The Blood King's Bride

The Kingdom of Neba...

The King's Palace.

The king of Neba held his breath as he watched his granddaughter enter his royal study.

She was the exact copy of her grandmother and his daughter. Fighting the feeling of melancholy pooling in his eyes, he walked over to her briskly and enveloped her in a hug. He could tell that she was shocked as her body stiffened, but he hugged her even tighter, not willing to let go. It had been so long since he hugged his daughter. Now he could hug his granddaughter. After a while, he could feel her hands on his back, shyly returning his hug.

"Oh my dear, how I have wanted to do this for a long time." He said, choking on a sob. They remained like that before he finally pulled apart and studied her, taking note of her appearance.

"My dear child, are you okay? I'm so sorry for not meeting with you earlier. I had thought that you might need your space, had I just met you, all these wouldn't have happened-" "It's okay, grandfather," Elena replied boldly. The king grinned widely, pleased at her response.

"Yes, I'm a grandfather. Call me grandfather from now on." Elena nodded, affected by his

gay mood. The king faced Svetlana, and while holding Elena next to his side, he said, "Thank you!"

"You are welcome, My Lord." She said, bowing her head. Finally taking note of Daruki,

the king looked at her in confusion, and she gave him a slight nod, indicating that she would tell

him later. Satisfied with her response, the king faced Elena and smiled again.

"Now, why don't we go for dinner?"

Elena agreed, but not before giving Wazir another curious look. The man was looking at

her bashfully, with a hint of guilt.

While holding Elena next to him, the king walked them out of his study. He led them out

of the passage they had come through, back to the hall, and straight to the huge staircase. They

followed the one on the left, and Elena was left in awe of its magnificence. The king, noticing her interest, started to tell her more about the castle.

"The hall we just passed is where the royal ball takes place. You have already walked through the passage, which leads to my study, but you will end up at the soldiers' training grounds if you continue the walk down. The staircases in the hallway lead to the bedrooms and the dining rooms in the same place. We also have a very huge drawing-room and a library. "A library?" Elena asked, her interest perked. The king smiled at her, his eyes glistening. "Yes. And I'm not one to brag, but I can proudly boast that there is almost every book in the world in that library. Both the common things and the special things."

"Are there books on cooking and interior decor?" She asked. The king looked at her strangely, a sad smile on his face.

"You are just like your grandmother, I see. You both are only ever interested in cooking and Decor."

"Really?" Elena asked, surprised. If what her grandfather said were true, then that meant

her grandmother would have to be an excellent interior decorator, and from what she saw around the castle, one at the level of a master no less.

"Yes." The king replied, nodding his head. "After our dinner, I would take you to her

myself. I'm sure she would love to meet you."

Elena felt a strange humming in her chest. She was nervous and excited to meet her

grandmother, the person who had birthed her mother. She wondered if she would have the same attitude as her mother or if she would be a lot stricter.

Finally, they reached the end of the stairs and walked straight down into another passage. Unlike the one downstairs, the one they passed through didn't have portraits. There were just torches hanging by the wall, illuminating the dark environment. Finally, they reached a huge door, and the king pushed it open, exposing the vast room inside.

There was a huge table in the center of the room. It had sixteen side seats, with a taller

one at the head, which she assumed would be the king's seats. Plates had already been placed at each seat, with utensils sitting neatly on them. The walls wear painted the same color as the hall, only this time, some parts of the walls were covered in murals. The floors were also tiled the same as the hall, and apart from the huge chandelier directly atop the dining table, there was nothing extra in the dining room.

Elena liked how it was, artistic yet simple. In the palace of Pres, the king and his wife made sure to put things of value in the dining room to show off their wealth to visitors, making what was meant to be a place of eating seem like a gallery choking on extravagance. They all followed the king, walking straight to the table. After the king had taken his place on his seat, he raised his hands, signalling them to have their seat. Elena sat on the chair directly to the king's right side. Wazir took his left, and Svetlana sat next to her, with Daruki following.

A servant walked hurriedly inside the dining room, heading straight towards the king. He bowed his head when he reached his side, reverently asking what he would like to eat. "Cook a feast!" The king said heartily. "We have special people amongst us." The servant bowed and went out of the room after receiving the king's reply. Elena wasn't sure if she would be able to eat much, as Mac had made sure she stuffed herself before she left the house. But she didn't have the mind to tell her grandfather. He looked genuinely happy to see her. Facing Wazir, she resumed her curious scrutiny of him. Wazir fidgeted in his seat,

obviously aware of her stare. When he finally couldn't bear it anymore, he spoke up suddenly. "Okay! I'll tell you what I'm doing here. Stop looking at me like that." He whispered the

last part quietly, but not enough that everyone couldn't hear what he said.

All eyes were on him, wondering what he was talking about, but the king looked at him languidly.

"My real name is Wazir Oha Neba, the first son and the youngest child to the current king of Neba. In order words, I'm your mother's younger brother, your uncle." He confessed bashfully, studying the empty plate before him.

Elena's mouth hung wide open in shock. She never knew she had an uncle. Her mother never told her about it. And to think that she and her uncle had been working in the same place all those while.

"Your mother and I were very close." He continued, still not looking up. "With the way you are looking at me, I have the feeling that she never told you about me." He said, his voice melancholic. Elena didn't know what to say to him. It was true that her mother never told her about her brother, and she didn't know why her mother didn't, assuming-like Wazir said-that they were close.

"Enough of that." The king spoke suddenly. "You still aren't out of my hook. I thought I told you not to go disturbing Elena in the first place."

"I never disturbed her." He said assertively. "I merely just worked in the same place with her. That's all."

"You stupid-" the king's exclaimed, immediately striking Wazir on the head.

"Ow! Father! I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Well I'll still be treating you like one till you learn to grow up." the king said, still hitting him on the head.

The whole situation was so comical Elena couldn't stop herself from laughing. The king and Wazir both turned to face her, a doting smile on their faces.

"Do you know," Wazir started, "That your mother was a tomboy?" Elena couldn't count how many times she had been surprised that day.

"A tomboy? She was the most graceful person I have ever seen."

"Bah!" Wazir exclaimed. "If you think I was stubborn, you had to see your mother when

we were kids. Father was always boiling because of her."

"Oh, your mother used to get on my nerves." Her grandfather joined in. "She would sneak

out of the castle at night, and wouldn't return till mid-noon the next day. It drove me and her mother crazy."

"The worst was when she went out dressed as a guy," Wazir continued, snickering. "One time, father almost didn't recognize her. She had put on the farm boys' uniform, the one of loose breeches and cotton vest. Father called her when she was about to go on another escapade of hers. You should have seen her face when she thought she had been caught. But do you know the most surprising thing? Father didn't recognize her at all! He sent her on an errand instead!" Wazir said, bursting out laughing. Elena, too couldn't control her laughter, and Svetlana could not stop the grin on her face from spreading further.

"Her plan would have worked, but I spoilt it for her." He said.

"Why?"

"Your uncle hear was laughing like a crazed banshee. He was rolling on the hall floors, screaming and laughing his eyes out while pointing at us." Her grandfather narrated. "At first I thought that something was wrong with him, but with the way he was pointing

at us, I had to look at the person next to me. After studying her well, I realized it was your mother. I was so angry, I locked them up in their rooms."

"Yeah," Wazir said, sniffing as he wiped off his tears of laughter. "But unfortunately for you, you didn't know that your daughter had the skill of a thief. She could pick locks." "Oh, those days. I prayed, wondering where I had gone wrong, and who was teaching her all those behaviours. I still think it was you though." The king said, looking at Wazir with reproof, though mirth still shone brightly in his eyes.

"Me? I'm her younger brother for crying out loud! It was she who taught me everything I know." He said boldly.

"And you're proud of it? I guess I have to marry you off sooner."

"Hey!" Wazir exclaimed.

Their banter continued for a while, then the doors to the dining room opened again. Servants poured into the room, carrying with them several dishes. They walked carefully to the table and served the food neatly on their plates, making sure not to spill any over. Elena wondered if the dish would be tasty compared to the one she had eaten when she went for the king's birthday. The aroma was appetizing enough, and it looked delicious to eat. So she swallowed her doubt and began waiting for the king to eat so she could dig in. "You can eat." The king called out. They all picked up their cutlery and began eating

their food. Elena had already put some in her mouth and was chewing. It tasted slightly better than the one they ate during the Kingdom's celebration, but in the end, there was still nothing severely special about it.

It was bland.

She looked up at Wazir only to see his face scrunched up. It appeared as if he were

confused about why the food tasted that way.

"Father, did you change the head cook?" He asked.

"No, why?"

"Why does the food taste different? Almost bland?"

"What do you mean? It tastes no different to me. This is what you have always been

eating since."

Wazir's face tightened even more. "The food at Red Queen's is more delicious compared

to this. Is that what caused it? I have probably eaten too much of their food that I can't even enjoy my favourite meal anymore."

Elena giggled at his expression. The king looked at her, concern etched on his face. "My dear, is what he's saying true? Does the food taste bland to you?" Elena nodded sheepishly. She didn't want to lie to her grandfather, but she didn't want to speak low of the servants' efforts.

"The food tastes slightly better than the ones served on your birthday." She said. "That was why you all were so generous with your food that day! It had no taste to you

guys." Wazir exclaimed, suddenly enlightened. Elena smiled bashfully.

"You came for my birthday banquet?" The king asked. Elena nodded in response.

"I was part of the people outside." She said, and the king gave her a secret smile. "Tell me about the place you work in." The king asked after a while.