Hollow Kingdom

Alec had no explanation for why Lily might have become sick, the way she was. He felt guilty for letting her go out on her own, though he was sure his father was right. Belle ushered him out of the room when he didn’t leave right away, giving him an annoyed look.

“What, you don’t think I can take care of her?” she accused.

“No, I’m sure you can,” Alec said, surprised. “I just think that maybe I should stay. Father can tell me what they discuss at the meeting.”

“No, you go,” Belle pushed. “I’ll take care of her.”

“Change of heart?” Alec asked her.

Belle turned a bright shade of red, looking down at her feet. “Let’s just say that we’ve found a common ground, and now I owe it to her.”

“Alright,” Alec said, eyeing his sister suspiciously before following Tobias out the door.

He had a bad feeling about the meeting which grew stronger the closer he got. The people seemed to meet at the top of a larger tree in the center of the village, in a place that almost looked like a large tent. When Alec went inside, he saw that it was completely open. The tent was not held up by poles, but by some form of magic. The people all sat on woven rugs on the floor, while several people gathered in the center. Alec recognized one of them as Warren.

“Stay close to me,” Tobias told Alec quietly. “They don’t know you, yet. They have to know you’re with me.”

“Fine,” Alec shrugged.

“Son, one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“You’re a wonderful young man, you really and truly are. But keep your mouth shut or I’ll shut it for you.”

Alec paused and frowned, staring at the back of his father’s head and jogging to catch up with him as he sat down. Soon, the council arrived, and everyone quieted down. Tobias leaned over, pointing to the tallest figure of the group. He was a man who reminded Alec of Dominic, with the way he stood tall and strong, like a mountain. You could throw rocks at him, and it may cause a dent, but he’d never fall. His face was painted with a green substance in a vine-like design that crawled down his neck and disappeared under strange clothing that seemed to be made up of wolf furs.

“Fredrich Halsey,” Tobias whispered to Alec. “He’s the self-appointed leader of every village in this region. He knows and practices only ancient magic, and refuses modern advances. Claims that his banishment was the greatest thing that ever happened to him. He’s been on my case ever since I got here. He hates the idea of rejoining the kingdom.”

Alec nodded, watching Halsey sit on a larger cushion in the center, while a few others that were dressed like him (though toned down quite a bit), sat by his side. Warren smiled and nodded to him in respect, but Halsey said nothing, expressionless.

“Thank you for taking the time to be here,” Warren said, turning to look at everyone sitting in and listening. “I come to you bearing wonderful news. Those once banished from Aegara will now have a chance to return to their homes and families.”

There was a soft murmuring among the crowd, and Alec swore he saw Halsey roll his eyes. Alec frowned, trying to get a better look at him. From far away, Halsey looked like one of the strongest men Alec had ever seen. Upon further inspection, he was something Alec hadn’t quite expected.

“How old is Halsey?” Alec whispered to his father.

Tobias chuckled, keeping his voice low. “He is sixteen years old.”

Alec’s eyes widened, staring at the teenager sitting on the cushion throne, looking terribly annoyed and bored with Warren. It was no wonder he had a strange vibe around him. Alec could feel the hormonal sass radiating from the boy from where he was sitting. He wondered how on Earth Halsey had managed to become the leader of not just one village, but every village around Aegara’s perimeter. He supposed that it didn’t matter how old you were, as long as you were a good leader. Either that, or whatever ancient magic the boy knew was something no one could argue with.

“Warren, this is the fourth time you have gathered everyone here for this,” Halsey said slowly. “Eleven men and women died the last time you attempted to return. If you’re here to waste my time again, or to kill more innocent people, then you best hope that we don’t give you a second banishment.”

“This time is different,” Warren promised. “This time, we have information. Information that makes us invincible. Every guard’s location, every entrance and exit to the castle, every name in the royal court. Above all, we know how to get to that Queen, and how to end her rule for good. I’m confident that it will take no more than three days to take the kingdom back for the magic users.”

The whispers and murmurs grew louder, and a few protests could be heard now. Clearly, Alec wasn’t the only one who distrusted Warren.

“I’m confident,” Warren repeated. “I will only take volunteers, this time. No one will be forced to come with me. Only those who want to return home. To their wives, husbands. To their children.”

Warren’s gaze shifted, seemingly landing directly on Tobias. Alec turned to find that his father’s expression hadn’t changed, but he’d turned slightly red with what seemed like annoyance and was muttering some calming things to himself.

“We don’t need to return,” Halsey responded, standing up. When he did, everyone quieted down.

“Pardon?” Warren asked.

“Let me be perfectly clear,” Halsey said, raising his voice to a surprising volume and incredibly firm tone. For a kid, especially. “The village will take no part in this. We will suffer no more pain. Warren, you may go. Anyone who chooses to go with him may go as well. However, once you leave the village, you can never return.”

The feeling of the room shifted to a somewhat fearful aura. Everyone went dead silent. For most of them, the thought of returning home was torturously good. However, not having entrance to the hidden villages if they fail was basically a death with. Halsey showed no sign of feeling sorry for them, either. The kid just stood up and pointed a finger at Warren.

“I want you and whoever follows you out, within the next three days,” he said.

Then he was gone, the rest of his council following him. Warren raised his hands to get everyone’s attention again, with a confident smile on his face.

“We leave in the morning. Whoever chooses to join can meet me at the exit of the village,” he announced. “Bring what weapons you have.”

With that, everyone was dismissed. Alec and Tobias lingered for a bit, and Warren patted Alec on his shoulder as he walked past.

“I’ll see you in the morning, then,” he said.

Tobias waited until he was gone, then sighed and looked down at his feet. “Well, that’s that.”

“Where do you think he got the information?” Alec asked slowly, still watching him from a distance.

“There’s no way to know for sure,” Tobias said. “Either way, you do realize you’ll have to go with him. He’s either going to lead your entire cause to victory, or he’s going to have all those people killed.”

“What?” Alec frowned, looking back at his father. “Are you going?”

“I need to keep an eye on him this time,” Tobias nodded. “You don’t understand the massacre that occurred last time. I imagine it went completely unknown by the people within the kingdom. They wouldn’t want you all to know.”

“Then we’ll come with you,” Alec said. “With Belle taking care of Lily, she’ll be feeling fine to travel in the morning. Belle cured Evan’s pneumonia in three days.”

“Eager?” Tobias chucked, raising a brow at him.

“A little,” Alec admitted. “My father is coming home.We’re working together for the first time in years.”

Tobias didn’t seem to have expected this answer, the grin dropping off his face to a look that looked sad, but somewhat touched. Alec gave him the best half-smile he could come up with at the moment. He was definitely eager.