Chapter 119: Chapter 97

Julia

 

Some considered going to the creek to freshen up. But the wind was freezing. The risk of catching a cold was high and they had no medicine with them. Julia didn't know enough about diseases to cure them. Now, far from the protection of her home, Julia understood the benefits of magic. Yes. It would be very helpful if she could already use her full magic. But she had to wait for that. But how was she supposed to learn to use her magic appropriately? There was no one here who could show her this. For the first time, she was what she always wanted to be. A normal girl. At least that's how she felt, and she didn't like it. Why was she so helpless? Without the dragons, her brother would now be dead. She almost lost him. And she felt guilty. Her brother was rescued, but for many elves of the village, there had been no rescue.

An older elf with snow-white dragonfly wings approached her to thank her once again for her commitment. "We don't deserve your kindness!", he said. "Some of us were convinced that it was right to take advantage of a child. Not all, no. But the eldest was a good, wise leader for a long time. No one dared to stand in his way... We should have done it, but we were cowardly. Uncertain. I regret that."

Julia didn't know what to say to him. She felt as if she had abandoned the village. She wanted to save them all.

"I'm glad you're with us now, child." The elf smiled. "But I regret the circumstances. You shouldn't be here. Children belong to their parents."

"The queen is not a mother", Julia finally replied. "And thank you very much. I wanted to save you all. But I couldn’t."

"But you saved us, child." The elf winked at her. "My name is Thilo. And I thank you for my life." Then he left, leaving Julia back to her thoughts. Julia sighed. Did she deserve the elf's thanks?

"Juli!", she heard Finn call. He and Marko approached her. The two wolves looked excited and Finn broke away from Marko to rush to Julia as fast as his feet carried him.

"What's wrong?", she asked, catching Finn as he threatened to stumble into her arms. He grimaced hurting. "Is everything ok?"

"No. But that it be... My left foot hurts... But he's healing again." He clung to her and buried his face in the fabric of her clothes. Marko looked at him with pity and stroked his hair.

"We smelled two werewolves. They are on their way here", Marko explained.

"Here? Refugees?" Why were wolves here? A few years ago, her mother had forbidden them to leave their towns and villages except to go to work. Just like the elves.

"We don't know yet. But it is to be assumed, yes. They must have smelled Finn and me long ago. That's why they come here. One adult and one child."

"What's wrong?" Leopold, who had been playing with little Claudia until just now, approached her. "You look worried."

"Werewolves. We're getting visitors," Julia replied. "We don't know what they want. Maybe they're on the run, too."

Leopold nodded. "I'll inform my parents." He gave Julia a fleeting kiss on the cheek, then hurried away.

It wasn't long before two wolves approached them. A forty-year-old, pale man with dark brown wolf ears and equally brown eyes, and a six-year-old boy with brown ears, light brown skin, frizzy hair, and almost black, dark eyes. Julia knew the boy. It was the other child from her vision. But she still didn't understand why she had seen the two children in visions.

Fiete stood protectively with Julia. Josefine reached for Julia's hand. Finn clung to Marko, who had tilted his head curiously. Leopold brought his parents with him and Peter stood behind her. Most of the group stayed behind them, but Flora and Hanno approached the two wolves.

"Hello", Flora greeted them. She seemed a little uncertain. "We didn't expect to encounter two wolves."

"What gives us the honor?", her husband added.

The wolf looked at the group searchingly until he spotted Marko and Finn. "I smelled two wolves and hoped to catch up. My wife and I wanted to flee across the border into the marshland. Together with our son. We left our pack." He stroked the boy's head. "But there were soldiers stationed at the border. My wife tried to find a way past them... But... Pepe and I escaped them. My name is Liam. Now we want to go to the steppe... And to join another group... You're on the run, aren't you?"

"The bigger our group becomes, the harder it could be to cross the border!", shouted Ilse. "We are already a big group. We don’t need more people!"

"What?", now Gisele's indignant voice could be heard. "You want to send them away?"

"Quiet!", shouted Hanno and turned upset to the two women. "We certainly don't turn anyone away who needs refuge!" Then he smiled at the wolf. "You and your son are welcome here. I am sorry for your loss. We also lost many."

"We want to go to the steppe." Julia now took a step forward. If she had seen both children, surely that meant something, didn't it? And even if it was just a coincidence, she didn't want to abandon these two wolves either. "With a bit of luck, the border to the steppe will still not be heavily monitored. Soldiers are posted there, and the Queen has often complained that there are still too few..."

"And you have me and my uncle", Josefine whispered to her. "We can help."

"I know!", she squeezed the younger girl's hand. But would Fiete want to help them? With Josefine nearby? She had experienced how risky it was...  And would the young dragon be able to hold back? She didn't know.

How many soldiers were stationed at the border? She had never been interested in the exact number. Did they stand a chance? Julia looked at Leopold, who looked no less worried.

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"Thank you!", said the wolf, Liam. He sniffed the air. "You are an interesting group. I had followed the smell of wolves. Of course, I also smelled humans and elves... But there is another smell. Fire. Smoke. Ash. Danger." His gaze wandered to Fiete and Josefine. "Two dragons? Am I right? Both male..." He frowned. "The child smells more disturbing than the adult. Why do you travel with dragons?"

Josefine snorted angrily.

"They belong to us", Flora answered the question. "Both."
"That's interesting." Liam lifted his son, who yawned tiredly. "Well. If you trust them, I will do that too."

"Dragons?", the boy murmured. "I don't see dragons."

His father grinned. "Yes. They are just disguised."

 

Agathe

 

Lea was still angry. Agathe hadn't seen her in a while. Her daughter refused to leave her room. Agathe felt dull. Exhausted. Restless. Should she try to talk to Lea again? But she was so tired...

Had Cleo found her little one? Was she on her way home?

Had the elves paid?

She also missed her husband. Friedrich. She needed him by her side. The wedding should be over by now. Soon he would come home. And by then, maybe Julia was back. And if not, then they could fear together. Hope.

No. Cleo must have reached Julia by now. They are on their way home.

But... What if not?

Agathe had woken up with an uneasy feeling. She had a vision. Asleep. She saw fire and Cleo. That's all she had seen. Was the task done? Or had something gone wrong?

 

Friedrich

 

Coletta drank a glass of wine. She sat in his bed and smiled dreamily at him. "What do you think about leaving the queen? And to get into the marshland? I liked our little meetings before the wedding and now. Here we could meet from time to time and... Have fun." She winked at him.

Friedrich grinned. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the vampire contentedly. "I am glad that I have lived up to your expectations."

"More than just that." She put the glass of wine on the bedside table. "You surpassed them. You are my first human. Further meetings would certainly benefit both of us."

"I can't leave Agathe. Not now. One of my children has disappeared. I'll leave home later."

"What a pity."

"Certainly." He had also enjoyed these two meetings. And what he liked most about it was that Agathe would never know. Weren't vampires like elves and werewolves? Never would another unpleasant surprise come through his door. Not with a vampire, no. "But maybe we'll see each other again? After all, my... Son married your niece. There will certainly be opportunities."

"Ah. Yes. I almost forgot. Surely there will be occasions. How gratifying." She stretched out and grinned at him. "Unfortunately, I'm tired now... Maybe you'll help me fall asleep?"

"I would like nothing more than that."

Agathe will never know. Coletta is a vampire.

Little did he know how wrong he was. The surprise was already on its way.