The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Calhoun, who had left Harris' residence, walked in the town's streets with his hood on his head covering most of his face that left a shadow that hid his face. The time of dusk was near, and the streets had turned busy as people were hustling back to their respective homes.

The town wasn't too far away from where the High House was, and this town was where one of the headquarters was located to hold meetings. He had moved Madeline's parents here not because there was a harmony between the vampires and humans, but also because this was where the head of the High House, Helena lived.

He continued to walk until he came to stand in front of an old building made of square red bricks. As he walked towards the door where two men stood guarding it, a small black card slid into his hand, and he raised it in front of him. One of the guards hand reached out to open the door, but Calhoun didn't need it as he walked past the door. He entered a dark walled room that was lit with torches of fire on the walls.

A man with two horns on his head appeared from the corner of the room. An average person wouldn't be able to see the horns, but Calhoun had been able to see it since the very first time he had been here. The demon had droopy eyes, and his expression looked bored.

"King Calhoun, shall I take your coat?" requested the demon, his head in a deep bow while he waited for Calhoun to speak.

Calhoun only raised his hands, and the demon stepped behind him to remove the coat off his shoulders.

"Who has arrived, Miser?" asked Calhoun

The demon folded the coat, placing it on his arm, "The ministers, some of the magistrates, the usual High House members, and some of the Kings, King Calhoun." The demon kept his head bowed without raising it.

"Hm," responded Calhoun. Without sparing more words, he made his way through the passage between the brick walls, his footsteps quiet on the floor.

When he finally reached the double doors, this time he waited for it to be opened by the men who stood outside, and once the doors were opened, he was welcomed by the chatter of men and women. He caught sight of people whom he already knew and had met in the past.

"King Calhoun, it is good to see you here," greeted Helena, her voice held little to no enthusiasm in it.

"I was hoping you would be," replied Calhoun with a broad smile, and he walked around the table, hearing the people who were sitting at the round table while most of them had decided to stay quiet and watch him. "How is everyone doing?" he questioned them.

One of the women in the room said, "We are doing well, King Calhoun. We heard the news about your father and grandmother returning from the dead. Is that true?"

"I heard those rumours too," said another person who was in the room, "How strange to be hearing that people are coming back from the dead. Do you think it is a witch's work?"

"One of my men was in the village, and said he saw them," said the woman who had raised the question, "It seems the two people looked just like King Laurence and the previous Queen Morganna, did you perhaps find a body double to humiliate them in public?"

Calhoun looked at the woman who had dark eyebrows, and her black hair had been tied at the back of her head. A human who always had too much curiosity, and if she weren't the Queen of the neighbouring land, it would have been easier to snap her head.

"What do you think, Lady Amoura? You were thick as thieves, you should know the answer to it, unless you are someone who likes to gossip," stated Calhoun with a smile on his face. In the High House, some members were once loyal to his grandmother, and those same people had tried to throw him off the throne.

The woman named Amoura was in her late forties, and she stared at the vampire, "Are you trying to imply something, King Calhoun?"

"I don't know about me, but I would like to ask you the same question," the smile on Calhoun's lips broadened.

"Gallahanger," Helena called the man who was standing near the wall. She had raised her hand, and she said, "Get everyone something to eat and drink so that their mouths can be quiet for some time."

Hearing this, Lady Amoura turned offended, and even though she was the Queen, she couldn't retort back to Helena as Helena was not any person but the Head of the High House, someone with immense authority as Amoura herself.

Calhoun lightly chuckled, and he made himself comfortable on the cushioned chair at the table. Helena's hand reached out for her pocket watch, and she flipped it open to see the time.

"It seems like there are some people who aren't here in the room-" started Helena and at the same time, the doors of the room opened, and in entered a man who had ruffled brown hair and his gaze narrowed on seeing the people in the room. He offered a small bow to Helena,

"My apologies for being late. I was held back with an urgent matter," said the man.

One of the men at the table, remarked, "Was it the herd of sheep that had blocked your path?"

"He must have been distracted with the amount of food in front of him," snickered another person.

The man's eyes turned golden yellow as he stared at the two people. The room suddenly turned hostile, and the two people who had commented turned alert as if they were readying to fight the man who had entered the room.

"I don't bother with the food on my path when I know there are full-grown people here who can be eaten," answered the man, his eyes continuing to glow.

"Lady Helena, this man is threatening to kill us! I don't even know how he can even hold the title with such brazen behaviour," said the man who had commented about the sheep.

Helena rubbed her forehead, trying to keep her patience that was running thin because of the people in the room. She had tried to postpone this meeting with everyone in one room because she knew how people behaved with one another. Most of them didn't get along, and they were usually set on throwing mud on each other.

"And who do you think instigated it?" Amoura questioned back, crossing her hands across her chest.

"At least it is confirmed that every person in this room has brains," murmured Calhoun and the woman's eyes flared.

"How dare you disrespect-"

Helena finally snapped, "That's enough! This is not the way the leaders of the lands behave with one another. And Mr. Turner, refrain from using degrading remarks, else I will personally offer you as food to someone," her red eyes brightened, and Mr. Turner, who had opened his mouth to speak back, closed his mouth immediately.

"My apologies," Mr. Turner bowed his head and felt the humiliation as people stared at him. When Helena turned her eyes away, Mr. Turner glared at the person.

Calhoun, who sat with his back leaning against the chair, observed what just happened, and the smile continued to stay on his face in amusement.

"King Sebastian," Helena addressed the man who had walked through the doors a while ago. "If you would please join us," she had lifted her hand towards the empty seat at the table. Though Mr. Turner had apologized, everyone knew how insincere his apology was, and Sebastian took one step towards Mr. Turner making him gulp in his seat before he walked to the other side and sat down.

Helena tapped the quil's tipl on the table, "Everyone must be wondering why all of you have been called here today. We have some critical issues that need to be discussed. There are some known matters in the room, but we believe it would be good to be transparent now, considering the situation that happened recently," Helena's red eyes looked at the people who were seated at the table. "I would like to start with the werewolves' situation, King Sebastian," she addressed the man.

The High House head continued, "There have been recent sightings of werewolves who roam out of your land, and they roam upon the other lands killing people, especially the ones in Devon."

The man named Sebastian stared at the blonde vampiress, "I handle and take care of what happens in my land, Lady Helena, not the ones that walk in the other lands. You should know how infectious the werewolf bites are. There are too many rogues that hide and don't get caught until the very end."

Helena watched Sebastian through her monocle, "I thought when we signed the treaty, it meant you would regulate the existence of werewolves in all the lands."

"That would be possible only if I had the authority, Lady Helena. You should speak to the Queen of the damned, maybe she will give you the insights of how she didn't want me or any of my men stepping on her land," responded Sebastian, and he received a glare from Amoura.

"Do not call me the Queen of damned, unless you want to die," threatened Amoura.

"What's the meaning of this?" questioned Helena, and Amoura rolled her eyes slightly before raising both her eyebrows.

Amoura clicked her tongue, "The man who comes from the land of Warrings was causing an unnecessary ruckus. Therefore, I did what I thought to be fit. He killed my men!"

"She sent them after me. What did you expect?" replied Sebastian, "I was only returning her the favour. There were rogue werewolves on her land, and she refused to have me or my men there as if she was protecting them."

The Queen's eyes flared, and she glared, "How dare you accuse me about it!"

Calhoun chuckled. "Seems like no one here gets along, not that I have any issue, but if we could continue than waste time on bickering," remarked Calhoun.

Looking at Helena, Calhoun said, "If I may speak. There have been a few problematic situations because of the rogue werewolves, and their numbers have been increasing. And I do agree with King Sebastian. He is not some type of angel to appear everywhere and kill the rogues. The situation can be handled only by the respective rulers of the land."

Hearing the word angel, Helena narrowed her eyes. "And what do you propose?" questioned Helena.

"Let the Kings and the Queen handle it. We are after all responsible for the safety of our lands. Last time, there was a slip, but we did capture the rogue werewolves. It has been a while since that outbreak," stated Calhoun in a calm tone, "I think there are other pressing matters apart from the werewolves." His eyes went back to look at Helena whose lips were set in a thin line.

The last time when they had met, Helena wasn't pleased to speak about angels and demons' existence, and Calhoun was aware that the vampiress believed in keeping it as a secret. But it was high time people were aware of other creatures' existence and to know where to draw a line between the lower and the higher beings.

Every person's eyes fell on the head of the High House who was quiet for a few seconds before she said, "There is some things that many are not aware, and we would like everyone to know about the existence of some creatures, who live among us like any other creatures be it humans, vampires or werewolves," Helena's words were enough to catch the attention of the people in the room. "There are demons and angels who walk in the living world."

Suddenly, the quiet room broke into a chatter with people questioning it with a look of disbelief on their faces.