Walking through the main fortress of the Shield Princess Claudia, Colt couldn't help but admire the grandness of it all. The high white arches and marble floors that were tended to by maids even now made him feel very small and very unwelcome.
He was just as much a beast as he was a man, but even so he felt very out of place in such a place of high status. A monster like him shouldn't have even been allowed to gaze at the fortress let alone walk through it. His guide was none other then Claudia herself along with two of her soldiers who looked like they were waiting for a reason to skewer him.
Thankfully he had been allowed to change and wash up. Clean from the blood Colt now wore a simple black tunic tucked into a pair of brown leather pants and finally a black pair of military boots. He had no idea where his captor/guide was taking him but he was beginning to get very anxious as he had tried asking her before but she had refused to say anything more than she had already told him.
So without another choice Colt was forced to follow one of Celestine's personal friends and guards to who knows where. Eventually though they were brought to a small courtyard where in the center was a raised dais about twenty feet in diameter.
Without a word Claudia stepped into the center of the dais and motioned Colt to follow her. Apparently he was too slow as a soldier behind him roughly shoved him forward with the back of his spear. Colt quickly growled at the offender who made a move to try and strike him before a sharp glare from Claudia stopped him with reluctance.
The cursed man couldn't help but toss him a smug grin before stepping up beside Claudia. It was then the dais began to shin with holy light and Colt instantly recognized it as teleportation magic. Before he could say anything to this him and Claudia vanished only to reappear on a similar platform but while it looked no different then the one they were just present at Colt could literally smell the change in the air.
All of the new and unfamiliar scents hit him hard but he was given no time to adjust as Claudia gripped his arm and started to practically drag him to wherever it was they were going. Many corners and hallway's were passed in their journey before Claudia finally stopped just in front of an ornate set of golden doors. The Shield Princess then turned to face her charge with a deadly serious look in her eyes that made Colt involuntarily gulp.
"I warn you now, show respect to those who reside beyond this door as they will be the ones to decide your fate. Your only hope of survival is to prove your intentions are pure, or just prove that you really deserve to die like the rest of your kind." She said coldly and Colt felt anger swirl within him at the way she threw him in with the rest of the beast men that terrorized the land.
Before he could voice his displeasure however, the door's were opened by Claudia and he was forced to quickly follow her inside where he nearly froze in shock at who was waiting for him on the other side. In front of Colt sat every member of the Seven Shield's Alliance including the founder of the alliance herself Celestine, the high elf goddess reincarnated.
Though that was when he noticed all of the looks being sent his way by those assembled. While Celestine and Claudia looked at him with neutral expressions, the same couldn't be said for the others as their looks ranged from anger to disgust with the only real deviation being from Princess Prim who looked at him with uncertainty.
"So this is the one whom you spoke of Claudia, the beast kin who saved the village in your territory?" Asked Celestine as she never took her eyes from his own while Colt was forced to hold her gaze by some primal need to not show weakness.
"Correct my Lady. By the time me and my troops had arrived all of the Orc band that had invaded the village had been slaughtered with him in the center covered from head to toe in blood." Stated Claudia professionally as Celestine mulled over her next words.
"What is your name?" She asked and Colt immediately answered.
"Colton Pelleas your majesty, but I prefer Colt." He stated, his voice firm even though he was worried on the inside of the outcome of this meeting. He had no doubt he could escape the room and maybe even the castle, but going through the entire surrounding settlement without being noticed would be next to impossible. He could only hope the meeting turned out well.
"Pleasure to meet you Colt. Now would you mind telling me why you decided to save the small village you had been dwelling in for some time? It is very unusual for one of your kind to live amongst human's, and even rarer to defend them." Asked the High Elf in curiosity. Yet Just as Colt was about to answer someone else spoke up, that someone being Maia, the Queen of Mercenaries.
"He probably just smelled the blood and wanted a piece of the action. If mutts like him aren't raping a woman then they are just slaughtering by the dozens." She stated with a wave of her hand as if Colt's opinion never mattered. Though when the accused made to defend himself he was cut off by the Shield Princess Alicia.
"I have to agree with the mercenary on this one. Dog's like him deserve to be put down, the mere fact that we are giving him a chance to speak is already more then he deserves." She stated while staring with nothing but contempt at Colt.
And so it went back and forth with each Princess tossing their own thoughts about why Colt did what he did with the reasons getting progressively worse. Celestine, Prim and Claudia had tired to restore order to little success. All the while Colt just stood there with his hair shadowing his eyes while his fist were clenched so bad he had made cuts in his own palm that let blood slowly drip onto the polished white floor.
Eventually a final comment is all it took for Colt to finally snap, and it came from the Halfling Ruu-Ruu.
"Maybe the dog has a death wish and just wanted to go out in a blaze of false glory? If that's the case why don't we just finish the job and end him now?" She said innocently but with a hint of satisfaction at the thought of ending the lycanthropes life.
*SMASH*
The sound of breaking stone had drawn all of the Princesses attention to the subject of the meeting and in all honesty they were quite scared at what they saw. For there stood Colt with his fist embedded into the stone table with the cracks spread quite far. This show of strength wasn't the cause of their fear though, no the real cause was the look on the cursed man's face that could only be described as primal rage.
Colt's Eye's were now glowing bright red in anger as his elongated canines were displayed in a savage snarl. The man looked quite ready to kill and all of them had no doubt that he could do the deed with little effort. Their fear was quickly washed away by confusion however when he spoke as his voice was one of cold fury.
"You think you know me don't you? You've seen one beast-man you've seen them all right? Well your wrong. I didn't save that village out of some selfish gain, but rather I saved it because it was my home! Two years I had done everything to live a peaceful life in that town wanting nothing more then to enjoy said peace for as long as possible. Now here you sit on your high horses acting like you know me!? If this is the policy of the Seven Shield's Alliance then I wonder why I even bothered trying to live amongst your kind at all." He finished and it took a moment before the Shrine Maiden Kaguya started to speak in a measured tone of voice.
"And what do you mean by that Colt-san? It seems that you have lived quite the harsh life if you have wanted peace so much as to try and seek it out amongst your enemies."
"Oh you think? Do you know that because of your stance on monsters that I have been hunted everyday of my life since I was five years old? And it's not just me but every beast kin that dwells in these lands! You think any of us asked to be like this, to be cursed with turning into a monster every full moon and hunt just like the animals we represent? It was only for those two years in that village that I actually knew what peace actually was. There were no hunters to worry about and I took every precaution necessary so that when my transformations came around there would be no casualties." He declared coldly while still trying to reign in his temper.
"I-I had no idea." Muttered Celestine just loud enough to hear.
"Didn't know or didn't care. My species is the way it is now thanks to your decisions and your hate for anything even relating to the term monster. Yet even so I would rather make peace with you than seek your slaughter or defilement because that is the only way I can live without the threat of a knife finding its way into my back. So now that you've heard my reasoning what will you decide to do with my fate? Will you cut me down like the rabid dog the rest of my kind are or what?" He finally finishes while leaving the members of the Seven Shield Alliance in shocked silence. None of them could believe what they had heard but the truth in his eyes spoke volumes to them, but to Celestine it just made here decision much easier.
Standing from her seat she moved to stand before Colt and looked up into his eyes as his great height towered over her. For a moment the two simply stared, sizing the other up. Then in a surprising move, Celestine actually smiled at the lycanthrope, but not in a malicious or sadistic way as he had seen with the hunters he had encountered. No, this smile was full of hope and maybe a bit of sadness. And when she spoke her words were soothing and seemed to settle his primal rage down till it was next to none existent.
" I know you have suffered much Colt, and that I as well as my peers are responsible for it. I cannot offer you peace, but what I can offer you is the chance to create the peace you wish for, but only if you will accept it." She said and for a moment Colt was in a state of disbelief. He had heard how kind the Goddess was but to experience it for himself was something else entirely, even so her offer seemed too good to be true.
"What must I do to attain it?" He asked with a small bit of skepticism while the others leaned in close wondering what their founder and leader was up to and what offer she was suggesting.
"I want you to become a part of the Seven Shield's Alliance. Yet even if you do not accept you will be allowed to leave and start your life elsewhere without your condition ever being made known outside these walls. The choice is entirely up to you." She said seriously.
The room was so quite the buzzing of a mosquito's wings would have been as loud as a hurricane. Then all at once the silence was broken as numerous shout's of protest ran about from the various member's of the Alliance. None more so than from Alicia and Maia as they were spouting things that would make a sailor blush and a merc spit up his beer at the quite colorful vocabulary they were using. Coming from Maia this was expected but coming from one of nobility like Alicia was quite the surprise.
"Enough."
That one word spoken by Celestine was enough to silence the whole room, not because of the tone or volume of it but rather the sheer power behind the word. It was times like these that one remembered that she was the reincarnation of a goddess and had the power to back it up.
Seeing that her peers had been silenced, if only for the moment, the High Elf turned and looked back at the still stunned lycanthrope to wait for his answer.
Colt however, was in a bit of a bind. He was looking at both sides of the coin here and each one had its up's and downs. For if he didn't join nothing would really change and he would start over probably in a new village. Yet that also got him thinking on what would happen if another raid took place. He had heard the stories, and witnessed a few, of the times when an monster raid was successful. The rape and defilement of countless women as their husbands, brothers, and sons were butchered before their very eyes. In all reality his village was given a miracle to get away with only minor casualties.
Yet, even if he joined he would face scrutiny and constant harassment from his peers just for being what he is. But if he did accept Celestine's offer he could earn that trust and pave the way not only for himself, but for all other beast kin who wanted to live in peace just like himself. This was an offer he couldn't afford t let go.
So looking down into those beautiful green eyes of the High Elf he gave her a true smile, that made her cheeks redden a little if she was honest, before going to one knee with his head bowed low not in submission, but in respect.
"I gladly accept your offer my Lady."
Celestine's smile could have put the sun to shame as she summoned forth an ornate blade and commenced the knighting ceremony right then and there in the presence of her closest confidents.
"I Knight thee, Sir Colton. Now stand and accept your new title with pride." She said happily as Colt did just that and the sheer joy coming from him was enough to eclipse Celestine's own. Not even the rather sour looks from a few of the other Shield's could dampen their moods.
"So what is to be my first assignment my Lady." Asks Colt as he was more than eager to begin. The sooner he got started the sooner he could prove himself to the others and earn their trust. The serious look Celestine now sported quickly got rid of his own smile as he gazed back in the same way.
"This may be a bit soon but I think you are the only one here capable of pulling this off with as little bloodshed as possible ironically enough. I want you to Capture Olga Discordia and bring her to me alive to stand trial for all the crimes she has committed in this war." Said Celestine.
Right then and there Colt regretted his eagerness and was cursing himself to a thousand hells.
'Well at least I'll get to see what this Dark Elf Queen looks like. Though her beauty is said to rival Celestine's I can't help but want to find out for myself. Let's just hope I can keep my primal nature down before I do something I regret.' Thought Colt to himself as he quickly accepted the mission and the meeting continued on with Colt's thoughts still straining on how exactly he was gonna accomplish his mission. If this was the mission for new recruits he hated to see the mission given to the more elite members.
Well there's the next chapter guys. Hope you enjoy it and review and/or pm me!