Hell's Consort

Chapter 254 - Solitaries

******************************

The Vampire King Apollyon

********************************

"Haven't you asked him about this?" Apollyon leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

As he let his palms rest on his knees, he tilted his head and smirked, "As far as I know, the Faerie Realm was divided into two Courts: Seelie and the Unseelie Courts. The Unseelie Courts consisted of Autumn and the Winter while the Seelie Court which you belonged—"

The Faerie Prince cut him off.

"We—"Prince Aspen emphasized without looking at him as he filled his mouth with the precious honey cakes.

Narrowing his eyes, Apollyon brushed him off, "You always claim that we were cousins, but my bloodline had belonged in the Summer Courts while you were in the Spring Courts. Being in the Seelie Court didn't automatically mean we are cousins, Prince Aspen."

"Oh, but we are!" Prince Aspen shrugged. "My father, the King Nuada of the Spring Courts, is your mother's stepbrother."

"Alright. Whatever you say."

Still, Apollyon didn't understand why Prince Aspen insisted on this useless connection.

He shrugged, "I don't care about this ridiculous family tree you held in a high regard."

Apollyon wasn't aware of his mother's side of the family because Empress Ourania wasn't treated as a Faerie when she stepped foot on the Vampire Realm.

He only knew much about the Fae because of the books he have pored out in the past when he became obsessed with magic and knowledge.

She was considered a vampire when she became part of the Royal Family and bonded with his father, King Gwythyr, by blood.

When Apollyon was young, he remembered his mother telling her bedtime stories about the Fae when she visited his bed-chamber to help him sleep well.

It didn't happen often.

His father only allowed his Empress to visit his son when young Apollyon threw wild temper tantrums, demanding to see his mother as he yelled and screamed and cried his heart out.

Clearing his throat, Apollyon went on, "Anyhow, it would be both foolish and incorrect to assume that the Seelie Court is good and the Unseelie Court is evil."

"Correct.", Prince Aspen nodded in affirmation, "The Fairy Court all serve a greater balance, and none are so simple as mere 'good' and 'evil' or 'black' and 'white'."

"In the beginning, the Courts have struggled for overt power, passing leadership between them based on the seasons." Prince Aspen said grimly, "In the modern era, the courts had operated within their own individual spheres, and each controls its own lands within Faerie."

"Now before you blame the Vampirekind, Prince Aspen, have you monitored the movements of the Solitary Faes in your Kingdom? I think you should be worried about them instead of us." Shaking his head slowly, Apollyon added, "In my opinion, Solitaries were more dangerous than the vampires because they live in your Courts freely without swearing any allegiances. "

Apollyon grinned darkly. He couldn't halt a faint smile. "They didn't have any promises or oaths to bind them with the laws of the Fae. Don't come here blaming our kind if you hadn't done your investigations properly, Prince Aspen."

"We don't consider the solitaries as dangerous, and the Spring Court had decided to give them freedom if they don't want to swear their allegiance." Prince Aspen replied.

"Ah~ that is when you are mistaken, Aspen." Apollyon jutted his chin as he deliberately raised an eyebrow. "I think you have forgotten how the Shadow Realm was created, History could repeat itself. I say your mother and father, King Nuada and Queen Gloriana, have been too lenient about this."

"You, lots, might want to be cheerful and engage in parties, pranks and amusement all the time but you couldn't celebrate for too long not when this is happening behind the scenes." Their gazes met for a silent moment before Apollyon commented, "No offence but the Faes from the Spring Courts are too na?ve."

Folding his arms over his chest, The Faerie Prince raised an eyebrow and gave him a smile which appeared forced, "I didn't come here to be insulted from someone of the Summer Courts."

"You insult me by saying I belong to the Summer Court, Prince Aspen." Apollyon smirked, "You are doing the same thing."

Prince Aspen lifted a shoulder. "Touche."

"Solitaries are closely allied to witches, so there is a slight chance that they knew how to summon an Archdemon through their own exploration of the dark magic," Apollyon said pointedly in annoyance. "It wasn't the Vampire kind, I assure you."

"I'm not blaming you, cousin." The Faerie Prince flicked him a glance before he observed his brandy like it was the fascinating thing. "I am merely sharing my speculations with you, and I just thought you should know that blood sacrifices of innocent creatures were mentioned."

"I can't cross out the possibility that someone was summoning Archdemons in our Realm." Prince Aspen leaned slightly on the table, propping his head with a fist. "For what purpose?"

"Why? Because of the greed of power and materialism, of course!" Apollyon pointed out the obvious as he gave the prince a furtive glance. "It's the root of all evil in these Realms, and the Archdemons were more than willing to provide their aid so they could manipulate the conjurer, take them over and gain that as well. You could take a lesson based on my experience with one."

Apollyon gave him a hard smile.

He couldn't imagine that from being possessed by the Blood Beast, he was now giving the firsthand experience of his suffering to educate the other Realms about demonic possession. "Archdemons had no power in your Realm as long as no one from the Faes had enabled them by selling their soul.

"What if it was the Solitaries who were forming this cult of unicorn killers that you are talking about?" Apollyon stated. "I say that the puncture wounds on the unicorns' neck were to frame our Kind to divert the suspicion on them."

"We see them as the common ground between the courts because of their impartiality. Solitaries will never be a threat in the Faerie Realm." Prince Aspen raised his voice but not to the point of yelling at him, but it was close. "They live simple solitary lives, cut off from the larger support networks, and they still respect the Reigning Monarchs."