The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 65: A Note From The Past ()
"Alpha." Zariah glanced up from the files on her table at the sound of Allen’s voice.
"Yes?" Zariah pressed when Allen did not immediately submit his report, his gaze was instead pointedly fixed on the only other presence in Zariah’s office.
Zariah trailed Allen’s gaze to where Caedmon was sitting, glancing through an ancient text.
Zariah heaved a quiet sigh at Allen’s actions understanding he was unwilling to report due to Caedmon’s presence.
Unlike Darren, Allen was hardly ever direct about his disapproval of Caedmon and was even accommodating of him most times, unless when it came to his interference with Zariah’s Alpha duties.
"Caid? Would you give us a moment, love?" Zariah asked.
Caedmon glanced up at Zariah, passing a glance between her and Allen, his brows narrowed into a frown before he nodded hesitantly.
Caedmon stepped out of Zariah’s office and shut the door behind him yet Allen waited till his footsteps were gone far enough that he would be unable to listen in to their conversation even if he tried.
"A missive arrived from the Sea Kingdom, it bears the seal of the Sea King." Allen reported, handing a rolled up note to Zariah.
Zariah examined the seal with which the note was sealed, a miniature replica of sea waves was drawn out on it, bearing the inscription "King Of The Deep."
"The Sea King has not contacted Crimson Moon for almost a century, at least not that father mentioned, what could he want?" Zariah pondered allowed, her brows furrowed in curiosity as she tried to open the note, however the seal would not budge.
Zariah tugged at the seal for a moment, frowning slightly as it stayed fastened as though a force was keeping it sealed.
"It is sealed by ancient magic." Allen observed, Zariah nodded in agreement.
"Strange." Zariah murmured quietly as she placed down the note.
" Your dagger." Zariah requested, Allen quickly pulled out his dagger and handed it to Zariah.
Whilst some ancient seals would automatically undo itself once in the hands of whom the note was addressed to, others required more efforts.
Zariah guessed the note was not meant for her in the first place but her father instead, with how secluded the Sea Kingdom was for the past century, it was unlikely they had received news of Alpha Zewin’s passing,
The Crimson Moon had kept it private, it was no business of the supernatural realm which Alpha Moonstone was Crimson Alpha.
If the note was meant for Alpha Zewin Togan Moonstone, then it was only natural Zariah could not open it, however the Crimson Blood could for it was the one thing Zariah shared with her father, not just any Crimson Blood but the blood of the Crimson Alpha.
Zariah unsheathed the dagger and grazed the sharp edge lightly across her palm, drawing blood. Zariah then hovered her bleeding hand over the seal, letting her blood drip down directly on it.
Zariah watched as the drops of her blood sizzled as they flowed over the seal, the seal cracked open and the note was unlatched.
Zariah then handed Allen his dagger which he wiped clean, sheathed and stored away before rounding the desk to Zariah’s side to view the contents of the note along with her.
Zariah did not immediately open the note, not wanting to get blood on it in case it was of grave importance which Zariah felt it most likely was, considering it was from the Sea Kingdom who had not contacted the Crimson Moon in a century.
Zariah watched as the bleeding slit on her palm healed quickly, skin reattaching itself and the wound closing up immediately, leaving no signs that it had ever been there in the first place.
Zariah then picked up the note and flipped it open, frowning when there was nothing else on it but a strange drawing and a few words written in a strange language.
"That...it’s the Siren tongue, isn’t it? Can you understand it?" Allen asked as he leaned down to get a closer look.
"We studied under the same tutors Allen, I have as much knowledge on Sea language as you do...in essence, non existent." Zariah murmured with a shake of her head.
"But the note was meant for Alpha Zewin, was it not? And I doubt the Sea King would expect us to have a Siren captive to serve as translator, that means the Sea King is certain Alpha Zewin could understand siren tongue? Isn’t it?" Allen reasoned, as witty as he always was.
Allen’s words aired the exact thoughts on Zariah’s mind and Zariah nodded slowly.
"In a nutshell, that is the most plausible conclusion." Zariah said in agreement.
"My father knew a lot of things Allen, sometimes it seemed as though he knew everything and we would have too...well father never did live long enough to impact all his knowledge to us." Zariah murmured in a low tone.
A moment of silence fell over the two as they reminisced over a man who had meant the world to them both and every other Crimson wolf within the Crimson Barrier.
"Alpha Zewin was in contact with the Sea Kingdom? What does this mean?" Allen asked finally,
"For worthy reasons I presume, reasons we were most likely too young to be informed of, whatever it is, if father has started it, then we are duty bound to finish it." Zariah decided.
"What are Alpha’s orders?" Allen asked dutifully.
"If anyone would have any luck in translating Siren tongue, it would be Lord Heller. I will need you to summon Darren and bring him up to speed, you are both to take a copy of the words to the WaterFall Hill and get it translated. I will go with Nile to the archives, there must be something related to that drawing in the ancient scrolls." Zariah ordered.
"As you command." Allen said, bowing low before he quickly penned down a copy of the writing and headed off.
After he was gone. Zariah gazed down at the note looking over the strange drawing, her brows furrowed in concern.
"Father...just what could it mean?" Zariah pondered aloud,
Zariah was drawn out of her thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps, she glanced up, her lips stretched in a small smile as Caedmon stepped into her office.
"Done?" Caedmon asked, Zariah nodded slowly.
"I guess it was something I cannot know about?" Caedmon asked in a low tone,
"Oh don’t be silly, it’s just work my precious, I have it covered, nothing you need to worry about." Zariah replied as she turned and stored the note away, making a mental note to consult Nile over it later.
"So... if I recall correctly, I was to take you to see the Flame Festival of the Flame Den." Zariah said with a smile.
"Yes, but if you’re too busy, I do understand." Caedmon quickly added,
"We had a plan Caid, and I am never too busy for you. Now remember, as wielder of the Crimson Flame, I am a Flame wolf and the Flame Den is my origin. I would never miss the Flame Festival for anything, besides Flame Lord Randall would have my head if I did." Zariah said dismissively as she tidied her desk and headed for the door.
Getting to the door, Zariah realized Caedmon had not moved, his gaze still fixed on her desk.
"Come on now, we will be late for the main attraction." Zariah urged as she led headed back and took Caedmon’s hand, leading the way out of her office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zariah awakened with a gasp, her breath coming out in short pants as the residues of her dream lingered in her mind.
Zariah could not understand exactly why she had dreamt of this memory in particular and precisely at the time where Alpha King Askel was set to head for the Sea Kingdom.
And then it clicked, Zariah recalled she had never deciphered that note, somehow the note had disappeared from her desk and at the time she did not have the free time to look into it, the controversy in Crimson Moon had escalated quickly,
With the Crimson Wolves taking their disapproval of Caedmon to a whole other level, It was not long after then that Zariah had denounced her title as Alpha and passed it on to Darren
"He saw me leave it on my desk that night! He took it!" Zariah jumped to her feet as it became glaringly clear to her that the note had been tampered by Caedmon Grey.
And to cover his tracks and deflect suspicion, he had stirred discord between Zariah and Darren.
This could only mean one thing, whatever that note was, it contained information that was related to Alpha King Askel’s evil conspiracy.
In this lifetime, it was still far from the time the note appeared, the missive had reached Crimson Moon sometime after the battle between the Sea Kingdom and the Floral Domain, but Zariah had an impeccable memory and she still clearly recalled the contents of the note and the strange drawing,
To Zariah, this meant a whole other thing entirely, if she could figure out what the note meant...then this could be the very first lead to unravel the Alpha King’s evil plot.
