10 Dog-Eat-Dog World
A sigh of relief unknowingly came out of Mineah's mouth the moment Nikolai moved back. At the same time, their carriage stopped.
"We'll rest here for the night," he informed her as he moved to open the door.
Seeing as there was nothing else she could do, she followed and accepted the hand he had extended to help her step down from the carriage. Looking up at the sky, the sun seemed to be setting. It was going to get dark soon.
As soon as they were out of the carriage, a man who seemed to be in his early thirties approached them.
"Everything is already arranged, Sire," he said as he gave a slight bow to Nikolai.
Mineah creased her forehead as she stared at the pale man with blonde hair. She didn't see him in the castle earlier. Perhaps he was someone new?
While she was still busy studying him when their eyes met, Mineah heard foreign thoughts in her head.
'I still can't believe how His Majesty agreed to be tied down by marriage, but looking at her now… She's such a rare gem, very captivating indeed…'
Mineah suppressed the chuckle threatening to burst out from her lips.
"This is my vassal, Gregory," Nikolai said as he made the introductions. "You can ask him for whatever you might need. You can trust him, Mine, just as how I trust him with my life."
"It's nice to meet you, Your Majesty," the newly introduced Gregory politely greeted with a curt bow. "I hope your stay will be a pleasant one."
Mineah was about to reply when Dani suddenly approached her. "Milady…"
"You go on ahead first," Nikolai suddenly stated, having noticed her current situation. He then gave his servant a nod before adding, "Gregory will escort you along with your ladies-in-waiting to your room."
At the behest of her husband, Mineah along with three of her shadow maidens Dani, Zaila, and Krisha, all quickly followed behind Gregory as they made their way inside.
Still, she couldn't help but steal a quick glance back to where Nikolai was left standing. It would seem that he was already being approached by a few of his high-ranking subjects.
"They'll probably talk more about how they don't approve of this marriage," she mumbled as they walked inside, not minding whether or not Gregory could hear what she had just said.
"You'll have a tough time once you enter Castle Valcrez, Your Majesty, but don't worry. We still have more than enough time to prepare you to fit your new station," Gregory chuckled.
"Your training as His Majesty's Queen will start tomorrow. You see, Valcrez has a complicated political system. If you want your stay with the King to be a long one, then you'll need to toughen yourself up. Despite the luxurious and splendid walls of the castle, it's still a dog-eat-dog world, after all."
Mineah did not bother to comment on his statement but she took note of what he had said.
Every Ebodian they passed by bowed to Mineah and congratulated her on her marriage but Mineah could read all of their minds. They all have the same thoughts. They feel bad for her pitiful fate… and she could only brush their thoughts off.
A few moments later, they reached their destination. Gregory then promptly opened the door with a wide smile and said, "After you, Your Majesty, miladies…"
Wordlessly, Dani was the first one to enter, and upon her nod of approval, Mineah entered the assigned chamber for her for that night.
"Once all of you are done preparing Her Highness, you can all leave so that I can escort you to your assigned rooms," Gregory added. "She'll be having dinner with the King inside this chamber."
Mineah inwardly frowned. The man was too excited with how things would supposedly turn once they arrived at the Kingdom of Valcrez for some reason.
Mineah sighed as she let herself relax a bit as soon as they were inside her assigned room. "Any news from Laura and Niran?"
She closed her eyes as she let Dani gently free her from her wedding gown. Unknown to most people, two of her Shadow Maidens were already in Valcrez, both currently deep undercover as her personal spies.
They traveled to Valcrez in advance the moment their Seer Beirut informed her of his vision regarding her future marriage to the Vampire King. The other three, however, like Dani, Zaila, and Krisha were all introduced as her ladies-in-waiting meant to stay closely with her in Valcrez.
Her Shadow Maidens was a group of five handmaidens that had been personally chosen by her brother, Ezekiel when he took over as the overseer of the secret group. King Stephan, her father, had established the secret group when it was discovered that Mineah's body was frail, and this secret group had served as her protector ever since.
While it wasn't necessary for the kingdom, her father deemed it necessary because of Mineah's frail body. Unlike her sister, Xenia, she had no great physical strength to fight for herself. She could only use a limited amount of magic.
Her brother, Ezekiel had even given them the opportunity and freedom to walk away and leave and yet they swore loyalty to the Princess of their own volition. Since most of them grew up with the Princess, a strong bond had already formed, strong enough that they refused to leave even if they could.
"The news regarding King Nikolai agreeing to marry you doesn't sit well with the Valcrezians," Dani reported.
"They sent all of the relevant information in detail about the situation in Valcrez. They have also sent a list of persons of interest you should be wary of, as well as the location of all the secret passages they've discovered inside the castle. I put them all inside your magic pouch."
She then paused as she hesitantly added, "Also, King Nikolai's half-brother Raul…"
Mineah turned to her and asked, "What happened?"
"He wanted to have Niran as his Mistress," Dani murmured.
"No! I won't allow that!" Mineah growled. "Send word to Niran to leave Castle Valcrez immediately and go straight to the Ebodian camp to my brother Ezekiel."
"But Niran already agreed. She said she wants to do it…" Dani weakly explained.
Mineah released a frustrated sigh, clearly unhappy with her Shadow Maiden's decision.
"She believes that in this way, she could further help you in the future," Dani bit her lip before adding. "And I agreed with her. She had already sent a separate letter for you that I also put inside the pouch. Read it, milady, and please hold back your orders until after you've read her letter."
Mineah sighed deeply and murmured, "The three of you should leave for now. Eat and get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us. I'll tend to myself alone."
