Highfield Academy - Revenge of The Crows

Queen Shellback reviewed the intelligence presented to her by Captain Willham, “You were correct, this is impressive and I can see how my mother was able to use it to her advantage,” she said to Captain Willham, “My mother used you extensively and I see no reason why I cannot call on you for military guidance, so please in future where you see fit include your thoughts to give me a better military perspective.”

Captain Willham nodded gently, “Is there anything else my Queen?” Queen Shellback answered immediately. “Yes! I would like your company this evening over a meal as I would like to discuss future expansion of trade and in acquiring provisions.”

The Queen was still young and missed companionship which had been something she had so very little time for as an apprentice to her mother. Captain Willham had been there at the times she had needed someone to talk too and at times simply to keep her company.

Now she was Queen and governess of her own realm, and Queen Shellback wanted to change this and learn how to socialise and interact with others, and Captain Willham had won her trust, also she found him kind of brutishly handsome, he was fit, intelligent and good company, yet he knew his place and respected and loved his queen.

As she had finished talking with Captain Willham she relaxed just a little and placed a hand on the Captains shoulder.

“I should have expressed my thanks earlier as I value your friendship,” she said tenderly to the Captain.

“As do I with you my Queen” he responded.

At that he bowed and left the room leaving the Queen to talk matters over with the court wizards who were present.

It was only as the Captain entered his private quarters that he secured the doors and had his trusted servants ensure he was not disrupted, and then he walked into his private study locked the door and then vanished and entered his true kingdom. As he did immediately the illusion around him changed and he reverted to his natural body form of a powerful demon.

On seeing him the guards immediately acknowledged him, “Lord Belliteron it is good to see you sir, do you still want your prisoner kept alive?” Belliteron simply exclaimed, “Yes!” and immediately went to the room where he kept the prisoner.

There, ill-treated and shackled, lay the real Captain Willham, and he had been beaten and starved and was a pitiful sight of the once great warrior he had been.

Belliteron smiled, “Why Captain how good to see that you are still alive, I do so enjoy our little talks and keeping you updated as to my progress and intentions, do you know I think I shall enjoy getting to know Queen Shellback, she is longing for company and has invited me around for an evening meal, I do hope it’s not cucumber sandwiches,” he jokingly said.

At that he spent the next hour tormenting his prisoner and enjoying seeing the Captain suffer as he screamed in agony. Then he abruptly stopped and instructed the jailer to ensure the prisoner did not die, and then he left the room.

As evening arrived Queen Shellback sat having a private meal with who she thought was her trusted friend Captain Willham. For the first time, she addressed him by his first name. “William tell me more about King Thalaba, from the intelligence it would appear he could become a future problem, yet I believe it would be wiser if we could secure him as an ally and build on that.”

The Captain smiled, “It is of my belief that King Thalaba is truly a man of his word and that if we could win his trust, then yes, as you say my queen he could be a valuable player on our side, however intelligence shows he has united with the Royal Fay Courts and was originally brought in to hunt down and kill your mother.”

Queen Shellback had continued eating as the Captain spoke, “Not that I believe his previous intentions was a bad thing, your mother had become unstable and her lust for power was consuming her, so I believe it will take time to win the kings trust. Your returning the slave children was a stroke of ingenious thinking, and it was wrong of your mother to have inflicted such suffering. I believe you impressed King Thalaba and have already gone a long way in building trust.”

The evening was a pleasant time for the queen, and as the Captain parted he handed the queen a small gift. “Please my queen will you accept this humble gift, I obtained it from the delegation of traders, and when I saw it I just knew it would look so beautiful if you were to wear it.”

He blushed and the queen was slightly amused by his reaction. As she accepted the gift and unwrapped it, there presented in a stunningly beautiful crafted box of Amber and Gold, sat a matching necklace and broach of Jade surrounded in gold and rubies.

They were crafted from the Highest of Royal Fay craftsmen and held an almost mesmerising lure to them. “Only such an item could be worn by one as beautiful as you my queen” the Captain softly yet bravely said.

Now it was Queen Shellback who blushed and gently took the captains hand and leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, my Captain and friend, a most beautiful gift, in fact my first ever given in love, so again I thank you.”

At that Captain Willham left the Queens quarters and her attendants returned to their postings to assist the Queen as required. Belliteron smiled as he made his way back into the Captains old quarters where he met up with a contingent of his own advisors, wizards and Demoni staff.

Kelton had been rightfully pleased with his progress, but his sleep pattern had started been disturbed again, and this was causing reason for concern, as it was during this time Belliteron’s wizards were feeding the child weird dreams and slowly poisoning his mind.

In his dreams, he saw his family and those he loved. They had been invited by Thalaba to meet the Royal Court of Fay, Merlin was there as was Joshua and the Fay Queen. Thalaba had taken Kelton into the Royal chambers where suddenly Kelton realised the Fay Queen was conferring with Merlin and his parents, telling them they must die so Kelton cold be free of their influence.

Trusting Thalaba in his dream, he turned to look at Thalaba for help, only to find him laughing and that Joshua had withdrawn a wand and at the orders of Merlin, the Queen and Thalaba were united, Joshua killed them. As he awoke shaking and scared he realised it had only been a foolish dream, only it started happening almost every night for the next sixteen weeks.

Thalaba had assured Joshua it was the effects of nightmares in the mind adjusting to him having been forced to kill others in defence of his life, and had even given Kelton books on this very subject which verified Thalaba words, and telling the apprentice that in time the dreams would fade and he would mentally as well as emotionally adjust.

As Thalaba had predicted the dreams did stop, only seeds of doubt had been sown and Kelton continued with his studies. Seven months later Thalaba informed him it was parents day and to be held at the Royal Fay Courts. Kelton was pleased as he longed to see his family and impress them as to his progress, which brought honour also to the family name.

On the day, he met his old friends first and they talked and went over experiences and of the second-year having won the Rang tournament. He would have liked to have taken part in that, yet he was the only student in his group to have secured a Royal apprentice, and with an esteemed wizard king at that.

The meeting of the parents went well and Kelton so proudly told his family all he was permitted, everything seemed to go well and that evening Kelton slept with his old friends and the next day said his goodbye to his family.

That day as they returned Thalaba spoke of the next phase of his training and of how important it was in his learning protocol and diplomacy.

“Education son, a good education will take you far and equip you for the future” said Thalaba. “As knowing what to say and in how to best go about it, is as equally important as learning how to defend yourself and others as it is to fight.”

Another twelve months past and Thalaba received a request for further trade negotiations and an invitation for him and his apprentice to give a demonstration before the Royal Courts of Queen Shellback. Thalaba realised this was an unexpected honour and that it would go a long way in uniting the Queen with his fellow warriors in the Royal Fay Courts.

The invitation was accepted and Kelton looked forward to the visit, not really knowing what to expect, but pleased he had learnt diplomacy as part of his training. The day arrived for the departure to Queen Shellbacks kingdom, only King Thalaba received an urgent message that he was wanted immediately at the Royal Court, so he ordered his entourage to leave and for Kelton to remain until he returned and from there Thalaba would introduce him to Queen Shellback.

As Thalaba teleported himself to the Fay Royal Courts he left one of his most trusted wizard warriors to protect Kelton his apprentice, also on entering the Royal Court a magical blocking field was instigated for security.

After some hours Thalaba returned and immediately teleported both Kelton and himself to the Kingdom of Queen Shellback where his entourage of delegates were awaiting his arrival.

The day went incredibly well, and all seemed presentable and in order, but that evening as Kelton was about to be presented to the Queen a Captain Willham led Kelton’s parents into the room.

“Son your parents requested to be present with you on this most momentous of days, and it is a great honour to them as they also represent the Royal Fay Court.”

Kelton was excited, only Thalaba entered the room and started shouting, and calling Captain Willham a murder and Demon, and that the students’ parents needed to die, He withdrew his wand and attacked. Kelton immediately tried protecting his parents as did the Captain, but Thalaba struck them down and injured Kelton as he tried defending himself and his parents.

It could not be happening thought Kelton, only Thalaba shouted if he was to progress then his family must die as they were a danger to him in becoming compromised.

Queen Shellback’s guards broke in and there was a mighty battle, only Thalaba initiating the homing spell to take them to immediate safety, only Kelton severed his connection in anger, and as Thalaba vanished Joshua was left stunned and not wanting to believe he had been betrayed.

Unknown to Thalaba, and under the disguise as Captain Willham, The demon Lord Belliteron had installed Royal Court security and although the action only took some seconds Queen Shellback witnessed the entire confrontations.

As she entered the room along with her highest wizards the real Captain Willham lay dead and his body desiccated almost beyond recognition. The queen had seen the child trying to defend the Captain and the two guests, yet receive crippling injuries for his efforts.

Immediately she ordered the boy to be cared for and fumed at the betrayal and insult. In her mind, it was her trusted friend Captain Willham that had persuaded her to invite king Thalaba, and later learning from Kelton that Thalaba had been summoned to the Royal Fay Court to talk with the Queen and Merlin, only strengthened her belief that she had been betrayed and in the process, had lost the one person she had ever loved.

Calling her advisors and Court Wizard she ordered her armies to be prepared, and to call her kingdom to war, she wanted revenge and in doing so, Belliteron laughed as he knew he had sealed her fate and reached yet another of his goals.

Over a million of the Crow tribe immediately set out to gather intelligence, only Belliteron in the guise of Thalaba had set a trap and along with thousands of his Demoni, they appeared as Thalaba’s warriors and murdered almost every single member of the Crows who had set out to gather intelligence.

As news reached Queen Shellback her rage was such that aspects of her mother filtered through and rooted turning her towards the darker aspects of her nature and that which flowed in her blood. She now desired more than ever to seek revenge, and Merlin and the Royal Court of Fay were marked for death.

Belliteron laughed as he sensed the old power of Guayangarea growing within Queen Shellback, knowing that soon, very soon she would be a force virtually unstoppable and enable him to obliterate all that stood in his way.

It was Merethpadon who warned Joshua of the impending danger and word reached Merlin and the Fay Queen, only they knew Thalaba to be innocent of these crimes as he had not yet left the Fay Courts.

They now realised they had lost Queen Shellback and young Kelton as their own intelligence informed him the student was now in the protection of Queen Shellback.