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Archdemon Empress Luna

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"Husband," Luna muttered under her breath as they stood side by side with their backs facing the river.

She crossed her arms and squinted at the huge rectangular block as it advanced towards the docks' direction where the celebration took place.

Luna thought at first that the rectangular block moved by itself, and when she tiptoed to get a good look since the crowd already blocked her vision, she noticed that hundreds of gnomes carried the block while the King and Queen of the Spring Courts were on top of it as they moved about.

She also witnessed animals following at the back of the block, such as litters of chipmunks, red foxes, beavers, deers, and rabbits.

A faerie threw fruits at them so that they would trail after the moving stage.

Luna's lips parted in shock when two large green frogs with a height similar to a child were the last creatures who trailed after the processions.

"Apollyon." Luna rubbed her eyes at sight, "Do we see the same things?"

She hadn't seen anything as big as those frogs before.

"Apollyon, Apollyon." Luna tugged her husband without removing her gaze from the monstrous frogs. "I think I imagined those things." She pointed the finger at them. "I swear those frogs are strange—"

"Ah. Those frogs are an anomaly." Apollyon said, and Luna could sense that there was an explanation in there somewhere.

"Of course, they are," Luna exclaimed. "Are frogs in the Faerie Realm this big? They don't eat children or the smaller Faes, right? And how can the Spring Monarchs let the gnomes carry their stage instead of the strongest and the burliest of the Fair Folk?" Shaking her head, Luna clicked her tongue, "These poor gnomes… they would shrink more from carrying that block on their back."

Apollyon glanced at her and gave her a knowing look before he snorted, trying to hold back his laughter. "Small people don't shrink if they carried things heavier than them, wife."

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but the trumpets' blow interrupted her that she forgot what she was supposed to say.

Apollyon's eyes had a mischievous sparkle in them as if he also had something to explain but perhaps...later.

Her husband shook his head and motioned at the guests around their vicinity.

It was getting crowded.

In the end, Luna could only inflict a playful smack on Apollyon as she returned her gaze to the parade with a huge smile on her face.

She raised an eyebrow when she saw the King and Queen of the Spring Courts, whom she hadn't met in person.

King Nuada and Queen Gloriana stood on top of the rectangular block like it was their own personal stage, waving their hands to the crowd in glee.

Queen Gloriana had her flaxen hair (which appeared almost white) in a loose bun while short curls framed her small, mature face.

She wore a long, white off-the-shoulder gown with pink ruffles covering her large, a little saggy (no offense) breasts.

As their stage neared their location, Luna could clearly see King Nuada and a few of his grey hairs on his thick mahogany-brown hair with a thick, short beard to match.

Luna also knew that instant that King Nuada only had Queen Gloriana in his heart.

She watched the King hugged the Queen from the back, tucking his jaw on the spot between her neck and shoulders.

It was eerily close to how Apollyon had acted around her earlier—so sweet and attentive—his voice dripping like honey with every word.

Luna nodded her head.

This must be how real mates were like in public and behind closed doors.

The consistency of these masculines was admirable, and Luna was compelled to step up her game as the feminine in their blood bond.

She needed to be honest and loving to her husband.

She need not live in constant fear about their connection crashing down.

The spring faeries who were on the ground appeared restless on their late arrival.

They weren't shifting from foot to foot, restless with fear and discomfort, but rather they were restless, jumping up and down in excitement while their eyes and mouth were wide with awe, similar to the reactions the guests had given at the aerial performance.

Their reactions must be pretty normal to the spring faeries, but it was dramatic and over-the-top to Luna's opinion.

In the large crowd, it seemed like only Apollyon and Luna had worn a stoic mask.

The spring faeries must have loved the Spring Monarch as much as they loved the parties.

The crowd gathered and walked towards the rectangular block to meet the Spring courts' King and Queen with great delight.

The edges of their makeshift stage were adorned with spring flowers— most of them white, yellow, and scarlet-- similar to the ones steadily raining on them, along with the glorious music of harps and flutes in the background.

Ahh.

This experience was utter bliss, and she would never experience this joyous celebration aside from the Spring Courts.

Luna bet that not even the Vampire Realm could replicate them.

The kinds of celebration in every Realm must be dependent on the character of its rulers.

Take the Spring Courts, for example.

It was like they were living inside a fairy tale.

Luna was afraid when the time came when everything—including her sweet memories of her reunion with Apollyon—will be taken by the Archdemons.

The faeries didn't crowd around the Spring Monarchs when the Faerie Sentinels had ushered them inside their fancy outdoor carnival tent with the Spring courts flags on top of it.

"Their golden thrones must have been placed inside that tent, no?" Luna asked her husband.

"Yes." He nodded. "That tent was for the Spring Monarch's privacy."

"The Spring Court is one of our alliances." Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Are they so poor that they can't even provide us the Vampire King and his Empress' private tent?"

"Why?" Apollyon's eyebrows rose in question, yet his smirk said otherwise, "Do you want to do it again in a tent?"

Before Luna could answer, Princess Alisabethe had disturbed the peace as she approached them with a man in her arm.