The Grand Tour Of The Modern Palace

After a cold shower, he went downstairs to get a bite to eat before taking a nap. He entered the kitchen which Savannah and Lorema already showed to him before leaving him to take a shower.

He bumped into Maery on the way. She bowed before him making him blush in embarrassment. "Please don't. you are much older than me"

"I know but you're the Luna King. You deserve the respect. It's tradition" Maery replied.

"Please just call me Jason. Besides, I'm not the Luna King yet, whatever that is"

"of course you're not silly, you're still way too young for that. But, you are the Alpha's mate and Aries knows she needs one right now" Maery replied with a little smile.

"Why does everyone keep saying I'm too young for that? I mean, she's only a couple of years older than me at most. I'm not a child, I'm 19 for crying out loud" Jason complained.

"You really have no idea, do you? you might as well be human" Maery said giggling.

"I've heard that one already" he said dryly.

"In our realm, 19 years is not the age of maturity. In fact, you're still a child. The age of maturity of a male werie is 21 human years for the weries in the human realm. In our realm, the age of maturity is 100 years" Maery explained.

"As for Xunia, she's about three centuries and a few decades old. In human years, she's also that age but looks 26. Because we live for a very long time, time moves differently than it does in the human realm so time balances out. Weries that live in the human realm are restricted to the human time, so they have to come here regularly to elongate their lifespan to the one of a normal werie" she finished.

"Wow. My parents didn't tell me that much. This is my first time in the realm. I even met Oliphilis, the gatekeeper"

"Oh, Oli is such a sweet lad. He used to work in this castle as an Alpha queen escort before the moon spirit called him as the new gatekeeper"

"Oh okay. If I may ask, how old are you?"

"Don't you know it's rude to ask a woman her age? But, I'll make an exception for you. I'm almost three centuries old. In by human looks, I'm 23" Maery replied.

"Enough talk, my Luna King to be is starving. Let me fill you up" Maery said, clapping her hands and leading Jason to the fridge.

"We have all flavors of cake, salad, finger foods, everything you name it"

"okay, I'll have chocolate cake, milk, strawberries, and whipped cream. Just a simple sweet snack" Jason said.

"Coming right up. Take a seat by that table, I'll be right back with your order"

"Thanks. You have top-notch customer service" Jason commented.

"Thanks, we do our best at the Aries Castle Kitchen" Maery responded, giggling. Jason laughed alongside and took a seat by the antique dining table.

Two minutes later, Maery returned with his snack. It was a piece of chocolate cake with a vanilla layer in between, whipped cream sprayed on the cake, and a strawberry on top. There were half slices of strawberry around the cake and a cup of milk.

"This looks delicious. Thanks, Maery"

"Try it"

"okay" he said and took a bite. His taste buds exploded with flavor and sweetness.

"It is inexplicably delicious. It's like having a mini heaven in my mouth. Tell the person who made this cake that his or her skills are out of this world" he commented, devouring his snack while Maery stood by, giggling.

"Xunia ese laa ema ne" (Xunia would very much like that) Maery said, warmly.

"What did you say Maery?" Jason asked between chewing.

"I said the chef would pretty much like that"

"But I thought I heard Xunia's name"

"I didn't mention her name. Maybe you heard amiss with your loud chewing" Maery said, giggling. Jason's neck turned pink and chewed quietly.

A masculine figure emerged from the back door and hugged Maery from the back, making Maery squeal loudly.

"Sandre don't do that" she said, giggling as he kissed her neck. He proceeded to tickle her while balancing their baby in one arm. After watching them for a short while, Jason cleared his throat.

"Oh my, forgive me, I totally forgot you were here. This is my husband and mate, Sandre. Sandre, this is our Luna King to be" Maery introduced, with a hint of pink on her cheeks.

"Pleasure to meet you Sandre" Jason said, stretching his hands forward to shake him. "Pleasure's all mine my lord" Sandre said, clasping Jason's hand in his.

"Please don't be so formal, it makes me uncomfortable" Jason said in embarrassment.

"So, I'm guessing you're not a royal and you're from the human realm"

"Yeah is it really that obvious?"

"Yup. But it's okay. Weirder things have happened. Do you know we share this realm with other Faeries?"

"Nope" Jason replied, confused.

Just as Sandre was about to explain further, Savannah and Lorema intervened and dragged Jason out of the kitchen.

"Sorry about that Jason but something came up and we have to give you your tour now" Savannah said, clearly rushing.

"Can't you women get someone else to do it? I'm sure Maery and Sandre are more than capable of giving me a tour. I know you are both important members of Xunia's court and you're busy most of the time so go ahead. I'll go get some more of that chocolate cake"

"Okay, thanks Jason…wait, did you say chocolate cake?" Lorema asked.

"Yeah. Is something wrong?" "Who gave you that cake?" Lorema asked with her hands on her hips.

"Maery did. Is there something wrong with that?" Jason asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Um, that cake was off-limits to everyone. It's the only chocolate cake in this mansion at the moment so I don't know what Maery is trying to achieve by giving you a piece of the cake" Savannah replied, puzzled.

"Besides, that cake was baked by Xunia herself and it's not often we get to see her bake. What is that sneaky woman up to?" Lorema said, narrowing her eyes and stroking her chin.

"Well we have no time to figure out what her motives are Lorema. The queen gave us an order and we must follow it to the letter" Savannah reprimanded, jerking Lorema from her thought.

"Alright, we'll start from the ground floor then" Lorema said, leading the pair. They showed him the servant's quarters, the kitchen, the storage, the inventory, the garage, their rooms, the guardrooms, the training rooms, and the relaxation room.

"You can have a massage here, get a tan, practice ballet, or just chill here. This is my most favorite room" Lorema said dreamily.

A sound came from Savannah pocket and she brought out her phone.

"I received a text from Seriel, we have to leave now. Let's get Sandre and Maery to finish the tour"

"Is it that serious?" Lorema asked, her demeanor changing from playful to serious in an instant. Savannah nodded in response which made Lorema sigh.

Savannah texted Maery and both she and her husband came to assist in finishing the tour. Savanah and Lorema left, uttering an apology which he waved off. The couple showed him the music room, art gallery, room of spells, and the library.

He immediately dashed into the library and soaked in the fragrance of old books.

"Wait, if you guys are centuries ahead, how do you keep these old books?" Jason stopped to ask.

Maery chuckled and answered "You have already answered your question but, I would explain further. Our advanced technology helped us discover a kind of gas that protects things like paper and cloth from getting destroyed and keeps them fresh.

The gas doesn't affect weries but may have a slight effect on humans. However, if a book were to be taken out of here, it would not last very long"

Jason's mouth formed an 'oh' before he shut it very quickly and proceeded to check out the books.

"Come on now Jason, we have much more to see and little time to prepare. Let's go now" Maery said, urging him out of the library.

"Prepare for what?" Jason asked as he was led to the end of the hallway.

"Your introductory gala of course" Maery replied with a giggle.

"A gala? But I've only been here for a couple of hours"

"Yes, but you need to be introduced to the nobilities in the Aries clan. We have 20 official Alpha Lords, 25 packs in total including rebels who were given a chance by the Alpha queen. They've not been officially inaugurated as Alpha Lords and their pack has not been recognized" Sandre explained.

"Since Aries clan has a lot of power in this realm, a lot of Faery leaders are going to attend the ball. This ball is usually held at the end of the conference every year but word has spread to the high powers in this realm that Xunia has found her mate so she has no choice but to introduce you to them.

If it were left to her, she would introduce you after she has marked you but as the Alpha queen, she's duty-bound" Maery finished, giving Jason an apologetic glance.

"It's okay. I'm familiar with duties and their importance and I understand her hands are tied. However, that does not change the fact that I'm terrified of crowds and important people are going to be there. I'm a beta's son for crying out loud. I don't know anything about nobility" Jason cried, panicking a little.

"That's not right. As a beta's soon, you're entitled to know as much of nobility as the alpha's son. You may become the next Alpha should the reigning alpha and his lineage be killed" Sandre said, narrowing his eyes in.

"Your pack seems fishy"

"of course it's fishy. It's in the human world after all" Maery exclaimed, her happy mood evaporating.

"However, since you know next to nothing about nobility, I'll give you a lowdown on all the faery nobilities" Maery clapped her hands, her happy mood coming back. She led the pair back to the library where they sat and started talking.

"First of all, you have the most powerful Faeries, Weries; the faeries that have the ability to turn into wolves. Then you have Fairies; the faeries that can bend metaphysical energies to their wills. Then you have Sirens; the faeries that have the ability to dwell in water and basically control water elements. Then you have Druids; faeries that communicate with the forests. You have Angies; faeries that basically control and live in the air. You also have Haries; faeries that live underground and the underworld. Then there are Vaeries; the faeries that are known to feed on blood. There are also Saduls; the faeries with the ability to shapeshift. Those are the major faeries faction in the realm" Maery explained.

"Now now, let's get you prepped up for the gala. The escorts already arranged your outfit" Maery said, giggling excitedly.

"Well since you're a male, you'll have more time to nap before you have to prepare for the gala. We can't have you falling and sleeping on the floor" Sandre said, winking.

"of course not. Forgive me my lord, I've just been so caught up in the tour I completely forgot. Please go up to your room and rest, Sandre will call you when it's time to get ready for the ball' Maery said, smiling.

"Okay" Jason replied, turning to go.

"Oh, and Jason, I know it's hard for you, just learning about this and all that but you'll be fine. Just trust your mate. Xunia knows what's best for you and she won't hesitate to protect you, even as the cost of her life. She needs you Jason, never forget that" Maery said. Jason didn't reply, he only walked away.