Chapter 106 - Kings And Royalties*
Chapter 106 - Kings And Royalties*
Luna walked towards the castle grounds with a distinct purpose as she watched Apollyon stand in front of the Kings in an assembly as the Consortium gathered behind him.
She sighed with relief to see all the girls wore their respective masks as they received the guests.
It came as a shock to Luna that the ladies had respected her enough to follow her rules religiously.
Everyone was silent as they waited for the other Kings to line up in front of them to make the introductions easier.
Luna can hear high-pitched giggles here and there—of course, feminine—wafting throughout the courtyard.
The Kings from the other Realms also waited for Apollyon\'s signal so that they can finally introduce themselves.
The Kings were already unobtrusively peering under the masks and looking at the ladies\' eyes through the eyeholes in their masks with intense gazes.
They were actively picking out their chosen concubine and bride the moment they stepped out of their carriages.
.Luna stopped the urge to shake her head at them.
Men.
They were of the same kind.
Like Apollyon, they always have their priorities straight.
Only a full-fledged siege could probably distract them from their lecherous attentions.
The first King came from the Dragon Realms.
He wore a giant piece of ornamental headdress which appeared like a Bison\'s horns reaching towards the sky along with a light green leaf on top of his forehead.
Luna heard from the escorts whispering in front of her that the man\'s name was Draco.
Draco had a strong masculine features really sharp and defined jawline which could probably cut a diamond.
But of course, that was an overstatement in her part.
He had that stable and commanding air around him befitting of a Dragon Emperor, appearing old and wise.
He had straight raven hair that only reached up to his shoulders, fiery orange eyes and thick lips.
He wore a gold gauntlet on his left hand.
His chest was fully exposed that she could see his pectoral muscles since his Emperor\'s robes were tied loosely around his waist.
The gold and silver lining of his clothing formed an extensive and open V from his shoulders down to his hips, and the sleeves and the robe itself was long, its trains reaching the ground as he moved.
Every ladies outside the castle grounds were probably drooling over his pectoral muscles.
One little pull of his orange and golden robes off his shoulders and it would be so easy to undress him.
The other King was called Panterra from the Feline Kingdom where Catriona had belonged.
If he was really from the Kingdom of Cats and he was addressed as Panterra, Luna assumed that he was a panther but of what colour?
Luna had no idea.
Should she assume that Panterra was a snow panther when he had short silver hair and light blue eyes?
He was a man on the slender side, but his muscles looked solid and perfectly toned.
Panterra moved in a lazy cat-like grace which was mesmerizing to witness.
He wore fancy white robes with orchid embroideries on them paired with a golden wings headpiece similar to the god, Hermes.
He also donned another snow velvet shawl wrapped around his arms while he held a thin crescent-shaped weapon on his left hand.
Panterra had that delicate features going on, but the sharpness of his light blue eyes would probably scare and make a lady swoon at the same time.
The Faerie King wasn\'t the King but a Faerie Prince named Aspen who was sent by his father to look for a bride that he had fancied, going from Realm to Realm in search for the right female.
The moment Luna had landed her eyes on him, she wasn\'t sure if he was indeed male when both his masculine and feminine features were too balanced that she considered as perfection.
He had arrived on a grand scale among the rest and Aspen had stood out for her out of all the bachelors for the Marriage Market.
He didn\'t have carriages along with him like the others.
Aspen actually rode in his golden chariot with young unicorns attached to it.
It was unique how his flying chariot had dropped from the sky before he reached the entrance.
The Faerie Prince had long and straight auburn hair which reached below his waist, a strong, bulky physique underneath his golden armour and warrior cuff bracelets on each of his arms.
He also wore a golden headpiece/crown—which appeared like a golden circle on each side of his ears—along with a thin veil and ribbons floating along with his silky hair.
Beneath the armoured suits were a green robe and his gossamer faerie like wings where of green and bluish hues. Aspen was ethereal.
The King of the Merfolk introduced himself as Phorcys, and the man had brought his wife with him.
He was probably in need of a concubine.
He and his wife had similar facial features with greyish undertones on their skin.
Their faces are kind of similar to humans but not quite.
The Merfolks appeared like humanoid creatures, and Luna had wondered why they didn\'t show up with a mermaid\'s tail or something.
They have feet at the moment, but maybe they haven\'t got quite used to it when Luna noticed that the female wobbled every time she took a step.
Phorcys and his wife had golden blonde hair and small faces—smaller than the normal.
The wife\'s dress seemed like it was a tightly wrapped bandage around her body.
At the same time, Phorcys only wore a man-skirt wrapped around his waist, exposing his muscular upper body filled with elaborate tattoos of runes for the Consortium women to feast on.
Zephyr was a King from the Shadow Kingdom, and he had definitely lived up to his name.
His aura and his overall appearance were shrouded in mystery.
Zephyr\'s feet hadn\'t touched the ground, appearing like he was floating.
Black robes were also floating along with him as if he was in a perpetual state of airborne suspension.
Luna couldn\'t see his face because he was hiding beneath his cloak as he held a bright and glowing triangular-shaped lantern along with him.
His aura had looked dark and menacing, and few girls in the Consortium were interested in him because of the constant shadow creeping behind him, spreading and following his every movement.
Now the last one had Luna really curious.
He was the King of the Werewolf Kingdom--the one who invaded the Sacred Valley who had persuaded Astarte to betray the Amazons.
She wouldn\'t ever forget that nine-tailed fox tattoo as he showed them proudly to the consorts, basking in the attention that was given to him.
Now, what was he doing over here looking for females when he had captured Amazons in his new territory?
Did he kill all of them?
What happened to Astarte?
Where was she and why wasn\'t she with her man?
Luna had stared so intensely as her thoughts kept circling around her mind that Remus had glanced in her direction.
She almost halted her breath in panic when their eyes almost met.
Luna hurriedly walked towards the centre and covered her face with the hood of her cloak, blending in more through the crowd so he wouldn\'t see her.
She had worn a plain white mask she had sneaked from the seamstresses\' room without the Vampire King knowing what she had done.
Well if Apollyon knew, he would probably choke her to death because she didn\'t follow his orders.
Goddess, Apollyon must have thought she was a servant he could order around.
He thought wrong.
Luna didn\'t have any attention to pretend that she was a lady from the Consortium.
Still, she had requested an extra mask from the seamstress so she could protect the women—especially, the human consorts, and escorts—if they faced violence or any kinds of abuse by one of these Kings.
She didn\'t trust these visitors one bit, so she had to find some ways to remain inconspicuous for the Consortium\'s safety.
Before the Coronation which will happen tomorrow, Apollyon had asked Luna to withdraw temporarily to their bedroom chamber.
At the same time, the six Kings from the neighbouring realms would get to know the girls they have chosen for the initial pick tonight.
The first event Luna had planned tonight was the Acquaintance Affairs, and Apollyon didn\'t want her around to join.
She thought that the Vampire King was being very suspicious for not including her.
He told Luna specifically that he would be the only one to entertain the guests, and Luna would emerge from her hideout during the Coronation only.
Luna clenched and unclenched her fists as she stood at the far back of the crowd, hoping that the Vampire King hadn\'t noticed her out and about.
Luna\'s heart had beat faster the moment she had stepped on the grass of the Castle\'s grounds afraid the Apollyon would feel that she was around through their blood bond.
Still, fortunately, Apollyon was too busy and distracted, greeting and shaking the Kings\' hands even to notice her.
Luna was annoyed by Apollyon\'s order.
Why would he show her off in front of his alliances only during the Coronation and then hide her away like she was dirty laundry?
Was she ugly then that he wouldn\'t allow her to meet the Kings the moment they stepped foot on the Vampire Realm?
Did some other girl catch his eye--from the concubines and the consorts--that he wanted her gone so that he could cheat again?
Her fears had caused her to believe illusions again.
Luna will not distort her anxious mind with reality.