A warm and bright light fell upon a somewhat luxurious throne room from several windows situated in the ceiling around the room. The windows were quite large and allowed the sunlight to gracefully shine through giving off a resplendent air which added to the atmosphere of the throne room.

There were many Human nobles lined up on either side of a carpeted walkway which ran through the middle of the throne room leading towards the throne. The nobles themselves were filled with angst and trepidation.

These were the natural feelings of the defeated. For them, it was a matter far worse then if they had lost normally to an opposing king. The victors this time were not even considered Human in their eyes. They were creatures given the title of Demihuman.

Although the northern kingdoms were not quite as hateful towards Demihumans as those of the Empire, there was still considerable discrimination that existed among Humans towards the Demihumans.

Of course, it was easy for them to pride themselves on their so called open mindedness and tolerance when they rarely had any contact or dealings with Demihumans to begin with. The only Demihumans that lived nearby were the Foxkin which they had always looked down on considering them nothing more than beasts.

That isn’t to say there weren’t those who were in fact kind and more accepting of Demihumans, but for the nobles of the kingdom it was much more of a facade than sincerity. The former king had tried to change these views and even promoted laws which gave the Demihumans living within the kingdom of La’gun rights and protections. This movement however had died with him among the nobility and those in power.

But now, things had greatly changed. It was the Demihumans that were now in power and these nobles who were on the losing end. With their twisted hearts and minds, they could only imagine what horrors might befall on them. Not because they actually understood anything about Demihumans, but only because of their own degenerate minds and evil intentions.

Demihuman warriors marched into the throne room with fierce growls. Some nobles paled in fear while others kept their thoughts well hidden, not showing anything in their expressions or actions. Many secretly looked on with disdain towards the Demihumans but they would never express these thoughts. Some wondered if there were benefits to be had or in what ways they might exploit the situation.

Laila felt she could clearly imagine what these Humans before her were thinking as she entered the throne room behind Reia. The warriors spread out, standing in between the two sides of the throne room with their weapons at the ready. They were to keep any potential threats from arising among any treacherous Human nobles.

Hmph… not that any of these security measures are necessary. These wretched Humans can’t possibly pose any threat to us anymore.. I suppose appearances must be kept however…

Laila didn’t truly enjoy being in the limelight despite her haughty nature. She had no qualms walking behind Reia, but even more so she greatly respected Reia and even thought of her as an elder sister despite being slightly older than her. This was not a matter of age, but out of admiration and of course because she was Fayde’s first.

In some ways, she was even jealous of her. Reia was a bright and shining star in her heart and in the hearts of all around her. It was almost too bright, so much so that she feared that there was no place for her to shine.

It was not that she lacked confidence in herself. It was more along the lines of that she knew she was someone who thrived in shadows and could never so brilliantly stand in the front. She could do the things that others could not, but at the same time she could never do what this woman could do in front of her.

Laila turned her eyes away from Reia and finally took a good long glance around the throne room. Her anger quickly rose as her scarlet colored eyes laid to rest on the man sitting there on his throne.

How dare he!

Without so much as a word, Laila strode forth with large steps straight past Reia who looked at Laila with a questioning glance. Even though she was curious what had caught her sister’s ire, she said nothing and instead watched in silence.

Laila stepped forward violently as she approached the king sitting on his throne. He sat there with a well hidden look of disdain and haughtiness as if he were a king presiding over his subjects. He wore his golden crown and his royal regalia. His moustache was well oiled and his hair well trimmed and neat. He was the very picture of a young and ambitious king.

The king who was already somewhat on edge but had been doing his utmost to keep his fear hidden so as to keep up appearances. When he noticed Laila violently moving towards him he visibly slinked back in his throne, something very unbecoming of one of his stature.

He felt a great hostile aura coming from the intimidating Demihuman woman quickly approaching him. The king looked around but was reminded of his current situation when he saw none of his royal guards within the throne room.

Laila walked straight up to the throne and grabbed the king by his garments and lifted him straight up from the throne as if he were weightless. The king could no longer hide the fear he felt and horror was clearly plastered all over his face. His crown had fallen with a clink against the stone floor and an unsightly scream left his lips.

“Do you think you are still a king? Who do you think you are to so leisurely continue to sit on a throne looking down on us, your conquerors!? Let me show you the reality of the situation you are in!”

Laila threw the king down to the floor below the steps leading up to the throne in anger. She turned to glare at the man who was now disheveled and struggling to lift himself off the floor. It was truly a pitiful sight for one who had never known discomfort or hardship.

“This is the reality! You are the conquered, the losers. Get on your knees and beg that I don’t cut you down here and now!”

Laila shouted with viciousness causing the hackles of every noble within the throne room to rise. None of them had expected that this seemingly beautiful and outwardly poised appearing woman would suddenly erupt with such violence and anger.

She had the bearing of an aristocrat, but now she appeared as if she were a devil and her blood red eyes didn’t help dissuade this perception of her. Most frightening and unexpected of all was her enormous strength. It was no easy feat to be able to lift the king with one hand with such ease and fling him as if he were garbage.

It was a sight which was too hard for the Humans there to believe. This was just par for the course for the Demihumans however. They were all very much well aware of how terrifying Laila could be when angered.

Laila made a motion as if to slash the fallen king with her outraised hand but was suddenly stopped, “Sister.”

Those words were like a switch halting Laila directly in her path. Her hand was halfway towards the king and would have sliced him apart in another second if not for those words from Reia. Her blood red eyes fiercely met with Reia’s determined stare. Reia did not flinch or shirk back in anyway, but met Laila’s eyes with boldness that could not be ignored.

Laila shook her head and relaxed her body, “I’m sorry sister, I forgot myself.”

The nobles looked on with shock, and even some of the Demonkin warriors present were somewhat surprised. They were well aware that both Reia and Laila were the wives of Fayde but they didn’t expect that Reia’s single word could halt their beloved demoness from her rage.

Reia smiled, and it was like the blooming of dawn. Even the Human nobles were entranced by her smile and her heroic aura.

“It’s fine. Do not forget our husband’s words. This was his command and his promise to Shar. Surely you do not wish to betray his promise when he isn’t present.”

Laila briefly reddened in embarrassment and walked away from the king while glaring at him. The king looked as if he were paralyzed in fear on the floor.

Reia walked forward and clasped her arm with Laila’s, “I do not blame you, so don’t be bothered by it.”

“Of course not, I would never hold anything against you.”

Reia nodded and walked towards the king, passing him by without giving him even a second glance. She stood atop the steps in front of the throne and turned to look towards all those gathered below.

“You have nothing to fear, at least you will not lose your lives. However, your kingdom is no more. You are no longer nobles and your lands will be taken from you. You will be allowed to keep what valuables and wealth you have on hand, but all properties will be confiscated and all privileges you enjoyed are no more. The quicker you come to terms with this, the better. Be happy, if it were not for my husband, I doubt the others would be merciful to you all. There is much hatred between our kind, but the Great Khan hopes that in time we can get past this.”

Her words sent shivers and gasps through the crowd of nobles. This was not how things usually went, but it certainly could have been worse for them. However, for many of them, they couldn’t imagine what they would do going forward. Their outcry was loud and quick, many too shocked to accept the words they were hearing.

They were soon all silenced by the roars of the Demihumans and the clangs of their weapons against their shields.

“Perhaps you are all not quite clear on what is going on.” Said Reia standing in front of the throne.

After she spoke, she sat down slowly in the throne much to the shock of the crowd. Reality was difficult to accept, but it was beginning to settle in when they saw that. It may not seem like much, but the sight of a Demihuman woman sitting upon the throne was too shocking of a thing for them.

“Do you understand now? Most likely at this very moment, our warriors are doing the same thing in the capitals of both Jaspel and Quijon. Even the mighty fortress of Sara’dun will fall and these lands will completely fall under our control. It will not end there. Soon, the entire north shall belong to us and whether you Humans like it or not, you will be forced to accept it.”

Though there was no malice or anger in her voice, there was still a great sense of foreboding at her words. Though none there doubted what she said. They had all witnessed the power of the dragon and that man with the black flames. Who among the Human kingdoms could resist with such power at their command? But there was one thing that hadn’t escaped their notice, and that was the man with the black flames was nowhere to be seen.

They weren’t aware of what had happened to him and could only wonder at why he wasn’t present. Perhaps he had already gone north to subjugate the northern kingdoms, they could only speculate. With his strength and the might of the Demihuman warriors, they didn’t think that it was an impossible dream.

The Humans may have had the numbers, but numbers didn’t always win over sheer and overwhelming strength.

Reia could see the looks of defeat slowly making their way across the faces of the nobles. She was satisfied with the effect of her words but didn’t want to spend much time dealing with them.

“There is nothing left to be said. All of you will be escorted to your fiefs where you will be allowed to take what valuables and wealth you can easily transport and will be allowed to live within your manors and estates here in the capital. You will not be allowed to leave the capital however. At least not until the entire north is secure. I am sure you can all understand the reasoning behind this. Go now, I do not wish to see any of you again.”

Once she finished with her words, the nobles were escorted out of the throne room but the king was forced to remain.

“As for you, you will be placed under house arrest within the castle. You will not be harmed but you will not be allowed to communicate in anyway with the outside world and you will no longer be allowed your freedom. Until my husband returns and decides your fate, this is how it shall be.”

The king nodded miserably and was led out of the throne room by two burly Demihuman warriors. Everyone had now left and only Laila and Reia remained within the throne room.

They looked at each other with many emotions shared between the two.

“When he returns? Will he return Reia? Where is he now?”

“I don’t know, but what I do know is that he is alive. If he were dead, we would know through the mark of the Void.”

Laila nodded and placed her hand over the mark which was not visible beneath her clothes on her shoulder.