Chapter 4: First Meeting

*Four weeks later*

I had purposely delayed my travels by one week to piss off my father and arrived at the East Kingdom one day before the marriage ceremony. The bitter distaste in my mouth rose when I stepped foot in the kingdom. The place was filled with dense forest, and towering mountains, and the smell of nature made me shudder. That was the difference between the East and West Kingdoms. We had developed and modernized the whole kingdom while these barbarians lagged behind.

Driving to the main castle of the East, I sat in the car with Uncle Marrok—who was in the front seat—Randale, and his younger brother, Vuk Rolf. The three of us sat side by side in the backseat of the car.

“Don't tell me we are going to be sleeping in tents. From the looks of it, we are walking into the ancient kingdom,” I smirked.

“Kloud, please drop your arrogance when we get to the royal court of the East. Let us not anger the King. We are only here for the marriage and then we leave,” Uncle Marrock advised.

I huffed. “I will do no such thing. They will get what they bargained for. I will marry their precious prince and the two kingdoms shall be united.”

“You will be the death of me,” Uncle Marrok muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Why did you come along? Oh, wait! You are here to make sure I don’t go missing,” I taunted with a laugh.

He did not respond but shook his head in anger. “Randale, why did you bring Vuk along?”

“I requested to come along with my prince,” Vuk smiled. “I am intrigued to see what the East Kingdom is like.”

“You will be disappointed,” I drawled and Randale laughed.

He leaned in and whispered, “Felicia Relic will be coming to the marriage ceremony.”

“You don't say.” My eyes sparkled and Uncle Marrok cleared his throat in annoyance.

“You do know that it's a bad idea for her to be at the wedding,” Uncle Marrok retorted.

“If she wants to come, how am I to stop her?” I smirked.

“Kloud, this marriage must go on without a hitch.” Uncle Marrok’s stern and assertive voice irritated me.

“Relax, Uncle. I will marry the prince. I am going to have so much fun in this marriage.” I rolled my eyes and looked out the window, taking in the green scenery that I’m not used to seeing.

“You are scaring me,” Randale said in a comical voice and Vuk's eyes darted between us. Uncle shook his head and huffed.

Randale was heaven-sent. As my best friend, he understood me and never pushed my buttons. We complemented each other and had each other's backs since school. When we joined the military and went to University we relied on each other. The Rolf brothers were orphans as their parents died at the border fighting the rogues. Aunty Glenda took them in and since then we lived like siblings.

The gates of the main fortress wall opened as the convoy of cars that accompanied us from the royal military team drove in. Uncle Marrok and Vuk got out of the car to speak to the East Kingdom military team that was waiting for us just inside the walls of the fortress that protects the kingdom.

“Do you have a plan?” Randale demanded. “You know that we need to steal the map before we get back home as instructed by the King.”

“Not yet. I want to drive the prince to annul the marriage after we get back to the West Kingdom.” I smirked.

“That was your queen’s plan.” Randale's persisting voice worried me.

“You seem worried.” I raised a pointed brow at him.

He shrugged. “I have this gut feeling that we are walking into a trap,” he muttered, looking out the window.

I laughed. “You got that right. Your instincts are never wrong, Rand.” I used his nickname.

“I hate it when you call me that. It usually tells me that trouble is coming,” he snapped at me.

“Let us enjoy ourselves in the East Kingdom. I urge you to let me be. Don't be the voice of reason,” I warned him.

“You are going all out, aren't you? With your looks,” Randale chuckled.

“I only accepted this edict because Mother’s pleading eyes moved me. Without her, I would rather be put in the prison dungeons of the West.”

“Power play in the succession of the throne has come to light. The King seemed to be suppressing Oclan Relic,” Randale said.

Before I could respond, I saw Uncle Marrok walking back to the carriage, nodding at me, an indication that we would talk later. He informed us that we couldn’t approach in our car, but instead, we would need to take one of their horse-drawn carriages as the kingdom doesn’t use cars.

What f*cking year did I just step back through time into?

We got into the carriage and left our cars at the gates. Randale was in fits of laughter as the ride became bumpy and Vuk rolled his eyes and cursed at each bump. After some time of riding through the streets, the East Kingdom came into view.

Vuk chuckled. “Not too shabby.”

We arrived at the palace gates. The security guards were so high-level Uncle Marrok snickered, “You would think we want to bomb them.”

Upon entry, we alighted the carriage and the man that received us introduced himself .“Welcome to the East Kingdom. I am Faolan Kurt, the royal council advisor.”

“Thank you for the warm welcome. I am Prince Marrok. This is my nephew Prince Kloud, his second in command Randale Rolf, and his brother Vuk Rolf.”

“Prince Kloud.” Faolan bowed. My eyes remained cold and my face emotionless.

His eyes widened but he turned to Uncle Marrok. “This way, please. The royal court is already waiting for you.”

We walked into the palace which looked like an ancient museum. So they had spent money on the palace to upgrade it, but still use horse-drawn carriages? I watched as Vuk appreciating eyes rose with piqued interest and Randale just shook his head.

“Brother, are you seeing this?” Vuk whispered.

Approaching two large doors, the guards at the entrance opened them and bowed. We had finally arrived at the court. Upon entry, the court officials stood. They all gasped and stared at me in awe as I walked behind Uncle Marrock. I was used to having Lycan gasp and stare at me in shock.

We got to the center of the room and further ahead sat an old grizzly Lycan and next to him was a young-looking woman. I guessed that they were King Astaroth and Queen Marama.

“Greetings, your majesty.” Faolan bowed.

“Welcome, Faolan.” The King's loud voice rang out across the room.

“I present to the royal court, Prince Marrok. He is the general of the East army and the brother to King Farkas.”

Uncle Marrok stepped forward and bowed, “Greetings, your majesties the King and Queen of the East.”

“Rise, Prince Marrok, and welcome to the kingdom.”

Uncle Marrok rose. “Thank you, your majesty. May I present to you the Prince of the West Kingdom, Kloud Godric.”

Randale pushed me forward but my body did not bulge. Uncle Marrok turned to me and indicated with his hand that I should step forward.

Slowly but surely, to irritate everyone in the room, I stepped forward and bowed. “Your majesties.” I raised my head without being acknowledged. Loud gasps in the room could be heard. But what surprised me the most was the hateful eyes of Queen Marama. I raised my eyebrow at her in question and her eyes widened in shock.

Uncle Marrok cleared his throat at me and I huffed in boredom.

“Prince Kloud, welcome to the East Kingdom. We have heard so much about you,” the King said, but I detected scorn in his voice.

“Thank you, your majesty. I am glad that you heard all the praises about me from the West Kingdom.”

His mouth was pulled into a thin line as his eyes blazed at me.

Uncle Marrok interjected before anyone could speak, “Accompanying Prince Kloud is Randale Rolf, his second in command, and his brother, Vuk Rolf. Thank you for the warm welcome. Receive greetings from King Farkas and Queen Acedalia.”

Uncle Marrok managed to ease the tension in the room as King Astaroth nodded.

“This is my Queen Marama and next to her is Prince Boris, my younger brother.”

Putting my plan into action, I stepped forward. “Where is Prince Ulysses?” My deep voice was purposely loud.

The purpose of my speaking loudly was to create fear and have them witness the side of my reckless nature.

The man who stood from his seat on the right side of the King was shorter than me and his face was a work of art. I heard Vuk’s loud gasp as the man took another step forward. My feet moved of their own accord as I approached him slowly. I raked my eyes on his face and all over his body. Gorgeous was the only way to describe him. His hair was neatly combed to the back, his brown eyes and sharp nose stood out. His broad shoulders under the green robes made him look ethereal.

My eyes had never landed on someone so outstanding and gorgeous.

I stood a few feet from him as he introduced himself. “I am Prince Ulysses Ze’ev.”

His voice was like music to my ears and my Lycan beast stirred. This was my first. My Lycan was always docile and only reacted when I was angry. I was stunned by his calm demeanor, sweet sexy mouth, and most of all his hazel brown eyes.

“What a surprise,” I murmured with a smirk.