Royalty (Ch.3)

~Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate~

Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Andronika walked out of the Majeir mansion, squinting slightly at the brightness of the sun that cast the streets of Dragra, the great royal city in a rejuvenating glow.

The city of Dragra was an enchanting sight, just as it always had been and in her past life, Andronika recalled how she would awake every morning craving for a glimpse of the familiar bustle of the royal city.

The Great General and General Daerev awaited Andronika just outside the mansion, a small smile lit up Andronika's lips, her smile only widening as she caught sight of another familiar presence.

Andronika's spirit beast Reo paced impatiently, awaiting her arrival and Andronika's lips stretched into a fond grin the moment she set eyes on the towering bulk of the Blue Winged Tiger King.

Andronika's grin widened as the peak level 10 revered beast covered the distance between them, standing well above Andronika's height in all his gigantic 10ft glory.

The peak level 10 Blue Winged Tiger King was massive, with a towering height of ten feet while standing on fours and an equally intimidating width and bulk, Reo was a glorious sight to behold

With his intimidating height, Reo towered above Andronika's height of 5foot and 7inches, however Andronika was not the slightest bit intimidated by his towering height or his massive bulk, instead her heart constricted painfully as she stared into the beast's large eyes.

Reo's jaws opened in what Andronika knew to be a grin, huge and terrifyingly sharp teeth on display, eyes sparkling with his unyielding loyalty and love for his bonded human.

Andronika forced down the sob that crept up her throat as memories from her previous lifetime flashed through her mind, memories of how she had failed her spirit beast, desecrating one of the most sacred bonds in existence all for the cause of the fleeting feelings of love.

The bond between a revered beast and a human was as sacred as that of a blood bond, beast and human where joined in heart and soul to the extent that they could even communicate with thoughts.

A bond so precious, so rare, Andronika had been blessed with it and in her previous lifetime, she had destroyed it with her own hands, leaving Reo broken and betrayed.

Andronika forced away her memories, lifting a hand up as Reo lowered his head to Andronika's level, eagerly awaiting her touch.

Andronika ran her hands through the soft blue fur on his neck, grinning as he purred in content, she leaned her head against his huge head, her eyes fluttering closed, basking in the warmth of his familiarity.

"I have missed you my precious one." Andronika whispered softly.

Reo purred in response, Andronika smiled, patting him softly before she pulled away.

Understanding Andronika's intentions, Reo hunched down to reduce his height as Andronika climbed astride his back and adjusted her position till she was comfortable.

Reo straightened up to his full height, Andronika's father and Dae mounted their black furred saber toothed tigers and they took off in the direction of the palace.

The streets quietened as the Majeir's rode past, everyone lowering their heads in respect long before the Majeir's got to them, the fearsome spirit beasts gave off the identity of the Majeir's from a distance away.

As important as cultivation was to warriors within the seven kingdoms, so was beast taming, it was a bit more complicated as it was not an ability that could be learnt but came naturally to warriors.

A cultivator's level of dominance signified the level of beast one could tame, whereas some of the greater revered beasts could not be tamed but rather chose their own masters..

In the West continent, beasts were categorized according to their speed, ferocity and intellect, they were divided into four ranks which were the low rank, mid rank, high rank and peak rank beasts.

The ranks were further divided into ten levels each, as such, a low rank revered beast could either be a low level one, low level two all through to ten and the same applied for the other ranks.

Across the seven kingdoms, the most common ranks of demonic beasts were the low, mid and high ranks.

In all the West continent, only a handful of peak ranked beasts had been identified but taming them had proven impossible.

Whereas beasts of the other ranks could be tamed, the peak ranked beasts were the highest ranked in existence,

They were considered the gods of the beast race and beasts of such rank hardly ever bonded with humans unless the cultivator had proven worthy to be chosen by the peak ranked beast himself.

There were only four records of peak ranked beasts who had chosen to forge a bond with cultivators,

Three of these chosen cultivators were precisely from the kingdom of Dalagh.

The three peak ranked beasts in question were the peak level 9 Black Saber Toothed Tiger, the spirit beast of the Great General of Dalagh.

The peak level 9 Snow White Lion, the spirit beast of the Second Imperial Prince of Dalagh.

The third was the peak level 10 Blue Winged Tiger King, the spirit beast of Andronika Majeir of the house of Majeir.

The next rank following was the top three levels of the high ranked spirit beasts, high ranked beasts were almost as rare as the peak ranked beasts with only 10 recorded successes of the top three levels across the seven kingdoms.

The high level 9 Black Saber Toothed Tiger, the spirit beast of General Daerev Travvin of the Gold Crest Guards.

The high level 10 Black Bear, the spirit beast of the Crown Prince of Dalagh.

The high level 10 White Wolf, the spirit beast of General Caius, the sworn protector of the Second Imperial Prince.

The high level 8 Black Spiked Horse, the spirit beast of General Arauth, Lord of the Black Aegis, the royal assassin guild.

The high level 9 Black Raven, the spirit beast of the deceased lady of the Majeir house.

The high level 10 White Spiked Horse, the spirit beast of the Crown Prince of Kahlo.

The other three high level beasts belonged to renowned cultivators from other kingdoms.

The high level 1 to high level 7 beasts were also rare, there were 10 known within the kingdom of Dalagh and about 30 others spread across the remaining six kingdoms, a total of 40 or so.

As for spirit beats of the low and mid ranks, they were more common in the West continent.

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Andronika stared up at the imperial palace, realizing they had already arrived, the huge stone walls were towering and intimidating, with an imposing aura exuded from the very crevices of the walls, the royal palace of Dalagh was a glorious sight to behold.

Andronika rode into the gate after her father and brother, coming to a halt outside the first pavilion, they dismounted as was the rule of the royal palace.

Walking down the pathway made from pure citrine quartz, Andronika was impressed not for the first time by the beauty and magnificence of the imperial palace,

It was truly befiting of royalty. The perfection of everything was stunning and in a way scary as within this enchantingly beautiful palace, Andronika knew lot of lives had ended untimely,

The imperial palace was a place as dangerous as the battlefield, perhaps even more so, it was not a place Andronika ever desired to live in,

Andronika wondered not for the first time how the King and the Crown Prince, who were both such kind and simple souls survived within these suffocating walls,

But then again, as it was is with everything else in the imperial palace, Andronika was well aware that the kindness and simplicity of their ways was just on the surface too, a facade truly

Andronika knew they were true to her, but with everyone else, the King of Dalagh and his legal sons, Crown Prince Jaran and Second Imperial Prince Jalan were the most terrifying figures in all the kingdom.

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"Andronika!" The King of Dalagh called out as he spotted the Majeir's approaching the pavilion he occupied with his second concubine, Lady Ara and his first son, the Crown Prince Jaran.

King Rhaegar of Dalagh was a fearsome man and a renowned warrior across the West continent, however to Andronika, being her father's closest friend, she had grown up knowing the King as another father figure in her life and had always addressed him as her royal uncle.

Andronika allowed a small smile as she reached the King's side, lowering her head in respect.

"Greetings to His Imperial Majesty and the Crown Prince." The Majeir's greeted in unison.

"Greetings to the Noble Consort." Andronika and Daerev bid their greetings to the King's concubine who sat at his side.

King Rhaegar ushered the Majeir's to seat, laughing heartily at Andronika's odd politeness.

"Something tells me I shall not favor what I am about to hear, since when is the infamous ice wrath so polite?" King Rhaegar asked amusedly.

Andronika revealed a small smile, sitting after her father who sat uncaring for protocols by his friend's side.

King Rhaegar passed a glare over to his Great General, and the Great General rolled his eyes in response but did not make any move to acknowledge the Noble Consort whom he had just pushed aside and occupied her spot.

The Great General had always detested Noble Consort Ara for her cunning and manipulative ways and he had never tried to conceal his distaste of her, openly displaying it whenever he got the chance,

Andronika knew her father was always like this, he did not know how to play accepting, if he did not like you...you would know and so would everyone else.

Rather than getting offended, King Rhaegar seemed to find the actions of his Great General amusing, and did not even try to defend the Noble Consort who now begrudgingly stood off to the side,

The Noble Consort had resorted to passing the Majeir's what she must have assumed to be subtle hateful glances,

Andronika chuckled quietly when her father scoffed, muttering under his breath about two faced devils in human skin,

King Rhaegar and Crown Prince Jaran laughed heartily at the Great General's antics and the Crown Prince passed Andronika a look that seemed to ask

'How do you survive with him?'

Andronika shrugged in response, she had never minded her father's bluntness and inability to tolerate pretences, rather she quite favoured this attribute of her father's as Andronika herself was not much different.

The Crown Prince laughed and patted his side, Andronika rose to her feet and moved over to the Crown Prince's side.

The Crown Prince and Andronika could not necessarily be considered as friends, however they were much closer than Andronika was to the Second and Third Imperial Princes.

In the case of the Third Imperial Prince, Andronika guessed their relationship was hindered by the clear animosity between her own father, the Great General and the Third Prince's mother, Noble Consort Ara.

As for the Second Imperial Prince, Andronika was not so certain, she guessed perhaps it was owed to the fact that Andronika had always been a distant person by nature and so was the Second Imperial Prince.

When both were solitary figures, no one took the initiative to pry into the life of the other.

However Niyonika knew the Second Imperial Prince Jalan did care for her, he and the Crown Prince both,

Due to the close relationship between the royal family and the family of the Great General, Andronika and the Princes had spent their childhood together, although Andronika had grown up too quickly and was heading out for battles in no time.

Andronika and the Princes had a strange relationship, one where they would each go out of their way to offer any help they can if any of them were ever in need or in danger.

But save for such extreme scenario, they all tended to stay in their respective lanes and none of them did well with communication either, the Second Imperial Prince being worse of in that regard.

Notwithstanding, Andronika held all three princes in high regard, after her father and brother as well as the House of Majeir,

Andronika considered the King and his sons to be her own family, to think she had betrayed them all in her past lifetime.

'No bad thoughts Nika...no bad thoughts.' Andronika mentally lectured herself.

"You are here to turn down the engagement with my little brother, yes?" Crown Prince Jaran asked Andronika in a knowing tone.

"How did you know?" Andronika asked him curiously, the Crown Prince gave a casual shrug in response.

"The whole capital of Dragra must have heard about you kneeling outside the Majeir ancestral hall by now, perhaps even the whole kingdom of Dalagh. "

"News spread fast here, especially when it has to do with the Great General's daughter refusing to accept the royal engagement order and wishing to anul her betrothal with a royal prince." The Crown Prince explained.

Andronika frowned slightly at the Crown Prince's words but did not reply, nodding to inform him he was right about her intentions.

"While I am aware this is a little out of line, I must request you to please reconsider. I understand your hesitance Nika as we are like family hence Lan is like a brother to you, however the betrothal was set for a reason, despite knowing you both might not wish to be together,"

"You understand the political situation of the West continent as much as we do, if any of the legal princes are unmarried then the first issue raised at the peace talks would be a political marriage,"

"After refusing one for me, doing it again would agitate the other kingdoms, we cannot afford to let that happen as it would then be said that our Dalagh kingdom is not really interested in making peace and are only pretending to be willing,"

" However this is a critical time in the West continent and if the alliance is to be formed, it should not be based on political facades like a marriage alliance... what we desire is a unification of the seven kingdoms,"

"We also cannot afford to let Lan marry an obvious spy, you know how he is, he would kill the unfortunate princess without hesitation at the slightest provocation and mobilize the King's army to finish off her kingdom." Jaran said,

Andronika was quiet, she had to admit the Crown Prince was right, that sounded like something the Second Imperial Prince would do.

"I know it is a lot to ask from you but an engagement is the only way to completely defeat any talks on political marriage. The peace talks must not be led off track for personal benefits,"

"Marriage alliances have been attempted countless times by our predecessors and it has always proven to be more troublesome than beneficial, beyond this...it is this King's selfish wish to allow my sons the right to choose their spouse, I do not wish to see their lives used as a tool for political gratification."

"Hence I need you to provide me a justification to turn down the marriage alliance, it is as much for Jalan's sake as it is for our kingdom, think about it my dear." King Rhaegar continued,

It was then Andronika noticed the entire table was now quiet and listening to her conversation with the Crown Prince, .

The Noble Consort Ara had probably been sent away at some point.

"I understand all this...but why me? If it is just a false engagement that is needed then it could be any lady and I am certain dozens would be willing so why me?" Andronika asked, but Andronika already knew the answer to that question.

"You know why." The Crown Prince replied and Andronika sighed.

"Because not just any lady's name will be capable of deterring six kingdoms, only if that lady was me, the ice wrath. None would want to continue the discussion once my name is uttered, they would not want to incur mine or my father's wrath." Andronika muttered quietly and they all nodded.

Andronika heaved another sigh, perhaps it was for the best she accepted the engagement, in her previous lifetime, Andronika had turned it down and look how she had ended up.

Andronika shook her head to force away the unwanted memories invading her mind, this time, the false engagement would be as much for her own benefit as it was for the Second Imperial Prince.

"I am not willing...but if this is what My King and the Crown Prince requests of me, I will do as asked." Andronika decided.

The Great General sighed sadly, even as King Rhaegar revealed a grateful smile.

"I have a condition though." Andronika added quick.

King Rhaegar nodded, giving Andronika a curious look, which quickly turned guilty as Andronika exposed his intentions.

"I have known of royal uncle's wish for me to be his daughter in-law since forever, way beyond the betrothal, royal uncle has always hoped I would take a fancy to one of you legal sons,

" Which is why you have always made attempts to hoard me and prevent me from meeting any other outstanding man that might catch my eyes, as subtle as you try to make your actions, it is as clear as day,"

"It is also clear that the thought you have in your head right now is to delay the fake engagement beyond the peace talks till we actually fall in love or something akin to that... I wanted to make it clear that it will never happen,"

"Royal uncle must promise me that once the peace talks are concluded, the engagement and betrothal will be annulled, and you shall set me free."Andronika said in a serious tone,

Andronika's gaze was narrowed, daring the King to deny her words,

King Rhaegar looked away with a frown even as the Great General glared at him while the Crown Prince and Daerev laughed.

"How can you bargain with me like this?!" King Rhaegar complained, Andronika quirked an unconcerned brow and King Rhaegar frowned.

"I am your King!!" King Rhaegar declared in an intimidating tone, Andronika shrugged nonchalantly while the Great General scoffed.

"I am your precious and only royal uncle, your father's most valued friend!" The King tried again and when Andronika's response was the same uncaring shrug, King Rhaegar huffed in defeat.

"Fine! You have my word." King Rhaegar promised begrudgingly, muttering about how he had the worst sons and now even his Nika was grown and treating him cold heartedly.

Andronika took a sip from her tea cup, hiding the smile tugging at her lips, however Daerev caught it and gave Andronika a knowing wink whilst mouthing an exasperated word.

"Royals." His lips read, Andronika chuckled softly nodding in agreement, royals indeed.

As annoying as their antics were, Andronika felt a certain warmth in her heart... the familiarity was comforting... Andronika had missed this.