Whip

"What the heck are YOU doing here now?" 

David chewed each word before spitting them out in front of Louis.

It was not that he just didn't like this guy… Rather, the truth was that he might have started on the scale of disliking him at the beginning, but seeing him hanging around Nora at all times had somehow pushed that factor of 'dislike' well inside the boundary of hatred. 

And now, he just could not stand the sight of him, especially in direct confrontation at the time when he was already tolerating that idiot Nora and the cunning Ryan! 

So he decided that he would be the one to bring this drama to an end at once, and was about to walk out from there when Louis began to speak while stroking the nape of his neck with one hand;

"I don't know if I am doing the right thing or not by saying this in front of you all… But Nora does trust Myron and Robin, hence I am also trusting you."

He paused just after this, and turned to face David, who was about to leave and had paused his steps after hearing his words, prompting him. 

"Weren't you leaving right now, go-" 

"In your dreams! This is my school and I almost own this entire place, after all I am going to be the next king-"

"So are you leaving or not?"

Louis asked again in a deadpan voice, seeing that he had successfully made an attempt in irritating David.

"Not leaving." 

"Then are you willing to help us in the plan?"

Louis asked, hoping to get an answer from David, but Robin was the one to chip in his two cents. 

"What plan?" 

"And why do you need our help in this?" 

Robin's query was followed by the question that was raised by Myron.

"Because it is about helping Nora, and as for you, I have a proposal as well."

Louis answered and turned towards Myron, taking a brief pause before resuming. 

"I don't believe in taking advantage of a person of lower rank than mine, hence I always offer them something in return. And for you, if you will help me getting Nora out of this trap that is currently set by Ryan, then I will help you in setting a date with Valerie -"

Valerie! Just the name was enough to make David angry once again, as he was already getting nauseous after seeing those idiots being secretive for no reason, and not being successful in that as well! Indeed he wanted to know what exactly this trap was, that Louis was ready to risk everything for the sake of it. But at the same time, he was not ready to show any single strand of concern on his face.

Getting an idea about how he could get them to the point faster, he spoke with disdain;

"What kind of child's play is going on here, what, you are all thirteen? Who is here to play a round of crush- crush? And you know what? I don't care even if you all are going to play crush and dates! I am leaving this circus, right here and right now."

Saying this and snapping his fingers, he stepped out of the circle made by the three people who had been surrounding him.

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Helen knew what was going to happen, the moment she saw her husband entering the palace. But she didn't have any courage to speak against it, nor did she have any courage to even think about it. Everyone has their reasons in their life for every decision they take, and every choice they make.

However, in both of these cases, there is always a price that one has to pay in return for these decisions and choices, as they say, there is no free lunch. And Helen was ready to pay it, till the time that her daughter was safe.

She closed the door without any sound and slowly walked towards the bed. She sat down on her knees by her side of the bed, knowing that any minute from now, she was going to get the gut- wrenching pain from getting beaten by a whip at the hands of her husband.

It was not the physical pain that was intolerable for her, instead it was the emotional pain that had always made her so vulnerable, so pathetic in her own eyes… After all, was their love only dependent on whether or not she was capable of giving him an heir to the Werewolf throne-

Her thoughts were left in the middle, as Fredrick's voice echoed in the confines of the room. 

"Good! I am impressed by seeing that you do remember what to do. Now be a good woman once again, and tell me how many strikes did I give you the last time?"

"Fif.. fif… fifty-"

She flinched a little and fumbled on her words before she managed to complete that one word that was required for her to say. But the moment she managed to say it, she felt a warm slap of the whip on her back, followed by the pain surging through her entire body and tears in her eyes.

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Present day:

David was just about to answer Henry in the affirmative. He did agree to his plan and he definitely needed to double the protection around Valerie's house, at least until they found Myron's whereabouts. Because the fear of Myron being injured while saving Nora has started to develop in his mind, and in this case, they indeed needed to protect his wife and children.

But before he could have been able to say anything, one person from amongst the new arrivals came forward and sat on one knee. He greeted David and held his both hands above his head, showing a set of two broken arrows and one arrow whose edge had been cut off from the arrow head and spoke;

"We found these arrows which have your name carved on them, and then we found the bow and arrow belonging to Myron in the forest- from a place not very far from where we had found the princess."

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