"Luna." Apollyon whispered dangerously in her ear, "Why are you doing this?"

Was he this determined to stop her from helping the Consortium gain their independence?

"Nobody wanted to be directed or governed by the desires and dreams of others," Luna muttered as she glanced up at him, meeting his intense gaze. "--and frankly, so do you, Apollyon."

The Vampire King had sent winged seekers into the world to deliver the message to the far Kingdoms that he was finally cured of his ailment, and he had a new queen.

It was a new beginning of unlimited possibilities.

There were new adventures of passion and pleasure to explore along with her husband.

+++++

Luna paced outside the parapet outside their marriage chamber as the gusts of cold artic wind tore at her cloak as her long silver whipped on her face.

Her lips curved into a frown when her black diamond tiara slipped over her brow, blocking her vision.

Finally jerking it off her forehead, she let her long silver hair flow wherever it pleased.

Luna stared up at the wintry pearl of the moon suspended in the sky, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

There was an enormous body of etiquette which surrounded proper visiting and correct courtship.

In their morning dress, potential couples were seated in a restrained and proper garden in broad daylight where they wouldn't dare create a scandal.

No one will be allowed to be wildly in love yet, or in lust, perhaps?

It was literally about this early stage of the relationship where the Cupid's bow was unstrung and had no arrow.

She had already planned everything out.

She hoped that the visitors and the Consortium would follow her rules of the Marriage Market she had created to find the girls' suitable husbands/masters.

She told the ladies to be open to a new person who will enter their life.

They can pick who they want to be with—anyone—as long as it wasn't her husband, Apollyon.

In this one month, there will be private and public meeting she had painstakingly organized where the ladies who were chosen by the guests will take turns to have one-on-one conversations with each other.

Sexual congress wasn't allowed for this entire month, and Luna would ban any man or woman from meeting again if they would break the rules.

The pairings will have the chance to get together, either socially, romantically, or for business reasons.

They can attempt to seduce or talk someone into something, but sexual congress was strictly not allowed.

Pale stars frosted the canopy of the sky, and their radiance was dimmed by the glow of the many torches scattered around the castle walls.

The spring wind was humid, and it made Luna shiver.

The hillside was flooded in a sea of colourful gents and fluttering pennons where the Kings' remaining envoys from the other Realms stayed since the Castle was already too crowded.

Luna and the Vampire King had stayed at the Castle to meet the visitors instead of his private lair.

It was also better to keep an eye on her husband just in case he decided to meet with any of the concubines again.

She had given her trust to Apollyon but only to a certain extent.

She needed to check on his actions first.

Luna couldn't forget that her husband had cheated on her before.

Apollyon had been meeting many people in the villages outside the Castle to take care of problems himself and Jon and the High Priest to accompany him.

She didn't ask what it was about.

Apollyon had asked her if she wanted to come, but Luna shook her head in refusal because she will distract him from his work.

It was the duty of the Vampire King to create order out of chaos.

He had the authority, leadership, and strength to establish law and order.

The Vampire King was unfortunately patriarchal, rooted in his ways and views and regimens.

He was confident that his decisions were the right structure and way of things.

She had slowly established an identity for herself as the Empress.

On the other hand, Luna had triumphed over obstacles and achieved victory through focused intent and will.

She had to maintain discipline and self-confidence, assuming the reins of power and authority.

Luna had this innate drive to push through her causes to make men and women equals in this patriarchal civilization with unwavering certainty even if it meant contradicting her husband every step of the way.

Some of the ladies were busy chatting excitedly on the Castle grounds waiting for the visitors to arrive for the Marriage Market's upcoming events.

The Consortium had discussed strategies, focusing more on snagging a King from the other Realms who didn't have a wife yet.

All the Consortium ladies wore distinct and unique fancy masks they had made themselves to keep the mystery and secrecy but enough to stand out from the rest.

These masks will also incite curiosity on the male guests because the men can only choose their potential lovers or partners with the masks on, according to the gowns they wore, and also through their physical petite or curvaceous frames.

Luna decided that it would also be better for the Consortium to wear the masks through the first night to seduce the male guests with their ability to engage in flirty banters and witty conversations.

The first event will not be focused on beauty but rather on a woman's intelligence.

Those women who had plain features but owned a beautiful mind will have higher chances of snagging a rich husband through personality alone.

'Catriona, take that!'

Now that Luna was the queen, she will do everything in her power to make Catriona suffer as revenge for being such a stuck-up bitch.

She hoped that bitch would have a serious disadvantage in the first week from catching someone's attention due to her egotistic attitude.

The bachelor Kings will arrive soon to attend the Marriage tournament.

These challenges for her event, the Marriage Tournament, will claim the woman they had picked, and the lady should also choose the man because consent was important.

Every woman was a prize in this game, and everybody will be satisfied after the month was done—a win-win situation.

Luna looked below again and was shocked to find out that the Castle ground was now swarmed with dozens of consorts and escorts, all staring in the direction of the portcullis, looking forward to the male guests' appearance.

She really can't gauge what she felt at the moment, but she was also looking forward to meeting Apollyon's friends—alliances.

Could Kings be friends without any hidden agendas, though?

It would make sense that they would prioritize the wealth and security of their Kingdom before anything else.

Do Kings have the capacity to have true friendship when they appear so stoic and serious every time they discuss territory, military, and allegiances with the neighbouring Kingdoms?

A horn was blown long and loud, and it caught everyone's attention, signalling the Kings' arrival from the other Realms.

The drawbridge of the Vampire Castle was lowered, and the portcullis was finally raised.

The gates were thrown wide to welcome all the bachelors seeking brides and lovers and married men seeking concubines and consorts.

Luna shivered as the wind carried a wondrous aria to her ears as stringed musical instruments were placed in unison.

She also heard the clatter of carriage wheels, the murmur of voices, and the welcoming laughter, which also sounded like pleasant wind-chimes in the atmosphere.

The Consortium's excitement was tangible when the cream of the other Realm's aristocracy had gotten out of their lavish carriages.

One by one, they were introduced.

The Vampire king had told her that the Vampire Realm currently have allegiances with the Dragon Kingdom, the Feline Kingdom, the Faerie Kingdom, the Shadow Kingdom, the Werewolf Kingdom, and the Merfolks.

The other Kingdoms were pretty much explanatory, but Apollyon had no time to explain the Shadow Kingdom to her because he was busy doing some Kingly work now that he had returned to normal.

She gripped the rough, familiar stone of the parapet to steady her hands and strained her ears to hear the Kings' names, but unfortunately, she couldn't.

The Kings from the other Realms showed only pretty faces, but she had glimpsed the hunger lurking beneath their masks of courtesy, absorbing the attention the females were giving to them.

They cast sideways glances, lowered gazes, and wetted their lips as if in anticipation of sating their appetites at some dark and mysterious feast.

Luna hoped that these suitors were good at wooing a lady and weren't going to act like a savage beast like her husband did when they first met—when he was still under the control of the Blood Beast.

The scattered fires on the Castle walls illuminating the grounds winked at her as if mocking her rising panic.

She prayed that everything would go according to plan.

She examined their looks, their physique, and the dangerous gleam in their eyes.

The Kings appeared like dangerous predators that the women couldn't defend themselves against.

A distant rumble of masculine laughter sent a chill of despair shooting down her spine.

It was too late for her to realize that.

She couldn't cut the ladies off from the masculine company, refusing to expose them from the lascivious stares of these handsome scoundrels.

Luna went back to the bed chamber and cast her own mask a furtive glance before drawing up the hood of her cloak to shield her face.

Then, she melted conspicuously into the shadows of the outer stairs.