The Invitation

This chapter is dedicated to @Sohia_Yomere

Lush greenery was the name befitting for the Queen's garden. Even from a distance, one could smell the faint scent of flowers and grass.

Cool breeze lugged through the air, carrying with it a pleasant scent of earth and fresh blooms, the sun shone brightly, illuminating every little detail of the beautiful garden in golden rays that glistened like precious stones amongst the green leaves. The bird songs were soothing and peaceful as well as welcoming.

The entire area was surrounded by walls to keep out intruders and the only way in or out would be if one were invited. The Queen herself stood atop her favorite bridge looking across a small creek to the lush gardens behind it. Her long dark locks were tied up in an elegant updo that only accentuated her beautiful face, and her white flowing gown made her look radiant, the sunlight reflected off her perfectly chiseled figure. She looked down, watching the water gurgle along the path below her.

As she did so, a soft chuckle escaped her lips. "Isn't it perfect?" she asked the female who stood beside her.

"Indeed it is, Your Highness," replied a woman dressed in a hazel-colored dress, smiling fondly at the monarch.

The queen turned to face her, "I'm glad you came as soon as I called for you, Rowena."

"Of course, I would, Your highness," Rowena smiled warmly back at the queen. "How could I ever refuse such a request from you, Your Highness?"

"That's why I like you, Rowena. If only my daughter was a bit like you, I'd have much more faith in her."

"Your Highness, please don't worry too much, I'm sure she'll become the perfect daughter you want her to be," Rowena assured her.

"I hope so."

A few moments passed in silence before the queen broke it. "By the way, I heard that The Duke's sister — Rhea is back."

"Yes, Your Highness, I saw her on my way here," said Rowena. "She seems to have changed a lot."

"Hmm," The Queen hummed before stepping forward, plucking a petal from the nearest flower blossom. Holding the flower up she whispered, "I would like to see how much she has changed."

A servant came over and bowed, "Your Highness, The Duke is here,"

"Good. Send him in," ordered The Queen, a broad smile gracing her features.

"Yes, Your Highness," The servant bowed before retreating to carry out the queen's order.

"The Duke is here?" Rowena asked with wide eyes and the Queen nodded.

"I believe you heard the servant, Rowena," she answered with a hint of impatience in her voice.

"Yes, of course, I did. I just wanted to be sure," Rowena replied and curtsied.

"Alright," The Queen said and Rowena hurriedly stood straight, fixing her hair and clothes as a smile made its way to her lips, her actions which didn't go unnoticed by the Queen.

They heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see the duke walk toward them, each of his steps measured and calculated as he walked in long strides.

He stopped once he was within arm's length of the two women, "Your Highness." He greeted.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," The Queen welcomed with a soft smile.

Kian stared at her and asked, going straight to the point, a small smile playing on his lips, "May I know the reason for this sudden call for me, Your Highness?" Completely disregarding Rowena.

"Won't you at least greet Rowena?" The Queen scolded softly.

He stared at her blankly for a second before his eyes landed on Rowena, "Lady Rowena," he addressed her formally.

Rowena, whose smile broadened the moment Kian turned to her, returned his greeting. "Your Grace," she bowed.

"Can you please excuse us, Rowena?" The Queen asked.

"Of course, Your Highness. Please excuse me," Rowena said and bowed to the both of them before leaving.

Kian turned to the Queen who smiled warmly at him, "How was the meeting?"

"It went well, as usual," Kian replied without missing a beat, a different type of smile playing on his lips.

The Queen chuckled lightly, "Well that's good, isn't it? Perhaps we can discuss this later, Kian, but for now, let us not talk about those things. I heard that Rhea was back home, you must be happy."

"Indeed, I am." He stated simply.

"That's good to know. As you must know when you were kids, Rhea would come to the palace to practice with the princess and I would sometimes join them," the queen reminisced fondly.

"But as you know, they never got along too well, I'm afraid. They were always at odds with each other, constantly fighting over anything and everything. Rhea was an amazing girl when she was a kid, she was mischievous and full of life. I grew to like her and took her as my daughter so when your parents died and she left, I was sad but I understood that she had to leave. And now that she's back, I would like to see her. The reason why I called you here was to invite the Casimir household to the palace, we can have lunch and spend a good time together. It's also been a while since I saw your grandmother." The Queen spoke softly and gently, a small smile adorning her serene features.

"Of course, I'm sure Rhea would love it," Kian said with a charming smile.

"Perfect!" The Queen exclaimed, "Now, would you like some food? I've already ordered some of your favorite dishes–"

"I'm sorry, but I won't be joining you for lunch, there's somewhere I need to be," Kian interrupted. His expression betrayed nothing and there wasn't any trace of emotion in his words.

"Oh, I understand. You may take your leave but feel free to visit whenever you wish," The Queen said with no sign of disappointment.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Kian bowed slightly before making his way out of the garden while the smile on the Queen's face dropped as she stared at his retreating figure.

—

Rhea and Aylin walked behind Andromeda as they stepped into the mansion, with Andromeda ordering the servants to bring in the things they bought.

"So she admitted to you that she was a witch?" Rhea asked, plopping herself on the sofa, and Aylin followed suit.

Rhea shrugged. "Well, I knew she was a witch from the moment I saw her."

Aylin leaned forward and asked, "How? Because of her appearance? You think it's a disguise?"

"No, that's her real appearance, it's not a disguise," Rhea told Aylin.

"So how…?"

"Let's just say that knowing what people are is one of my abilities." She shrugged with a smile and Aylin's eyes widened.

"Really? You can do that?"

"Yes, I can."

"Wow... That's cool." Aylin said with a smile.

"To you, it's cool but to me... It's a burden. You can't imagine how many things I've seen."

"Oh," Aylin leaned back. "Is it that bad?"

"Maybe not that bad, it's also interesting like today. Though I don't understand why Kian lied that the shapeshifter he killed was an illusion." Rhea said with a thoughtful expression.

"What do you mean?" Aylin inquired with a frown.

"What you heard, the shapeshifter Kian killed was not an illusion, it was the jeweler, the owner of the shop," Rhea informed Aylin whose frown deepened.

"What?"

Rhea leaned back, "I'm not sure why he chose to lie, but his sword is what turned the shapeshifter he killed into ashes. His sword is a host for his element, which is fire, so anything it comes into contact with — it destroys, turning it into ashes."

"Wow, that's... But why are you telling me, Rhea? You know he may have chosen to lie because he had a good reason."

"Well, I already told you that it is nothing and besides, I trust you. Though I can't believe that you bought the made-up lie." Rhea said with a laugh.

"I don't know much about these things, you can't blame me," Aylin stated, laughing along with her.

"You sure don't. But I understand, you are a human so it's not so surprising."

Aylin nodded "Mm."

Rhea smiled widely "However, now that you are here and not leaving anytime soon, I will be here to answer all your questions."

Aylin smiled back at her, "Thanks, Rhea."

"No worries, we are friends aren't we?" She asked before standing up and Aylin nodded.

"We are."

"Then don't thank me." She said as she stretched her arms and groaned. "Oh, God! I'm so tired. I'm going to take a rest, okay?"

"Okay."

"I will see you at dinner," Rhea said and walked out of the parlor.

Aylin sighed and leaned back on the soft chair.

Aylin pondered what Rhea had said and couldn't help but wonder about the element she mentioned, and questions flooded her mind: does everyone have an element? How did it work? Could they have multiple elements? She was curious about the answers to these and other questions. Maybe she'll ask Rhea or... She could find a book in the library that would provide all of the answers she needed.

Hopefully tomorrow, she will go to the library and look for books about magic. After making that decision, she sighed and closed her eyes.

"My lady?" Aylin opened her eyes when she heard a voice call out to her. A maid stood in front of her, bowing her head.

"Yes?"

"Her grace has asked for your presence in her room."

~~~

Thanks @Sophia_Yomere for the gift!

Thanks, @Kefranflor for the power stones.

Thank you to everyone who is reading this book and though you aren't saying anything, I'm happy to know that y'all are not removing my book from your library after adding it. Thank you, guys! ❤️