Nikolai directly stopped by the Queen's private quarters the mont they arrived at a Valcrez ship handled by Admiral Sixto. Mineah was happy to be back to standing on her own two feet, and she smiled when she saw her welcoming party.
"Welco back, Your Majesties!"
Like clockwork, Mineah's three Shadow Maidens bead the mont she appeared before them. She gave them a curt nod as Nikolai addressed them.
"I will leave my wife in your care, my ladies…" he humd with a smile before he turned to her and said, "I'll see you soon."
And with that, he disappeared without a trace, leaving the four of them to their own devices.
"We should get ready now, milady," Zaila stated as she moved to start undressing her. "Let's get you into your gown."
Mineah nodded, and she smiled upon seeing how Nik had landed near her window. Her three Shadow Maidens quickly took note of its presence, and she simply chuckled as she introduced her new pet.
"That's Nik, a gift from His Majesty," Mineah humd with a smile. "I've marked and nad it myself. Let it stay near whenever it wants to."
The three simply nodded while still suspiciously staring at her raven. Eventually, however, they dropped the issue in favor of further tending to their liege's needs.
"The bath is ready," Krisha announced, breaking the silence.
"Thank you," Mineah gratefully stated before she moved to dip into her bath. But before she could do so, her eyes darted at Dani as she noted the woman's expression. "Dani? What happened? You look pale."
Zaila clicked her tongue as she started talking in their secret language.
"She executed the Thrall Chaining spell, milady," Zaila murmured.
"What?!" Mineah burst out. That spell was very dangerous and could've backfired if not executed properly.
Dani tilted her head down and whispered, "I'm sorry milady… It was the only option I had at the ti."
"Why?" Mineah's expression darkened as she questioned. "Tell everything that happened, Dani. Don't leave a single thing unsaid."
"But you need to hurry and prepare first, milady," Dani reminded her.
"Follow in my bath and tell everything while Krisha and Zaila assist then…" Mineah ordered.
With her choice made for her, Dani followed as she started reporting everything that had happened during her Queen's absence. All the while, Mineah's brows furrowed even further the more she heard about her Shadow Maiden's report.
"What he said wasn't a threat, but a warning," Mineah concluded, having seemingly heard enough. "It seems that the Chancellor has sothing that he's hiding."
She then let out a sigh and said, "I'll deal with it later while thinking of a better solution. That spell can't be easily undone. You're well aware of that, Dani." She sighed, "If all else, this might involve life and death… So we need to tread carefully before moving forward."
"I understand, milady," Dani muttered.
"It's fine. Stop bowing your head like that, Dani," Mineah reassured her. "You simply did what you think is right. What's important is that you learn from this experience to make yourself more proficient and better in tis of trouble. Focus on how you'll handle things more carefully moving forward. If all else, your own survival is always more important."
Mineah stared not only at Dani but also at Krisha and Zaila as she firmly reiterated to them, "I will not stop reminding you to think of yourselves first before anything else. Nothing is more important to than your own life, so you shouldn't all get yourself killed just for sothing that you might think would be important to ."
She gave them a pointed look as she continued. "Like what I would always say, I will never acknowledge any one of you dying because of . I'll be miserable if either of you got killed thinking that it was for my benefit."
"We fully understand, milady," the three answered in chorus.
"Good…" Mineah let out a sigh of relief. She then turned to Dani as she humd, "But I'm a bit confused though, Dani."
Dani blinked at her. "What is it, milady?"
"Of all the possible spells, why did the Thrall Chaining spell first co to your mind?"
"I'm honestly flabbergasted when I heard about it, milady," Zaila chid in. "I an, why that spell when, for example, she could've used a much simpler one like a blood compact or blood oath with the Chancellor to make him not compel her by force."
"She used a complicated spell to chain the Chancellor to her," Krisha interjected as well. "Why do that? As much as how you suspected him which, at this rate is still honestly not convincing enough… Why-" she stalled when Dani gave her a sharp glare. "I'll be quiet now…"
Mineah suppressed a laugh upon seeing how red Dani's face had beco. This conversation was spiraling out of control for so reason, but it was at least humorous to listen to.
"Well, if I was in Dani's position and a very attractive vampire like Chancellor Abel was before , I'll probably chain h-"
"Stop! It's not like what you think!" Dani protested, cutting off Zaila's teasing. "I don't know what ca into that I suddenly thought of that spell as the best to do at the ti, but I… I… For so reason, it felt like I should exercise so authority over him."
Having had enough, Mineah smiled as she cut into the increasingly heated conversation. "Alright, let's stop discussing this matter," she firmly stated. "Also, you two should respect Dani's decision. She'll be responsible for her own actions anyway."
To be honest, Mineah saw no threat in Abel so far. The man was harmless, and upon briefly reading his thoughts, she knew that he was rely curious about her and how she would handle herself as the new Queen of Valcrez.
Still, she filed this particular information to herself. Perhaps next ti she would ask about Rosela and see if he would be willing to collude with the woman against her if he was truly Rosela's secret lover like what Dani had suspected.
Besides, there was this saying that love was blind, and she had heard a lot of stories about n and won going to great lengths because of love. There was a possibility that Abel wasn't exempted from it as well, possibly going blind just to follow what the person he loved wanted.
"Milady, co now. That's enough. I'm excited to see how you'll look in your dress," Zaila switched the topic, her eyes gleaming as she returned her attention to what they were supposed to do. "And that wardrobe… You should see how alluring your new clothing selection would be for the Coupling Dance!"
Mineah chuckled and nodded in agreent. She too was excited to step foot in the kingdom that she now had to protect. Well, they might not easily accept her, but she would still do her best to prove to them that she was worthy to be their Queen… To be the woman capable of standing by Nikolai's side…
"By the way, Your Majesty… That raven. It could be a spy of His Majesty, right?" Krisha murmured in her ear as they went out of the bath to get dressed. As expected, Nik was still there, perched upon her open window like nothing was even happening.
At the accusation, Mineah simply chuckled and said, "Let him spy on all he wants then… It wouldn't hurt for him to do so anyway."
She had already clearly marked and bonded Nik to her, but there was always a possibility that Nikolai had already marked Nik to him beforehand. She didn't bother to check it, but her gut feeling was telling her that her new pet was also connected to him… to indeed spy on her or maybe look after her during the Midnight Sun Waiting.
Whatever his reasons were, she had no plans of disappointing her dear husband. If he wanted to see whatever she had to offer, then she was more than welco to do so.
"Milady, I almost forgot. Seer Beirut sent you a gift, but he strictly instructed to not let you know about it before arriving at Valcrez," Dani suddenly brought up. "But since we're here now, it should be fine to tell you now. Also, he told that you shouldn't open it until the Coupling Rites are completed."
Mineah humd. "Dani, can you get the gift you were saying?"
Dani flinched at her words. But before Mineah could ask why, she had answered, "Ah… It seems that Seer Beirut had already predicted that you will act like this milady. He said that you should follow his instructions because it's crucial to do so… Please wait until the Coupling Rites are finished… Only then can you finally see his gift. Or else, it will simply vanish."
Mineah frowned as she wondered what this supposed gift could be. Still, she would heed Seer Beirut's words. He probably had a valid reason for asking her to wait. Yet, she couldn't help but still feel uneasy about it…
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