As soon as Xenia got dressed, she immediately proceeded to the castle chapel to witness the wedding of her sister, Mineah, to the Vampire King. It was a solemn and simple wedding, one following the rules and traditions of Ebodia.
Looking one last look at herself, she knew she should be wearing something more feminine and befitting of her royal status like her mother, but she didn’t really want to waste any more time changing clothes. Besides, no one would even dare point out the fact that she was dressed for battle seeing the current situation they were in.
Reaching the chapel, Xenia noted that a considerable number of royal families and their relatives were present. The Officers of the State for the Kingdom of Ebodia were also present, which was a given seeing as they were tasked to stay inside the castle to assist King Stephan during these trying times.
“She’s so beautiful,” Xenia whispered to her mother as she stood by her side. Mineah was currently walking down the aisle, their father escorting her sister to the groom waiting by the altar.
“You two are both gorgeous, so I’m sure you’ll also look as stunning as Mineah on your own wedding day,” her mother complimented, the older woman’s hands holding Xenia’s and squeezing it gently.
The princess faintly smiled at the reassuring gesture. Her mother didn’t say any more words, but Xenia knew that it was her way of comforting her about the fact that she was the next one to go through a political marriage.
Still, despite the outward smile that her mother was showing, Xenia could feel how tense and worried their mother was not just for her, but also for Mineah.
“I’m sure you already talked to Beirut and received his assurances about Mineah and my futures…” Xenia whispered with a gentle smile. “Don’t worry, we already decided to follow this path that’s been dealt to us. I’m sure both of us will live out our lives in relative happiness.”
Queen Dana nodded at her daughter’s words. “I can only hope so,” she whispered out, gently caressing Xenia’s cheek. “I know that both you and Mineah can handle these things head-on with all the positivity in you.”
Xenia had a beautiful smile at her mother’s words. She had no choice but to hope for the best as well. Her eyes then fell towards Darius’s direction together with the officers. He was in his combat outfit as well, his armor glistening against the light as he sat next to Gideon and Bartos.
Noticing her gaze, Gideon smiled at her. Meanwhile, Bartos slightly bowed at her attention, making Xenia smile back with a slight bow of her as a greeting to both men.
Xenia’s gaze then shifted back to Darius once more. Like last time, chills ran through her spine just from the intensity of his gaze alone.
Holding out for merely a few seconds, she immediately broke eye contact the moment it felt far too much. She felt like ice melting whenever she met his gaze, and doing such a thing for a prolonged period was currently an impossibility.
At the toll of the chapel bells, the wedding ceremony finally started. It went relatively smoothly, and it ended soon enough with not much dilly dallying due to more pressing matters.
Time was simply precious, and they didn’t have the energy nor resources to spare for a gaudy ceremony when war was looming on the horizon.
After the wedding, Xenia along with her family walked Mineah to the carriage with the Vampire King.
“I must secure the safety of my wife, my family, and the Council by taking them back to Valcrez,” King Nikolai declared to her father. “As soon as I am able, I will then return with more of my soldiers as reinforcements to join the battle.”
“I understand,” King Stephan promptly replied. “I am more than grateful for you putting the safety of my daughter first, and for honoring our traditions.”
Unlike Xenia, Mineah’s body was very fragile, so it would be safer if her sister stayed within Valcrez’s more secure location.
Xenia could only watch as her younger sister bid her farewell to their parents. Shaking off her mixed emotions, she turned to her and hugged her tightly.
“Please take care, Sister,” Mineah whispered into Xenia’s ear. “We’ll see each other again soon.”
Xenia only gave her sister a reassuring nod as she gently pushed her away, signaling her to enter the carriage. “Take care.”
Watching the carriage leave along with the rest of the Vampire King’s denizens, Xenia held a deep breath as she prepared herself for what’s to come.
“We have to leave soon,” Xenia heard Darius inform her parents. He then looked at her and said, “The carriage is ready…”
Xenia frowned when a carriage stopped by in her direction.
“I will ride on my horse,” Xenia firmly declared, her sharp gaze aimed directly at the king. “Can’t you see that I’m on my armor? And you want me to ride inside a carriage?”
“Xenia! That is not the proper way to talk to your future husband,” her mother scolded her.
Xenia’s mouth twitched as she murmured, “My apologies…”
“King Darius is simply concerned about your health and welfare,” King Stephan reasoned. “You’re still exhausted, so he wants you to travel as comfortably as possible.”
Xenia didn’t bother replying, thinking that it would only be a temporary arrangement. Mentally shrugging, she bid her farewell to her parents and signaled Jayra to ride with her inside the carriage.
“Let’s go,” she heard Darius instruct.
At the king’s command, the carriage moved along. They kept up their standard pace while they were still inside the territory of Ebodia.
Sitting opposite of her, Jayra commented, “King Darius seems thoughtful.” Her friend’s teasing smile didn’t escape Xenia’s eyes, but she decided to ignore the mage, and instead, she simply blew air up on her forehead.
“Technically, it’s best that you ride inside the carriage. It’s scorching outside, And with the sun being this blazing hot, you need enough rest,” Jayra explained. “Besides, you’ve been through enough traveling in a while. Your inner force was depleted by the poison, and I won’t let you tell me that you can still go out there like that.”
Xenia rolled her eyes. She was honestly feeling weird, but she just didn’t want to entertain the foreign feelings swirling around within her. Not that she didn’t care, but she simply didn’t want to dwell too much on something that she knew wasn’t even important at the moment.
Still, a part of her knew that she wasn’t ready to properly sort those feelings out. Thus, she often ended up sulking and acting grumpy around Darius as some sort of coping mechanism against those pesky foreign and confusing feelings she always felt around him.
“By the way, should I apologize to them properly?” Jayra asked, breaking the sudden silence.
Xenia looked at her and asked, “Huh?” She was interrupted from her deep thought, her mind still lingering on the things she should do in the thirty-days grace period she had left before marrying the Werewolf King. Unlike before, running away was no longer an option for her.
“Those two werewolves I knocked out to sleep,” Jayra reminded her.
“Hmm… They don’t even know that it’s you who knocked them out,” Xenia pointed out with a shrug. “Don’t bother. Besides, you didn’t technically harm them, so I think it isn’t necessary.”
“But that one with the scar… Bartos… He’s a bit scary,” Jayra breathed out. “Well, not physically since he’s technically handsome despite the scar on his face, but what I mean is that it creeps me out how he looks at me as if he knows I did something bad to him…”
Xenia chuckled, “Hah! That’s Bartos’s normal expression, I think. Don’t worry too much.”
“But I feel weird,” her friend pouted. “I always somehow catch him looking at me. Not with a normal look, but… It was too… intense? It’s as if he wants to eat me alive. What if I look like some kind of delicious meat in his eyes? There are those cannibal werewolves who prey on humans too, you know.”
Hearing her friend’s concerns, Xenia chuckled and was about to say something when the carriage suddenly stopped.
“What’s going on?” Xenia murmured with a slight frown.
Before she could assess what was happening, the door suddenly swung open from its hinges. It was Darius.
“Milady, one of my men wanted to talk to you and discuss something important about our journey,” he promptly spoke to Jayra. “We need a mage’s guidance, so would you please step outside and join them on horseback?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Jayra quickly answered, quickly rushing out of the carriage without another word.
Watching her friend leave, Xenia’s frown deepened when Darius entered the carriage and replaced her friend’s spot opposite her.
“Move!” Darius yelled, and the carriage started moving once again.
“Do you even need to be in here?” Xenia unknowingly voiced out her thoughts.
With a devilish smile, Darius simply answered, “Yes. You’re here, after all.”
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