The Blood King's Bride
Chapter Ten

The Kingdom of Pres.

The Border forest...

The silent crunching of grass could be heard in the still darkness cloaked the forest. The sounds of the creatures living in it seemed extra eerie that day, almost like a haunting omen, warning of something bad that was about to happen. Plodding steps could be heard running across the wet grass, heading towards the border dividing the kingdom from its neighbor, The Kingdom of Neba. There was a purpose to the sprint, a harshness that couldn’t be overlooked. The people running were not normal citizens. They had a purpose, and a huge disaster was doomed to happen if they were not fast enough.

The Kingdom of Neba.

At the Palace Gates...

The King had appeared.

The immediate hush prompted by his presence caused Elena to look up at him in awe. Her grandfather was the one who had appeared. He was the only person she knew could silence a crowd just by his mere existence; even her father could never achieve that feat. She couldn’t help the feeling of pride that erupted in her, knowing that she was related to that great person.

The harsh sun shone brightly, blinding her from seeing the King clearly, as she looked up to the podium he stood on. However, she did notice that he had on his royal attire; an assortment of badges and jewelry adorning the apparel, not in any way hindering the purpose it was meant to play. She blinked her eyes continuously to block out the sun, raising her hands to her forehead to further shield it.

“Good day, Children of Neba. I thank you all, for celebrating this day with me. As an expression of my gratitude, I have prepared-”

“...this banquet especially for you,” Wazir said, saying exactly what the King’s was saying.

“So eat and drink, my good citizens...” The King said.

“So eat and drink, my good citizens...” Wazir said.

“Be merry! And do not let your future concerns trouble you, or your past haunt you. But be grounded in the present, which is today, now, and all through this day. Be happy, drink till you drop, eat till you’re full, but make sure you make the best of this day! Enjoy it as it were your last!” The King and Wazir said in unison.

Forest and Elena looked at him, their eyes wide with surprise. He rolled his eyes at their expressions while Mac snickered.

“How did you know what he was going to say?” Forest asked.

“I told you that I have attended this banquet so many times, didn’t I?” Forest scrunched his eyes, confusion dancing on his pretty features. Mac sighed, walking a bit towards them.

“The King says the same speech every year. I’m sure everyone here must have had it drilled into their brain by now.”

“Oh,” Forest and Elena exclaimed, finally understanding the situation. The people began to hail the King, dancing, chanting, and singing praises. Some people walked around, throwing flower petals, expressing deep love and reverence for their King.

Elena stood, taking in the spectacle happening around her. Her blood boiled, her feet tingling with the need to dance along with the people. She wanted to bask in the happiness surrounding her. She had never felt so elated in all her life. She smiled, then laughed hard. Her feet moved of their own accord, heading towards the people dancing. She could hear someone shouting her name, but she paid no heed. She was going to have fun, even if it was the last thing she did. Moving her body to the rhythm of the music, she swung her waist, jumped, twirled, and laughed. Someone came behind her and held her waist. She spun around to see who it was and saw it was Forest. Basking in the already overflowing happiness surrounding her, she held unto Forest tightly by his arms as his hands were still firm on her waist. Together, they danced till their feet hurt, the setting sun casting an otherworldly glow around the joyous atmosphere.

The sounds of plates clattering and cheering voices could be heard from outside the palace gates. The palace maids and servants could be seen walking about, serving the customers food on the seating portion allocated to them. They still used those same poles arranged earlier to prevent them from stumbling into themselves. Still, this time around, it was placed to allow more space for the people to relax and eat. Mats were given to the crowd on behalf of the King to place on the ground and seat on. He didn’t want the commoners to seat on the bare sand covering the surface of the outer palace gates. The commoners were so grateful to their King. Most of them had not even had the pleasure of seeing such luxury before, let alone sleep on it. The King surprised them further when he told them they could keep it. They all hailed and thanked the King so much they teared up. Elena was also thankful for the gift. As she felt the material between her fingers, she knew that the mat was of very fine quality. She knew that she would hold that gift dear, as that was the only thing she had ever received from her relatives that didn’t have any string attached.

Different delicacies fit for kings were passed around the crowd. When Elena and her friends finally received theirs, they all studied the food given to them in awe. It was beautifully arranged; the different colors found in the food were strategically placed to enhance its look. The aroma coming from it was also nice, and they all just couldn’t bear to take from it, afraid of destroying its beauty. While they all studied their food, Wazir couldn’t take it anymore and ate a spoonful. As he chewed, he moaned in delight, his eyes closed as he took in the ecstasy the food gave him.

“As expected of the Palace cooks. Their food can rival Kingdoms!” He said between chews, then finally swallowed.

“Oh this is nice, this is very nice.” He said, facing them.

“Why don’t you try it?”

They all looked down at their food and smiled. Following Wazir’s lead, they took a spoonful of their food and ate. Immediately they tasted it, their brows scrunched up, and their chewing became slow. They each looked at the other, and when they noticed the expressions on their faces, a common knowledge passed between them.

The food was bland.

Wazir was oblivious to the look passed between them as he urged them to eat. Forest didn’t know if it was because of the different types of food he had eaten at the Red Queen’s restaurant. Still, he couldn’t bear to eat again from the food served to him as the food lacked taste compared to Elena and Mac’s cooking.

“Here, you can have mine,” he said, passing his food to Wazir. Wazir looked at him curiously.

“Are you sure you don’t want to eat yours?” He asked.

“No. You can have mine. I’m not hungry.”

“You were salivating when the food was being passed around.”

“That was then. This is now. I have lost my appetite, so you can have mine.” He said earnestly. Wazir became suspicious. He looked at Elena and Mac and noticed that they also hadn’t touched theirs.

“You guys too? What’s wrong with the food?” He asked, worried and curious.

Elena laughed lightly upon seeing the worried look on his face. She waved her hands over her face and said;

“No, You don’t have to worry. There is nothing in the food. We just don’t have the appetite for it you see. It’s too, heavenly!” She said, a strange smile lighting her face. Wazir looked them over curiously, then he dragged their food to his side.

“Well, all the more for me then.” He said, happily eating from all of them.

Elena, Forest, and Mac looked at themselves and laughed as Wazir stuffed his face with food.

The Kingdom of Neba.

The Palace...

“Can you see her?” The King said, secretly peering out of the palace window facing the outer side of the palace where the crowd settled.

“No my Lord.” A young voice said. The King turned over to face his guest, happiness radiating from him.

“Svetlana, I do not know how to thank you.” He said. His voice was a mixture of praise and melancholy. Svetlana went down on her knees and bowed.

“My Lord, you do not need to praise me. I was just doing my job. In fact, my Lord, I should be the one thanking you. It is an honor working for you.” She declared, softly knocking her head on the ground.

“Please get up.” The King said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Svetlana stood up slowly but kept her head bowed.

“I do not know your reason for working with me. Someone as powerful as you can defend yourself from even the strongest opponents. Kingdoms fight to have people like you on their sides, and yet you chose to work for me. I wish there was something I could do to help you, but I know that you have your pride and would not seek my help. But I just want you to know, that whenever you need help, you can ask me, alright?”

“Thank you, my Lord.”

“Now, on to serious matters. You are sure that the King of Pres with his sorry excuse for a wife killed my daughter?” The King said, the barely concealed anger threatening to set loose.

“Yes, my Lord. Everyone in the palace knew, apart from Lady Elena. It was the day she escaped that I got the full news. Once I saw her trying to escape, I immediately followed her without a thought and was surprised that she took refuge in this kingdom.” Svetlana replied, and the King smiled.

“Her mother must have told her about us then.” He said, sadness radiating off him.

“I believe so my Lord. Once I saw her trying to replace a way to get into the kingdom, I immediately disguised myself as an old man. My original plan was to ask her for help, but it seems that my Lady is smarter than she gives off. She saw the opportunity and acted as someone younger but related to me, noticing the fact that young people weren’t asked to provide their identity as they would automatically be assumed to be under the guidance of a relation or adult.” Svetlana reported. The King laughed heartily.

“Of course my granddaughter is smart. She inherited my gene after all.” The king said boastfully. “But I do think I would have to tighten the security of the outer gates after this event, don’t you think?”

“Yes my Lord,” Svetlana answered, affected by the King’s happiness.

“It seems there is work to be done.” The king said, sighing.

“It seems so, My Lord.”

The King started pacing around, his hands joined together at his back. His face was scrunched up, deeply in thought. After a while, he said…

“I never liked that man. I advised my daughter against marrying him. If only, if only I stopped her from getting married to him. She wouldn’t have ended up dead.”

“My Lord, do not let that trouble you. The late princess was a wise woman. She had reached the age where she was old enough to make her own decisions. You cannot take the blame for that. If she decided to marry that man, maybe she had a reason for that, as everyone saw how hideous he was.”

“But what reason exactly? Why couldn’t she share the supposed reason with me?”

“My Lord, let’s not focus on the past, but the future. Now that we have found out what happened to the late princess, what action should we take next?”

The smile on the King’s face was malevolent. Svetlana could not help but feel pity for the King of Pres. Once the King had this expression on his face, nothing good came out of it.

“Our next action? Give that man a taste of his own medicine of course.”

There was a sudden knock on the room door. The King and Svetlana both faced the entrance of the room.

“Who is it?” The King bellowed.

“A servant, my Lord.”

“You may enter.” The King said, after a while. A short boy entered the room, his head bowed. He was putting on the servants’ attire that attended to the crowd outside.

“My Lord, your guests have arrived.” The servant reported.