Sorry for the long break, real life gets in the way some days.

Disclaimer; I don't own the copyright to any of the characters I've used. I hope you enjoy it anyways.

Part 4

The throne room was longer than wide, with a great tapestry at the farthest end in the Mille-Fleurs style of the lion rampant with the unicorn to meet it. Each was in a gold collar, on a field of azure blue, a verdant tree behind and between them. Fleur de Lis made up the border. Eric did not know if it had any special significance to the Queen. He suspected it must, especially seeing the pronounced fangs on the lion; she did very little for vanity's sake only. She was wise and ancient and not a fool, she did not dare expose hidden secrets of her race directly, so it was quite possible, if he took the time to examine it more closely, that the true meaning would become clear. She had employed the most brilliant of the Flemish weavers to create it; that much was obvious. It was a beautiful piece, even without an overt story. It was flanked by bronze torches, their flames held in check in metal cages which blazed against the stone, casting shadows he could see beyond, and she could, but that were otherwise mystical to the humans who served her in that expanse.

He had requested the audience of her chamberlain, a small man, desperately efficient, who had been with her for hundreds of years, a fraction of her true age. He had tattoos around his arms and on his chest; Eric could see them when his tunics or the darkness did not cover them. Though he looked young, he certainly was not, one could tell that when he spoke. His words were slow and measured, and every response to a question was thoughtful. Though he likely had a great deal of power; from sharing the blood of the Queen (because Eric supposed that they had bonded in some fashion, it only made sense seeing how she needed to depend on him), he did not play the warrior. Quite the opposite in fact.

Godric had been pleased to admit Eric to the audience. His position as the Sheriff of the Vampire legions had apparently earned him some play with Her Majesty. So had his loyalty. And as he approached the throne, set practically behind a large table where the lady had her own papers and maps and the goblet of blood that still vaguely steamed in the cool of the room, she was there waiting for him.

"Your highness." He bowed on one knee, at a respectful distance and bent his head to her.

"Eric, your presence is most welcome." Her voice was powerful, resonating against the stone walls, even though the volume itself was sedate.

With her words he was given leave to stand, and so he did, still remaining at the same distance from her, slightly loath to get closer because he knew he likely still smelled of Jankin's blood; and while the man might have a spell to disguise himself from the others, Eric could not guarantee that he could keep the ancient Vampire before him from sensing it.

"Godric tells me that you have a proposal for me?"

"I do my Lady. A stratagem that the wolf Alcide and I have devised, in hopes of finding more information about the origin of the plague on your lands."

"Then I am most interested in hearing about it. Please do approach and tell me more." Eric understood the sincerity in the Queen's voice, she was a good ruler, to all her subjects, an example for a future he thought, when humans would know the truth about Vampires.

Eric took a few more steps forward, keeping the table between himself and the Queen, gauging her reaction.

"We wish to mount an expedition to the valley lands, to ascertain from which direction the hoards arise."

"An interesting thought."

"But of course we would need men, and we would be gone for many days as the journey is not likely to be a quick or simple one."

"You would have Weres then I suppose?"

"I would not ask my brethren to sleep in the earth, I know it is distasteful to many of them, given the luxury you provide for us all here."

She clucked her tongue in her mouth, and grinned a little smile with the left corner of her lips.

"Yes, they have forgotten the old ways. But not you Eric, you remember the crypts and the graves don't you?"

"And I have no aversion to them."

"And Alcide will travel with you then, during the night hours?"

"He will. He is used to hunting with me in the dark. It is our preference."

"A challenge to be certain."

"But a necessary one we believe."

"And I agree." She stood from her throne and walked around the large oaken table, coming to stand very close to him. He did not flinch, and she made no moves to indicate that she could sense anything amiss in his blood or on his person. Relief flooded him, but he kept it just as hidden as the previous concern. "So tell me what you propose?" She turned back to the table and unrolled a hand-copied and yellowed map of the Queendom, holding it down by means of little bundles of sand at each corner.

Eric traced his finger along the ridgeline demarcating the valley, demonstrating where he and Alcide had thought it would be best to send reconnaissance parties, and of course, their route, straight down the maw of the thing. He could feel the Queen's eyes as much following the track on the map as the finger that traced it, and he began to worry that perhaps he had misjudged her interest in him. Her fingers on his shoulder made him want to jump, but he held himself in check, and fortunately, with no breath to hold, he was able to continue seamlessly.

"Whatever lays beyond it, must be the source of the walkers." Eric did not make eye contact with her, but instead, stared at the map, as if by doing so he could make the thing materialize.

"I must concur, in the face of no other reasonable explanations." The queen walked away from him, lacing her hands behind her back, as she stepped back around the table, her eyes on the tapestry. "Assemble your teams and give the lists to Godric of what you will require, he will see that your needs are packed and ready for you in two nights time. Is that enough?"

"More than enough Your Highness." Eric bowed again as she turned around to face him.

"I look forward to your return. Bring me news, and bring me answers Eric."

"I intend to your Majesty." Eric took a few steps backwards and then turned himself and strode from the hall, slightly amazed that it had gone so well.

ooOOoo

Alcide had almost shown a bit of his own fang, he had been so excited by the prospect of getting out of the castle on a full, proper hunt. As much as he felt the rush, each time he made his kills, the repetition was beginning to wear on him, just as it was on many of the supernaturals in the Queens's service. He didn't feel that it would be difficult to recruit six or so other Weres to accompany them: even if it did mean travelling with a Vampire. He grinned as he spit that one out. It earned him a hiss from Eric, but nothing serious. The Vampire was just as pleased, even if it meant travelling with a malodorous pack of wolves. They were even.

"I need very little by way of supplies," he told Alcide, which was true. He was certainly old enough to go several days without blood, especially if he fed well over the next two nights; the previous had been an excellent start. "But if you make your list I will take it to the Chamberlain." Eric was well aware that Godric inspired a discomfort in the Weres, more than any of the other Vampires. His relationship to the Queen, his physical appearance that made him look more boy than man, and the vicious nature he hid under a serene demeanor and slow, exaggerated movements, all combined to set everyone's senses on edge. While he was not completely certain of the man and his motives, Eric had no fear of facing the man.

"Fair enough."

"You can find me later, I shall likely be in my quarters then."

"Shall I send Maizie again?"

"Certainly not."

And Eric walked away from the Were so he did not have to look on his growing smirk.