Great Lady Theodora Ivanov, Drayce, and Seren had left the greenhouse and returned to the main building of the crystal palace. On the way, Seren was still busy thinking about something as the word soulmate had stuck in her mind. Though the Great lady had explained the meaning of it and based on that explanation she had concluded on her own that Drayce is her soulmate, still, she had so many questions in her mind.
'Why does one need a soulmate? If one needs it then how everyone recognizes them? it is not like everyone has that flower Ashrin on their forehead like me? How can I be sure that Drayce is the one for me? If he is the one then what should I do for him? Do I need to treat him as something special? How come Martha never told me what this mark on forehead means and this red-eyed man is my soulmate or whatever Grandmother said?'
Drayce noticed her silence and asked, "Are you not feeling well, my Queen?"
It pulled Seren out of her thoughts and she looked at Drayce, "I am fine, Your Majesty."
The Great lady who walked along with them smiled lightly and said, "But I think, I am not well these days. She looked at Drayce, "How about Seren stays here for a few days. I might feel better having a lovely girl around me."
Before Seren could even react to such a nice proposal, Drayce spoke, "I will arrange a Royal physician as well as the other best physicians in the kingdom to take care of Grandmother. I will also ask Tyra to search for young maids who Grandmother can consider as lovely and feel better when they are around."
The great lady chuckled. "As expected of you. But other girls can't be like Seren."
"Same goes for me, Grandmother. She is the only one," he said coldly. His voice showed his authority over his wife which made it clear that she was his alone and others had nothing to do with her.
"Great King of Megaris arguing for the first time with his Grandmother. Such a possessive young man," Grandma commented, smiling pleasantly and not minding the straightforward from her grandson. 'Well, he has been like this always,' The Great lady thought.
Seren didn't know why grandmother was happy even when Drayce had rejected her request but one thing she was sure of, Drayce won't let her stay here and she felt sad.
'This place is so peaceful and no one comes here. I wish I could stay here.'
As if Drayce had sensed her thoughts, he spoke, "My Queen, you have been in an isolated place for all your life till now but it's time for you to socialize with others and learn to deal with them. You are a Queen of Megaris now and there is no way you can expect to be alone and away from others."
She pouted under her veil and the Great lady looked at her, "Dray is right, Seren. You have to learn how to be a Queen now and for that you need to go among the people without any fear and hesitation."
Seren could only nod to it. They had already reached the corridor of the crystal palace after crossing the garden. The great lady walked ahead as Cerviel came to her and talked with her about something.
As they were left alone in the corridor, Drayce looked at his wife who was silent. "I know my Queen loves to be alone and trust me I will give you lots of such opportunities."
Seren lifted her head to look at him as she felt he might finally permit her to stay here but saw the smirk on his lips getting wider and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "My Queen will get such opportunities when you are alone with me in your bedchamber every night and no one will disturb us."
His whisper and those words in a hoarse voice made her heart skip a bit. Subconsciously, with some unknown strange feelings raised in her mind, she took a step back to go away from him but Drayce held her closer by holding her at the waist. Unknown to her, her cheeks turned pink and she looked at him only to see him smiling at her.
"Again My Queen's heart is being Noisy. Should I calm it down?"
She didn't know why she felt embarrassed but had to give a reason for a sudden change in her heartbeats and spoke in a shallow voice, "Y-Your Majesty…. suddenly pulled me so I felt scared."
"My Queen should get used to it now," he said and again moved to whisper in her ears, "Soon we will be much more closer than this."
'Closer than this? There is no space left between us already?' she thought and heard him again as his lips brushed her earlobe. "So close that my Queen might scream and cry with pleasure along with her heart beating faster than this."
'Who screams and cries with pleasure? Did he mistake the word pleasure for pain? Is he planning to punish me and wants to give me pain? Does he want me to scream and cry? So cruel!' she thought and asked, "Your Majesty, did I offend you by chance that you want to punish me?"
Sighing deeply over her innocence, Drayce moved back and looked at her, still holding her closer, and didn't deny her claim, "What kind of punishment would my Queen like?"
She blinked for a moment and thought, 'How can he ask me this? How cruel!'
Seeing her not answering, he said, "If my Queen can't answer, then I have to decide on my own."
The way he looked at her was so intimidating and along with that punishment words, it seemed scarier to her and she spurted out, "Just don't bite me."
He sighed inwardly and asked, "My Queen, are you still stuck at biting when there is a lot more to do? This time no more biting but something else."
"Something else?" she asked, not having a good feeling about it.
He smirked as the color in his eyes started to change and she heard the hoarse voice, "This punishment involves tying my Queen to the bed for the entire night and….."
"Your Majesty!"
A voice disturb them and Drayce frowned but he didn't look at the person as his sight was fixed at the face of an innocent woman who was still contemplating over what he had just said.
Cerviel, who had disturbed them, felt the cold air around the young King and continued to stand with her head lowered down,? "Apologies for disturbing you, Your Majesty. But the Great lady had asked me to pass a message."
Drayce waited to hear it and Cerviel said, "Great lady said, Your Majesty should stop scaring the young girl and come to have lunch with her."
Passing the message, Cerviel left while Drayce who was still upset with the disturbance finally released Seren.
"We will talk about it once we return to the palace."
Seren could only nod as she looked like a poor puppy who could only wait to get her punishment. The two went towards the dining room in the Crystal Palace as Drayce led the way for Seren.
They entered the dining room where the Great lady was already waiting for them while sitting in the chair at the short end of the long wooden rectangular dining table.
The interiors of the dining room were the same as the other parts of the palace in an off-white and gold color and the wide glass windows allowed the sunlight to brighten up the room. A pretty glass chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling, just above the dining table which had gold polished cushioned metal chairs arranged around it.
The great lady smiled at Seren to welcome her and said, "Have a seat, my dear."
A servant pulled chairs for Seren and Drayce as they sat facing each other and at either side of the Great lady.
The Great Lady looked at her grandson and said, "I believe I did not disturb something important."
Drayce, who was still cold, countered, "I believe Grandmother knows the answer."
The great lady chuckled at the inwardly displeased young man and diverted her attention towards the young lady sitting on her other side. "I hope you will like the food, Seren though it must taste different from what you are used to in Abetha," the Great lady said and Seren nodded, "I liked the food here too."
"Glad to know it. If you don't like anything, you can instruct them to change it according to your preferences."
"Yes, Grandmother."
Servants had served the food and stepped back to stand behind. Seren had to eat the food while lifting her veil and Grandma said, "Don't feel hesitant due to that veil. I can understand you are used to wearing it."
Seren felt relieved and said, "Thank you so much, Grandmother."
The great lady looked at Drayce as they continued to eat food, "Have you thought about having a wedding ceremony according to Megaris custom?"
Drayce nodded, "In a week, there will be a wedding ceremony. Till then Tyra will teach My Queen about Megaris customs and the duties of the Queen."
Seren looked at him surprisingly, 'Wedding ceremony, again?' She sighed inwardly, 'Those heavy and uncomfortable clothes and jewelry I have to wear again and so many people will stare at me like I am any rare animal species.'
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