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The Empress Luna

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The Empress' Coronation Ceremony had passed by in a quick blur.

Luna felt like she was whisked in the balcony to show her face to the entire subjects of the Vampire Realm.

After the Vampire King's announcement of her as a ruling monarch, followed by her oath to the King and the Vampire Realm, her husband had bestowed a new crown on her head.

It was different from the tiara she had worn at the wedding, and the one Apollyon had given her when she met all the women in the Consortium at the Main Hall for the first time.

She examined the new crown in Apollyon's hands, and her jaw had slacked in awe and disbelief.

It was a silver tiara with twelve spikes pointing upward and decorated with sparkling diamonds attached on its ends.

Luna realized the crown would go really well with her long silver hair and her luxurious ball gown.

But what will she do with these three different crowns at her disposal?

Apollyon had gifted her three crowns, and it gave her a lot of options.

She was grateful for her husband's generosity but wasn't this a tad too much?

The Vampire King ran his fingers through her scalp twice and fixed her hair, patting them before settling her new tiara over her head.

The people who have gathered at the Castle's courtyard were a lot more than the crowd who had attended her wedding where the Blue Moon had shown itself.

This Coronation Ceremony wasn't just a physical crowning, but Luna was also presented with a staff adorned with red and gold precious stones as proof of her regal power.

After taking her special vows as an official monarch of the Vampire Realm, Luna curtsied as she paid homage to her royal subjects.

Luna didn't notice that Cederic had squeezed himself in the Balcony beside her as he had just popped out of nowhere, carrying a large bouquet of purple tulips.

She didn't see Cederic was carrying them since he was too short for her to notice, appearing like he had been covered, drowning in tulips.

Cederic was like a child who had jerked at her skirts to get her attention, making her yelp in surprise.

He handed the sweet-scented flowers to her, and she gladly took it from him.

Luna was elated from all these gifts, but the Vampire King wasn't contented with them yet.

It seemed like her husband had planned to drown her in flowers instead of Cederic.

Suddenly, there were three colorful garlands of exotic tiny flowers--red roses, yellow marigolds, and blue asters--clutched in both of his hands.

Her husband had faced her, his sparkling blue eyes filled with mirth as he hung the garlands around her neck.

Like a fish out of water, Luna had opened and shut her mouth to voice out her protest, but Apollyon had bent his head closer to hers without warning, tilted her head, and stole a quick kiss on her lips.

The Vampire King had already leaned back before she could kiss him in return as payment for all the grand efforts he had done today.

"Apollyon. Really? Why are you tempting me with your soft lips in front of so many people." Luna's toes curled up from the kiss because she was trying her best not to wrap her arms around her husband's neck and give him long, torrid kisses. "Why are you drowning me in flowers?"

The short pecks were starting to get on her nerves.

He gave her a satisfied smirk before he stated, "You are my flower garden, wife."

+++

There was a joyous fanfare in the morning air as Luna's gaze s shifted to the tents outside the Vampire Castle.

She had wondered why the Castle's drawbridges had been lowered.

After the fairies had blown their brass trumpets, signaling the end of her coronation, the crowd from the courtyard dispersed as they walked towards the hill.

There were thousands of people walking towards the gateway, and in Luna's vision, their tiny heads and their squeezed bodies appeared like moving ants in a procession.

"Where are they going, Apollyon?"She tilted her head as she squinted at him, asking, "What's going to happen on top of the Hill?"

"You'll see when we get there." The Vampire King's cryptic message failed to soften the fierceness of his expression. "I think today is going to be more hectic."

Apollyon placed a hand on her shoulder, and before she knew it, they were already inside a tent.

Luna had only blinked once, and the Vampire King had teleported them so fast.

They had probably arrived at the top of the hill.

Perhaps, her husband had prepared something special in her honor.

Luna was looking forward to another one of Apollyon's surprises.

The crowd outside their designated tent was loud and full of laughter and excitement.

She also heard a clash of fighting swords.

There was a sharp sound as if it had broken, releasing a thunderous clang as it hit the ground.

Luna was sure she had heard a duel between sharp blades based on what she had perceived from the outside.

"Apollyon." Luna glanced at him and asked. "Is there a sword tournament held in my honor?"

The Vampire King pursed his lips and shrugged.

Luna narrowed her gaze at her secretive husband.

She had noticed that Apollyon had been doing that to her lately, and sometimes it irked her that he didn't bother explaining things further.

The Vampire King wanted her to check things out herself.

He rarely spoke to her these days.

Hmm, that was probably a brilliant idea coming from him.

Sometimes, the Vampire King just needed to shut up to avoid arguments because he can sometimes say the wrong things that can trigger her.

Her husband was learning that a wife was always right.

With that thought, the annoyance she felt for her husband faded away.

Luna arched an eyebrow at him and smiled back at her husband in response.

Apollyon's eyes widened a little bit in surprise before he grinned.

He stepped forward, and Luna moved sideways.

She watched his back as he opened the drapes of their tent to witness the outside world.

Luna's curiosity had lured her like a siren, so she turned and followed her husband's footsteps as they emerged from their tent into the sunshine.

+++

An outdoor festival of some sort had followed the Empress Coronation.

Some tents were laden with ginormous rations of food for the humans, separated from the other races.

Each of the races who had visited from another Realm had a specific pavilion for their own sustenance and refreshments.

The different factions were divided into a cluster of tents, but that wouldn't prevent people from fraternizing with one another from different races and cultures, especially those who belonged to the other Kings' envoys.

Luna saw a bunch of sick, pale men dodging, retching, and moaning as they overindulge in ale, food, and wine, but when they see the Vampire King and her crossing their paths, they immediately scrammed out of the way like a bunch of rats scampering around the market.

They cowered in fear when they saw her husband's face, and she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The Vampire King had towered even the tallest men in their vicinity like a god walking among humankind.

Even the six Kings had that arrogant air about them, and it wasn't only because of the height.

Their serious demeanor gave them an air of menace, even if that wasn't their intention at all.

Acrobats were practicing for their performance tonight, and their bodies have flipped out and twitched close to where they were standing.

Apollyon had pulled her hand to move her aside so that the acrobat's feet wouldn't hit her accidentally in the face.

When they saw the Vampire King, they stared at him dubiously, picked up their bowl of pennies, and bowed in their presence.

Their passage among the commoners had earned nudges and mutters of 'the Vampire King' before they went overboard and bowed their heads humbly to the ground.

There were too many people, and Luna felt more exposed as they moved closer to an enormous crowd gathered around in a circle.

She raised her head and tiptoed, trying to see what the commotion was about.

All she could see was a makeshift stadium in the middle with six thrones evenly positioned, encircling the battle arena.

"Panterra and I had agreed." Apollyon held her hand and squeezed it tightly without looking at her as they walked towards the stadium. "Panterra had requested a public duel in your honor in exchange for the 'humiliation' I had inflicted on him when I attacked him at the Acquaintance affairs for you."

She swore Apollyon would have seen her turn paler than a vampire at this moment.

"Apollyon---" Luna trailed off, but then she couldn't help but burst out her anger. "What in the world?"

Luna moved in front of him and stretched out her arms to block him from coming near the arena.

From Apollyon's pursed lips full of sullen determination, he didn't plan to be stopped.

Luna held her breath as she anticipated her husband's gruff command to stay out of the way.

"It's a duel between a man's pride, wife. It would be better if you just let us be and cheer for me at the sidelines." He said grimly as he stepped forward, hugging her tight. "There was no need to worry, my beloved. Victory will be mine."