Chapter Twenty

“Our elder sister awaits your presence in the main hall, but we have dallied for far too long. We will personally escort you because of this error, your highness."

Sea expressed as she stood from adorning the transparent and beaded slipper on Angelique's feet.

Breathing heavily, she reluctant removed her gaze from the floor-length mirror.

There was no reason for thinking about the life she once had.

With a small nod and smile in Sea and Ocean direction, she walked towards the door. When she saw nothing was occurring around her, she inquisitively questioned with raised eyebrows.

"Are we not entering a portal?"

Ocean replied with a shake of her head.

"We are Darlins, your highness."

"Darlins? I have never heard of this."

Angelique pondered with a frown. She was clueless about the terms used in the Water Nymph Kingdom.

"This means that we are young Water Nymphs."

"You two are adolescents? Is that what Darlins mean?"

"Yes. I am 112 Centuries, and Sea is 115. We are unable to create portals at this age. Until we are over 500 Centuries as our sister is can we do so."

"Interesting."

Murmuring, Angelique was enlightened. She realized there were still so many facts and points she had not learned about the Fae Kingdom allies. With that, she continued to ask more questions as they proceeded to the main hall on foot. They continued to converse.

Angelique also learned that they were attendants of the Queen. That was because the monarchy of the Nymph Kingdom was dissimilar to the Faes and Sprites Kingdom.

Sea and Ocean only became Princesses because of true loyalty and dedication to the crown.

That is because royalty is not inherited but earned by hard and incredible work.

She giggled and laughed with them and became so absorbed in the history they spoke of that she been unconscious to her environment until they were in front of large double doors leading to the main hall. The looming dark double doors made her feel weary.

"We have arrived."

Ocean spoke, her voice sounding dejected. Angelique frowned for her change of mood was disheartening.

The Water Nymph guards standing on either side of the doors, upon seeing that they were approaching, wordlessly opened the doors.

They quickly bowed.

In sync in a loud voice, the Water Nymph guards acknowledged her presence.

"Her highness, Princess Angelique Sepia of the Fae Kingdom, has graced your presence, My Queen."

Holding her breath, Angelique held her head high as she began to walk into the large room with Sea and Ocean holding her hands in the crook of their arms, on either side of her.

Oshio, who was silently conversing with a man, swiftly turned around when she heard the proclamation. A dazzling and graceful smile graced her lips.

"You look incredibly gorgeous, Princess!"

Blushing at her statement, Angelique smiled.

She then glanced at her two sisters. Her eyes sparkled as she lightly clapped her hands.

"Wonderful jobs, sisters!"

Sea and Ocean smiled from obtaining such gallant praise from their elder sister. It was fitting, for she loved them dearly.

"You may return to your present duties."

Bowing, Sea and Ocean were obedient to Oshio's dismissal, but before Ocean left, she looked with concerned eyes at Angelique.

Silently, she mouthed, ‘please be careful’, before hurriedly following behind Sea.

With furrowed eyebrows, Angelique glanced behind her. However, the guards had shut the doors as soon as they disappeared beyond it.

'Why did she say this to me?'

She wondered as she returned her eyes upon Oshio. The Nymph Queen excused herself from her guest. Elegantly, she walked down the shorts steps to arrive in front of her.

Taking her hands in hers, Oshio twirled her around.

The action was sudden that she slightly squeaked. Her mind was far too busy thinking of Ocean's statement.

Oshio's guest swiftly turned around to observe the reason for her loud shrieking. Upon seeing the Princess, they froze.

She became uncomfortable under the foreign male heated stare. She glanced at Oshio with questioning eyes, but the Queen was unable to explain, for the male had spoken first.

“You must be, Princess Angelique.”

In a somewhat friendly tone of voice, the man slowly placed the glass of red wine he was nursing in his hands on the end table near him.

Curtsying, she acted bravely outside, but inside, she was scared.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir.”

Her voice was stable, but it was not what she wanted to say.

Smirking, for he found her statement far too gullible; the man walked down the stairs, two at a time, to stand near Oshio. That action made her frown.

She wanted to know who the smirking male was, so she glanced at Oshio once more with raised eyebrows.

Sensing her uncomfortableness, Oshio quickly interjected while sending a silent glare in the man's direction.

"I am sorry for my guest rudeness, Princess. His name is Rolando Pierre, a close associate of mine."

He stretched out his hands with glazed eyes, most likely for a handshake.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness. Please call me Raul. Rolando sounds too old, does not it?"

A smooth talker, she presumed, the man called Rolando Pierre screamed trouble.

Feeling her heart constricting in her chest, as the name sounded numerous loud bells of caution in her ears, Angelique's hands began to shake. But she acted clueless to the familiar name by placing her hands in his and continuing polite conversation.

“It is nice to meet you too.”

However, as soon as her small hands touched his clammy hot one, he brought it to his lips and bestowed a kiss upon her flesh. This action caused shivers of pure disgust to slighter up her bones.

She wanted to pull away, and she tried, but his hold slightly tightened.

As the future Queen and Royal of the Fae Kingdom, she had allowed this wolf in sheep clothing to touch her, and it made her feel nauseous. Again, she tried to pull her hand away, but he was not letting her go. Instead, he continued the conversation with a disturbing smile.

“No need to address me so formally, your highness.”

Waving his hands in the air as if to dismiss her formal greeting, Rolando slowly pulled his shivering lips from the Princess's soft skin.

“Your beauty knows no bounds, your highness.”

He raked his eyes over her, his body reacting in pure bliss, for she was the exact description as the rumors intensely stated, as a matter-of-fact even better up close.

Incredibly beautiful, carrying an air of peace, calm, and incredibly curvy in all the right places, Princess Angelique was causing him to salivate like the dog he was.

After what felt like ages, she was able to pull her dainty wrist from his tight hold.

Rubbing the sweaty hand on the back of her dress, she cleared her throat.

“Thank you."

She said those words, but deep down in her heart, she was repulsed.

“Of course you are welcome, your highness.”

The gesture of pure animalistic glee on Rolando’s face had not gone unnoticed by Oshio, who was quietly observing the small conversation between the two.

She knew that Rolando’s mind had repulsive thoughts, not with the sickeningly sweet smile splitting across his face. A small smile graced her lips, for the shockingly beautiful vision of the Princess had appeased him.

His full cooperation was all she needed in the vigorous plans ahead.

It was a manipulative strategy but also a successful maneuver.

Suddenly, a wave of fatigue overcame Angelique’s body.

The alarming thoughts of standing in the presence of the man who had destroyed her life was startling.

His manner of greeting making it worse.

Recognizing the immediate danger, when his smile grew broader, her breath caught in her throat, when his face, all of a sudden, flared in a most unbecoming grimace.

Glancing at her abdomen with a complicated frown adorning his lips, he slowly returned his black eyes onto her person.

In their burning charcoal depths, she detected a wave of dark and twisted anger swirling within them.

He had found out about the babe, and it made her hyperventilate.

‘I need to leave this place.’

Feeling she was about to fall from the shock, Angelique’s eyes remained trained on the shaking with hidden anger Rolando, who fisted his hands near his side. The soft hands of Oshio quickly came to her rescue, before his grimy and disgusting ones could.

“Princess, are you alright?”

Breathing heavily in and out, she used this as a perfect opportunity to escape.

Pretending, she groaned.

“I just need some fresh air.”

Forming an uncertain 'o' with her mouth, Oshio called one of the guards into the room.

“Escort the Princess to the lake. The natural potencies from the flowers will soothe whatever is troubling her."

Bowing, the guard gently held onto the arm of Angelique, and slowly, he brought her out of the main hall and eventually out of the castle.