The Dragon Brothers
Chapter 43 - Queen Maeve

* The Castle at Drakor; The Capital of the Chromos * Lucian POV

Normally we allow guards to accompany the children to school in the city but today I decided to join them too. Angelus is still being very quiet and only using proper titles when addressing Viola. He still isn't willing to open up about this and that's fine but I will get to the bottom of this one way or another. Once they are finally safely inside the school I turn around and head for the training fields where I find Corporal Hoods. I walk up on him a little too casually. "Good morning Corporal Hoods."

"Good morning your majesty, general." Hoods bows his head.

I don't waste another second and I grab him by his throat and slam him against a tree. "I don't know what you said to my son but I intend to find out and in the meantime I highly suggest that you don't speak to, look at, or come near either of my children or you so help me God I will rip off your head and piss down your fucking throat." I drop him to the ground and leave. Hopefully, he gets the message.

When I return to the castle there are two messengers waiting for me with letters from two of my brothers concerning coordinated troll attacks and their belief Queen Maeve could possibly be behind the attacks. Also, I'm sending a third brother into action to rescue a kingdom from troll attacks. It's time to call a security meeting with the heads of states.

I stop for a minute and remember the days when Queen Maeve was just a free spirit princess and she loved to run and play with us. She was so in love with Cyprian and it was so obvious even though they tried to keep it secret. Cyprian is several years younger than I am so had left to train with the northern army and when I came back she had changed. Her parents had been murdered and she let bitterness and anger overtake her. I tried talking about it with Cyprian but he wouldn't hear of it as she was perfect in his eyes until it was so blatant not even he could deny it.

* The Castle at Arkala; The Capital of The Neopatras Kingdom *

Quentin POV

Our journey takes us to Arkala. The city has an interesting layout with high stone walls surrounding its borders and mountains surrounding the walls. A bridge leading to the castle nestled in the mountains and is the only known entrance to the castle. I feel good leaving Elena here while I ride off to face the trolls. There is no Queen of the castle so I feel bad leaving her here not knowing anyone but she gets along fine with most people so she should be okay.

When we get almost halfway to Snowbush Village we are met with a group of soldiers weary and worn with battle. "Where are your commanding officers?" I am concerned with the lack of a lieutenant or captain. "Dead. Lieutenant Browne and King Gregory are both dead." Says one young officer that has seen things in battle far beyond his years.

"Go back to the castle and refresh. You will be of no use to us on the battlefield if you are worn out and too tired to fight." I dismiss the small band of soldiers.

We continue on our way to Snowbush and when we arrive there are still soldiers fighting against trolls. The trolls have damaged buildings, burnt homes, and killed innocent people. The soldiers have killed most of the trolls and only a few are left so we can easily take those out. The soldiers that have been fighting are still fresh and tell us there is more fighting in the Village of Yarrin and in the Village of Penrith so we start off in that direction. But before we move they tell us of the inhumane strength the trolls seem to possess. I want to leave some soldiers at Snowbush for protection against trolls in case they come back. Then, I send a messenger with a letter to Lucian telling him of what I'm finding and that this is no ordinary troll problem, the trolls seem to be possessed, and I'm curious if Maeve isn't behind this. Then I change into my dragon form and take flight to the next village.

* Bredon: Capital City of the Salona Kingdom * Wolf POV

I haven't been back at the capital a full day when I get word of troll attacks in the villages. I leave one platoon at the castle and I take the rest with me. We hit Roselake, Emily's hometown, first her beloved bookstore was saved but the owner lay dead in the street and the seamstress shop that she worked at was burnt to the ground with Mrs Fishere in it. The tavern was still standing but severely damaged and the home that Emily used to share with her father was burned as well. It appears all of the trolls had left the village and were now destroying the manor. I'm not sure why but I found this to be slightly ironic and humorous thinking of Lord Garbg and how much he was into himself. The decision was simple: burn the manor to the ground and kill any trolls that were smart enough to try leaping through the windows. We did just that and surrounded the manor, lit it a blaze and started killing the trolls as they leapt from the windows. But I noticed the inhumane strength of the trolls. It wasn't natural, it was more like they were possessed by another force. We left soldiers at Roselake to go to the next village because even if they hadn't been attacked by trolls yet we wanted to leave soldiers there to protect them. I flew in dragon form in advance to scout the area and would kill any trolls I would see along the way. As I'm flying I see trolls hidden along the roadside hiding and waiting for people to pass by so they can assault them. This definitely has Maeve written all over it.

When we were younger she would tinker around with her magic and try to possess other creatures. Lucian and father didn't like it because they said it was black magic so she stopped doing it when they were around but she continued to grow her power whenever she could as she would only visit us during summers. The summer that Lucian went to the northern army she came to see us. She was so excited because she had learned how to possess and control trolls. Then her parents were murdered and she had to leave unexpectedly. She came back one more summer after that and she was a whole different person. She talked about having an army of trolls at her bidding but Lucian was home and he called it black witchcraft so she got mad and left. *Kingdom of Cait * Cyprian POV

After leaving a platoon at the castle Lieutenant Bigge and I set out to see the different villages and any that have been damaged by trolls. We leave armed and ready to be possibly attacked along the way. I decide to change into my dragon form and fly to scout the area as this will also allow me to swoop down and catch any trolls as long as they aren't hidden by trees or in a crowded area.

As I'm flying I let my thoughts wander. These troll attacks smell more and more like Maeve. She was once so beautiful. She black curly hair, fair skin, and emerald green eyes. She had the most elegant figure, tall, hourglass, and looked beautiful with her hair that went all the way down to her hips. We were young and in love without a care in the world. Lucian tried warning me that there was something wrong with her magic and that what she was dabbling in wasn't good. I remember he told me 'when you dance with the devil sometimes he dances back'. I didn't know what he meant at the time but I do now. After Maeve's parents were murdered she tried everything she knew to find the culprit but she never did. So, instead she became consumed with hatred, bitterness, and anger. Her feelings seeped out into her reign as Queen and nothing could grow on the land, all of the land dried up and stopped producing crops, the weather is perpetually grey and stormy, the sun never shines and the people live in fear of their queen. People that have rebelled against the queen are executed by being impaled and then displayed around the castle. Supposedly when you walk up to the castle you can hear the ground groaning for the deaths of so many.

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