“"Oh, w-we're almost done, Your Highness.”
The king glared at him.
Sonma swallowed tightly. “Gotta cast spells now, Your Highness. Need silence n' focus.” He closed his eyes and tried his best to clear his mind.
He got his silence as everywhere was suddenly as quiet as a tomb.
Long minutes passed.
Sonma opened his eyes, his brows knitted in a frown. Finally, he glanced at his visitor. He barely resisted the urge to cling.
The king looked...harder. His face was like it was carved out of stone, his eyes unreadable. His shoulders knotted with a strong emotion that could almost be interpreted as rage. So cold.
“Is anything the m-matter, Your Highness?” he asked.
“Tell me your findings, Sonma. Do not waste more of my time.”
The calm words sounded like a threat and a warning to the poor old man's ears. He nodded quickly. “As you wish, Your Majesty. I have good news.”
“What is it?”
“About the rainless state of Salem, it will not be for such longer, Your Highness. A force much greater than me will be drawing down heavy rain into Salem very soon. Such bright strong force. I have not felt it before.” He sounded reverent.
King Lucien pondered on that. “How long is soon, Sonma?”
“I do not know, Your Highness. But time is near.”
It only angered King Lucien more. He got up, dropped the box of coins on the table and walked out of the hut.
Indeed, the old man was a fake that knew nothing at all. He did not give any reliable information, just wasting his time.
Which great force? When is soon?
His guards walked behind him as he strode towards his carriage and entered inside.
“Back to Salem, Your Majesty?” Dargak asked.
The king faced his carriage rider and said. “Take me to the palace of Mombana.”
Queen Danika was utterly exhausted from the events of the day. It was a colossal event, too; she was surprised at the number of noblemen that arrived. She’d been expecting less.
The evening had slowly drifted to night, and the time passed, the nobleman went through the procedures required to fish out a great king. They answered the questions that were asked to each and every one of them.
Now, after everything, eligible men that remained were four in number. They were all good-looking men, and they did have the potential to be great kings, Danika admitted to herself. So why wasn’t she choosing any one of them? Why was it so hard for her to look at any of them? Why wasn’t she considering them at all?
“The royal banquet will soon be coming to an end, Your Majesty. Have you made a choice?” The minister for military affairs cornered her as she entered the royal court again after going to the bathroom.
“I’m afraid not, Minister Regah. I have not seen the one I want,” she replied tersely.
His brows knitted in confusion. “But they are all capable men. Very rich and powerful—not to mention intelligent and rational men. It is surprising that none of them is yet to catch your fancy, Your Majesty.”
“Yeah. Surprising.”
“No matter, no matter. It does not always happen at sight, I believe. When you spend time with each of them, I believe there will be changes.”
“Mm. I hope there will be, too.” She wasn’t telling the old man what she already knew. There would never be such changes because her heart already belonged to another man.
“Oh, that’s Lord Riverdale over there,” The minister mused happily. “He is from one of the most influential families here in Mombana. He’s coming over here, and I believe he will request a dance! I’ll quickly make myself scarce.”
“Farewell, Minister Regah.” But the man was already across the courtroom before the words made it fully from the queen’s lips. Her lips turned down disapprovingly.
“Lord Scott Riverdale at your service, Your Majesty.” The gentleman bowed his head as he reached her.
“The pleasure is all mine, Lord Riverdale.” She presented the back of her hand.
The blond man in front of her took her hand and kissed it respectfully. “You are even more beautiful up close, my queen.”
She smiled courteously. “You flatter me, Lord Riverdale.”
“It is not flattery as it is reality, Your Majesty. Your beauty exceeds all else.” The accent rolled off his tongue like a Scottish wine. “May I have this dance?”
Queen Danika wanted nothing more than to retire for the night and knew the only way to achieve that was for this banquet to go smoothly. So she placed her hand into his outstretched one. “If you please, Lord Riverdale.”
His grin was boyish, making him look more handsome than usual. The queen had to admit that the man was not bad for a candidate to be king. Too bad he did nothing for her.
He led her to the dance floor. The music changed, and together, they moved through the steps of the royal dance. Her condition, coupled with how tired she was, made her dance steps more clumsy. She stepped on his feet every few steps, but like all the other eligible noblemen she danced with, Lord Riverdale endured her clumsiness with a smile and a few grunts.
As the music was coming to an end, it began raining outside the palace. That relieved the queen greatly because the royal banquet would be cut shorter as all the noblemen and attendees had to be on their way back to their homes.
Meanwhile, Lord Riverdale could not believe his luck as he heard the sound of the rain outside the walls of the royal court. “It's raining, Your Majesty.”
“Indeed, it is,” she agreed.
“This is quite unfortunate for me. I did not foresee this at all.” He looked so sad as their steps slowed.
“Is anything the matter, Lord Riverdale?”
He nodded. “Am afraid so, Your Highness. I am allergic to cold weather; I am here unprepared for it. If I had known that it would rain, I would have taken my medical herbs and worn the proper clothes for it,” he said in worry.
The lord had been thinking of a reason that would get him the queen's acceptance for him to spend the night in the palace. He knew the time would be enough for him to seduce the queen, thereby becoming the king of Mombana. Now, he did not need to think much because a good reason had presented itself.
“Oh, that is so bad,” Queen Danika sympathized, unable to imagine how hard it must have been for him to admit such weakness to her.
Lord Riverdale nodded. “It is indeed bad. Now, I do not know what to do.”
That she had no liking for the man did not mean that she could not comprehend his pitiful situation. Poor man.
“You need not worry, Lord Riverdale. There are so many guest rooms here in the palace. I can have the guards set up one for you to spend the night. You can go back to your abode in the morning. What do you think?”