In all his years in his life, he's never met anybody as scary as Queen Lyn.

He used to think Queen Orthez and Prince Andrew were ruthless. But he was there that day, the day the girl's powers and her ident.i.ty was revealed — such bloodl.u.s.t in her eyes, such rage. Nicholas shuddered at the memory. One of his men got caught up in that situation and ended up dead. His brother got injured, and yet the little girl didn't get punished.

Yes, part of his reasoning had nothing to do with the throne but more of a personal grudge. That woman, she destroyed everything. That day, he was in the middle of a good trade that could have changed his circ.u.mstances in the palace. But because she lost control of her powers and went on a frenzy. His brother got injured and the man he was making a deal with died.

Over the years, Nicholas made deals with other people. But it did him no good. He could never find someone who would sponsor him and help him rise in ranks further. His thoughts broke off when he caught movements in the shadow, and he paused.

Wolves.

Elder Nicholas froze, he has no tools he can use for magic here while every elite person is born with the natural ability to use magic. He's different; he isn't a member of the elite. Nicholas never was. He's a simple commoner man who rose up the ranks after he bribed people. That's why he was not blessed with the ability of magic.

As he searches for some items in his bag though, he recognized the wolves. Many royal family members who are prominent at using magic have their own familiars. Of course, the Mist Kingdom is no exception to that. His face color drained as he realized where he saw it before. It's impossible, isn't it? After all, she just said she would let him go. But the more he looked at it, the more he knew he wasn't mistaken.

Why?

Didn't she say she would let him go?

It was stupid for him to ask why. How many years have pa.s.sed since he entered the castle, he knows, doesn't he? They just had to choose Lady Gabrielle as the sacrifice. If they chose somebody of lesser importance, then the impact surely wouldn't be like this. How could he have committed a grave mistake?

The Queen and Lady Gabrielle go way back, they've been friends since they were infants. He shouldn't have underestimated the friends.h.i.+p. Nicholas always thought that Queen Lyn didn't think much of friends.h.i.+p; he thought she simply put on that 'image' so others would like her. It turned out he was wrong; he underestimated her gravely.

Nicholas took a few steps backward, as the gorgeous pure white like snow wolves stepped forward. Why would she do this? He may not be an elite but how many years has he served for the castle now? He became an elder too. To think she would do this to him.

His thoughts broke off when his feet get caught in something, and before Nicholas knew it pa.s.sed out.

...

When he next woke up, Nicholas discovered that he fell inside the whole. Well at least down here he is safe from the wolves.

Thankfully, even though he fell, he still had his bag with him as Nicholas was about to search for the flashlight that he carried. He felt an ire presence from behind him and realized that the wolves had followed him down the hole. Nicholas frantically searched for an exit, but in the darkness, he saw no means of escape. Eventually, he caught movement on the surface and was about to call out for help when he saw who was there.

"Queen Lyn, you cannot do this to me."

An evil glint appeared in the woman's eyes, "Hmmm? I don't have the right, huh?"

"Yes, she may be your friend, but this is too much."

Besides this thing happens all the time. Why is the Queen turning the whole world upside down just for this one case?

"I don't have the right, then who else do you want to punish you? My brother? I'll let you know now, my eldest brother's current state isn't good. Forget the Kingdom; he doesn't even care about himself anymore if I told him that you were involved with this. He would slowly torture you for endless days; I'm sure he would keep you alive for a long time and torture you every day. It would be nothing short of a living h.e.l.l." The Queen spoke calmly, but Nicholas sensed the mockery in her tone.

She basically told him, it's either one or the other.

Is this woman giving him no options to live? But then again who would? He didn't only hurt somebody who she saw as a dear friend, but that woman just happened to be Prince Andrew's wife. The girl's sister in law. No matter what sort of lifestyle this woman lead before. Even Nicholas knew how much she treasured her family.

Nicholas sensed the movement of the wolves behind him and froze.

His face lost any remains of color.

He turned to the woman who was above the whole. "Queen Lyn have mercy; I do not wish to die so soon."

"Don't worry Elder; I'm already going to be lenient even though you put my friend under two weeks or so of torture. I'll only leave you here for three days. If you survive, then I really will let you go and may even pretend this didn't happen," her words sent s.h.i.+vers down his spine.

It may sound nice. But Nicholas wasn't that stupid, three days? Three whole days in this place? He will die in less than a day. Nicholas knew he wouldn't be able to survive the harsh conditions. Before he could say another word though, he felt the ire presence directly behind him.

"Noo!" he looked over at the Queen once again.

"Goodbye for now Elder Nicholas, I shall see you in three days."

____________________________________________________________

Three days later.

By the end of those three days, the man named Nicholas vanished from the face of the planet. Not even his bones remained in the place where he last was and only stains of blood from the last few days. From the bloodstains and the blood screams heard from this area, Lyn knew he suffered a slow and painful death. She checked on the situation through her magic two hours after she left.

From the first few hours, they tore him limb from limb, but slowly. They ate away at his flesh and blood on the second day while he was on the verge of dying.

Lyn brought her wolves back to the surface and patted them as she brought out some good meat.

"Thank you so much," she thanked them softly. They responded by curling at her leg.

Gabrielle, even if it's just one man - she got some form of revenge for you. In the past eldest brother was the one who dirtied his hands for her. No, even in the future he continued to do. This time around, she will do so.

A Queen, a ruler what is it?

Is it somebody who is benevolent and acts like a saint all the time? That's impossible. Lyn may have grown up naive and clueless about the rest of the world. But it didn't mean she was innocent. She knew better than to treat those who showed her disrespect with kindness. It's a waste of time after all.

Lyn took one last glance at the hole and turned away.

She felt satisfied, but this isn't enough. He isn't the main one who orchestrated this after all. She has to search for Gabrielle's parents, that's why she came here to this town.