Chapter 123: Celebration Of The Fall

Adolph was sure that his head would be ringing for at least a few days after the celebration ended. He’d sent the fastest riders out to every pack to announce the official fall of the vampire queen. As far as he knew, the entire country had broken out in celebration. The men who had fallen in the last battle were lauded as national heroes in their packs and Adolph’s heart.
He would add them to the list of people to be given title and status posthumously.
While the entire nation celebrated, he still wasn’t sure what to do with the vampire territory. The news from the border said that there had been no suspicious activity and no signs of the castle, meaning that both Annwn and the vampire queen’s castle maintained their protections despite the death of Morrigan and Eden. He didn’t know what that meant, but until they found a way around it, they would need to be cautious.
He wrote out an order to advance the order a few miles towards cliffs overlooking the sea every week. He would be sending more men to fill out the border patrols to every border village and the border camp. Hopefully, they wouldn’t run into too many wayward vampires still loyal to the vampire queen, but if they did they would have enough warriors to deal with them.
As for the rogues, he made sure to tell them to round up anyone they found. As he finished writing the order, he stopped.
What about Delia’s family? Did she have any?
He thought to ask Basil, but he was busy drowning his sorrows. He stood and went in search of his newest daughter-in-law.
“Your Majesty?”
He smiled at the guard, “Good to see you. Have you seen Delia?”
“She is… likely with Lady Helena, they use the parlor in the east wing for her lessons.”
He wasn’t surprised. Helena had always used that parlor.
“If you see Chasel, tell him to pull my son out of the bottle he’s crawled into.”
The man gasped but nodded shakily. Adolph headed towards the east wing. The path was familiar and he chuckled. Maybe he should stop by the other parlor to see Laurel while she was training with Sam. She’d been insistent that she pick it back up just in case and Adolph was hard-pressed to deny her that much.
Besides, as soon as he was done, he would cart her beautiful little form back to their rooms to restart their honeymoon properly.
He arrived at the door of the parlor and knocked, waiting to be allowed entry.
“Come in,” Helena’s voice came through the door. He entered and looked at Helena looking frustrated across the room. “Your Majesty, a pleasure.”
“Forgive my interruption,” Adolph said before turning to look at Delia. “I’ll need to borrow Delia for a bit.”
She froze, her eyes wide and her face pale. She wrung her hands nervously before Helena gave her leave. Adolph led her to the parlor across the hall, ushering her in and calling for a bit of tea as he was sure this conversation would be difficult to have.
Delia was beside herself. Her stomach churned, but she did her best to sit across the short table from Adolph and try and figure out what was going on. Had he figured it out? Was he just guessing and about to ask her? Would she crack under his interrogation?
He seemed friendly enough, but the scent of blood that had always been in his scent seemed stronger now, blinding her senses to anything but impending terror.
A servant came in, casting a glance at Delia before smiling politely and setting a tray between them.
“Is there anything else I can get you, Your Majesty?”
“No, Evelyn,” she gasped, seeming stunned. He offered her a smile. “This is perfect. Thank you.”
She curtsied and escaped with a soft click of the door. Delia clasped her hands together, shrinking back against the couch as she tried not to fidget under his gaze.
“Help yourself, Delia,” Adolph said grabbing a roll and smearing jam on it.
At the least, the food wasn’t poisoned. Wouldn’t that be poignant justice for poisoning Laurel accidentally?
“You know that the vampire queen, but there are… intricacies related to that victory that concern you.”
“W-What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?”
Adolph eyed her stiff posture. It could be fear, she seemed truly terrified of him, but there was something else he couldn’t place about her. He pushed the thought aside.
“There is the matter of the werewolves that were known to have been on the borders, rogues and so on, that may have entered into the vampire nation. I am told that you were found on the border.”
Delia nodded, shakily, “Y-Yes.”
“If it is not too hard to speak about, how did you get there?”
She swallowed, trying to scrape together a recollection of the lie she’d told the knights who had found her. She remembered that she’d tried to keep it simple to make it easier to remember.
“My… family was attacked by rogues… I was lucky when Your Majesty’s soldiers found me.”
“What pack were you from?”
“I… didn’t have one.” She looked away. “I… grew up a rogue.”
“And your family?”
Her lips twitched thinking of them. They had told her for a long time that they descended from one of the great werewolf packs of old, one that was absorbed or destroyed while the Raymond pack forced the other packs under its banner.
They considered themselves old werewolf nobility and hated the werewolf kingdom with a passion.
“They… said they were from an old pack. One that doesn’t exist anymore, but I don’t remember which one.”
Adolph hummed, looked at his notes, “Would there be anyone in the vampire nation or even in the neutral territory who may know of you? Anyone you would consider family?”
“Not alive.”
“Friends?”
“No.”
Adolph found her answers strange and he sat back.
“How long… were you alone, Delia?”
Delia glanced at him, “I… A long time.”
Adolph narrowed his eyes, “Do you remember when you were separated from your parents?”
Delia closed her eyes as the memories flickered behind her eyelids. Of course, she remembered. She had been a little older than Laurel was when she came to the capital, hungry, half-starved, and desperate.
“My parents… wanted work,” she said, cleaning up the story a bit. “The humans weren’t receptive, and they attacked.”
She remembered the villagers shouting and threatening them to go away. She remembered the fight that broke out as she ran away from the scent of blood and the sounds of screams. Days later, she had come back to check, but there had been no sign of her parents or anyone else she knew.
The villagers hadn’t been there either and she presumed them dead.
Adolph eyed her, “Is there a chance that your parents are still alive?”
Delia grimaced, “I don’t think so.”
At least, she hoped not. They were a major liability to her new life.
Adolph took note to look into it, “What were their names?”
“Luke,” Delia flinched and sighed. “And Opal… Morton.”
Adolph took note, “Just in case, we’ll keep an eye out for them. If you think of anyone else, let me know.”
She nodded shakily as he stood, “I will take my leave now. Feel free to take your time and regain your bearings…”
She chanced a glance up as he offered her a small smirk, “I know how demanding Lady Helena can be.”
Delia nodded, shocked at the oddly kind expression. The scent of blood made it seem surreal as he left the room.
Adolph turned the conversation with Delia over in his mind. She’d been lying, his instincts told him so, but he couldn’t say exactly what she’d been lying about. Was it her parents or how they were separated?
He was no stranger to the terrible things that rogues did to survive. Perhaps her parents had been harassing a human village in a protection racket. It was a known tactic that Adolph had done his best to stomp out of existence within the border, but with every rogue that was banished from the packs, the more rogues that eventually ended up outside the werewolf kingdom, or floating around causing trouble.
He added the problem of rogues to
Anxiety churned her stomach. Had she said something that would come back to bite her? She’d never imagined her parents or their *pack* of rogues were still alive.
What if he did find them?
She grit her teeth. They would give her away. It had only been six years, her features hadn’t changed that much.
Goddess, how much more complicated could this be? His clear blue eyes were so piercing, she knew he knew she was lying, but she didn’t know if he would be able to figure out what she was lying about. Maybe someone among the captured werewolves had talked and that was what really sent him to come and find her.
Goddess, help her.