Abbernathy and the Cat Kingdom

(36) - Aelurus' New King -

After the funeral, things went by in a blur.

Darkmoore Castle had become a hive of activity as new servants polished every surface they could get their furry hands on. The air was electric with anticipation as news of the new king's coronation filled every corridor. This change from Blood Moon back to Crescent was welcomed by almost everyone in Aelurus. No one wanted to be under the Shadow King's influence any more.

The vast, cavernous-like halls of the castle were returned to their former glory, their high arched ceilings draped in luxurious gold fabrics, needlepoint crescent moons ornamenting their ends. Paintings of Sebbi and Lucy's bloodline, including one beautiful picture of Queen Lorelianna at a desk with maps strewn across it, were hung back up in the Hall of kings.

Fresh cut flowers of white and red were placed in every room. The castle's oppressive atmosphere that'd been so suffocatingly thick during the ball, had been stamped out thanks to diligent Aelurians who maintained the castle's many hearths, creating and stoking fires. Cooks and kitchen staff kept the lofty space smelling of spiced stews, roast fish and fragrant herb-infused milks.

A change of linens and a deep scrub of all the floors and walls had gone a great way of masking the coppery odor of blood, though Abby caught a whiff every now and then when she passed the door to the dungeons or entered the grand hall.

Still, Abby found herself happy inside the castle's walls though it was growing tedious trying not to step on the myriad of swooshing and swaying cat tails that sprawled across almost every inch of stone or tile.

Her mornings were filled with peace, and a good helping of dragon's porridge which she was growing to despise. The viscous sludge stuck in her throat and its seeds lodged themselves in between her teeth. The stuff was worse than the all the potions Mimi had forced her to drink on the days when she'd been sick.

Aside from that, Abby found herself in the castle gardens, which after years of neglect were filled with weeds and browning flowers. Still, among all the dying plants, Abby felt comfortable. The place reminded her of the grove, and discovering a tree with twisting bare branches that reminded her of Sir Simon, she'd found herself lying under it for hours, drinking in her Aelurian surroundings.

This world really was magickal. Margo had called on a few of Fraga's order to reconstruct parts of the wall, which they did by summoning earth magick to alter the objects base gravity. Apparently this type of magick was considered small and didn't drain their life force as much as when one stopped time for example.

Finally, the day had come for a new king to sit upon the throne and for a new moon to take to the skies. Only problem was, Abby didn't know which brother it would be. Everyone thought it would be Lucy since Lain had said he was the eldest of the two, but something in Abby's gut told her it wouldn't be so straightforward. Sebbi had grown quiet, more so than what he usually was, and he never made eye contact with her anymore. She'd barely seen him in the past few weeks and that made Abby nervous.