Author's Note:

Hello everyone! Here I am trying to update whenever I can. This chapter will be a short one but it's a little teaser and hopefully should answer some questions. Thanks again for all of the positive feed back and it is helping me along. I will finish this! Also, I had a few other stories rolling around in my head but I won't be cruel and put it out there without finishing this one. I have to finish at least one! Enjoy!

The First Reckoning

Meiato's shoulders sagged as he watched his dusty boot clad feet against the clean white floors of the palace. The loud clicking they made as he walked towards the throne room echoed ominously against the bare white walls. The sterile nature of the palace was unsettling and his nerves were completely frayed. He was exhausted beyond belief having personally spent almost two weeks in the god forsaken heat and cold of the badlands. He would be lucky to come out of this with both his life or limbs intact. Sighing deeply he stopped at the black heavy double doors of his King's throne room. Squaring his shoulders and pushing back a stray hair that had come out of his ponytail, he pulled at the lapel of his guard uniform in a vain attempt to be presentable and quickly pushed in both doors to enter. Not bothering to close the doors he marched straight to the elevated throne. Quickly lowering his body into a deep bow and subsequently bending to kneel before his King, Meiato had made sure to avert his eyes and stare at the floor.

"My lord, we have turned up only one creature out of the four intrusions detected in the eastern badlands. The prisoner is being tested according to your instructions and after will be brought to you for the interrogation."

Shifting his weight into the plush black cushion of his high backed throne, the King brought his long slender fingers to his temple and thumped them gently against his pale cool skin. His guard's incompetence had set his blood boiling. His fingers left his temple and stretched out to a solid glass side table next to his throne. He fingered the rim of his glass of wine as he considered his next words or actions carefully. He could kill the guard and he would take great relief and excitement from ripping his throat with his bare hands. His eyes slit as the thought slightly aroused him. He grabbed the glass and lifted it to his lips and took a long drink. His pale blue shoulder length hair fell forward slightly, covering his piercing grey eyes as he tilted his glass even further emptying its contents.

"You look like shit Meiato. Your incompetence irks me!" he yelled out angrily. "How is it that three intrusions have somehow escaped both yourself and your regimen!" He barked spittle flying from his mouth. "I should tear you limb from limb for your failure!" at this he had stood from his throne knocking over his glass table and shattering it to pieces. Descending the steps fire burned deeply in his eyes, he snarled down at his guard who had yet to raise his head. The mere fact or his courage at staying still and obedience made him reconsider. Throwing his hand back he backhanded the defenseless man knocking blood from his mouth.

Grinding his teeth together in hatred, Meiato forced himself to stay knelt and motionless least he provoke his King to do worse.

Huffing loudly, the King turned, his cloak swishing behind him dramatically as he ascending quickly up the steps to his throne. Setting himself down, he closed his eyes shut tightly and waved his hand dismissively. "Go. Rest. Send one of your second in commands into the field and find that bitch!" he snarled.

Not waiting for another order, Meiato thanked his lucky stars and quickly rose and walked briskly out of the throne room.

"I want that thankless bitch to be brought to my feet. I want to see her broken and begging for me to have mercy on her. And I will show her none!" he spewed as his guard left, not bothered to be ranting to no one in particular in his empty throne room.

"That whore will be mine and I will make her realize what a mistake it was to run from me," he laughed darkly his eyes going blank devoid of any emotion except the madness that was left behind. All those hundreds of years alone had taken a toll having had to rethink about his failure in not having captured her. The defiance and determination of her damn people had brought his own body to death's gate and in a panic he had taken another's body crushing the soul that had belonged to it. Along with his body, he had lost much more a millennium ago. Body snatching was dangerous and you were never the same. Although he had expelled the dying man's soul, he felt plagued with foreign thoughts and emotions he had never known. He had felt regret and sadness and a longing he'd never experienced. His own kind had no sort of emotions and so the clash had been slowly driving him into madness. He thought of nothing else except to have her and possess her and somehow it would fix him and he would finally be at peace with everything he desired.

"Nothing will stop me from having her. She has nowhere to hide."