted to find her Chosen, her soul mate. Now that she was confronted with the reality of who he was, she wanted nothing more than to stay as far away as possible.

But his words echoed in her mind. You are Mine.

Her souls reply was the same. You are Mine.

~

I hope you all enjoyed this story. I am already editing and going through some re-writes on the second chapter and hope to post it within a week or two. My stories are always evolving and changing every time I go through an editing process. This first chapter has gone through about ten separate edits and several re-writes. I am always looking for honest feedback, so please don't hold back. I am hoping to make this series a trilogy fallowing other characters in the story that you haven't quite met yet. Olivia and Vulcan are characters that are very dear to my heart, so I hope you all love them just as much as I do. So be patient and stay tuned for more adventure! (if you're wondering when the sex comes in...that's what I mean by being patient. It will come, and trust me, it will be good.) ~Lady_Lillie17