Chapter 30

Kingdom of Alba...

Avery's pov;

I was told the King was in a meeting but he said I could wait in his gardens and he would be right there once he is done.

I didn't wait for long , the King quickly joined me in the gardens and all the servants and guards left us alone. He slowly approached me and I stood up from the swing to bow to him,

"Your grace" I do my best 60 degree bow

"You may rise Ethera . Please don't let me interrupt your swinging activity" he says and chuckles a bit , it is the first time I hear him laugh , it's usually a smirk or flirtatious smile , nothing like this chuckle. He must be in a good mood or something.

Anyway I resume my position on the swing and do gentle pushes while the King goes behind me and unexpectedly starts pushing me from behind.

"Your majesty, what are you doing?"

"I am helping you swing , nothing out of the ordinary , after all we are not strangers are we?" I look back at him and he smiles again and keeps rocking me. I look ahead and blush unexpectedly at his comment.

"Of course , um I didn't come all the way here to use the swing but rather I am inviting you to a party I am throwing for her majesty the Queen , the one she hosted last time was ruined because of me so I owe her that at least , can I expect you to be there?" I ask and he stops swinging for a while , he turns around to face me,

"Ethera , I thought we talked about this and we agreed it was an accident and that all was forgiven , even though Thelma might not be adamant to show it. You don't have to tire yourself trying to prove anything , so long as your conscience is clear but, if you really want me to attend I will" he says and I thank him , he is really a great guy , very mature and understanding, nice choice Ethera .

"It is settled then , I will be expecting you and the Queen tomorrow at the banquet." I go down from the swing and bow to him once more , he calls some guards to accompany me even though I said it wasn't necessary . Safety first he says.

It is already evening by the time we are done with preparations for tomorrow's party . Heizel is not yet back from the village , I am just outside right now waiting for her .

By the time I am waiting I might try seeing if I can talk to Ethera without the amulet , "Hey Ethera , can you hear me?" Silence.

"Ethera?" Still nothing , I guess the amulet is really the only connection we have. It is made out of both our soul fragments so obviously. Ugh this sucks.

"My lady? Is everything okay? You have been talking to yourself for some time there and actually this whole day you have been acting out of your usual self , is there something troubling you?" Hygai says and surprises me as I didn't notice him.

"I am completely fine Hygai , no need to feel alarmed , thank you for your concern" I reply as calmly as I can , that's how Ethera would talk.

He bows "I came to notify you that everything has been double checked for tomorrow , the banquet will surely be a success , that was a great initiative my lady . You are truly proving yourself a responsible consort to the king and to everyone else in this palace , I have no doubt you shall make it big here and I as well as all the servants here will continuously be there right by your side" I look at him and smile at his kind words , he seems like the wise person here and he is a good fiend to have , I am glad Ethera can count on him.

"I will leave you to your meditation my lady , have a good night" I nod and right then Heizel comes through ,

"Finally you are back , did you get it?" I ask her and she nods , she removes the necklace from her bag and hands it to me,

"She told me that you are lucky she had fragments of both your souls stored so she could make another amulet , she says that you should keep this one well because she doesn't have a way of making another , her magic is dying out with her old age." I nod and immediately wear it.

"Also , if someone has the amulet in your world it means they have a portal to this world so you need to find a way to get it back or else it may fall into the wrong hands" Heizel voices out her concern and I totally agree , this could mean trouble.

"I have tried Heizel and have miserably failed but I won't give up , I'll keep looking" She nods and we decided to go sleep to get some rest for tomorrow's event.

Tobias's pov;

I am getting ready to go to Ethera's banquet , I honestly don't think it is necessary that I attend but I know it will make her feel at ease if I come so that the tension can be less high with Thelma being there , plus it will be a good occasion to have us all together in the same room like a family reunion as messed up as that may sound , I have never been quite the kind of royal to aspire to have many wives , one was always enough for me but being a King I am required to do so , all for the sake of securing as many heirs as possible and I would do anything to ensure the prosperous continuation of my kingdom with its legitimate rulers.

"Tobias! I am ready , let's get going" Thelma enters the room saying,

"Right let's go , we wouldn't want to be late for your party after all" I tease her and we laugh heading out of our quarters.

We soon arrive at the banquet and everyone is already there seated , they all rise to greet us and we take our seats . I look around the room and see Ethera directing the servants and smiling at the other ladies , lord that smile , I chuckle a bit and Thelma looks at me to ask what is funny and I brush it off as nothing.

Ethera reaches our side of the table and bows then asks , "I am happy to see you both made it your majesties. I hope you enjoy the party." I smile at her and give her a thumbs up , Thelma just nods at her and Ethera goes to sit with the other concubines .

I hope she doesn't take Thelma's cold shoulder too much to heart , but knowing her she probably did. I noticed she is quite sensitive to people's emotions . It's not bad , but it can be seen as a weapon to be used against her , I just hope her entourage helps her with that.

Avery's pov ;

The party is going really well , so far the Queen looks contented , same for my consort colleagues. It is now time to serve some wine to the Queen , I want to do this to kind of replace the bad memory she has of it out of her head, like a fresh start . You are welcome Ethera.

"I would like to propose a toast to everyone here today , thank you for attending , to the reason we are all gathered here , I say cheers to our Queen Thelma and may your days on this earth be blessed and prosperous" Everyone puts their glass up while I go serve the Queen her glass.

She smiles at me and says "Thank you everyone , and thank you lady Ethera for taking such initiatives to gather everyone here" The party then continues as everyone eats , drinks and some dancers come perform until evening.

At last everyone has gone back home , the party was successful and I am happy everything is okay now , I think that now Ethera will blend in well without being misjudged.

"Thank you Avery" I hear Ethera saying ,

"Girl I missed talking to you!" I tell her

"Me too , but now we are back , be careful with the amulet now okay?"

"Yes mam , I will" we both laugh

"Thank you still for fixing the situation Avery , really you are a true friend to me" Ethera continues

"Don't sweat it Ethera , we are not strangers anymore right?" she chuckles and agrees.

"I think it is time you take back your body though, I don't want to risk getting caught if I stay longer" she agrees and just like we are two different entities once more , the amulet takes me back to the vortex room.