The Immortal King

13: Re-Announced

“You look gorgeous Liz”, Juliet commented in awe as she clasped the graduated diamond necklace around my neck. Tonight, was the night I was going to be properly announced as Luna, and for some, Queen Elizabeth. It was odd to think about how just a couple weeks ago, I would have thrown up at the idea and now I was somewhat embracing it.

In addition to that, tonight was also the night that I was going to prove that I could behave myself. 

Even though Sebastien has gone back to justifiably ignoring me for the day, that didn’t take away from the fact that he was right. Most of the things he expressed last night were already thoughts of my own. I needed to figure my s**t out and stop being so indecisive. I needed to take more responsibility for my actions and my role in the uneasy situations I put myself and others’ in. All of that started with accepting my fate as Highness and proving that I had self-control.

Don’t get me wrong, that does not mean that I have to give up on the headstrong Liz that ran out of here the first go around, because I do still agree with her motives, but that just means that I need to improve her so that she could be a good woman for herself, her family, and hopefully Sebastien and his kingdom. 

“You think so?” I looked on in total admiration at the woman standing in front of me. She wore an off the shoulder, mesh-sleeved mermaid dress studded with black rhinestones. The dress halted at a thigh-high slit and finished with a black tulle overlay. The dress hugged her figure in all the right places and showed just enough cleavage to highlight the diamonds dancing around her neck. 

I was in love and not only was the dress stunning, but her light make-up and high-ponytail ending with a soft swoop left her to admire parts of her face she’s never acknowledged before. 

Tears suddenly brimmed my eyes, “You guys did so good”

Growing up, I could only account for two moments where I was dressed up for a special occasion. One being the day I was forced to meet Sebastien and the other being a day I just so happened to also be wearing all black. Aside from that, because of our status, my family was restricted from citywide events, and despite my parents’ efforts to make us feel beautiful or included, no second-hand clothing could ever come close to the feelings that came from the ones I wore now.

Juliet gave my shoulders a quick squeeze before putting her chin onto my shoulder, “But wait, there’s more”

My eyes followed her as one of the other three maids handed her something behind my back.

 When the cold shimmery item was placed on my head, a tear escaped before I could stop myself and a slight gasp left my lips. 

"I look...”

“Beautiful”, the maids all spoke in unison. I laughed at their response and my thoughts immediately brought me to my mother who would cry if she saw me right now. I finally looked like the woman she’d been trying to groom me into for so long.

More tears left me at the thought of her, now at an uncontrollable speed. I attempted to stop them, but they soon transformed to hiccups and later snot. 

“Luna?”, another one of the maids, Beatrice, came to my side and rubbed the side of my arm followed by the other two maids. Juliet squeezed my shoulders once again, but this time in concern.

I bowed my head in embarrassment toward yet another moment of weakness among others. 

“I’m far away from my mama too,” Beatrice lifted my chin to look at her through the mirror and used her ability to siphon other’s thought’s to read mine, “She's a prisoner of war in another kingdom with a 20 year sentence and sometimes I miss her so much to the point where I don’t want to get up out of bed, but you know what I do whenever I get like that?”

My brows furrowed as I sniffled, “What?”

“I always remind myself that one day, though it may be in the next 10 years, I will see her again”, Beatrice nose went red as tears brimmed her eye-lids, “I’ll be able to hold her again, hear her laugh, and we’ll be able to catch up on everything she’s missed. Knowing that alone brings me comfort and strength to go on the next day. You’re love for those you care about should never make you drown, but constantly moving forward”

I brought Beatrice into an endearing hug and the other maids surrounded us in a group hug. I smiled towards their support and thanked Beatrice for her kind words of encouragement.

As we all parted ways, my thoughts trailed to the disagreement Juliet and I had about weakness. Maybe it was okay to be weak sometimes.

Soon after, there was a knock on the door. In a moment, Sebastien and I were going to make our way outside to the grand steps that led into the area where the elites of the kingdom congregated. This would have been one of the events I would not have been able to attend if I still populated the poorest class in the city.

A smile appeared on my face at the realization that I was the first queen to come from the city and I was now representing a population of children who felt more like collateral than actual citizens. 

“Good luck Liz”, Juliet whispered as she walked beside me towards the door and quickly re-touched my make-up, “Maybe tonight you’ll get more than a tickle under your shorts”

I blushed as Juliet reminded me of last night's events. Before I could respond, the door opened to James and Mason who would soon escort me towards the top of the steps to meet Sebastien. 

James peaked his head through the door mockingly, “Liz, blink twice if you plan to run”

Juliet stifled a giggle, but halted when I shot her a glare. She then playfully shoved James and whispered a be nice. 

I rolled my eyes towards the menace and shoved past him only to be stopped by Mason and the two men who stood beside him. Mason then sent me an awkward smile and I watched in confusion as he nervously itched the back of his head, “I’m sorry Luna, but per the king’s orders, you have to be surrounded on the way there”

“Yeah”, James obnoxiously co-signed as he picked up my tulle train, “I’m sure you understand”

My face twisted, but no words of objection left me as I understood their concerns. 

James gave Juliet a quick peck goodbye and she, and the rest of the maids, happily waved me off before leaving for the kitchen. 

My heart began to pound as my body guards and I walked down the corridors of the estate that led to outside. In a few seconds, I was going to be faced with a crowd of supernatural's who currently saw me as a runaway and before that, the same people viewed me as the worthless girl from the city who never deserved the crown in the first place. 

To them, I’ve been screwed up and possibly nothing that I could ever do was going to change that. As these thoughts of second-guessing replaced my hopeful ones, what really sunk my heart was the fact that Sebastien probably saw me the same way too.

When Sebastien entered my head, so did the thought of my rejection and last night. He’s been turning off his humanity so did he really feel anything last night? What if no matter how good I am, he rejects me anyway? Can I really prove my worth to someone who didn’t see me as worthy in the first place?

I could feel the tears brimming and my breathing became uneven as the urge to get away resurfaced. Unfortunately, this go around, in the instance that my legs caught up to my thoughts, there was no time to run away. The guards and I were already walking towards Sebastien, who stood at the middle of the staircase.