Defenders of the Crown

IT WAS NOON the next day that another set of guards came to get them. From their uniform, Diana could tell they were of a higher ranking than the previous border guards.   She kept a strong yet painless grip on Rudolph's hand as they followed the guards along the dungeon. The guards led them out of the dungeon and into a large judgement hall.    Diana took note of the hall, taking note of all exit points should anything go wrong. She had heard of Vampire King Aiden and how ruthless he was.   And while he was not as unreasonable as the previous King, he was even more vicious.The judgement hall was long with numerous pillars.   It was a high roof styled house with tall windows on both sides. The King's council members sat on red vintage chairs lined up on five rows.   The guards led them to the King and tried to force them to kneel before Diana could take a look at the King.&n

DIANA KNEW SOMETHING was off the moment she woke up. She could cut the tension in the palace with her claws. She listened for any suspicious sounds besides Rudolph's snoring.    He slept soundly beside her with his small lips scrunched up in a tiny pout. She couldn't believe she let herself fall asleep, leaving them unprotected.    Not like Rudolph would have let her go another day without sleeping. She couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him for what he did, knowing that he did it because he was worried. Besides, she felt a lot better than she did the day before.    Standing to her feet, she stepped out of bed and sauntered to the window. From what she could see, it was already morning.   Why then didn't the King's guards come to get them? Or maybe they didn't.    No.    She hadn't known the King for long, but she saw him as the

DIANA HAD JUST about reached the limit of her tolerance. Although she hadn't spoken a word since she was led into the strategic planning room, she had better things to do than introduce herself.   Diana worked on marking spots on the map while the soldiers stared at her in disgust. Some made snarky comments even while knowing she heard every word.    Normally, she would have just ignored it but when a General snapped at Rudolph for correcting his map reading, Diana lost her calm.    "Gentleman, do we have a problem here?" She asked calmly, but she was anything but calm.    "Of course, we do, mutt!" A commander sneered. "You waltz in here like you own the place and don't even bother introducing yourself. What do we look like to you? Kids?"    She put down the marker and walked to the front of the room.   "First off, the name's Diana and not

THE NEXT DAY, the soldiers were out and ready and waiting for Diana at the arena. The King assigned three commanders to go with her. One was a commander of foot soldiers, the second was a commander of firearms and the third, of archery. Each commander had ten soldiers behind him making it a total of thirty soldiers. She was provided with six SUVs with the capacity of containing six soldiers each. Diana walked to the first SUV with Rudolph walking beside her. She had tried convincing him to stay back but it all fell on deaf ears. Shooting him a glare which he returned with a cheeky grin, she entered into the vehicle and felt Rudolph climbing up after her.  To think she would be used to it by now but she wasn't. She never wanted him to be anywhere close to danger but he went wherever she did, even if it was dangerous. Going to this facility was extremely important for Diana an

Diana THE KINGDOM WAS fuller than normal when they got back. Diana heard whispers about an attack but nothing too informing. Immediately, she gave the boy to Rudolph, who took him to their room to get cleaned and rested, then she went to the King, all bloodied and all. The information she had was one of urgency. She was told by one of the courtroom guards that the King was in a closed-door meeting with his officials. "It is important that the King hears what I have found out," she said calmly while pulling up her brown hair in a ponytail with the rubber band on her hand. She had earlier taken it out to be washed at the river and left it out to air dry. One thing she hated most was having dirty hair. "Miss, we can not let you in," the same guard told her, and she had the mind to knock him out and force her way when the door opened, and Richard walked out. "Let her in," Richard said simply before returning inside, and Diana followed him, and this time, she was not stopped.