As Saphielle entered the room, swinging the door wide open, letting all the light cascade in, Keela let out a groan of annoyance.

“Five more minutes”, she droned, putting her pillow over her head.

“With all due respect princess, we don’t have the luxury of time. I still have to go get Lady Velka as well”, replied Saphielle, flashing an awkward smile.

“No need; she’s right here. Hey, wake up”, replied Keela, loosely slapping to the side, getting a noise of annoyance from Velka.

“Well then, I suggest you two get up and fast, we have to get you in formal attire and I have a hunch it might be difficult”, said Saphielle, now wearing a full smug grin.

In a concerto of groans, the two of them got up and dressed loosely, heading off to prepare. Over the course of the next two hours, they got dressed for the ceremony, putting Keela in a flowy white dress, pieces of fabric linking the lower part to the upper arm but leaving the shoulders exposed. Velka was granted simpler attire, wearing a form-fitting white dress. The two of them were pampered and granted extensive and -- in their opinion -- excessive makeup. The colors both complemented their hair and eye colors, Keela donning a few ear piercings. When the preparation was done, Saphielle entered the room to check on them, acting surprised at the sight.

“I thought you would be a bit more… uneasy in that dress”, she said, smiling.

She herself was wearing a simple but efficiently elegant light green dress, accompanied by golden jewelry.

“I told you, acting is one of my talents. Still, the sooner I’m out of this, the better”, replied Keela, looking in Saphielle’s direction as a servant finished tying the intricate fabric patterns of her dress.

“Well, I can tell you I’m definitely uncomfortable with this. Good thing I’m wearing shorts under so I can do my job”, groaned Velka, pulling at the fabric slightly.

“I think you’ll have to get used to it”, replied Keela, offering a sympathetic frown.

Hurried along, the two were ushered to the throne room, which Keela had never seen. It was a long hall, marble floors lined with green carpet. There were no walls, instead it was lined with dense vegetation on the sides, along with short lips of marble bricks along the edge. Both sides of the room were filled with a crowd that applauded enthusiastically as she entered the room and climbed the three short steps that led to the intricate wooden throne. Branches woven upwards to form a complex pattern, the seating area of it was covered in a thin comfortable dark green silk to contrast the room. The stairs at the end of the ‘room’ led down to an entrance to the castle, thus highlighting the connection of her people to nature. A thin canopy sat at the top of the room, offering protection from the elements while letting sunlight go through.

She sat on the throne, overwhelmed at the whole event, doing her best to sit straight and dignified. The ceremony was quick and simple, Saphielle having hurried it to match Keela’s personality more. There was no protocol, the crown bestowed by the advisor in front of witnesses being the only condition. With a few congratulatory words, Saphielle delicately put the crown on Keela’s head. As the gold lined leaf band sat on her head, Keela felt a surge of mana in her body, understanding at that moment that the crown was enchanted. What followed was a streak of nobles congratulating her, some with more sincere smiles than others.

Breaking the atmosphere, two figures climbed the steps at the end of the hall. As they arrived in front of Keela, she froze, recognizing Raymond and his son, Elliot. Whispers went about the audience, murmuring as to why a human stood in here.

“I came to offer my congratulations”, said Raymond, his warm smile seeming colder than usual.

“How did you know?” replied Keela, eyeing him coldly.

“The walls have ears, your Majesty.”

Offering this advice, he bowed, his shirt sagging slightly from his body. This fraction of a second was enough for Keela to notice the two parallel scars on his left pectoral muscle. Rage building up inside of her, she composed herself and calmly nodded.

“And thus to congratulate you, we bring a gift”, continued Raymond, grabbing a bag that Elliot held.

The bag seemed slightly damp, made of a thick canvas. A few suspicious glares came from the room, along with Velka and Keela. As Raymond threw the bag, it opened, a head rolling out. Gasps audibly arose from the audience, as Keela glared at the back of the head that was in front of her. It was well conserved but she knew whose head it was.

Going up to it, she picked it up by the base of the neck softly, blood dripping on her hands. She put it back into the bag and sat it on the side of the throne softly. Doing so had confirmed her suspicions. When she picked it up, she saw Bertaut’s cold unflinching gaze, still standing strong, even in death,

“We conserved it. Just for you”, said Elliot, grinning smugly from ear to ear.

“Now that we have imparted our gift, we shall be going”, said Raymond, turning around with his smile still standing strong.

Cold seething rage built up in Keela’s eyes. No one but Saphielle and Velka noticed the stare she gave that could freeze hell over. She stood up calmly. Concentrating, she thrust her hand in the air, ripping through space time. Her hand extended the distance between her and Elliot’s neck, grabbing it in an iron grip.

“You think I’m letting you leave without asking questions? After you bring me the head of my former master? After you bring me the missing half of the corpse I found after he saved my life? You think you have the RIGHT to turn around and leave?” she said, walking down the steps, keeping a firm grip on Elliot’s neck.

“Respectfully, your majesty, you can’t afford to harm me if you ever want to have good relations with Wul”, replied Raymond, smiling like he had figured it out.

Grinning, Keela let go of Elliot’s neck.

“You’re right. I can’t harm you”, she said, feigning to stand down.

As his grin widened, she thrust her hand at full force through Elliot’s chest, her hand coming out on the other side holding his heart.

“But your son has proven to be a liability before”, she said, holding the still beating heart calmly, blood splattering all over her dress.

Pulling her hand out, she pushed the corpse slightly to make it fall into Raymond’s arms, who stood there without a sound, bewildered. Keela calmly looked him in the eye, keeping up her cold smile.

“I don’t take kindly to taunts Raymond. Remember that for next time. You’re out of spare descendants”, she said, her eyes giving a condescending stare filled with rage, her face unmoving from the kind expression she bore.

“You’ll pay for this!” screamed Raymond, holding the now lifeless body of his son.

Looking at him with even more intense eyes, she crushed the heart in her palm, blood staining her dress and her hair, dripping down on her face.

“Come after me and the people I love again and I swear I will personally erase your bloodline from history. You can keep the corpse. Consider it a gift”, she said, her tone of voice sharp like razor blades.

Following her own menace, she walked out amongst the silence of the room, her dress as stained as her reign would come to be.