CHAPTER 19

The leader of the Crescent moon, Lucas, looked at the supreme leader of the witches, her holiness, in shock. His mind processed the thought that he had just heard her say and he wondered if he hadn't misheard the woman. How was he, a lowly leader of the Crescent moon tribe, be betrothed to a woman as high and mighty as her Holiness? It couldn't be, he thought.
A mere werewolf like him was nothing if they were being compared. Her Holiness was a woman of high caliber and the leader of all the witches that ever existed in the world. One order from her and even him would be butting heads with other lowly servants to get her wish done. The only person that Lucas was sure was higher in position than queen Jezebel was the moon.
Her Holiness was someone who even had the privilege to see the moon goddess, even if it was ten times in a day. For someone like him who was only a leader of a small tribe, the only times that he had the chance to see the moon goddess was when there was a meeting for the leaders of the seven tribes and he needed to be there for it or he would end up getting punished.
If he wasn't back at his clan soon, the people of the tribe would begin to worry for her safety. Since he hadn't told anyone where he was going (at least not the whole tribe), they might think that he had gotten involved in the fight for the supernatural tree and might travel to the other tribes to join in the conflict. It would even be worse if his people thought that he had been held down as a hostage in exchange for the mystical tree.
The quest of the members of the Crescent moon tribe to save their leader would lead to another fight and his people would lose their lives. Or the war could move over from the current tribes that were already at war to his land. The attack would make him lose almost all the people of his kingdom given how powerful the witches were, combined with the werewolves. Then, what is the essence of him coming to her Holiness and getting trapped in a marriage to her?
So, Lucas was sure that either the woman was drunk or she was hallucinating from the effect of casting a spell recently. Otherwise, why would she say such a thing? Even to someone like him was the main cause for concern that he had about the whole thing. It could even Queen Jezebel thought he was a joke and it would be easy to play him or she just wanted to use him as a toy; a toy she would discard when she was tired of him.
"No, I'm not playing with you and I'm not using you as my toy."
Her Holiness replied to him suddenly and Lucas looked up. When the woman grinned at him, he nearly cursed himself. How could he have forgotten that she could listen to even his thoughts?
"I can even see the future." She said and held his hand. "What I saw about us was that we lived together until we were well struck in age." She finished in her melodious voice that made his heart beat erratically.
He didn't bother to remove his hand from hers, knowing that she could already feel his anxiety. He looked directly into her green eyes and she smiled assuredly at him. He shrugged as he thought about it again.
If he got married to her, then, they could have a lot of beautiful moments together. They could give birth to maybe a baby or two if the supreme commander if the witches wanted and the babies would be beautiful just as their mother is. Also, his people would be under the protection of the supreme commander and if ever another war breaks out among the tribes again, no one would dare to touch his people since they would all be afraid of queen Jezebel.
But he still needed assurance from her Holiness. If he wanted to remain with her at her palace, the woman would have to assure him that his people would be fully under her protection. She would have to promise him that no matter what happened, she would never forsake his people.
"Do you ever think about yourself? Why are you always thinking about your people first? Why do you weigh your options and only go with the ones that only benefit your kingdom?" Her Holiness asked him, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Lucas knew that she could always find out why he did those things she accused him of without having to ask him. All she had to do was to look deeply within his soul and she would see even beyond what he himself didn't know existed in his mind. So, he was grateful to her for choosing to ask him the question instead of abusing her powers.
"That's what a good leader should do, queen Jezebel. A good leader would think about his people before he thinks about himself as that is why he or she was chosen to be a leader in the first instance," Lucas answered with a slight bow of his head.
"So, what do you think about what I proposed?" Her Holiness asked and she squeezed his hand that she still held in hers.
Lucas removed his hand from hers and he immediately noticed how her eyes fell. He smiled to himself and took her hand back into his left hand. He used the middle of his right hand and began to caress the back of her hand that he held. He saw her close her eyes as she basked in the pleasure he was making her feel. He could learn to love her, Lucas thought to himself.
"Queen Jezebel?" He called after a minute of caressing her and she answered with a soft moan. "I need reassurance about my people if we are going to be together." He told her his request.
He paused in the action he was performing for her hand and waited for her answer.
"I already planned to return with you to your tribe and reprimand my people." She assured him.
"In that case, queen Jezebel, I'll gladly get married to you." The Crescent leader told her his final decision.
Her Holiness chuckled loudly.
"Are you sure it's not because you want to finish this in the bedroom?" She asked with a mischievous smile and lifted their hands that were still intertwined.
"Maybe that too," Lucas answered with a wink and he watched in amusement as the queen blushed in response.
"Wow! I didn't know the Almighty queen Jezebel blushes." He teased her again.
Her Holiness lifted her head and looked at him in a fit of pretentious anger.
"You dare to tease me? Her Holiness? Aren't you afraid that I would turn you into an animal with my dark power?" She asked.
"I'm already an animal, my dear queen Jezebel," Lucas reminded her.
"I know. But that wouldn't stop me from turning you into another animal again. Permanently this time." She retorted back to him.
"Then, could you turn me into a cat? So I can always be cuddled by you? I've always been jealous of those species of animal, you know." The Crescent leader said in such a serious voice that her Holiness gasped in shock and stood up instantly from where she sat.
"I was only joking, Lucas. I won't truly turn you into an animal." She told him.
Lucas nearly laughed at her naiveness. He wondered how she became her Holiness of the witches' clan knowing how people fought for the position. True, she and her sister who had died mysteriously for a while now were the only witches with the dark powers back then when a new queen was needed but he still couldn't comprehend how no one including her sister contended the throne with her. He was sure that if any of the witches had, the woman before him would not have ended up as the queen given how gentle she was.
"My sister was supposed to be the queen but at the time, she fell in love with a man and decided to pass the throne to me. She helped me secure the throne before she left." Her Holiness explained.
Lucas realized that he would never be able to have his thoughts to himself ever again after he was married to the queen.
"I won't eavesdrop on your thoughts from now on if it makes you uncomfortable. But there are times that I won't be able to control the urge, so I hope you don't mind those days." She said in a small voice.
Lucas shrugged it off like it was nothing.
"Tell me how your sister died." He asked her instead.
"Someone killed her to get her dark powers but the person hadn't expected that my sister had already peeked into the future and had seen how her end would come. She had also seen how evil the person would be with the power, so my sister first transferred half of her powers to a young girl she saved from death." She explained.
Lucas became interested in the topic some more. It was beginning to be clear to him that not just one of the sisters but both of them were too kind and generous.
"What happened after that?" He asked in a gentle tone.
"After a while when the young girl's body was adapted to the energy the dark powers give, my sister transferred the rest of her power to the girl while she was sleeping. Two days after that, my sister died in the hands of the person who wanted her powers." Queen Jezebel answered and shivered.
"Where is the girl and why was she chosen?" Lucas asked.
"I don't know where she is now and I can't find out because my sister concealed the girl's aura to make it hard for anyone to find her. Unless she is standing in front of you, one can't find her again." She explained to him.
Lucas nodded her head to show that he understood what she was talking about.
"My sister chose her after she traveled to the future. She told me that the girl would restore peace to the earth if she didn't let anger rule her." She continued.
"I think I've heard enough for a day," Lucas said when he detected a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Aye, aye, captain." She said.
"So, does that mean you will turn me into a cat like I asked, queen Jezebel?" He asked her again.
"Don't call me queen again or even Her Holiness, please. I want just my name." She told him.
"Okay, Jezebel." He conceded.
He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Lucas brought his mouth low to her left ear and after he blew a light air in it, he whispered to her.
"How about we start making babies even now?"
Jezebel sputtered in his arms and tried to free herself but Lucas held on to her firmly.
"Let go of me!" She half-screamed at him.
He obliged her and she scrambled away from him the moment she was free. Lucas let out a hearty laugh at the way she had behaved.
"What were you thinking we would be doing when you proposed marriage?" He asked her when he finally calmed down.
"You are nothing but a molester." She said and pointed an accusing finger at him.
"Don't worry, I promise I won't hurt her Holiness when we are together. I'll be sure to go easy on you and treat you like the egg that you are." He said in such an innocent voice that even he was surprised if the voice was his.
"I am not sleeping with you." Queen Jezebel huffed at him.
"You would want to, I promise." He said to her in a serious voice this time.
"I could just make you impotent." She told him in a serious tone too.
When his eyes rounded in shock, she laughed at him and Lucas realized that he had fallen for her trick.
"Serves you right." She said and tapped his chest twice with a finger. She walked to the door, leaving him still reeling over himself.
"Where are you going?" He asked her.
"Don't you want to save the werewolves tribes and the witches' clan from eradicating themselves from the supernatural beings that exist?" She asked him, then she went out the door.
"Aye, aye, captain. I understand." He told her retreating figure in a mocking voice and rushed out after her.