Chapter 301 - Third Stage of the Competition (11)

Arcane fell so badly that he shouted in pain. Somehow he got up feeling as though one or the other bone in his body had broken. His shoulders dropped and he looked pained. With a limp movement, he tried to pick his wand up to cast the spell but before he could point his wand at her again, Adrianna had already cast the spell "Nuyyn" on him that arrested his movements immediately. Arcane couldn't walk and he fell on the ground again. This time also he didn't leave his wand. 

Adrianna thought of playing a child's trick on him and out of nowhere, some mud appeared which she slung in his eyes, at the same time withdrawing the Nuyyn spell. Arcane's hand went to his eyes as he left his wand on the floor to remove it. "Adrianna, you bitch! You duped me!" he shouted trying to remove that mud from his eyes that had blinded him. 

Adrianna chuckled as she went ahead to pick his wand first. Then she pointed her wand in the air and with a spell, she pointed it back on him. In the next instant a large amount of water fell from above over Arcane drenching him completely and removing all the mud from his eyes. The water was so cold that Arcane teeth were chattering as he shivered. "Adr- Adri- Adriannaaannnaaa, you are such- a c- con master. You have tricked m- me," he stuttered. 

"We are in a competition. Do you expect me to tell you every spell I cast before I cast it on you?" she replied nonchalantly.

"W- wait till I- I kill you," he said as he fumbled around to find his wand in that pool of water that seemed to touch Adrianna's feet but never wet her, while he sat in it waist deep. 

"Are you finding this?" asked Adrianna showing him his wand.

Arcane looked at her with a shock in his eyes. "You bitch!" he shouted again as he stood up. 

"Na na! Say you witch!" Angered by the way he was abusing her, she snapped her fingers and Arcane became quiet. It was as though he had lost his ability of speech. He knew what was going on around him, but he didn't know how to formulate words. 

Adrianna removed water from around him. She went near him, held his hand and then raised it indicating that her competition was over. Both the wands were in her hands now. 

Adrianna was surprised that this time the round lasted only until the afternoon. She had won over Arcane within shortest time ever recorded. Once again when the door out of the segment opened, Adrianna's broom rushed to her and nudged her to sit on it. It was so proud of her owner that it kept tapping her bums until she sat over it and it took her around the entire field of the cheering crowd. The winner had to go in front with the loser following him or her. Although Adrianna had returned his power of speech, she hadn't returned his wand. 

He had to follow her behind until she came back to her segment where Dmitri and Ed were shouting and waving her banners in air, while Cora was sitting proudly shaking hands with people around her.  

"That's my daughter-in-law," she was heard saying to all of them. 

"Adri is married to my son."

"She belongs to our family."

"Adrianna is after all the luna of the werewolf kingdom." 

Those were the other variations people heard from her. 

By the time it was 3PM they were back in the Royal Palace. Ed and Cora had especially ordered nutritious meals for Adrianna. While they were discussing the strategy for the next competition, suddenly Ed asked her, "Adri, when is the next full moon night?" 

"It is coming soon, four days after this week ends," replied Cora. "But why do you ask Ed?" she asked looking at Ed with question in her eyes. 

Ed and Dmitri paled as they looked at Adrianna. Isidorus had already declared that he wouldn't wait another day for crowning after the third stage is over. 

"Nothing…" Adrianna replied and looked at her grandfather and husband with sadness. An unknown fear gripped her heart.

Cora disregarded the conversation regarding full moon night and looked as though she was immersed in deep thoughts. She sighed and said, "My husband disappeared on the full moon night. No one could find him. I had looked for him for so long but couldn't even find a bone that belonged to him…" 

Ed became curious. "What happened to him?"

"There was a rebellion in my pack. Some people had started it and Pierre was fighting him. Pierre was at that time alpha of four packs. We don't know how but somehow the rebellion increased. Pierre had gone to suppress the rebellion but he disappeared overnight. In those days lots of humans were being converted into werewolves. They were known as neotides. The people who had gone with him were attacked on all sides by the neotides. Pierre found himself surrounded by them. He fought with them for two days continuously until I also reached the battleground to fight with him alongside. However, by the time I had reached he was badly injured. While we were fighting, I had moved further away from him. Suddenly after two days our men started leaving the battleground. I wondered what happened, when one of them came to me and said that I'd better run for life as Pierre is missing. He said that I had to go and protect our son. Instead of looking for Pierre, I went to find Dmitri to protect him." 

Cora looked at Dmitri with a smile. "They say that the neotides were a part of the army of a man called Vikra. I have sent my men everywhere to find Vikra, but they have failed… It is my wish that I find Vikra and kill him with my hands…" 

Ed, Dmitri and Adrianna were looking at her with shock in their eyes. 

"Do you think it was Vikra who killed father?" asked Dmitri slowly.

"Hmm… I strongly believe that his hand was in Pierre's disappearance."