CHAPTER FOUR.

As the horses and carriages galloped away through the bushes, Loretta felt like throwing up. This was the first time In the twenty years of her life that was traveling out of Pictish and on a very high speed but what annoyed her the most was the man seated opposite her, since they entered the carriage he has refused to take his eyes off of her and it made the insides of her stomach to churn.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked unable to hold herself any longer but the man smiled while she scrunched her brows.

"I love the color of your hair" Alexander replied honestly and she really wanted to roll her eyes at him but he was a king and he deserved to be respected.

"Is that why you married me?" She asked again but this time the man chuckled lightly revealing his fine set of dentition

"Don't flatter yourself my queen, a man needs a woman companion in his life and I have chosen you to be my companion"

"Is that why you married me?To make me one among your many harem of women?"

Alexander smiled, "take a lot of rest Queen Loretta , ashen is a long way to go" he added as a matter of factly and he closed his eyes which gave her the opportunity to roll her eyes at him.

"Stop doing that" he said with his eyes still closed and her mouth dropped open in awe, how did he know?

...…

It was already past sun down when the gates of the palace of Ashen flung open and the horses carrying the carriages galloped into the open space and finally came to a halt, that was when Loretta opened her eyes.

"Welcome to the kingdom of Ashen" Alexander said as he smiled at her.

Loretta rose her head and stared out of the window of the carriage, for a moment she was mesmerized. The exterior of the palace looked very pretty.

The carriage door opened and Ace's face came into view,

"We have arrived my lord, my lady" he bowed respectfully towards the two of them.

"Allow my best man to lead you down" Alexander said and gestured to Ace who signed uninterestedly before extending his hand towards Loretta . After a while she took his hands and slowly climbed out of the carriage but as soon as she stepped out she was shocked.

A whole kingdom was standing and they came to welcome sir.

"Long live king Alexander '' someone announced through a loud horn and the whole kingdom bowed in obstanance and music began to play.

"Welcome to your new kingdom, my queen" Alex said again and she faked a smile as they made their way through the crowd.

After the welcoming ceremony was done, it was now left with the king and his lords alongside his bride in the large dining room, a large variety of food was laid out on the table and wines.

"Congratulations, my lord" Sylvester said as he raised his chalice filled with wine and the rest joined except Ace who had his eyes closed and he was supporting

his head with his hand.

"Welcome to our kingdom, my lady" another of the lords said, raising his chalice towards her again but instead of answering, she just nodded and faked a smile.

"Toast to the Lord and queen" Lord Ashley stood up, " may the palace be filled with a lot of kids and the people be happy"

Everyone chuckled lightly but still drank to his toast.

"Thank you all of you" Alexander replied and nodded towards all of them.

Glancing at everyone at the table, Loretta opened her mouth in awe. These men were the most beautiful people she had ever come across in her life, she wouldn't Like them to be all very attractive.

"You seem to be mesmerized by our beauty, my lady," Sylvester said with a sly smile playing across his lips.

"Are all men of Ashen this shameless?" Loretta asked for the first time and they all laughed, it was a joke after all.

The lone man who was sitting all alone already had enough of their chatter and noise, opening his eyes and finally he stood up.

"I will retire back to my castle now my lord if you have nothing more for me to do"

"Why don't you stay for a while?" Alex asked, raising his brows at him.

"I really don't enjoy these kinds of gatherings, by the way congratulations on your wedding" he added and bowed before walking out of the room while Loretta ' eyes followed him until he was no longer in the room. Ever since she set eyes on that man, there was something intriguing about him.

"Don't be bothered about him my Lady, he is just like that" Bernice chipped in.

"Let's enjoy, after all you have come to ashen for the first time"

The chatter started again but she was not really interested in any of that, the fact that she was in a strange environment where all the men were pretty and wasn't the king supposed to be feared?why this one being nice to her?her mother was kind of scared of her dad so why was king Alexander not acting all fierce with her?and why did that guard act like he didn't care about anything that was happening around him?

She had a lot of questions on her mind as she watched the men have fun and drink away while the king just sat and kept looking at her without saying a word.

...

Soon enough, the large doors opened and a female maid entered and bowed to all of them respectfully.

"The nuptial chambers have been prepared my lord"

Loretta froze, nuptial chambers?

King Alexander noticed her uncertainty and smiled at her, she never ceases to amaze him.

"It is a tradition we must follow in our kingdom, my queen. It is like a procession to a new life"

"What happens in the chambers?"

"What do you think happens, my lady?" Slyvester asked jokingly and Loretta could feel the inside of her stomach churn. These men were shameless.

"Prepare the procession"

"Yes, my lord" she bowed again and made her way out while Alexander's eyes were glued on his wife, the expressions on her face were priceless.