The Emperor's Black Swan

Ep 6: An Evil Witch

Darilus’ POV

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It must be a dream.

It must be a nightmare. Though it is not that bad. So… a regular dream?

But it can’t be real.

I have been horrified by the demon living inside me for decades. And then suddenly, a swan turned into the enemy and was able to tame the demon. She is stark naked, utterly beautiful, and she was able to tame the demon in a matter of minutes with a tree branch and her claws.

So easily, she climbed on top of the wolf and presented herself as the more powerful figure. As the Alpha.

And the wolf submitted to her.

I don’t know whether or not to rejoice that an enemy has tamed the creature. Can I even trust that this is not a dream? And dear Goddess… her body on top of me–I mean the wolf, but technically on top of me too… she is covered in soot, her white hair is messy, but her sharp grey eyes and the way she speaks dominatingly…

I am truly embarrassed. Apparently, my manly instinct is still pretty much controlled by me. And it turns on as the woman is sitting on top of me, patting the wolf. Somehow, the demon enjoys her touch. But I feel everything the demon senses, too. And I can’t overlook the fact that this woman is sitting naked.

Naked.

With a lean, gorgeous body.

Goddess, I talk like I have not seen a woman in a decade. Well, she differs greatly from my textbook fiancé or the stoic Bifta. And I find that really refreshing.

Plus, she really is beautiful.

No. She is not. I need to stop thinking like that.

She is dangerous. She is dangerous. I chant the same thing over and over again in my head.

So… at least I know the demon does not have full control of me yet. My manly desire is still pretty much my own, proven by my bulge under her thigh.

I am dying of embarrassment. Even the demon, that usually taunts me, is embarrassed and covers our eyes with the paws. But then I hear something that shocks me.

I hear her laughing.

Suddenly, for a fraction of a second, I don’t know how, I feel like I am taking control of the demon wolf. I freeze, hearing her laughter, and the wolf does the same. My curiosity gets the better of me, and the wolf lowers its paws so we both can take in the witch’s laughing face. A second later, I realize I am the one moving the paws, not the demon.

Her face while laughing lights up, even brighter than the moon shining above us. I never thought that the White Witch of Tollyria would appear so normal when laughing. Honestly, she looks lovely and relaxed.

Does she laugh often?

How can someone with a beautiful laugh like that has the heart to kill many souls?

That is why I am stunned and cannot take my eyes off of her. Or is this her game to make me lower my guard? But she hasn’t found out that I am the Emperor, so what is there to play about?

Urrgh! The more I think about it, the tenser I get. This is annoying. And hugely humiliating.

I expect the demon to say bad things about me now, but surprisingly, the demon has been quiet, and calm. It is like the presence of the woman truly suppresses the demon’s existence. For the first time, I dare to hope that relinquishing myself from the demon is not a lost cause after all.

What is the woman’s name again? Sania? I have only heard about the White Witch but never met her myself. All of my generals fear her legendary skill in war strategy. And she fits all the descriptions that I have heard. White, flowing hair; sharp, grey eyes.

Sania. Sania. I try the name in my mouth, tasting each syllable with my tongue.

“Sania…,” suddenly the wolf’s mouth moves, and there comes a voice.

“Hm?” the woman looks at me inquiringly. What she doesn’t know is that I was the one calling her. Not the demon. I have never done that before. Usually, in the wolf form, my consciousness gets pushed back to the far corner and I can’t do anything while the demon roams as it likes. Yet somehow, I manage to take control of my voice to call the woman’s name.

Sania.

Because I don’t answer, the woman finally stands. “While we wait for that warrior woman to come back,” she says, “I am going to wash up.” She points one hand at the wolf. “If you try anything funny, if you touch the other cursed people in this garden, I will let you taste hell as punishment.”

Wait, she knows that the animals in the garden are cursed people? How long has she been In this garden? What if she is a spy?

The next excruciating minute, I have to watch her “wash up” in my own pond. I feel like I am back in my youth years, peeking into the lake to see women bathing. The difference is, I am a wolf now. The woman knows that the other animals are actually humans too, yet she nonchalantly washes herself in the pond, revealing her body to every pair of eyes. I can’t believe it!

Why doesn’t she care about being seen? Is she an exhibitionist?

Then again, I should have been more shocked to see that the demon is sitting calmly, waiting for her to finish washing up. Even weirder, its tongue sticks out. It really feels like I am inside an ordinary wolf now instead of the demon wolf that has been terrorizing me.

I know that sometimes, the lesser evil bows down to the bigger evil. In that case, then, is Sania the bigger evil?

Bifta finally arrives back with raw deer meat, fresh from the day hunt it seems, and she throws a set of clothes near the pond. Sania looks at the clothes as if she already predicted Bifta would give them to her. The white Witch finally steps out from the pond, water dripping from her pale skin, which is very in contrast to my dark skin.

For someone who is associated with a lot of dark things, she looks so… bright. She even looks holy under the moonlight.

“What do we do with this?” Bifta asks, holding up the raw meat.

 Once Sania is dressed, just a simple tunic and pants, she takes the meat from Bifta and holds it up for the wolf. Surprisingly, the wolf’s instinct is more like a dog, especially because Sania has established herself as the Alpha. The wolf sits, a submissive act to ask the Alpha to pretty please give the meat to it.

Sania smiles faintly. “Good dog.” She tosses the meat on the ground and the wolf jumps at it rabidly.

“It never stops the demon before,” Bifta says, “It would only hunt the other animals in the garden.”

“Because they are actually humans. Demons love to feast on humans more. Their fear is intoxicating.” Sania’s words make Bifta stunned. My general too, feels weird that Sania has already figured that out. “It doesn’t attack the other animals because I, the Alpha, don’t allow it. For now, the dead meat of pure animals can suffice. But demonic wolves' bloodlust will only grow. Soon, it will get to the point that my status as the Alpha will not matter.”

“So… it will go after the other cursed animals again?”

Sania nods. “Unless you finally subdue the wolf.”

“With the cure, you were talking about?” asks Bifta, “Then cure him!” She looks adamant, insistent. Yet the warrioress’ eyes show desperation. I know how it feels. I thought I am the only one feeling it, that hopelessness, being locked in the abyss of no return. So when someone suddenly comes and says I can be cured, my hope shoots through the roof.

But Sania only looks at Bifta coldly. She is smaller than Bifta, who has muscle mass just like my trained men. Yet Sania feels bigger than most of my men combined.

“Is the man trapped inside that important to you?” she asks Bifta.

“Y–yes.”

“Is he important in this castle?” she asks.

I pray the demon does not run its mouth to tell Sania about my identity. Sure, Sania might have the cure for me, but if an enemy finds out this weakness of mine, Aluthia would easily fall to Tollyria. I can’t trust this woman. Luckily, the demon seems to lose its ability to talk. Good, I can do a day without its taunting. And I pray too, Bifta knows what to answer.

“No.” Bifta sounds sure, which is good.

Unfortunately, Sania replies, “Then I’m afraid I can’t help you. I’ll be out from this garden before I can have the time to subdue another demon. I’m going out tonight.”

“What?” Bifta raises her voice. After a quick think, my general raises her crossbow too. “I wasn’t asking,” she threatens Sania.

My heart is beating fast. I am sure the demon feels it, too. I am worried Sania will do terrible things to Bifta.

The demon, however, is busy growling at Bifta. It is protecting its Alpha from someone threatening her. In a calm voice, Sania asks, “Must I remind you of who I am?”

There is something in the way she speaks that makes the surrounding air chiller than before. I can even feel the cold in my spine despite me not having control over my body. Hearing the loud growls of the wolf to Bifta, I am more worried that Sania will propel the demon to attack only Bifta. If she does, I will not forgive myself.

“Do not push me, warrior,” she says to Bifta, “I have done terrible things to get what I want. And in case your bards are doing terrible jobs, I am someone to be feared.”

Bifta takes a few steps backward, I can see her fingers start to tremble. I have never seen my general show signs of fear to anyone before. But even I, inside the demon, feel the growing dark pressure that surrounds Sania.

She truly is an evil witch.

“You best get going for the night,” Sania continues to say, “Tonight, the demon will not feast on any of your people cursed in the garden. And tonight, I will also walk away from your lives. So when whoever he is, wakes up in the morning, you both think to yourselves how to restrain the demon tomorrow night.”

The witch takes a step toward Bifta. The wolf too takes a step and keeps growling at my warrior while I can only stare at the back of my consciousness.

Luckily, Bifta makes the right judgment. She lowers her crossbow. “Leave our empire,” Bifta says to Sania with a sharp voice, “Tonight you are safe too. But if I see you on another day, I will kill you. And people will rejoice for your death.”

Sania only tilts her head. Her face is unreadable.

Then Bifta finally turns to leave, and I can breathe again.

The wolf stops growling. It sits down and looks up at Sania as if asking for instruction. “Go finish your meal, dog,” she says and I wince at the word ‘dog’. I want to keep following her around, observe her behaviors and keep an eye on her. But once again, I do not have any control over the wolf's body, so I can only let the wolf take me to the raw meat and munch on it.

At least it is not the meat of my people. And at least, the demon has stopped talking. 

While the demon feasts, I keep thinking of Sania. How is she able to tame a demon, reducing the horrible creature I know into a… tamed wolf?

The next question I ask myself is, what can I do to make her stay in order to cure me? 

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