AVERY

  I was settled in my room as Meylin unpacked my clothes and other things. She huffed and hung my dresses in the closet. I smiled at her as I sipped on my tea.

  "That was so rude of him to say that. I mean, of course not all royal families are married to the ones they love, but still!" Meylin complained, shutting my luggages and fixing them in a corner.

  "I think I understand where he's coming from, though. I mean... I bet... he hasn't experienced real love." I placed my cup down and Meylin glared at me.

  "Don't give me that nonsense, Your Majesty. He's just much of a bastard like King Ferhann." Meylin huffed.

  I giggled, "Hush now, Meylin. Don't speak about my husband like that."

  "Yeah. No." She stubbornly said and all of a sudden, there was a knock on my door.

  Meylin and I looked at each other and I nodded at her to open the door. When she did, Typhone entered with a bouquet of pink and red roses. My eyes widened and I blinked at him.

  "Your Majesty." I stood up and Typhone just ushered me to sit back down.

  I looked at Meylin and ushered for her to give us some privacy. I looked at Typhone and then at the bouquet of roses.

  "What brings you here?" I asked and he shoved the bouquet in my face.

  Oh. That surprised me. But... the roses smell so good and... they have white dusts on them. Snow maybe?

  "Oh. Sorry." He said and moved the bouquet a little, but I took it from him and took a sniff of the fresh flowers.

  "I was... wondering if you'd like to roam around the palace. I can introduce you to my servants and give you a tour of your... new home." His voice was hushed as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

  He was looking away, his leg was bouncing nervously, and I can see beads of sweat forming on his forehead. I smirked and thought of teasing him a little.

  "Hmm... I don't know. My husband left me here all alone and now I feel like... I'm not in the mood." I sighed softly and I could see his head turning to look at me almost immediately.

  "That's not... I... I needed to do some paperwork." He reasoned and I stifled a giggle.

  "But I'm tired and cold and I... I'm not in the mood anymore." I looked down at the flowers sadly and then at him.

  His eyes were so wide and his lips were slightly agape.

  "So you don't... want to tour the castle today?" He asked, hesitant. He looked like a sad puppy that was forbidden to play by his owner.

  I giggled and finally caved in, "I was only teasing you, dear husband. Of course I'd love to tour the castle."

  Typhone breathed out a sigh of relief and I smiled. I got up and walked towards a table which had an empty vase. I placed the flowers inside and arranged it a little.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "I'm surprised. Roses grow in cold weather, too?" I looked at him and he was already walking towards me.

  "Unfortunately, no. But here in Lazarith, I made sure that these kinds of flowers grow. Just to keep my people busy and let them enjoy planting even with the cold weather." He explained and caressed the petals of the flowers.

  He looked down at me and tucked a few strands of my hair behind my ear. My eyes widened and he cleared his throat.

  "Shall we, princess?" He offered his arm and I accepted it.

  When we walked out of my room, Typhone nodded at Meylin and Richtan before leading me through the halls.

  My heart is beating too loud.

  **********

  He introduced me to most of his servants and all I could say was they were all so nice. We walked down the halls towards the kitchen and we stopped just outside. I watched all his staff work effortlessly and my eyes widened when the head cook spoke.

  "Don't slack off, idiots. The Queen deserves to taste all the delicacies Lazarith has to offer." He yelled and everyone began working harder.

  I heard Typhone chuckle and immediately, the head cook turned to us. He was flushed when he approached us, bowing his head in respect.

  "Your Majesties! What brings you here? Is the Queen hungry? Do you need anything, Your Majesty?" He was frantic and it made me flush how much attention he was giving us.

  How can he have such enthusiastic servants? I feel shy all of a sudden.

  I slowly hid half of my figure behind Typhone and both men chuckled at my bashful reaction.

  "I was just giving my wife a tour of the castle. I did not mean to startle you." Typhone said and the head cook laughed out loud.

  "That's good, Your Majesty," The head cook looked at me, bowed, and added, "Your Majesty, please call me Jareth. Tell me if you have something specific you want to eat and I'll make it for you."

  I nodded timidly and offered him a kind smile, "Thank you... Jareth."

  We bid the head cook goodbye and went on our way. I sighed a deep breath and Typhone chuckled.

  "Were you that nervous in meeting my servants?" He placed a hand on top of my head and I nodded.

  "It was nerve-wracking. Everyone looked so scary at first." I stated and I immediately covered my mouth.

  It was true, anyway. His servants looked weird. Most of them were. Some of them wore an eyepatch, some had missing limbs, and some were a lot bigger than Typhone.

  Instead of reprimanding me, Typhone chuckled and ruffled my hair softly.

  "That's because most of them were rejects from their own homes or... they went into war and no one would accept them anymore because they're... incomplete." He explained.

  "So... they went to Lazarith to work?" I asked.

  "No. I kind of like took them in. I gave them jobs and homes." He said, looked down at me, and gazed at me softly.

  My heart skipped a beat and I looked away from him. My cheeks flushed and I felt my ears turning red.

  No. My heart can't be skipping a beat for this kind of man.

  **********

  Despite the biting cold, I felt warm inside a huge ballroom. It was old and it was located behind the castle. I looked around and noticed that there were vines growing on the walls. I looked up and realized that there was no ceiling.

  "Why do you still keep an abandoned ballroom?" I asked and walked to the middle of it.

  "This is where I feed my dragon." He said casually.

  "What?" I looked at him, shocked. My eyes widened and moments later, there was a strong gust of wind.

  I looked up and my eyes widened when the familiar red scaled dragon approached us. I gasped and immediately ran towards Typhone. When the dragon landed, it shook off the snow from its body and its glowing eyes looked at Typhone and I.

  "Wait. You're not going to feed me to your pet, are you?!" I screamed at my husband.

  The dragon approached me and I stood still when he sniffed me. I yelped when his smooth and cold nose touched me. Typhone chuckled, called his dragon over, and walked towards a corner, grabbing a huge barrel. I watched as he emptied the barrel on a concrete basin and different kinds of fish came spilling out. The dragon walked over and sniffed the pile of fish before eating.

  "Wife. I want you to meet Calagon." He said, walking towards me. I looked at him then at his red scaled pet who I was sure was purring whilst chowing down on the pile of fish.

  I thought he only wanted me to meet his servants! He didn't tell me that I needed to meet his pet dragon!