THE MAD KING (PART 2)

"Oh..that bad? Why didn't anyone tell me any of this earlier?" King Francis growled. If there was one thing he never played with, it was food. Hearing that there was going to be a famine in the near future had been enough to garner his seriousness.

"We did, my lord. We have been doing so for three days now." One of the generals answered in Lemuel's stead. He was too angry to let the opportunity to talk bypass him.

"So how come I'm now hearing about this impending famine and whatnot?" Francis asked Lemuel who just sighed in defeat before answering.

"Like my colleague said. We've been telling you for the past three days now. I suppose all the kingdom's problems clouded your mind a little, my lord. That is why we never stopped reminding you and why we're holding the same meeting we've held for the past three days straight." Lemuel's lips curled in disgust as he buttered up to the angry king. 'busy my ass. Only spending all his time with the maidens in the palace. What a jerk.'

"Fine. What do you suggest we do?, We can't lose our resources or we will be sitting ducks for our enemies." Francis said as he waited for his generals to start brainstorming ideas.

"At this moment, we can't reclaim our lost colonies because our forces are too weak. Also, the colonies don't even want to be reclaimed. They're angry you didn't help them when they were under attack so any form of rebellion against their new masters is out of the question." Lemuel started.

"What we can do though is to strengthen our soldiers and then guard our remaining forces with our lives. If we lose one more colony, this kingdom will immediately go on the decline. If that happens, we can only surrender to our enemies to prevent pointless bloodshed." Lemuel finished.

"Over my dead body. As far as I am alive, nobody will conquer the knights. Lemuel, you're in charge of empowering our forces. I don't care how you do it. Just make them strong!" The thought of losing his throne was too much for King Francis to bear. He would rather lose a few gold coins to maintain his royalty than lose everything in the near future.

"It shall be done, my lord." Lemuel bowed.

"But I wasn't done. Even if we do as I have just suggested, we still have only a slight chance of successfully defending our turf from our enemies. They have grown leaps and bounds in strength and they outnumber us. Even if we successfully defend our territory against them, they will learn from the defeat and come back stronger. We can't allow that to happen." Lemuel shook his head as he said this.

"What are you driving at, old man? Just spit it out already!" King Francis yelled irritably.

"The only solution is to completely wipe out whatever forces we are faced with. That way, no one will survive to leak our strategies. And the next batch of invaders will be just as clueless as the first." Lemuel smirked.

"And how are we supposed to achieve that?, There are always survivors in every war. Heck, not even everyone fights during one. Just how are we supposed to breach the enemy line and then attack those who hide at the back?" Francis cocked a brow at his general as he wondered what Lemuel was getting at.

"We won't, my lord. Someone will for us." Another one of the generals answered.

"And who might that be?" King Francis asked.

"An ancient creature that lurks in the forbidden woods. A creature with strength comparable to none and with abilities that will turn the tides of this war if only we could convince him to fight on our side." Lemuel started to explain.

"What creature?"

"The elders called it a vampire. It is said to feed on the blood of others to sustain its immortal life. I have given thought to this and decided that we could enlist him in exchange for all the blood he could drink." Lemuel's visage shook as he spoke of his plans.

"What nonsense. There's no such creature anywhere. Even if there were, where is he going to get all that blood you're speaking of?" King Francis felt like smiting the old fool for proposing such an absurd idea.

"Oh, but he is real my lord. I sent one of my knights to go seek audience with him. He came back a bloodless husk, tied on his steed with this note-" Lemuel pulled out a small parchment smeared with blood and passed it to the king. "In his mouth. The note is addressed to you, my lord. And as for the blood, what better place to feed him than on the battlefield? With our enemies' blood."

King Francis stared at the piece of parchment he had unfurled. On it was written a short but simple and clear note.

'I do not care for the petty squabbles of mortals. Disturb me again, and your entire household will pay. Unless of course, the little royal comes to see me. Then maybe I will be willing to strike a deal.'

"Is this written in-"

"Blood?, Yes, your majesty. He wrote that in my messenger's blood." Lemuel cut the king short with a reply.

"Why does he want to see me?" King Francis was spooked but he refused to let his generals see it.

"I have no idea my lord, but I know that with him in our ranks, not only will we successfully defend our remaining colonies from our enemies. With him in our ranks, we will reclaim all our lost colonies and even win this war before our enemies Even realize it." Lemuel said with a light of anticipation in his eyes.

This was it. His one and only chance to get rid of this fool. He didn't know why the vampire wanted so much to see the king but after losing three of his personal guards to that creature, all of whom came back with a piece of parchment demanding an audience with the king, Lemuel had come to the conclusion that either the vampire wanted to kill the king, or there was something he wanted to demand from him.

Whatever the vampire had in mind, the kingdom stood to gain everything and had nothing to lose. If the vampire killed Francis, a new and more competent king would be chosen who will lead the kingdom to glory. If the vampire let the king go, Lemuel was sure it would be because he had accepted to help the kingdom. All the same, the knights will win the great war and become the leading Kingdom in the world. A win-win situation that the old general couldn't let pass.

"How did you find this creature again?" King Francis asked with a frown. He may be thick sometimes but he was extremely sharp when his life was on the line. He had to make sure this creature didn't have anything against him before he ventured into its lair.

"It was by chance, my lord. I came upon his story in one of the royal archives. It spoke of an ancient spirit that has been on our land for eons. It never aged, had the strength of a thousand men, the speed of a shooting star, and uncanny magical abilities. It is said that it is an escaped demon from the fiery pits of hell. He would strike a deal with anyone who held his fancy for their loyalty. In return, he will give them riches and glory." Lemuel recited.

"The story fascinated me so I began the search for this creature. It is quite unfortunate that whenever I send my men to go map the route to its lair, the creature will suck them dry and leave me a warning. You're our only hope at the moment, my King. We need this creature for our victory." Lemuel said with a solemn voice. Meanwhile, he was jumping in Joy inside.

Alas, Francis wasn't foolish. He trusted none of the people assembled with him. He knew most of the court officials wanted him dead. To ask him to walk into the lair of something that dangerous was akin to sending him to commit suicide far away from the eyes of everyone who could help him. He wasn't ready to die, but he couldn't back out either. If that creature really could help the kingdom win the war and extend his rules, then he needed to meet whoever this creature was. Besides, a little more power wouldn't hurt.

"I see. Well, I'll go meet whoever this creature is. I just need some time to prepare. Hope it won't bother you?" King Francis asked.

"Not at all my king. We can't afford to wait too long though. We never know when the next attack from our enemies will be." Lemuel clenched his palm behind his back in triumph as he spoke.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I don't plan on waiting too long. Not at all." The mad king said with a smirk that made the generals Wonder what exactly he was planning now.