Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

When they stepped out of the boat, Seren was shivering a little. Drayce sighed as he could not see her like this. He held Seren closer and said, "Hold on to me tightly, my Queen."

By now Seren could understand what it was and without a moment's delay, she held onto Drayce by tightly surrounding her hand around him and burying her face in his chest. 

Drayce chuckled, "My Queen is so smart," and the next moment the two tall and strong build men standing at the other end of that long bridge felt the strong gust of wind which made their feet unsteady and they held onto their place with much effort. 

"He did it again," Jasper mumbled with an annoyed frown while Slayer was quiet.

"Did you say something, Jasper?" He heard the familiar voice and immediately turned to bow to his King. 

"Your Majesty, I was praising you for the way you always let us realize your sudden appearance," Jasper said, keeping his head lowered as the King and the Queen of Megaris looked like they were in an intimate position. 

Slayer had his head lowered down to bow his king and the others present there- Tyra and a few servants who waited for their Queen to return- did the same.. No one dared to lift their sights up. 

Seren was still holding onto Drayce as she felt like her energy had been drained out with the sudden travel. She took her time to calm down while Drayce kept holding her to support her stand steady. 

"My Queen, you will get used to it soon. I believe it does not feel as bad as what you felt the first time," he spoke, smiling lightly and enjoying holding his delicate wife in his embrace, ignoring others around him.

Seren thought about what he said and realized he was right. She didn't feel as weak as before. She moved back and looked around only to see two tall men and Tyra with other servants standing with their heads lowered down. 

Sudden embarrassment took over her and she said, "Now I feel alright, Your Majesty."

Drayce let her go and turned to face Jasper and Slayer. "My Queen, this is Slayer, my personal guardian knight. You must have seen him during the journey from Abetha."

Seren sure remembered him as other than Prince of Griven, Prince Arlan, this man in Megaris' Knight uniform was the one to be with Drayce all the time. 

Once Drayce finished introducing, Slayer bowed to Seren, "The Guardian knight of King of Meagaris, Calhoun Sanders, greets your Majesty, the Queen of Megairs."

Seren just stood calmly as she looked at the man and heard Drayce again, "This is Jasper Candace, my personal adviser and the one who looks after all the matters related to the kingdom in my absence."

Jasper bowed to Seren, "Royal adviser of the King of Megaris, Jasper Candace, greets, Your Majesty."

Seren again stood silently looking at the two men. She didn't know how to reply to their greetings, other than just nodding lightly. She heard Drayce again, "My Queen, these two are not just my knight and adviser but also my most trusted people and childhood friends just like Prince Arlan."

It surprised Seren as she saw these two giving all respect to their king unlike how Arlan causally treated Drayce. But she could understand that it must be due to the difference in their status and their official responsibility towards their King. Till now, Seren had understood that the Megaris had strict rules and everyone obeyed strictly to their King and Queen just like what she had read about Megaris in books. 

"If times come when I am not around, My Queen can always trust them with the help other than Tyra," Drayce informed. 

"Loyal subjects of King Of Megaris will always be there to help the Queen of Megaris," the two said together as they continued to lower their heads in front of their Queen.

Meanwhile, Tyra came there as she bowed, "Greetings, Your Majesty, King Drayce and Queen Seren," she then looked at Seren and said, "I believe It was a nice outing for our Queen."

"It was," Seren assured. 

"My Queen, I have to leave you with Tyra now," Drayce said. 

Seren understood he must have his King's duties to fulfill so he had to leave and nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Make sure to warm her chamber. She is not used to the cold here," Drayce instructed Tyra to which she nodded, "Rest assured, Your Majesty."

Tyra Guided her way towards the Queen's carriage while Drayce walked with her too. Like a good husband, he helped Seren sit inside the carriage and waited till the carriage moved on. 

On the other side, seeing Drayce's affection towards his Queen, Jasper couldn't help but comment that only Slayer could hear other than one pair of sensitive ears. 

"If it were not for the important work, I doubt if we could have even gotten to see him."

Drayce turned to look at him and said, "Rest assured. Soon there will be days when I won't show up and you will get more work to make those remaining hair on your head fall off."

It sure scared Jasper as he cursed himself in his mind, 'This foul mouth of mine,' and then said, "This Loyal subject begs for mercy, Your Majesty."

Drayce ignored him and walked towards his black horse which was already there. Jasper and Slayer followed him and also got onto their horses to go towards the military area inside the palace where he had to meet his knights and soldiers who hadn't seen their King for a month. Drayce always cared about his knights and soldiers and they equally respected their king and were ready to die for him any moment. 

-------

Seren who was returning back to the Queen's residence in the royal carriage heard the noise of running horse's footsteps which created the light vibrations in the ground. 

Seren looked at Tyra, "What is this?"

"His Majesty must have been riding his horse," Tyra replied. 

Seren moved the curtain on the window to one side to check. A man in a black royal dress was riding his horse to go in another direction from where she was heading as the two other figures followed him.

Her eyes were fixed at the man in black royal clothes who rode the horse gracefully and looked so attractive to her innocent brain that she couldn't take her eyes off of him until he disappeared from her sight. 

A while ago when he said he was leaving her to Tyra, she was fine as she didn't want him to be with her but now seeing him going away felt strange.

'Is it because of that loud noise of horse riding?' she thought. 

Tyra noticed Seren's puzzled expressions and asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything troubling you?"

Seren looked at Tyra, "Are you feeling the same as me?"

Tyra smiled lightly, "May I know exactly what Your Majesty is feeling?"

"When I saw him...I mean his Majesty was going away, I felt strange...I don't know how to explain it...but…"

Tyra understood what it was and said, "Only Your Majesty can feel like this."

"Why?"

"It's because Your Majesty misses His Majesty's presence and doesn't want him to go away," Tyra explained. 

"I miss his presence?" Seren mumbled. 

"It's a normal thing to happen between husband and wife. I am sure His Majesty must miss you a lot when Your Majesty is not around him," Tyra added. 

"Then what should I do to not miss him?" Seren asked. 

Tyra understood her young Queen was so innocent to understand all this and she was also informed about the situation Seren had grown up in. 

"Your Majesty, missing His Majesty is not a bad thing. It is absolutely fine. But if it troubles you more, you can always keep yourself busy with other things that you like and wait for His Majesty to return to you. Or, if it is possible, Your Majesty can personally pay a visit to His Majesty."

'Why would I go to him. I should better keep myself busy with something.'

They returned to the Queen's residence where Seren was back to her chamber while Eva and Marie and her ladies in waiting, waited for her to return. 

"Your Majesty, should rest now," Tyra said and Seren nodded. In such a cold outside, the only thing she wanted was to get into a warm blanket as soon as she reached her room.

Marie and Eva added more woods to the fire as instructed by Tyra and returned to Seren who was being tucked in the blanket by Lady Xena and the other two ladies in waiting after helping her change the clothes.

"Your Majesty, being natives of Megaris, everyone here might not understand exactly what kind of temperature is suitable for you. You can always instruct them to change it according to your comfort."

"I will," Seren replied, clutching the blanket in her hand. She didn't feel this cold even outside but as she got inside the blanket, she felt it even more. She felt her body acting weird; she felt it hot and cold at the same time. Her palms were sweaty as she felt heat emitting from them but she also felt too cold which made her feel so uncomfortable.