The monarch snapped his fingers.

The runaway princess imagined Lord Vlad wielded his sword, while Red used his father's weapon against him.

Raeb Snapped his fingers.

Bianca visualized Rose used her crossbow to block an attack from her father.

The burned down mirage of Burnie snapped his fingers.

And she then saw herself in her mind avoiding Ulv's claws.

She blinked snapping out of the scenarios her head was making her see.

    "This ends right now."

He bellowed. Bianca then reached for a little knife on her coat and threw it at her brother's cape, pinning him to the ground.

    "Get out of here."

Raeb's expression turned angry towards her.

    "Ho-how dare you."

    "You are not to be here brother, go back to the palace."

The air went stiff.

    "How did you break the spell?"

    "The law. The sigils of our house are to be binding and respected by magic, men and all things living. A safeguard against all dangerous mages I assumed. I didn't think it would work so effectively."

Behind her Vlad was being detained by lord Forest, his sword impaling the ground, Ulv grappling him from the arms, his eyes shimmering yellow in anger.

"That might be right, my darling, I've got to give you credit for making quite a piece of work."

Bianca pointed at him with a bow.

"Quit the niceties."

Raeb gulped.

His eyes locked on Her's.

A sharp sting, sharper than the edges of the tip of the arrow met Raeb's heartstrings, a pain he knew only had meet once or twice, and he had never expected by the hand of his dear sister.

"What happened to you?"

"I'm not letting a killer take my kingdom."

His chest wrenched; this couldn't be right.

Lucky for him that was time enough to let him get hold of the amulet in his right pocket.

"Oh Bianca, this was never meant to be yours."

He whispered as he raised his hand to inflict a puppeteering spell on Ulv.

Bianca shot the arrow as the king raised a cloud of smoke to let him vanish.

Ulv fell to the ground, Vlad then jumped over him and soared into the air, avoiding capture.

Now three Kings, or at least exact copies of him floated on something like a rocket-spear a few meters from the ground, all of them smirking and causing distractions.

"As a reward for besting me in my game."

"I give you a little gift."

"Enjoy."

Each of the copies replied, as Vlad disappeared on red smoke.

Forest and Brandy took out a revolver from their tactical belts and each shot at an illusionary king that turned into smoke, just to reappear tauntingly, meanwhile Ulv kneeled as his claws elongated, his fur began to sprout, and fangs took his canines down.

"Ulv?!"

The scarlet clad boy screamed.

"Red get back."

The orders of forest quick made the huntsmen react, Brandy reached for her taser, while cobalt secured his boss and his son.

On one side the chieftain and his men were holding their weapons, while Rose and Bianca hid under the platform, scanning the environment, making sure the civilian huntsmen remained in their homes as ordained, before the arrival of the Stirge.

Rose readied an arrow on the flight groove.

"Do you have tranquilizers?"

Bianca asked.

"I left them at granny's."

"merd..."

Bianca patted her coat where she found a tiny tip of arrow with tranquilizer they had not used; she had kept back in the couple of days at Grey's home just as a precaution.

A growl broke the stalemate.

Ulv was on his half-way form, not entirely a giant wolf and not entirely a man, his claws, and teeth sharp enough to cause major damage.

"Don't hurt him, Shooting will..."

A shot rang.

Bianca covered her ears and screamed:

"Shooting will make him go feral!!"

Forest and Brandy turned towards cobalt, as did Wolf-Ulv.

"Boss what do we do?"

Rose took aim, while Bianca stole one of her arrows and had begun to replace its head.

Red broke from his father's grasp and went all the way up to the boy-wolf.

"Ulv, please listen."

The beast growled.

"Red he is going to kill you!"

Brandy roared.

"He is not, the thing on the full moon is a monster, but right now he is just confused."

"Red get away from him. I command it."

The boy held up his arms closing in towards the weir-wolf.

"I have no weapon big guy; I need you to listen."

He began to click his tongue on his pallet, making a clicking sound, then he began to whistle, making a sound identical to a bird.

"Ulv, please."

The eyes were still yellow, the fur had spread.

    "Come back"

His claws began to hide. His posture about to attack turned to a confused creature, he was studying Red, sniffing him.

Forest's men turned down their weapons.

"The river on the forest goes way in."

Red continued.

"You don't' want to lose me out of sight."

Thunder rumbled way above them, the storm had formed, and tiny droplets stained the street and the bark of the great tree.

Bianca held her breath.

"It's going to rain soon."

Red let his hand.

And the wolf's human hand reached for him.

A whooping sound reached them. Then his eyes went back to normal, and he collapsed to the ground on shock. On his thigh the rest of the arrow sticked out.

"That was anticlimactic."

Rose spoke.

The air waved up, and the airship rose, illusions disappearing into blue smoke, rain beginning to fall, and a microphones voice blared from the craft.

"This is not the end Forest. I will have my way, and my revenge, I'll get rid of your children first and then I'll come for you, I'll destroy the Scharlach's, and you'll pay for what your grandpa did to me."

Vlad's tone rang angry, and soon the ship got enough height to be dismissed.

"I'll be back for you."

The last words of the lord of the throne of night as his ship carried him back to his home.

Red hugged Ulv as he became human again, Bianca and Rose held hands, and the Huntsmen breathed calmly, as rain began to pour.

    "Well,"

    "Now what, princess?"

    "We have to go."

:::

:::

Before the events came rolling by, and the time to meet with the new lord of the Vladias palace came, Rose and Bianca worked together on a project on her father's garage.

Bianca had three motors to convert into universal suspenders instead of locals, and that task required electronics, grease, a whole chest of mechanical gear, some computing, and the grossest greasiest and most delicious pizza she had tasted out of the palace.

When rose came in with the box, the royal girl had opened the carcass of the floating motorcycle and spread a toolbox open.

"Our meal is here."

"Delightful, did you get anything from the archives about your possible mother."

"Not exactly, but I found some leads about my Granny."

Bianca's interest was called for, when her face came to sight Rose cringed at the amount of dirt on her face, and noticed her attire was a full blue bodysuit like the ones she saw on races on her holographic node.

"Anything juicy?"

"Well apparently my granny and lord Vlad were born in the same hospital in Babylon, and not only that but apparently that same hospital burned down the day the diaspora began."

"Sorry for that."

"You're not like your mum."

Rose spoke as she offered the princess a fair slice with a napkin.

"Anyways, turns out my Granny came to the village like a dozen years before all that happen, but also she came with a friend of hers who later went on with her own people to a journey of her own."

"Ah, suppose you don't have a name?"

"I do."

"Graziella Castilla"

"That's not from the northern regions."

"It is not, nor her granddaughter, Esme."

Rose's face illuminated when she uttered the name.

"A friend I believe."

"I think you may like her."

"Magnifique, so I guess you'll come with me."

Her eyes crystallized a bit sad.

"You know, as much as I love my mom, and I'll love to stay and take care of them..."

She looked out of the garage, where children played on the street.

"...I owe it to myself to know the truth, I need to know who my true parents are, and find out why you even appeared on my dreams and... funny enough why now I can have other dreams without you."

"It's funny, we could even be sisters."

They stared at each other.

Then they laughed. And bloated with sounds.

"Yeah right."

Rose bit her pizza slice quaintly.

"Before we get out entirely, we should look for any journals or writings your granny left."

Bianca bit her slice ravenously

"As much as I'd like that woman is willing to die taking her beloved cookie recipes to the grave. There is nuh-thing that could say otherwise. The oldest photo album in the house was my mom's and that's from when she was fourteen."

"That's weird and also do you think we could find anything about miss Scharlch when we are out."

"Guess the only person who could know may be the sly fox you're looking for."

They kept eating and soon worked on the vehicles, with enough hands and some gem processors available, the craft will be soon done by midnight, and maybe then they could get some sleep, some breakfast and get ready for any circumstance on their staged delivery.

:::

:::

Rain had come to its end about an hour or so.

Rose placed the bags on the vehicle. Red turned the gravity lock on his and the motorbike-like machine began to float slowly. Ulv waited for his to turn on and the runaway princess reached for hers, this time fastening the buckle that would hold her newly acquired sleeping bag along with the plenty bags where she would keep added items.

Forest was at the porch of his home, the house of stone where ivy sprawled and grew to the roof, lavender on the edges of an unkept yard where plants grew left and right.

"Does anybody need to go to the restroom before you all go?"

Forest asked as he came out to the garage.

"I think we all are okay, but we probably won't say the same for our home in a while."

Red answered.

"They're going to be okay, you're not the first huntsmen to leave, nor the ones up to the challenge of defending it."

He turned to the princess.

"Thank you, Sir Forest."

The huntsman reached towards her and gave her a little box he opened showing her a necklace with a bright red gem.

"For aiding us in a moment of need, a bloodstone crown, and the title of high protector, to you lady Bianca of the House of Venras."

Bianca held it ceremoniously.

"Thank you so much."

Bianca put the gem on herself and got off her mechanic mount.

"Before we go, I'd like everyone to stand up, especially Rose."

The family turned the motors off, and Bianca came to the scarlet shawled girl using her bow as a makeshift sword.

"Rosetta Maria Scharlach, do you swear to uphold the name of the house of Scharlach?"

Rose's heart raced.

"Protect the realm? And ensure its denizens free from harm under the orders of the high crown of Nevermoore?"

Rose kneeled.

"I do."

"Then it is my honor ..."

Her bow descended towards her right arm without touching.

"... to name you, Lady Rosetta Maria..."

The bow went now to her left arm.

"... of the House of Scharlach the blooming knight, May strength and virtue guide your way on your service to the realm."

Forest, Red and Ulv clapped, as the girl stood and hugged the princess.

"Is this official? Can she do that?"

Ulv asked to Red.

"In this case"

Forest continued.

"We the children of New Gevaudan, came to the valley as protectors of the people and it's been our duty to rid our land from monsters and misery. I forest Scharlach. Name you Jean Chasse Scharlach, son of Ambar Jane Valette of Scharlach, as Huntsman of the realm of Nevermoore."

Red stared attentively, his chest beating faster than ever.

"Protect this land, it is our home. Protect your brethren from the horrors at night and swear to uphold your name aiming only at those who wish harm on the defenseless."

He touched his son's right shoulder.

"I command you then, to go hunt."

Red smiled and hugged his father with crystalline eyes.

Finally, Forest approached Ulv.

"To you Ulven Hefting, Son of Elizabeth Hefting. I command to you the order to protect my son, accompany in the darkest night and spill no blood but that which intends to harm him."

"I'll guard him with my life."

"Then I commend him to you. Protect him and his honor and bring him home; once you all make sure Princess Bianca sits on the throne and lord Maximoff has fallen out of favor with the crown."

Ulv took his right arm to Forest's right shoulder, the huntsman gave back the gesture, there were no smiles or hugs, just duty in its purest form.

Bianca understood then, there was an underlying story to be told about this family, there had been happenings before she came, things she would come to understand, but maybe that was a story for another time, one where they could be safe and away from the clutches of a couple of maniac politicians thirsting for literal blood.

They got on to their vehicles, gave one last look to the neighborhood and sprung fast into the road towards the main gates, few people waved goodbye: Cobalt, Brandy, Red's ex: Antoine and his father coach Perrault, Rose's lady friends, and others Bianca could not recognize, but that had a place for them.

Guilt held her gut shut, these people, this family had put her hopes on her, they expected her to become someone she wasn't sure she could even be.

As autumn leaves fell, and far away the home, the peace her companions knew disappeared behind them, along with the safety of the Crescent valley.

Fields of golden wheat signaled their way south. Along with the fields of pumpkins and apple trees now fading towards maroon, brown and orange.

It would take a while, Bunt Bianca promised herself to bring honor to her name, to make her promises worth the while, she was going to find Thaumesias, the was going to dethrone Raeb and make give the realm a good ruler, one with no blood on their hands, one with no genocidal thoughts of expansion, one who will defy the Ice queen and stood tall, she was born to serve, this land was hers to cultivate, and now she was to take it back from the corrupt hands of Raeb.

They went up the mountains on the south, and no one in New Gevaudan would see them back again in a long while.

:::

:::

Raeb held cotton to the face of his ally.

"It stings"

"Now, now Vlad, you're not the first person to receive this treatment from moi stop complaining."

Their echoing went through the grand hall of Vladias.

Now that the folk of night knew the king was either coming one way or the other the whole charade with a fake name and a costume had stopped for now.

"He was just a human man; how could he make all this damage?"

"His grandfather was a Helsing."

Raeb stopped abruptly.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not, that's how they managed to keep her from me."

Raeb gave a sly smile.

"Well, isn't karma a fluffy kitty with razor claws?"

Then a clanking sound came from the receiving hall, a shape appeared from the door's opening them in strenuous cacophony sending a thousand spiraling bats out.

A shape, feminine and horned appeared to them. The clanking heels still came slowly.

"Gentlemen have you seized your deviant behavior?!"

She bellowed decadently.

"On contraire sweet Perissa, we merely had a chat before you joined us with your talented presence."

Her skin a cold tealish-blue, her hair with streaks of phosphorous green and yellow, her dress entirely black and made of leather, like her studded jacket, nets covered her legs except from her calves down where custom heeled boots with dragon-like wings flopped.

"Raeb you've always been better at compliments than fighting."

"We weren't. Expecting. You."

Vlad added.

"Honey this isn't a quaint visit, I bear news."

She gave the mage a transparent flask with clear turquoise water, a healing gift from the fey.

"I got a gift from Concordia, a thank you from her latest project."

"We need to move."

Raeb responded turning to a mirror on the wall, then to his companions

"We have to go to Babylon."