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nIt was pretty late in the night when Bianca, drunk on wine, staggered a little. She had joined a group of dancing women who urged her to dance with them. Brantley had gone to see the guests whom he had called from across the Lore. Although she knew that she should have accompanied him, she was too drunk to even think of meeting them. So he had made sure that she was sitting with a group where there was not a single man and then gone to meet the guests. Forgetting the tension that arose because of the reduced number of grain sacks, forgetting the tension that came with arranging Samobian, Bianca just wanted to let her hair down.

nAs she watched the women getting tired and almost slumping off to sleep on the grass, even she wanted to drift off in a stress-free sleep. She got up to relieve herself and sauntered to one of the tents that were made for the purpose. As she walked to the tents, which were fixed in a line one after the other, she looked at the darkness beyond them, towards the thick line of trees just below the hills. It was… strange.

nBut what would you expect on a moonless night? She walked to the first one. As she opened the flap, a tangible feeling of something going around at the back of the tents that wasn't all good, crept under her skin. She couldn't understand what the feeling was or what it even signified, but it was there. She took a deep breath and then walked in. A low and deep growl came from a distance. Bianca's heartbeat increased. She finished off the job and came out of the tent as soon as possible. Seeing that most of the women around her were already sleeping, she looked around to find Brantley. When she couldn't see him, she sat down beside a woman. The chill of the air reduced a little with a warm body near her, but she still shivered. She was about to roll on the ground when she was scooped up in the air. Alarmed as hell, her eyes flew open.

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"This is not your place to sleep,

" he said tenderly.

nRelieved, she snuggled in his chest and he walked into their room through a portal.

nAnother two days passed and this time Bianca used all the grains, which came from Wilyra. She had gone to check the remaining stocks in the makeshift stores. The ones which had collapsed were still being built. Brantley wasn't using his magic on it for god-knows what reason.

nOn the evening of the fifth day, Tymir watched her from a distance. She came out with worried expressions and it made him feel good. He smirked. Who the hell she was messing with? He had been the store manager for thousands of years and now this little girl who had just come a few days back was trying to overtake his power? He clenched his jaw.

"Let's see what you serve them tomorrow, my queen,

" he muttered under his breath.

"And let's see if you survive tomorrow.

" Once she left the stores, he waited for a while for all others to leave and then walked inside the stores. Very little grains were left. He chuckled and then left, closing the main door behind him.

nBianca was sitting on the bed of her chamber, feeling low.

"I hope mommy comes tomorrow,

" she said in a sad voice.

"I want her to come just once.

"

nBrantley gave her a glass of water and sat down beside her.

"Do you want me to go and ask her again?

" he asked, stroking her hair and back gently.

nShe leaned into his touch and shook her head.

"No… I don't want to force her…

"

nA knock on the door disturbed their conversation.

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"Come in!

" said Brantley.

nThe door opened and Arnik's head popped in.

"There is fire in the makeshift stores. Almost all the grain sacks are burnt.

"

nBianca shot up to her feet. She rushed to the spot with Brantley on the heels.

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"Oh my God!

" she said as she watched red flames, as tall as two stories high, billowing up in the air against the black sky. Smoke marred with embers flew over them and spread around. Small blasts could be heard on the inside. Men and women were trying to douse the fire with small buckets that they were getting from the kitchen or the garden or wherever possible. She gulped and looked at Brantley. His skin was glowing red in the reflection of the flames and it emulated his mood. His jaws were clenched and every muscle was corded with tension.

nBrantley walked towards the stores. He raised his hands up in the air, closed his eyes and chanted an ancient language. The gray clouds that were floating above in the sky, gathered over the makeshift stores and poured their water over it like a bucket of water falling from heaven. It took half an hour for the fire to extinguish, and all that while the king and queen stood there.

nNext day in the morning there was unusual quietness in the palace. As Tymir walked in the main hall, he watched the servants murmuring something amongst themselves.

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"What will the queen do now?

"

n

"It had been really unfortunate.

"

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"We have lost every stack of grains.

"

n

"This is such a bad omen.

"

n

"Do you think the king could do something?

"

n

"Or maybe, she should ask her rich parents to send food for the people here.

"

nHis lips tugged up. He clasped his hands at the back and walked with confidence. He was about to present the perfect solution to the king. Not only that, last night after the vampire king fed on his slaves and was satisfied that they were safely tucked in the dungeon, he had let the two neotides out once again. They hadn't been able to finish the job the last time, but this time they were sure they would. He chuckled slightly when he remembered how one of them, Azura, was dying to kill her. He was a neotide and a turned vampire. He was feeding off the other neotide in the prison, Jason. Jason's condition was pathetic. Tymir shrugged. It wasn't for him to think about it. All he would do is release them and then dust his hands off.

nWhen he reached the kitchen, he saw strained faces of the head cook and other servants and a wide smile came inadvertently on his lips. He picked up a carrot and said,

"I heard that the fire destroyed the rest of the stocks.

"

nThe head cook whipped his head in Tymir's direction.

"Oh! Are you joining today?

"

nTymir nodded.

"Yes.

" He steered the conversation back.

"What is going to happen now?

"

nThe head cook stopped chopping meat and sighed.

"I hope we find a way…

" Saying that he started chopping the meat again.

nGiving sad looks, Tymir walked out of there.

"I have to talk to the king about it.

" Saying that he ambled out of the kitchen. When he reached their chamber, Holly informed him that they had gone to join the festivities. He laughed on the inside imagining how shame-faced Brantley would be because of Bianca.

nWhen he reached, there was no table laden with food. Everything was removed. Grinning with satisfaction, he crested a hill to go to the royal couple's tent. Reaching Brantley as fast as possible, he bowed and said,

"I am so sorry, Your Highness about this whole situation, but I have a solution.

" He ignored Bianca.

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