97

❤️ A Truce With the Enemy ❤️

Rumi was still smiling.

"Don't try any harder Juno, he won't see you the way we both, especially you, see him," Rumi said once more and then her smile turned cruel, "Just die." she added and then brought her face closer to Juno and breathed on her face. Juno started vibrating and blood began coming out from her nose and mouth. "You are the only one standing between my happiness Juno and so I am doing the world a favor, doing myself and Storm a huge favor. 'She slept and didn't wake up again' that is the news that would reach Storm in an hour's time. See you at the other side of life, not soon though," she said and left the room. She heads home with a bright smile. Before the end of today, the news about Juno's death will circulate and Emera will bring the news to her. A better way to make the man more miserable.

__

The mysterious man re-appeared again close to Juno and immediately placed his face close to Juno's own and then as if he was sucking in the air, began to suck in whatever Rumi must have done to his bride.

Straightening his upper body up, he exhales loudly. "This has to stop. She won't hurt you anymore," he said to the empty room and disappeared.

__

Rumi stopped walking and stared around her slowly, she saw nothing out of the ordinary but still chuckled. "I know you are here, I can feel you. Whoever you are, show yourself if you are brave to face me and stop hiding." she said and once again stared at her surroundings hoping to catch whoever it was. Suddenly a dark smoke mist sprouted out from the ground and covered her, once it was clear and gone Rumi was gone too.

___

Emera saw Storm and matched towards him in anger. "How could you do that to Juno? You beat her up to the point of death and if not for the healer-"

Interrupted him abruptly without turning to look at him.

"She didn't die so why are you directing your anger at me?"

"How could you have beat her up so badly."

"You know what she did, so stop pretending as if you don't know."

"Where is the human sympathy that you have huh Storm? I thought you had until today."

"I still have that human sympathy. I don't like being played and that is what your daughter did to me today, playing on my intelligence."

"She did not."

"Why do you find it so hard to believe that the girl you knew twelve years ago is not the same person now? Please change and you don't know what they would have gone through. Why is it that she didn't come here all these years, why now that I am here? Why did she plan to leave with Gwen?" Storm asked and this time around he turned around to face Emera. "Give me one reason this isn't planned by your daughter and that her so called Dean of hers."

"Look Storm, Juno can't hurt Gwen because she doesn't want to hurt you," Emera said. "I know this is not the right time to say this but I have got to say it out, to tell you." he added before he took a deep breath and continued. "Juno and Gwen are blood sisters and twins," he revealed.

Storm stared at him for a minute before his lips twitched in laughter. "You are always up with excuses, I shouldn't have listened to you when you told me to release her and that fool from prison, maybe if I had listened to my inner self all these wouldn't have happened."

"I am serious here. They are sisters and I am not Juno's father."

"You are taking this too far. I won't touch your daughter, but when she wakes up she must tell me how to enter Kudarma Kingdom. She is the only person who could get Gwen out."

Emera closed the distance between them and then grabbed both Storm shoulders in a tight grip. "I am serious. I am not Juno's father and neither is Eden, Gwen's father. Her mother separated them and gave each one of us a child to protect. If you think I am lying, just think why she has blue hair and not mine or my late wife's color hair. Think."

"Gwen doesn't,"

"That's because she took after her mother whilst Juno took after her father."

"Let's say I believe you, where is her father and mother?"

"Their father is dead, he died during the war that chased the elves and dwarfs into hiding and their mother is within the palace of Dean," he said and when he saw the look Storm was giving him, he quickly added. "Juno told me about a woman Dean imprisoned in his palace and when she told me her name I immediately knew who she was. I thought Juno would know that's her mother but Adaoh didn't tell Juno the truth."

"You are just lying and I know men like you can go any length for their daughter. Nice story but you should have come up with a better believable one." he knocked Emera's hands off his shoulders and left him.

"What if I told you about Edgardo you won't still believe me," he said quietly to himself as he watched Storm back.

He started walking behind Storm and entered his room once he saw the man in question wasn't going in the direction of his room.

__

Storm climbed his horse and left the Palace, not knowing exactly where he was going. He wanted to be alone and soon when he stopped his horse, he realized he was in front of the old house where he had stayed with his mother in Altamon. He came down from his horse.

"I will be right back." he patted the horse's head as he whispered the words in the horse's ear.

Could Emera be lying or telling the truth? He wondered as he opened the door which led to the dirty room.

Inside looked the same as he stared at every corner of the room. Something caught his attention and he walked towards it.

Could that be? Is that not?

He bent down and picked the small bag of coins which he could recognize anywhere. He saw that almost half of the paper was outside the small bag and he quickly grabbed it and then opened the bag and one by one counted the coins. Hundred, hundred pieces of coins were there just like his father had given his mother. She didn't spend anything from it, why? If she wasn't going to spend it, why then did she take it from his father that night? Why did she give him to his father that night? Why?

He pondered in thoughts as he stared at the bag of coins in his hand. He remembered the paper and opened the folded paper. The handwriting on the paper has almost faded but he could still read what was written on it.

He re-read what was written on the paper and sighed out. This message was written by his mother before she was taken. She knew. His mother knew he would come.

The paper in his hand started burning and he held onto it as if the fire wasn't hurting him. He blew the ashes away once again and stared at the coins in the small bag.

"Thank you mother," he said and left for the Palace.

***

Kudarma Kingdom: (Dean Palace)

Kando knew where Dean would be at the moment and went to his room. He knocked once and waited to hear 'Come in' before he could open the door.

"Come in," Dean's voice was heard and Kando didn't need to be told two times before he entered.

Kando entered inside and saw Dean staring at his room window.

"What is it, Kando?" Dean demanded.

"I came to seek a request from you my Emperor," he said with his head

"A request? What kind of request?"

"I would really love it if you grant Gwen the permission to walk freely in the Palace until she returns back," Kando said.

"And why should I grant that? I hope you remember that my love is still with them and-" he paused when he suddenly felt pain from his forehead which was gone immediately he felt it. "He hurt her." he growled.

"Hurt who my Lord?" Kando asked, not understanding what his master was saying.

"He hurt my Kira, I am going to punish her, the girl you came with."

"No master please don't, I beg you. And how do you know Storm hurt Kira, he cannot do that, he cannot hurt Kira I can swear with my life."

"I saw her lying on a bed heavily bandaged and you are telling me that he can not hurt her? You are telling me that I cannot recognize my Kira anymore?" Dean asked in anger as he finally turned around to glare at Kando. "Tell me!!" he yelled, gritting his teeth.

"But you are here, how could you know he hurt her?"

"I probably developed a power that can make me see the one I miss I guess. I saw her and I know what I saw. That maggot has the guts to lay his hands on Kira. I am going to deal with our prisoner so that if he sees her he won't recognize her anymore, that is if she even survives."

"Please my Lord do not hurt, hurt me instead. whatever punishment you want to give to her you can give it to me. I beg of you."

Dean stared at him in surprise. "And why should I punish you instead of her?" he asked and when Kando made no move to respond. "Am I not talking to someone because I am sure I wasn't talking to myself," he added.

"Be..bee.because I love her, my Lord. Please I am begging you, punish me instead." Kando fell down to his knees and begged.

"For you to do this shows that you really love her. I would go to any length for my love," Dean said with a lopsided smile. "Alright then, I will punish you instead of her," he added.

"Thank you my Lord."

"Bring her here," Dean said and waited until Kando was up to his feet and left his room before he placed one of his hands on his forehead. The image of Kira lying on a bed and not moving was a shock to him. He didn't know how the image came to his head but he somehow knew the state Kira was in had to do with Storm.

Kando soon returns with Gwen behind him. He knocked and waited for the procedure before entering Dean's room.

"She is here, my Emperor." Kando announced and Gwen moved to stand besides Kando, staring at Dean.

Dean removed his hand from his forehead and stared at the beautiful lady in front of him. He wouldn't lie she wasn't pretty but she was nowhere close to his Kira but she was beautiful nevertheless.

"I told him to bring you here so that I can see the face of the woman who would make Kando take her punishment," Dean said as Gwen turned her head slightly to look at Kando in confusion. "Have we met before?" he asked, bringing Gwen's gaze back to him.

"We haven't, I don't easily forget faces that I have come across before."

"Really? Yours look like someone I have met. Don't worry, I will definitely remember where I have seen you before. Now on to the reason why I called you. Your Storm hurt my Kira and I was going to hurt you, punish you but your knight in shining armor saved you and requested that your punishment should be passed down to him," he said. "Once you return her make sure you come back, I need to burn out my anger on someone which is luckily you."

"First of all, Storm is not mine and secondly, What? Taking my punishment?" She yelled out once again facing Kando. "I can take my own punishment, moron."

Kando didn't reply her and Dean gave a slight nod and that gesture was a signal for them to get out of his room.

"Let's go." Kando said and left Dean's room and didn't bother to turn because he knew that Gwen would be following him. Once they got to his room, Gwen immediately used her right index finger to get Kando's chest.

"How dare you? Do you think I cannot take his punishment Kando? Do you see me as a weakling?"

"No Gwen I do not see as such. Trust me you cannot handle his punishment. You don't know what his punishments are and believe me when I tell you that you will die."

"And you won't?" Gwen asks in sarcasm.

"Yes and that's because I am a god so I will heal quickly unlike you who is just normal."

"A god who is a slave." the words rolled out from Gwen's mouth before she could stop. She grimaced when she saw Kando look. "I am sorry I didn't mean to say that Kando." she apologized but Kando was already out of his room.

****

Unknown Place:

The black smoke mist was seen sprouting out from the ground on an empty place and once it was gone, Rumi was standing there, highly pissed off. Who the hell could do such a thing to her? She was in an unknown place and could only see trees. She doesn't even know where she is.

"You must be wondering why I had brought you here and not killed you." a voice which startled her spoke from behind her.

Twirling around to see the source, she was met with a masked man.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked not scared a bit. "Talk before I roast you."

That earn a deep chuckled from the masked man. "I am someone you don't want to mess with Rumi." the mysterious unknown man replied. "But I didn't bring you here to threaten you or strangle you to death or give you a painless death, rather I brought you here to make a truce with you."

"A truce? With me? What truce?"

"I know you have been trying to kill Juno and it isn't working well. That's because I am the one always stopping it. I don't want you to harm or hurt Juno anymore. I love Juno and you love Storm. So I will help you get Storm and you will help me get Juno in return. Deal?"