You are the one, saving me.

Blue's POV

"I found them, Blue." I heard Wilder say, grinning from ear to ear, and oozing with so much pride and enthusiasm.

Not that I was bothered about the army, but I knew we had to do something about them. We have to play this game of chess properly, or we will be kicked right out of it.

"Okay. Give me some minutes to think of the next step." I uttered.

And as if I had said something completely bad, I watched as Wilder's enthusiastic expression sank at once. He suddenly looked confused. Like there was something about this situation he wanted me to address. Something I was not doing.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Er, think? I thought we were just supposed to like kill them all, to avoid them being a threat to us later. Then maybe we can keep about two or three alive to tell the tale of their survival to the rest." He paused and walked towards me.

It was a bad time to flirt, but the way his eyes stared into the depths of my soul made me shiver in excitement. I wanted to just forget about what was going on and plunge myself into his arms, to feel his whole body in mine. But Blue, this isn't the right time. So, I took a step back, and turned, barely saving myself from the temptation.

"That is not a perfect plan, Wilder. The villagers will never believe that you knew nothing about the tax if you simply finish them off. The Lords will simply deny their involvement in all of this. We need something more tangible. Something they cannot question."

"And what will that be?"

I let silence parade through the little distance between both of us. The suspense rose as Wilder kept staring at me intensely, wondering what big plan was going on in my head. I bit my lips softly, then I smiled.

"Let's bring them into the pack."

It was almost as if I had just dropped a bombshell that scattered across Wilder's body, his jaw dropped, meaning he was not expecting that suggestion. Or at least, he didn't think I was that crazy.

He tried to say something, but for some reason which could have possibly been his surprise, the words didn't come out. He tried again, and this time it dragged itself out of his throat like an exclamation.

"What?! That will start a bloody war!"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course, I do." He responded, maintaining his confident demeanor all over again.

"Then take me to the guards."

"Blue, there are thousands of men. How do you intend to get them into the pack exactly? With words? What will make them follow you right into the Night Shade pack? Let's not test our luck. Let's kill them and end it all."

"Wilder?"

"Yes?"

"Take me to them. Let me sort out the rest."

He paused to look at me again, shook his head and shrugged. It was hard to trust that I was not walking myself into a trap, but he trusted me anyway. And as he held my hand with such tenderness, I could see it. I could see how he wouldn't allow any harm near me.

"But before we leave... Rose and Sarah, I have a job for both of you." I said to them, "Gather the pack members, every one of them in the town square."

"I don't know what it is you plan to do. But... yes your highness." Sarah and Rose bowed, then left.

"Okay, we can go now." I grinned at Wilder, and in a flash, the environment started to move in circles. I watched as the place fell apart like small pieces of squares. When it all fell back into place, I looked across and realized that we had teleported to the warriors.

"Okay." I muttered lowly to myself.

"We are here, Blue. Now what can you do?" He said, his hand still on mine.

I let out a mischievous smirk.

"You know, most people always think my power is meant for destruction alone. Burn things, eat souls, but no. There is one more special thing my power can do...and it is to control people against their will." I grinned. "Because I have the power to eat souls, it gives me the ability to control a soul too. Or should I say...souls?"

Almost immediately as these words came out of my mouth, I bent low and touched the ground. A long line of blue flames emerged out of my fingers and into the camp, seeping across every part of the soldiers like liquid.

Wilder stared at the camp glowing in blue flames with wild amazement. In a minute, we started to hear the sounds of foots marching aggressively from the camp right into the pack. They passed us like we were invisible to them.

I spoke to my flames, guiding it on where it should guide the warriors to... The town square.

"Wow. And I thought I was the only one powerful around here." Wilder pouted.

"Well, you thought."

"Now, we wait for a few minutes... just to make sure the entire pack is in the town square, then we make our entrance. So first, let's get ready."

Wilder held my hand, then teleported me back to the palace. With the help of a few maids, I got dressed in the most majestic dress I have ever set my eyes on, one that displayed my regality.

*******

"I now call to the altar, The five Lords of Nightshade pack." I voiced, sitting on my throne like a proper queen would, while staring at the Lords situated at my left-hand side.

"This is humiliating. You cannot call us to the altar. We are nobles!" Lord Alfred roared, his eyes glaring at me with defiance.

Murmurs of approval rose from the crowd in front of us, as they seemed to agree that the Lords, who are nobles, should not stand at an altar made for criminals on trial.

"I don't care what you think, Lord Alfred, or what the other Lords think. But you will do as my queen has commanded. Or... I will lose it and splutter your blood across that very altar."

A gasp of astonishment rose up from the crowd, in disbelief of how cruel the king was.

"Take the king's words seriously, for I am the only one standing between every one of you, and your death." I smiled at them warmly.

It was Lord Cecil first who stood up from his chair, then Lord Conrad and Lord Ansel followed suit.

Lord Alfred glared at me in spite, then also stood up, while Lord Marcus followed his lead immediately.

"What the hell is this treason? Why are we being treated like worthless animals? Is this what you people want? Watching your Lords get overthrown by a dictatorial king who does not have the interest of the people nightshade pack in mind?" Lord Marcus barked at the crowd the moment he got on the altar.

I chuckled. I knew this was how it was going to play out. They were definitely going to deny having any hand in the pack members' plights.

I stood up from the throne, and addressed the people... "People of Night Shade pack. I was recently aware of the sufferings you all face because of the taxes you paid. Nobody who has any humanity at all would ask anyone to pay 90% of their hard-earned income. I took it upon myself to look into it. And contrary to how many of you believe the king is behind this..." I paused. "I'm sad to tell you that these same Lords you all shower praises on, are behind every single tax you have paid. The king never received any of them."

A murmur broke out amongst the people.

"LIES!! LIES!! ALL LIES!!!" Lord Conrad shouted, pointing at me.

I was about ignoring the maniac lord when I realized Wilder was no longer seated on his throne, instead... he was now standing before Lord Conrad, his fingers around his neck... "One more word from you, and I will really not be able to hold my monster back." He threatened, in a horse voice... one I was sure the people couldn't hear.

Following his threat, I received no interruptions from the Lords, so Wilder returned to his throne... and I continued.

"When the king ascended the throne, he appointed these people because he was afraid that he wouldn't do a good job as the king for his people. But these same Lords he appointed are the vile, corrupt animals turning you against the king. He had always had your best interest at heart."

Another round of murmurs broke out.

"They never liked the king from the onset, even though he was the one who gave them power. They wanted a king that they could control. So they milked every one of you off your income to raise this army you see in front of you today. Or, think about it yourselves. Would the king have raised an army against himself?"

"That's true..." One of the villagers shouted from the distance, and the rest of the villagers nodded in agreement.

"She is lying. How would anyone who just got here know about our village system? Don't believe her. It's a conspiracy." Another person from the crowd yelled.

"Well then. Bring the ledger."

One of the guards rushed to me immediately, handing me the book. I flung the pages open and showed it to the people – the whole details of the taxes they had been paying all along.

"These are your taxes, people. However, ask your Lords why the king's storage room is empty. If all of these things belong to the king, why are they not in his storage room?" I watched as the people exchanged thoughts among themselves. I decided to be even more sensational and walked to Lord Conrad. "Why, Conrad?"

"Ermm..."

"Exactly what I thought," I said, facing the villagers once again. "These people do not have your interest at heart. But the choice is yours. Do you choose to believe them or do you choose to believe the king?"

"THE KING!" They shouted all at once.

I smiled at the people of Nightshade, glad they could see reasons with me.

"Your turn, Wilder Reagan." I muttered, walking over to Wilder, I stood before him and gazed at him with tears in my eyes. "You are no longer that man who only wanted revenge, you are now a King. You are the King of Nightshade pack, so act like it."

"Thank you, Blue. Thank you." He kissed me lightly on the cheek, then walked to the front, standing with gallantry before the people.

"I am glad that we could bring the truth into light. And so... by the power vested in me as the king, I hereby remove each of the lords from their positions. They would no longer be regarded as nobles. Then for the tax..." he paused while the people listened in earnest to what Wilder was going to say as regards the tax. As if to further create the tension, he cleared his throat.

"As for the tax, I hereby reduce it to 10% from the 90% that was already in place."

The villagers barely allowed him to complete his sentence before they exclaimed in excitement, howling with bubbles in their stomachs. Wilder raised his hand, and they all brought the noise to a standstill at once.

"To compensate you for all the huge taxes you have paid all along, no one, not even a single person, will pay any form of tax for the next six months. The payment of 10 percent taxes will begin after six months."

Another round of noise came up again. This time around, it wasn't just any random noise. It was my name in their mouths. My name and Wilder's.

"All hail Queen Blue! All hail King Wilder!"

Wilder walked back to me with an earnest grin on his lips, he took me into his arms... hugging me tightly.

"We did it." I whispered tearfully to him, wrapping my hand around his torso.

"No, you did it, Blue." He murmured, breaking the hug and gazing affectionately into my eyes. "I thought I saved you, Blue. But I was wrong, you are the one... saving me."