Chapter 7  Kingdom of irem. part 1(Ch 37)

A man in his fifties walked over the red carpet leading to the throne. With elegant steps. graceful. confident. His straight back looked like a sharpened sword, and the cruelty of the world was etched into the wrinkles around his eyes that radiated power. He was giving the impression that he was a strong and noble man.




The man knelt under the throne in all reverence.




 




The man was wearing a luxurious blue jacket. The man was not human. He had the appearance of a human except that a pair of white, fox-like tails ran down his back. It was from the Race of Teles.




 -" did he go?!".




" Yes, Your Majesty." In response. The Queen burst into laughter as she tilted her head back. Her laughter echoed in her throne room like bells. The queen looked happy and radiant. Only that man. He looked at her sadly, seeing tears welling up in her eyes. 




- "Huh!" The Queen sighed heavily as if to expel the pain from her chest.




The Queen was sitting on her glass throne, the throne gleaming under the lights of the chandeliers above her head. 




Her beauty amazed the onlookers, as if the moon descended from the sky. She looked in her twenties. She is tall, graceful, and her body curves radiate perfect femininity. 




She wore a gold dress sprinkled with jewels like the stars in the night sky, and her silky silver hair hung from her shoulders and fell over her arms. And she had six white tails extending beyond her throne. As if she adorns her throne with her soft tails.




She puts on her head a crown of glass, in the center of which is a blue jewel, the color of her sad eyes, with long white eyelashes.




 in addition to. She was holding an oval golden scepter by the head.




 Her beautiful appearance was surrounded by an Aura of pride and wisdom.




"Really, The biggest calamities make you laugh".Thus  she said the queen of the kingdom of irem) Dunya Viktum Petrai irem ( and raised her eyes to the chandeliers that adorned her ceiling.




" Then? What are you going to do, Your Majesty?" 




"There's no one here, uncle, so you don't need to talk to me like that."




This man was her first counselor, who was responsible for her education, and her husband since childhood. In addition to royalty before her, Her late husband loves him as his father. That is why she did not like her counselor to call her by any title. At least in front of others.




 




"Then what are you going to do, my dear Dunya ?"




-"I don't know, uncle. I don't know anything... It's a new kind of war, a war of starvation, if you will."




 




 And came down from her throne, and her dress ripples above the steps of her throne. And she continued:




"I need some air... I'm suffocating."




She passed through her wide, gray stone-floored hall, pounding the heel of her sceptre to the ground. With every step she takes, her counselor follows her silently. 




They passed under huge scarlet curtains to stand on a balcony overlooking the city.




The Queen grabbed the edge of her white balcony with one hand, and took a deep breath of cold air in her lungs. I exhaled slowly. She lowered her eyes to see the city below.




 




She could see houses, horse-drawn carriages, people walking and children carrying things on their heads. Men and women walking while talking to each other. However, they looked tired and exhausted, dragging their feet as if they had chains in their ankles. And she looked to her right to see a snowy mountain range. It looked like a colossal fracture protects the city.




 




  She said in a sad voice:




-"They have also rejected the bastards. The bastards. They abandon us as if we were dead animals.."




 Then she gave the mountain an angry look and continued saying:




-"This mountain is nothing but a curse. If it was a natural mountain, we would dig for gold and precious stones, and we would be able to benefit from it in some way. And not only that. But it blocks the sea on us, as if it stifles our breath. It suffocates us. It kills us."




 She closed her eyes in fatigue. The cold wind made her silver hair dancing on her shoulder.




"You may be right. He is very hard. He cannot be broken or smashed in any way... But, long ago, he was not so cruel as the throne and the crown you wear were made of him."




 The queen lowered her crown from her head, revealing her white pile ears. Looking at her crown, she said:




-"More than three thousand years ago...I began to think that this was pure absurdity and nonsense, so how could a mountain become as shiny as jewels like this." And she put her crown on her head and said:




-"This hateful mountain obscures the sea from us.. We need to cross it to reach the sea behind it. It is the only sea we have."




Her counselor said:




-" This is impossible, it is very high. The magic of flying cannot reach this distance. Even if we can pass over it by some miracle, how will we make the ships we are going to make pass over it, I don't think you imagine that we will make them fly over it." 




She said gloomily:




"Then, what should we do? Do we wait to die of starvation? Or perhaps murder or slavery?" She pointed to the citizens with her sceptre, which shone in the sunlight. And she continued:




-"Look at them, Uncle.. They look very weary. I am leading my people to death. What shall I do? I am not my husband.. He was skilled in these matters, especially in war. The kingdoms feared him, that is why they killed him with this disease. And now my son is dying. That same dreaded disease.




 




And soon my people will become slaves... ah. I'm tired uncle, very tired, I can't stand it anymore...Sometimes, I think of throwing myself from this balcony..."




" Don't be joking, Your Majesty!" Her counselor said that with a terrified face. 




She said with a tired smile:




"I said I'm thinking...it's just thoughts, don't get excited like that. But, don't worry, the captain has to sink with his ship...and the ship is about to sink very soon."




 




She stared at the clear blue sky with great sadness. She remembered how she ruled her kingdom more than three hundred years ago, how beautiful her kingdom was then, and what it is now.




Then you are the queen and the world is covered in mist. Tears flowed from her eyes. Her counselor quickly closed the balcony blinds so that no one would see her. The queen threw her head on her advisor's chest, and she cried and moaned. She was crying and screaming and sobbing from the depths of her exhausted soul for a long time.Her counselor 's chest sank with her hot tears. Weeping said:




" What shall I do? What shall I do? I have offered myself to every king. To every man who can save us. I have offered myself, as if I were a cheap woman!. But they all rejected me.. They refused to help me!!.. Help my people. Why would they do this to us. What do other kingdoms want from us. Let us live in peace. Curse them. Let them burn. Let them die. May the sky fall on them, and the earth explode under their feet .!!"She continued crying bitterly. 




These were not the words and cries of a proud queen standing above her people.  these were the feelings of a woman exhausted by wars and death, and the pressures of the country, which was on the verge of extinction.




 The kingdom of irem was fighting on several fronts, defending itself from the kingdoms around it. The kingdoms wanted to conquer and expand their territories. However. Its people would die or be enslaved. Not because they were weak, they had tough warriors. They lacked war plans or so they thought.




 




while the king was alive. Kingdoms did not dare to make war on them. The late king was shrewd with wars, and the countries feared and hated him at the same time. She also hates his entire country, because they are not human. That is why they invited him to attend the signing of the peace agreement between them.. a hundred years ago, when the king returned. It seemed like a strange disease befalling him, and he died of it quickly. 




 




The Queen and her counselor were convinced that he had been assassinated. Then the peace agreement ended in an instant. As if they were waiting for the death of the king. However. The kingdom of irem was not a soft spot, as they had been resisting the invaders for the past ninety years.




 




 Her counselor answered with tears:




- "You have done everything perfectly. It is not your fault at all. The surrounding countries have conspired against us, to bring us down and divide our land among themselves.. Now the countries refuse even to trade with us.. That's all."




 




 The Queen raised her head from the chest of her counselor, and wiped her tears with one of her tails, saying:

-"That's right. The strong eat the weak. This is how the world works. I hate my weakness.. All I want is for us to live in peace, but, this is impossible. We are not in a dream world.. We are in a world of wild beasts." 




  




She looked at the mountain with engulfed eyes.




-"If we had a sea, we would go to one of the distant countries, and buy what we want from food and weapons. Perhaps...but...our enemies surround us like a bird in a cage."




 The Queen laughed a sad laugh, and continued saying: 




"Isn't that a nice expression? I hope they all vanish like filthy Verna !"




"Oh! That's right, I forgot to tell you." The counselor said while wiping his tears with one of his tails, and continued to say:




-" segal Russo    has been murdered ."




 The queen snored.




" No. I'm quite serious." 




"Don't be joking, uncle. Who can kill this filthy beast. He has smashed our armies."




Her counselor said:




-"It's information, from information dealers I know very well. It's absolutely certain, I've given you information that talks about it."




"No. I did not read it. I was with the Prince. You can tell me about it now." 




-"Mm. Understood. It seems he had a mission in Verna, and he was killed there, also read this letter. It's from Verna ."




Confused Queen said:




-" Verna ? I thought it was gone and no one else came back." She took the letter and stared at the seal, which looked like a star with many heads, and said as she opened it:




"I've never seen this seal before."




 She read it and repeated it several times. Then she looked at her counselor, flapping her eyelids as if she did not understand. Then she said:




"What is this? Is this a joke? Or maybe".




Her counselor said : 




-"I don't think so. It was handed over to the nearby countries.. Also, I met the envoy myself this morning and he was not a human being."




She said with wide eyes:




-" Not..a human. So..what was it? What race does it belong to?" 




He said :




- "I honestly don't know, I've never seen her like her... She was really beautiful. How would I describe her beauty? I...".




County said:




- "Uncle. Focus on me a little!".




  The counselor coughed and said:




 "Uh, I was. I mean... A. On the whole. She was a little girl the age of a prince, and she had strangely shaped horns sticking out of here." He pointed to the sides of his head. He continued saying:




- 'And she gave me this letter, and when I told her who you were. She said she was one of her master's slaves. And she vanished in an instant. I think that was the magic of teleportation. There is no other. madness."




 




The Queen said:




-" Anyway..we don't intend to interfere in anything. It suffices for us. But, for someone to claim that he wiped out the kingdom of Verna himself, because it made him disgusted...that is absolutely ridiculous. 




 




This can never happen, either. He proclaims himself Emperor of Verna, I mean , of Valia now.




This is childish behaviour, this must be a joke."




-"You may be right..but, don't you remember that night. Two hundred years ago. We were sitting right here..you and the king and I and many of your followers."




 




said the queen, gazing into the distance:




"I certainly remember it, and I can't forget it until now.. It was after midnight, and we were watching the two blood moons that night. It seemed like an ominous night, and in an instant. The sky of Verna shone with a wondrous blue. It seemed like a hellish fire that consumed everything."




 




For a moment we felt terrified and panicked, it swelled and we thought it would swallow us too..Wait a moment!" She turned to her counselor and continued saying:




- "Do you think that the author of this letter is taking advantage of this situation and what happened to Verna ? What was his name ?"




 She read the letter aloud again:




- " LINIAS .. LINIAS  Vintos .. what is this funny name ?" 




The counselor said:




'Maybe. But. Don't you think there is any truth in it. segal Russo    has been killed, and this by itself will greatly weaken some of their conquests against us. Also. It was not only Russo     who was killed, for many years I have heard of people who never return from Verna . "




 




"I know that well..why are you telling me this now?"




The counselor said, raising his finger in front of him as a teacher:




"Because I have an idea."




The Queen said:




-" idea ?" .




 He said :




- "Yes. We know that Verna is in ruins now. Of course we do not know its topography. But we know that it has a wide sea to the south."




The Queen's face brightened and her eyes lit up with hope. She said:




- "Therefore, we must have a good relationship, and we ask them to use their sea to sail to other countries."




 He said :




-"This is one of two. If what is written in the letter is correct, and they rule Verna themselves, we will ask them, that their country be our ally... Who knows what will happen in the future...".




-"An ally country.. It seems like a dream to me. None of the countries agreed to be like this for fear of other countries.. That's why I don't think they would accept, also what if they became a burden on us? You know our situation..




 They are people who took the country, as if they were gangs. Do these people know the words of covenants and honor? ".




He said :




"We first need to build good relations with them, and then decide what to do next."




She said, staring at the golden letter seal:




-" You seem to be forgetting something important, we are not mercenaries, we are a kingdom and yet we are allied with these people. I am concerned that they may turn into enemies.." 




 




 In a voice as hard as steel, the counselor said:




" Your Majesty. Will this change anything.. We don't have much time, many of our cities have fallen, and soon they will reach the capital. We must save our country even if we allied with Satan himself."




 




The queen couldn't say anything, he hit the nail on the head.




She said sadly, looking down at her city:




"Well, do as you see fit. "She was silent for a moment. Then she turned to her counselor and said:




- "Is it true that the enemy army in the south is dead? Do you have reliable information to support that?" Pointing to the letter, the counselor said:




"Maybe they did." The queen shivered at those words, for the army of the south was camping between the borders between the kingdom of Verna and the kingdom of irem, and of course the army was not an ally of the kingdom of irem , as it was besieging irem from the south. That army was tough and tough.




The queen said in a frightened voice:




-"We could never defeat him...so how..."




 




"I don't know... I received a telegram this morning talking about it." He stared at the Queen with rigid eyes. The Queen swallowed her saliva as she looked at those eyes that carried worrying things. She said:




-" what ?what?..". ?Her counselor replied:




-"They were all brutally torn apart...their bodies and shields were torn as if they were made of paper."




 




 The queen felt cold. Putting her hand around her throat, she said:




-"All of them? They were three thousand..isn't there..."




"They've all been ripped apart. Maybe it was some monster, or maybe this LINIAS Vintos , is one of the ancient dragons .. That's why I said, we need to have a relationship if you get what I mean." Again, tears welled up in her eyes.




 




-"Are you telling me. I offer myself to a dragon ? He will kill me! They eat meat. All my people will devour!" And the queen broke down in tears.




 The counselor said consolingly:




"But Laura was the lawful wife of a dragon , and she bore many sons."




-"It's ridiculous legends..funny..also Laura was one of the giants." The chancellor wanted to say that Laura was a human, but he kept silently watching the Queen's screams.




-"It's all nonsense. I'm fed up with legends .! No. Domnyom must be real.. We must be in the days of Domnyom.. when kings become slaves. Isn't that what was said? I am a queen and I will become a slave soon."




 I don't think this is the correct meaning.. Someone will come and make kings slaves. Perhaps those words mean the end of the world. Or will the world become more lonely? What a funny thing.. a dragon lost his mind and started to go crazy.




 




 The chancellor thought those words, and looked back at his queen. Then the queen said nothing, straightened her dress and hair, and wiped her tears. She came back standing like an ice queen. Her wand beat on the ground and she said in a voice as hard as her tall white castle: 




"I will do anything for the sake of my people...that is the king's duty. So do what you see fit!"




 The chancellor bowed, seeming glad she was back to her royal nature.




 




-"Concept". The queen smiled softly. Although her eyes were filled with deep sadness, she said:




"You seem to want to see that pretty girl quickly. You are a man after all, Uncle."




He replied with a warm smile, and he knew, that she was joking to keep her anxiety away:




" No, she's a little girl. How can I think of that?" 




-"But. Old people love little girls."




 Vahhahahaha!!.




 The counselor burst out laughing from the bottom of his heart. He had not expected such words.




 




 The Queen followed, laughing happily. They continued laughing until tears in their eyes.




However, they had no idea, that someone was watching them from the wall behind them.




He was a person made of shadows, and he was staring at them with red eyes like burning coals.

Chapter end