The Blood King's Bride

"Elena, are you okay?" Mac asked as he came over to her, his forehead tight with worry. She gave him a huge smile and leaned on her broomstick.

"I'm alright. Someone needed to be put in his place."

Mac looked unconvinced and trailed his eyes around her, looking for any injuries or signs of harassment.

"I'm okay. Forest was with me throughout. He couldn't do anything even if he tried."

"Next time he comes again, don't even bother putting up with him, just quickly shout for help," Mac told her. She nodded her head and replied,

"Okay then." Mac still didn't look convinced.

"Well now that we are all awake, I suggest that we start to get ready for the day." Wazir suddenly broke the silence that had come up. Forest walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Looking forward to your first day of work already?" He teased.

"You know I am. Now let's get to work." They all went inside the restaurant, with Forest

and Wazir leading them at the front. Elena and Mac were walking behind them, and she turned to look at Mac. He noticed her stare and instantly became worried again. She quickly gave him a beaming comforting smile and shook her head, signalling to him that she was fine. Mac released a sigh and then returned her smile.

Their day started nicely. They received their normal number of customers and served

them as they always did. The women swooned when they noticed that two handsome men had started to work at the Red Queen's restaurant. One looked as innocent as a child, and the other had a rugged handsomeness to him that told of experience.

Wazir didn't understand why some women looked at him strangely with red faces. Still,

Forest admired without shame and gave them his killing smile. Some men came over and volunteered to be the entertainers for the day, and they all had a good time listening to their songs.

A group of women also joined them on stage, volunteering to dance to their songs. Still,

Elena noticed that the dancing was more to catch Forest's and Wazir's attention than to entertain any customer. The whole event was just another day at the restaurant.

Elena went back to the kitchen to begin a new round of dishes. Most customers make

sure that they empty their restaurant of food before leaving, not that it annoyed Elena. She was happy with how much money they made in a day. If anything, she even encouraged them more by thinking of new recipes. With Mac, who also started having inspiration on what to cook, their menu was always booming with different kinds of food one couldn't easily choose from. And since most of them do not know when they would be able to make a reservation next, they end up buying and eating as much as possible.

Mac came inside the kitchen and whispered to Elena. They had an important guest, and

the person had been sent to the VIP room.

"Who is it?" Elena asked curiously.

"The man introduced himself as Côtan loki, and he came with two people; a young

female and a huge man." Elena's body froze upon the mention of that name. Noticing her unusual behavior, Mac asked her if she was okay, and she forced a smile, telling him that she was just fatigued. Mac smiled at her at placed his hand on her shoulder as a sign of comfort before leaving the kitchen.

Côtan loki. That was a name she would recognize anywhere. Being one of her father's closest advisors, the man held a very huge reputation of being the strictest politician who followed the rules of the Kingdom to the letter. As one of her father's strongest supporters, she

had also suffered under his harshness once.

She wondered if he would come with his son. Everyone knew of his desire for his son to take over from him. Unlike his harsh father, Afang loki was nice in his own way. Even though he acted like he couldn't acknowledge Elena, he never insulted her or mistreated her like the others. Whenever he and his peers whose fathers were also politicians came across her, he always told them off- though nonchalantly- whenever they started insulting her. It might not have meant anything to him, but it meant so much to her. She even started developing a small crush on him at some point. Still, just like the other things she buried deep within her, she kept her crush hidden, and eventually, it faded away.

Forest came over and handed out the food their important guests had selected. As she served the food on their respective plates, she wondered who the female that came along with them was. Before she left, there was a rumour among the palace maids on how Côtan lokï had found a bride for his son. No one knew how true it was, though.

Later, after placing the food into trays, Wazir came over to take them. She watched him

as he left for the VIP room. She was very curious to see the guests, but she knew she couldn't come out to avoid her identity being exposed. She sighed and went back to her cooking. Several minutes later, Mac came down and told Elena to serve another meal, as the important female guest was very demanding. Elena scrunched up her brows, curious, but did as she was told. She couldn't find Mac, Forest or Wazir anywhere when she was done. She didn't want to be the one to serve the special guests.

Fortunately for her, while she was still struggling with her dilemma, Wazir rushed inside and took the plates of food after confirming from her who it was for. Once Wazir left, Elena's curiosity increased. She wondered if the female was someone she knew. She couldn't imagine her father sending her stepsister to the Kingdom of Neba; her stepmother would never agree, so that automatically removed her from the list of important females she knew served at court. Not able to withstand her burning curiousness, she decided to check out the visitors for herself. Taking a clean rag from the kitchen, she formed a veil which she used to cover her face, leaving her eyes open. Her hair was already neatly arranged under her chef hat. So she concluded it to be a manageable mask, one that no one would be able to recognize her in at first glance. Making sure that everything was okay in the kitchen, she walked out, closing the door behind her, before sneaking towards the stairs which would take her to the VIP room. She climbed it and headed straight to the room the visitors were in.

She stood silently behind the door when she arrived, listening to the discussions inside.

The room had a curtain placed at the entrance, making it difficult for anyone to see the visitors if they were not invited to.

She stood there listening, waiting for someone to talk. The room was strangely quiet, and

the only sounds coming from it were the sounds of cutleries against the smooth ceramic bowls used to serve the food.

After a while, she heard Mac's voice asking,

"I hope the food is to your liking?" Sincerity dripped from his voice.

Someone hummed, and the sounds of cutleries and plates became more rapid, signifying

that the person had finished eating and was cleaning the plates of remains. Elena secretly smiled. Her food was enjoyed thoroughly.

"You have an amazing cook. She alone came up with the recipe?"

Elena could recognize that voice from anywhere. That was Afang Loki's voice. He did

come with his father. Her long-faded crush slowly ignited as he complimented her food. She

blushed fairly and was happy she could do something for him even secretly, for all the times he had indirectly helped her.

"It is all thanks to her. She has the best recipes ever and she also encouraged me to create some too. What you are eating is an assortment of both her recipes and mine. I am glad you like it." Mac answered.

"Hmm, you are the manager and also the cook. That's good. I love people who are good at multitasking." Afang lokï complemented.

"Thank you!" He replied.

Finally, the screeching sounds of the plates stopped. Someone sighed loudly, and Mac offered to clear their table.

"Why are there no entertainers in our room? Unlike in the room for the commoners?"

"Oh, for the VIP room, we only provide entertainers if our customers wish it. Some of

our customers do not need them and so we only provide if asked to." The sounds of plates being packed continued.

"Our customers volunteer to be entertainers. The people you see performing downstairs

are people whose reservations are set for today. They play the instruments which we have already provided for them."

"Would you like us to send in some entertainers?" He asked.

"No, there is no need for that." The voice of Côtan loki replied. Elena couldn't stop the

fear that enveloped her whenever she heard his voice. That man was unlike any other politician her father had. While the others just simply made fun of her, the man did not hide the total disregard he had for her. At times, Elena wondered what she had ever done to deserve the treatment she received from him.

She remembered that when her mother was still alive, even though Côtan loki was still as strict as he was, he wasn't as merciless towards her as he became after her mother's death. She didn't know what happened, but she did well to steer clear of his path.

"Okay then, I'll take my leave." Elena quickly hid to avoid bumping into Mac. A few moments later, Mac left the room with a huge tray filled with plates stacked against each other. Once he reached the stairs leading down to the kitchen, he placed the tray on his hips so that it won't mistakenly come into contact with anyone. When he finally disappeared, Elena went back to her eavesdropping spot.

"They do serve good food here, father." Afang lokï started.

"Yes, they do. It is better than the restaurants I have eaten in those times I came to this Kingdom." Afang hummed in response. The room was thrown into another bout of silence.

"I wish to say something, which was why I sent the waiter away." Côtan lokï suddenly

broke the silence, then started.

"Beau Rage, do you understand that we are in another kingdom? Your behavior toward

the king wasn't acceptable at all. The king of Neba is petty enough to start a war based on what you said, and he has the resources to do so."

Elena stood there frozen in shock. Beau rage. One of her worst enemies. Being her stepsister's cousin and best friend, she suffered so much under her hands. She couldn't believe that the king sent her to this Kingdom as a delegate. She wondered if she had been given a position in court.

"Why didn't you say this since yesterday? Why are you just bringing it up now?" Her soft voice could be heard from outside the room. Elena could almost see the boredom radiating off

her.

"I wanted you to have some time to yourself, to understand where you made a mistake

but it seemed like you didn't learn your lesson."

"He already said that he was just teasing us. Let's all just forget it."

"But that is what you don't understand. He is capable of doing it. You don't need his permission to."

"So if he can do it by himself, why are you pinning the blame on me?"

"Because you gave him the idea!" Côtan lokï retorted. Elena jumped at the sheer force of

his voice. She heard him taking in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"You are not in the Kingdom of Pres where you can act as you like because your aunt is

Queen. Your aunt's power does not extend to this Kingdom and you can end up dead at the drop

of a hat. No one will be able to stop that from happening. And your aunt does not have the power

to avenge you."

"Tch! It was a good thing she killed his daughter then."

"Beau Rage!" Afang lokï shouted. Elena fisted her hands so tight her nails dug into her palms. She quickly ran out of her hiding place, not willing to listen to any more of their talks. The Kingdom of Neba.

A local tavern...

The loud voices of drunken men and music filled the whole building. A group of men had come into the tavern to celebrate; they bought drinks and surrounded themselves with dancers. The hired entertainers did well to perform their best, hoping to receive a hefty tip which the men didn't disappoint in providing. Pouches of coins were splayed everywhere, and people, both workers and customers alike, picked up some amount.

Joustin took another swig of his bottle. This was just a normal day at the local tavern. But he was always the one throwing the parties and the pouches of money. He was always the one the dancers and entertainers were looking forward to serving. But ever since the Red Queen restaurant opened, he barely made up to what he normally did in a day. Even the owner of the tavern had a change of behavior towards him. He was still professional, but he didn't gravel for his favour as he always did.

He took another swig again. He couldn't remember how many bottles he had since he came to the tavern. He looked over at those men and eyed them, squeezing his hands tightly. It was that damn Elena's fault.

It was all her fault. Why couldn't she see that he would be a much better person to work with than that Mac?

"Don't you worry, dear Elena. I'll make you pay for how you treated me today." He took another swig again, then leaned against his hands, sleep already enveloping him. "You mentioned Elena. Can you please describe her for me?" A voice asked. Joustin opened his eyes. A huge man stood next to his table, wearing a veiled hat. But although he couldn't see his face, Joustin knew he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

"The Elena you were ranting about, can you please describe her for me?" The man repeated. Joustin's drunk brain suddenly went into motion. There was a man who suddenly asked him of Elena. Maybe he knew Elena and possibly her background. If Elena was really who the

man was looking for, he could find out her true background and possibly use it against the Red Queen's restaurant! Finally, all was looking well.

"Who are you?" Joustin asked first, curious. He couldn't just trust anyone. He had to

confirm if the man was a friend or foe before he made use of him.

"My name is Darukï." The strange man answered.