BLOOD AND Lightening

Chapter 9

"Do you think your strategy of getting close to her is working your majesty?" Nicholas asks the Emperor as they both stroll to the princess's wing

"When has my plan ever not worked Nicholas?

She is easy to ride on, it's very easy to manipulate one who hasn't been showed concern for a while. they easily get swayed by any little attention given to them, and before they realize they are being used it's already too late, but this time around she would never find out cause non of my stories were made up" Emperor Gildor explained while Nicholas listened

"Brother!" Prince Adonsi greeted on seeing the Emperor "how come you move alone without your royal guards your majesty?" he asked with concern.

"Nicholas is enough for me, same with you, you move around with just Ajax," The Emperor said light-heartedly, the tension between Ajax and Nicholas has never been a good one, the reason that, Nicholas was never trained alongside other royal guards, he entered the palace with Gildor as his personal Guard, and Ajax just couldn't trust him, even as the head of the royal Guards he couldn't do anything about him because he is the Emperor's man.

"Three more nights and she is back" Gildor voiced out looking at the fabric being used to decorate his sister's chambers.

"You Don't have to supervise them yourself, your majesty, you have a court meeting in a few hours," Prince Adonis said

"And you General Adonis also a member of the court before I become Emperor I was a big brother to the Princess so supervising my beloved sister's wing is not a bad thing"

The relationship between Gildor and his younger sister Athena has always been a good and sweet one, for some reason he couldn't seem to hate her, perhaps because they think alike, although greatly loved by their father, princess Athena was never fond of him and instead was closer to Gildor more than prince Adonis her immediate elder brother.

Princess Athena is not just a lot like him but also more valuable to him than his brother, as the Emperor he would greatly benefit greatly from the marriage of the princess.

The relationship between Prince Adonis and Gildor has always been flawed, Gildor didn't care about his father's love for Athena but was indeed very envious of that of Adonis, prince Adonis on the other hand is very fond of his elder brother, but that fondness is very one-sided, Gildor didn't really care and hardly thought of him as a brother, rather sees him as a competition and threat to his inheritance. If the previous Emperor hadn't died his brother would have become crown prince and him stripped of his inheritance.

He would sometimes wish Adonis was never born...

The atmosphere of the court was tensed, the third meeting of the ministers since after his succession of the thrown, Emperor Gildor sitting at the highest ground of the thrown room wearing his crown, his face as cold as ice and his body leaning calmly at his chair, the ministers sitting in a lower ground with the low-status ones standing behind the higher status, at the very start of the right row is General Adonis, he is seated with a stoic face listening to every matter been raised in the court and rarely saying a thing.

"Your majesty, the court has decided its high time you pick a wife, you have come of age and the kingdom needs a Queen" The first minister voiced out

"Yes your majesty, we concluded it's the best thing for his majesty to have somebody by his side as soon as possible, the earlier the better" another chipped in

General Adonis's eyes grew wider and he looked at the Emperor who smiled back at him, while having a conversation with the Emperor, Gildor had told him that the court is trying to get him to get married and they would bring it up at the meeting and just like he said they did bring it up, Gildor had told him that marrying a wife the courts picked is risky for the kingdom, that is why he has to report everything only to him and nobody else not even the most trusted minister, The Emperor had assured him he would let him know of his plans after his investigation and now he is more intrigued on what his brothers plans are, wondering the connection between the marriage and the suspected war that might befall their kingdom.

"Did the court perhaps have a meeting behind the back of their Emperor?" Gildor asked, they all looked at theirselves waiting for who would talk first

"We dare not your majesty, it is only but a mere suggestion by the court" the first minister answered

"It doesn't sound like a suggestion to me minister, it sounds like a decision, you said yourself that the court decided that I pick a wife, I would want to remind you all that ministers gathering together to discuss the court's business without the king's permission or presence is considered treason," Gildor said with ease

The quietness of the courts erupted in noises, some grasping at his utterance while some murmuring.

"It is a long tradition that a king should pick a wife before his succession but if it was an emergency and the said royal wasn't married then he had to marry after his succession"

Said the prime minister, Griffin Whitlock with a stoned face.

"Interesting point minister, the same tradition made mention of it being by choice"

" so the purpose of today's gathering is my marriage, I did really appreciate your concern for my bedroom companionship and would keep that in mind but I think there are more crucial matters we should be discussing, especially the finance sector of the kingdom, how come a great kingdom as resourceful as Arvernine have barely any record of their expenditures?" Emperor paused for a while collecting his composure before continuing

"That was a question, not a statement ministers, and am asking specifically as the Emperor, this question is to the minister of finance and resources which is under the prime minister" He didn't seem to care a bit about the burning anger in the face of the prime minister nor the wrinkles in their faces as evidence of age, he was their Ruler and they should be answering to him not the other way around...

"I know it would take three more nights but hasten your pace and make this journey shorter" Princess Athena ordered with a straight face, the journey back home was growing tiring and exhausting. her eagerness to end the already boring journey made her travel all night as well only stopping to rest for a few moments, the maidservant following her has turned into a ghost of themselves because of the little to no rest.

Athena in question didn't spare them a glance, she has grown tired of the carriage and had changed into a comfier outfit and mounted on the horses riding alongside the soldier.

Her sliver long hair flowed freely along with the wind...

At the top of a cliff stood Haldir, still on his quest, he noticed a troop passing, at first he didn't spare a look till his eyes caught a glimpse of the silver hair Maiden on a horse, she sat with confidence and a steady posture riding alongside a group of men, she could easily be passed as a warrior or a traveler because of how comfortable she seemed on the horse, Haldir's eyes couldn't leave her before he knew what was happening to him, he was already trailing her,

"Oleathea" he called out softly still trailing her.

"Is that you?" he asked no one in particular, his heart beating faster than earlier and his face displaying different emotions he didn't he could still feel.

The silver hair maiden suddenly stopped and looked in his direction surprising him but he was still very quick to hide, her eyes were as blue as the sky, and her lashes and brows sliver like her hair.

"Let's rest here, I need to eat" she commands, the riders got down first and came forth to help her down. Haldir stood a little distance from them with the woods covering him from them, he watched her keenly, her mannerism and movement.

"Your highness, the bread has grown too cold and stiff, if you don't mind I will light up the fire and cook up something for you," a maiden said with her head hanging low

"Your Highness?" Haldir mouthed to himself

"We don't have much time to cook up a meal, hit up the cookies, the bread included, and of course the leftover potatoes, I just need something to sustain me, nothing you cook can be of my taste, I just want to feed the worms in my stomach," Princess Athena said nonchalantly going over to sit on the chair provided for her, she leaned and closed her eyes while waiting for her meal.

Haldir couldn't continue watching from a hiding place, it's not his thing to hide, and definitely, not from humans, he folded his hands behind and boldly took a step only to be blocked

"What do you think you are doing" Eros came from nowhere

"What's that noise!! Guards!!" shouted Princess Athena, she immediately raises from her seat with the soldiers forming a cycle around her immediately, she pointed in the direction of the noise and the guards rushed there but couldn't see a thing.

"It's a rabbit, your highness"

"A rabbit? I want to see it" she said with uncertainty.

"We couldn't catch it, your highness"

"And you call yourselves soldiers, she said rolling her eyes, she went back to her seat while still looking in the direction of the noise...

"That was close," Eros said immediately after they had materialized on top of the mountain, a couple of miles away from the Princess

"What do you think you were doing following them, are you that hungry for blood," Eros asked with confusion

"What blood? Do you perhaps thought I was going to feed on them," Haldir asked in bewilderment

" I guess even time can't change a habit, you have a thing for jeopardizing my agenda," Haldir said clearly disappointed

"What possible Agenda could you possibly have with the royals of ARVERNINE," Eros asked

"You must know her too, who is that with a sliver hair?"

"Oh wait, you meant Princess Athena, I must say, you are too fast, I knew this would happen"

"So you indeed know her? Do all the royals of ARVERNINE have silver hair?" Haldir asJed from confusion.

"Apparently Princess Athena is the only one not just in the royals but the whole kingdom to have such hair," Eros said looking keenly at his friend, ever since Haldir returned it has gotten harder to read him or even understand him.