Chapter 120: Chapter 98

Julia

 

She felt terrible. That night she had bad dreams. In her dream, Leopold kidnaps her from her bed and locked her in a cave. In the background, she heard the laughter of the eldest and her mother. Peter tried to save her, but he sank into the ground. Before he disappeared forever, an arrow hit him. The last thing she saw of him was his dead eyes. It had been a terrible dream.

What was she supposed to do?

She loved Leo. There was no doubt about that. But he had betrayed her. Out of despair, fear, and love for his people. His parents hadn't treated her badly, and yet terrible things had happened. The bed had been too small and Finn had injured himself in his sleep. Her hair was cut off and the elder threatened to lock her in a storage room and even in a box. The eldest. He was not among the survivors. His daughter Inga was not with them either. Were they able to escape? Were they somewhere in the forest? Were there more survivors? Or were they all gone? Forever? Julia hadn't wanted that.

And none of this was Leo's fault, even if he had betrayed her. Which was bad enough. But. No. The real culprit was her mother. Queen Agathe von Sonnenhof. Her cruelty had taken the elves so far. Julia couldn't forgive her for that. How many lives had she ruined? Sacrificed? How many families had she torn apart?

Julia had once admired her mother. When she was small and understood nothing of the world. Her mom was a good queen who took care of everyone. Julia had believed that. Sometimes she wished to go back in time. Back to the time when she had no idea how terrible the world was. When she did not yet know her mother's cruelty. When she and Peter still dreamed of being witches and wizards. When she did not yet know that the bound servants in the castle did not work there voluntarily.

... And the eldest... She could not forgive him either. He had been cruel.

Leopold was chatting with Finn while carrying Claudia like a princess and jumping every now and then to make the girl laugh. The two wolves Liam and Pepe had joined Gisele and Lavinia. Pepe made grimaces and made little Maleen laugh. Hanno and Flora discussed their future path with a few other elves. Fiete walked quietly behind Peter. He looked like he wanted to start a conversation, but didn't know about what. Josef had turned into a little cat and was lying warm on Juliet's shoulders. His soft purr comforted her.

Leo dropped Claudia off and the girl ran to her mother. She was hungry. Again and again one of the children complained about it. Julia sighed.

"Is everything alright?" Leopold came to her and grabbed her hand.

"Not really, no."

"What's wrong?"

"I had bad dreams..." The images of the dream still haunted her. Josef's purr grew louder and he rubbed his head against her cheek.

"What did you dream?" Leopold wanted to know.

"That you kidnapped me, and that Peter died", she murmured. She felt bad. She didn't want to dream of something like that...

"Oh." Leopold blinked. An indignant grunt was heard from Josef.

"Yes. Oh. How did you come up with the idea? Leo? Just because the elder asked you to? To kidnap me?" Now Joseph hissed. Julia stroked his head reassuringly. He jumped off her shoulder and turned back into a human.

"You kidnapped her?", hissed Josefine. "Give me a good reason why I shouldn't eat you!"

Julia immediately wrapped her arms around the younger girl and kissed her hair. "No. Don’t."

"Excuse me? Why are you so calm? I would have torn him to pieces for that!", growled Josefine.

Julia kissed her again and stroked her fine hair. Then she looked at Leopold, who looked a little pale, and stared at the young dragon.

"I would prefer not to be eaten or torn to pieces", he murmured.

Josefine grunted.

"It was very stupid of me. I know", he said finally. "The elder asked me if I would be willing to help him free all the slaves. He said I was their only chance. That I had to do it if I wanted to protect my parents and my friends. That the queen is vicious and must be stopped... And that freeing all slaves would be the first step. I would be a hero. And my friends' children could grow up in freedom. Without my help, they would all suffer forever. He said there was only one chance. And I believed him. He said that if I loved my people, I had to do it. That he would do the same if he were in my place. Witches and wizards would only use us. They do not see us as sentient beings. He said he trusted me. That he relied on me and knew I would never disappoint him. That I would never betray my people. I have seen elves getting abducted from our village often enough to work for others. And I was tired of it all. I wanted to save them and if only I could do that, I couldn't say no. I had to do it."

Josefine tilted her head with a growl. "And then you kidnapped Julia? Even though she is the dearest person? You? I thought it was someone very evil... But you? I should eat you for it..." Snorting she snuggled up to Julia, who silently calmed down the younger girl.

"It's not that simple." Leopold now looked at Julia. "I fell in love. In the most wonderful witch. But... I could not forget the elder's words. The fate of all the elves was in my hands. I couldn't let them down. I could not disappoint them. Abandoning the plan. That was not possible. That would be treason. Betrayal of all elves. Thousands of lives. I convinced myself that it was the right thing to do. Even though I wouldn't have just saved lives..."

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"He manipulated you." Julia let go of Josefine and ruffled her hair. "He used you."

Josefine looked irritated from Julia to Leopold. "This elder did what he accuses witches and wizards of?"

"Oh. He was partly right. Many treat elves and werewolves like objects. They see them as pure possessions... Not all. But many. My friend Marie has a servant. She loves him very much and treats him well. But she doesn't see the cruelty of slavery. That doesn't make her a bad person, but a blind one", Julia objected. "Marie would never allow her servant to be treated badly or forced to do something he doesn't want. She sees him as a family member and servant."

Behind them, Marko growled softly. Finn, who rode on him again, sighed. "The eldest was a bad man."

Leopold shook his head. "No. He wasn't. He was desperate. And this has been the case for a very long time."

"That's no excuse for what he did", Finn countered. "He sent you to your death! He wanted to lock Julia in a box and blackmail the soldiers with her life! And with Peter!"

"Helping him was my own decision." Leopold looked at Finn contritely. "I could have said no."

"Could you do that?", asked Finn. Marko snorted in confirmation and bared his teeth.

"That sounds to me like he didn't give you a choice", Julia said. "But you had plenty of time to change your mind. Leo, you could have talked to me about it. And yet... He managed to stop you from that. Thank you for telling me." It's the elder's fault... He was a monster. Or not?

"This queen..." Josefine reached for Julia's hand. "She's your mother. And she is an evil person. Yes? Do you think you'd be a better queen? Can you defeat her? Is that what you want?... Can I eat her? Although, no, she's your mom. But, she must not govern."

"What? I? Queen?" Julia blinked in amazement. "How did you come up with that?" Leo already said something like that... Me as queen.

"It's a secret. But... What do you think about it?"

"Julia would be a great queen!", Finn answered the question and Leopold nodded in agreement.

Julia blushed. "I don't know... I'm only sixteen. How shall I rule a kingdom? Besides, we are currently on the run from it. My mother has an army. And what do I have?"

"You will be a powerful witch one day." Leopold winked at her.

"And you have two dragons!" Josefine jumped excitedly. "My uncle and me. If it is your destiny, then you will be queen one day. A queen with two dragons! That's better than any army."

Julia looked at Fiete, who was now laughing and talking to Peter. "Maybe you should ask your uncle before you put him in my royal service."

"My uncle doesn't mind." Josefine winked at her. "Queen Julia!"

Would I be a good queen? She smiled.  A queen with dragons... That sounds destructive.

She couldn't imagine it. For her, her mother had been the eternal queen. Yes, she could not remain queen forever. She had to be stopped. But maybe not with dragons. That was a bit too dangerous... She did not want to destroy the kingdom. Or endanger the lives of her friends.

Can I stop her? One day?

Leopold kissed her cheek. "You'd be a better queen than your mother", he murmured. "If that's what you want. I am at your side. No matter how you will decide one day."

Julia nodded. Can I believe you? No... That is the wrong question. You have been manipulated. You are just as much a victim as I am. But I don't know if I can trust you again. I'm sorry, Leo. I love you.

But so much is broken.

We survived. I survived. But I couldn’t save many.

I’m sorry.

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