Antares entered the dining area alongside his little sister, all the nobles that had previously been seated rose to greet them. In one swift act he motioned for them to remain seated with a half smile. The king felt no need for his entrance to be one of such fuss but could not help but notice an unusual atmosphere. He glanced at Guinevere and from her expression, she too could feel there was a subtle restlessness that passed through all those gathered here. As though this were not a lovely banquet but a tense and sordid affair. Antares had grown tired of the constant gaze of uncertainty levied his way and towards those who came from Iliad. They had done well to present themselves in a welcoming and accepting air but it seemed no matter what they did, the nobles of Talterra and her allies could not find it within themselves to be at peace. This delicate air of apprehension had worn its welcome. It did not help matters that the squire boy he had met during his time with Reza glared at him from the corner of the hall where knights had gathered to watch over the feast. Another gaze that was growing stale.

  He walked by the large tables sitting hundreds as they bunched together in conversation, where he passed respectful bows and faux smiles were sent his way and he returned them in kind. It seemed his decision of whether he would accept Crown Princess Reza’s hand in marriage dominated their minds, at the very least their souls as his Akashic Eyes showed the ever dull color of worry permeating between them. He found human restlessness to be interesting. It was odd he thought, no more did he feel that he was truly Stygian than in their presence here in Longshore, he found himself appreciating the humans from his home and their somewhat casual reaction to seeing him.

  It was not long until he and Guinevere reached where the royals had been seated, as always Typhon was already deep into his barrel of wine, his jovial and warm energy was a welcomed change of air from the cold feeling he felt reaching here. Both Melina and Ursula bowed softly and he offered them warm smiles. Each of them was equally as stunning as his sister with their choice of dress for the evening. The king was looking forward to Ursula's duel at the coliseum the following day, it was sure to be an entertaining affair that looked to liven things on the penultimate day of the naming ceremony. Antares turned to his Lord Regent who was ready to stand, but with a cool hand placed on his shoulder, he urged him to remain seated. Casspien still bore a deep scowl, his rage had not seemed to cool since learning of the play from the previous night. Antares was appreciative of his reaction but found it unnecessary, what had happened was meant to invoke a reaction out of him. One that he would not give the man responsible, even if such a play had upset those he loved deeply. Restraint is what he had been advised to practice before coming here, and so far the King of Iliad had held the line.

  Guinevere squeezed his hand and bowed once more before she left his side to join the rest of their family. Antares moved on ahead until he climbed the elevated platform that separated where the nobles and royals sat from the monarchs. The great table ahead of him was covered with an assortment of meals, cuisines from across the nine realms including from his home in an effort to show grace and appreciation for the delicacies of Aurum. On either side sat the eight monarchs of Aurum, along with the Queen of Talterra and the former Queen of Lunaelia and the newly crowned, Crown Princess of Aurum. In the middle, looking back at him with devilish amusement in his eyes, the Emperor Nero.

  “Forgive my tardiness, Emperor Nero, great monarchs of Aurum.” The Stygian King bowed with a vile taste on his tongue to have to refer to that man as emperor. “Queen of Talterra, Lady Tereza and most importantly Crown Princess, my apology also extends to you all.” Each woman bowed in acknowledgment with differing greetings.

  “Finally welcome King Antares!” Emperor Nero extended his hands. “Your absence was dearly missed so soon after my little Reza had become a woman this afternoon. I hope all is well with your Lord Regent?”

  “Again forgive me,” Antares responded cordially as he bowed again. “There was a pressing issue to attend to, but the matter is resolved.”

  “Good, good!” Nero rubbed his chin, as he leaned on the table. “As always there is much talk about you. Even my dear Tereza here was caught by it. Some had said your lateness was because you had run away!” the man laughed as his bejeweled teeth glistened in the well lit room, others joined in with half measured laughs of their own.

  “Run away?” the King of Iliad raised his head to meet the eyes of the Emperor of Aurum. “What need would I to run, when I could simply walk away at any time? Who could stop me?” Iliad’s youngest Lord of War asked.

  It was fortuitous that the dining hall was filled with loud music and a great many conversations had amongst those gathered here. For if any of the nobles had heard the Stygian King’s remark they would have all stopped in discussion and turned to him with awkward smiles and jittering laughs as some of the monarchs of Aurum now carried. Of course among them, Queen Enrieta seemed to enjoy the Stygian King’s bite, with a gleeful smile. Emperor Nero’s habit of prodding his guests may have finally found one who would not be so receptive of his larks. This only emboldened the old emperor to continue, while the energy from those around him looked to advise him to temper himself.

  Nero placed a hand on his son’s shoulder, “call it paternal instinct or reckless belief but I am sure my boy here could give it a go.” Next to him King Saturn towered as he remained ever quiet, enjoying his drink.

  “Greater men have tried,” Antares felt the eyes of the Sun God bore into him with cold indifference. The Prince of Dragons also did well to make his displeasure known without uttering a word.

  “Like your brother?” Nero asked.

  “Nero!” Lady Tereza protested.

  “Lord father!” Queen Roderika joined in her smile faltered greatly.

  The monarchs all turned to the emperor, astounded that he would make such a brazen comment. Even King Satori Sugawara and his ever present smile, turned his head slightly in the direction of the Emperor of Aurum. How long would the emperor continue to antagonize the King of the Night? So brazenly at that?

  Nero burst into a deep laughter, “you are all so wound up tight! I only jest, such casual conversation is to be expected of family! Isn't that right?” He turned to the ruler of Iliad.

  King Antares also joined the old emperor in laughter, as all attention returned to him. The earnestness of his joy startled them slightly, due to his Stygian heritage. “Family,” he repeated the words. “I wonder.”

  Three words were all it took for the seat of power to return to the Stygian King and remind all that despite what they believed and expected of what the night would offer. It was all held in the hands of the King of Iliad. The ease in which he was able to announce himself was befitting one of his titles and rank. Nero could not remember the last time another was so willing to stand their ground in his presence. He found it exhilarating that there would be someone else who could toe the line so carefully, and that it would be Barranagan's son of all people. The more they spoke, the more Nero’s conviction grew in wanting to see the man before him be brought to his knees in utter capitulation.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “I like you King Antares, I really do!” the old man smirked as he motioned for the king to take his seat by the Crown Princess.

  The Stygian King did so making his way around the table, offering greetings to both the King of Avalon and his dearest friend, the King of Laconia, as well as King Satori. Antares took his seat in between Satori and Princess Reza. A cool breeze passed between them both as the man sat and turned to Reza with a courteous smile. One she returned in kind. Even seated he could still admire her lovely deep maroon dress, details of its design did well to bring forth her beauty, which were accented with the lovely jewels she wore around her neck and arms. Although he had not noticed a change in her after a ceremony, there was a strange sensation he now felt from her, too subtle to address, but enough of a presence that he could feel. His eyes gazed at her wrist which bore a bracelet made out of seashells, and guilt tugged at his insides.

  “Princess Reza,” he began.

  The abruptness in which she turned to look at him startled him slightly. Her deep cerulean blue eyes looked at him intensely and he found himself a bit ashamed for what he wished to say next.

  “I wish to offer my apologies again, beginning with our first meeting.” He tried to ease the tension as he cleared his throat. “As well as my absence so soon after your crowning ceremony. I have been less than adequate on all accounts.” The Stygian King’s gaze found the spread out of food easier to look at than the princess.

  “Oh please, there is no need to apologize, Lord King!” Reza waved her hands dismissively, her face flushed at the ease in how he was able to apologize to her. In truth she had been working up the courage to address him and offer her own amends for how she had reacted to him during their first meeting.

  Upon learning from her sisters and her mother that the meeting with the monarchs had not gone as smoothly as it was reported, the young princess felt quite childish for her emotional outburst the first time that they had met. By all accounts she could have carried herself in a better light especially as it was her first time meeting such a famed man. His words that evening had stuck with her and admittedly she had wished to make amends for it. However they had not had a moment to speak alone again since. With the events of the play the night before, and her father’s antics just now, Reza was starting to understand that the Stygian King had shown greater restraint than what she had thought. Once again showing herself that despite her ceremony, she may have only become a woman in title but still had much to learn. Added of course with what King Satori had shared about him she had begun to look at the King of Iliad in a different light. Some would even say perhaps even enough to desire him.

  “We are glad to have you join us,” King Satori declared. “Princess Reza had grown restless with your absence. Do not let him off the hook so easily, my dear.” The King of Ichika warned with a sly smile.

  Antares turned back to her looking even more guilty.

  “N-no! Please King Antares, it is truly a-alright!” words were proving to be difficult as she was now the center of attention of two famed kings. “I along with everyone were only curious of your whereabouts. But King Satori regaled me with tales about you, assuring me-I mean us– you were fine.” She reached for her wine glass hoping the sweet elixir would give her courage. At the very least ease her.

  “Quite right,” Satori nodded. “Rest assured I spoke highly of you.”

  Antares furrowed his brow, “I assume these stories were of my youth. I am not the only highborn child to have ever eaten worms.”

  Both Tereza and Reza turned to face him bewildered by the claim.

  “You used to eat worms?” the shock relaxed Reza.

  Satori chuckled, “well I had thought to refrain from sharing that crucial piece of information about you, but since you addressed it first.”

  And so King Satori regaled both Tereza and Reza of the eccentric activities of the Stygian King in his youth. Young Antares and his love for nature with another of his brother’s students. Lord Hvare Xerxes, had led them exploring the many critters and insects who called Aurum home. Hvare had taught the young prince a great many things about the little animals and importantly of all which of them were worth consuming for nutrients. Satori’s care for detail about the first time the young prince had consumed the insects and bugs of Iliad was one that eased the tension between Antares and Reza as her laugh was contagious and soothing to hear. Antares himself was slightly moved by it, the echoes of guilt that gripped him seemed to lessen in their grasp as he learned of a more cheerful side of the woman he was to wed.

  “They are nutritious,” Antares declared at the end of the tale.

  “They are bugs,” Reza responded. “The can't be pleasant to eat can they?”

  “It is an acquired taste,” he assured her. “We...we should give it a try sometime,” a peace offering had been made with his words.

  “I have no desire to, my king.” The princess remarked with a giggle as her eyes drifted to the crowd and met Gawain’s who looked back at her with a deep longing. “But perhaps I will try it with Gawain.”

  Reza had not realized her mistake until the words had left her mouth. It was for less than a second, a moment between heartbeats but she saw the king’s smile falter for the briefest of instances. As though a realization had dawned on him. That her heart had belonged to another. She need not even look at her mother as well to know she too had noticed her mistake. To utter another’s name in the presence of the Stygian King, to utter the name of a man she had made no attempts to hide her feelings for, in the presence of the man many had hoped she would marry. It was a throwaway sentence, one she had made without thinking as she often was known to do. She wanted to blame the wine but all it had done was simply embolden her to speak her mind more clearly. And the truth of the matter was that even while she conversed pleasantly with the King of Iliad, the man on her mind was another.

  “King Antares I-” she struggled for the right words to say.

  The Stygian King laughed without emotion, “yes I suppose such things should be done with those one cares deeply for.” He turned his attention back to the crowd as he used his drink to fill the silence.

  For a moment, he had forgotten her heart was held by another. Of all the slights that he had experienced of all the doubts he had on their union, perhaps that one fact most of all is what hindered him from his decision on their potential marriage. Though he was unsure if it was a barrier born out of envy or objective thought. His eyes glanced over at Faye who was in conversation with her husband. Time in the south had lulled him into a false sense of security. Allowing himself a moment of reprieve to forget the truth of the matter, that this union was for no other reason than to achieve a goal and nothing more. Loving her, or she him was not necessary. He did not need to look at Lady Tereza or King Satori to know their eyes offered pleas of mercy and forgiveness, it was a simple mistake. It truly was, he knew he should have acknowledged it as that. And yet for Antares it did not feel that way. Soon after, servants had arrived with the first of the meals for the night and all attention turned to the dish placed in front of them. While others conversed, the King of Iliad ate in quietude.

  Reza turned to her mother for guidance and all Lady Tereza could do was place her hand on top of her daughters to ease her worries. She struggled with being ashamed by her words and yet at the same time wondered why she needed to feel that way if her heart only spoke the truth. However through it all, Crown Princess wanted to address King Antares, but found every time she turned ever so slightly to face him, his indifferent and cold exterior seemed to rebuff all desire for conversation. Or was it that Reza did not know what to truly say to draw his attention back towards her? Whichever the case, once again she had shown her shortcomings, in the face of duty she allowed herself to be swayed by her own feelings. Once again she showed that she did not have the makings of a queen. Her eyes welled with tears as she struggled to hold them back, knowing if they fell it would only make matters worse. In her first act of nobility since becoming a Crown Princess, she chose to follow the example of the monarch next to her and also ate in silence.

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