Queen of Ashes │ Season 1 │The Journey

28 │Welcome to Lorium - part II

"Selene..." Qadir purred with contentment at the sight of the blond woman. The sound sent shivers of displeasure all over Giselle's body. She noticed a slim scowl on Leander's face. Giselle wasn't sure if it was at the side of the woman or the sound of Qadir's enjoyment. "And Ivo..." That name came with a visible disgust. Freya's maid could cut the negative tension with a knife. "How pleasant to see you both after all this time."

"Took you long enough," the woman—Selene—replied with a frown. "He's gotten impatient."

"Obviously my brother couldn't have hoped for his human bride to suddenly develop our movement skills. It's not that I haven't told him how long it would take for us to arrive," Leander stated, sending a single glare toward the woman and also one toward Qadir as if to remind them to watch their mouths.

"You know your brother, Leander," the man—Ivo—said with a smirk. "But glad to have you back. May I introduce ourselves to our lady, or do you want to do the honors?" He added more gently, with a smile reaching his eyes and making him look quite approachable.

"Go ahead," Leander nodded, glancing at Freya as if to check if she was in the right condition for these kinds of things. Freya stood without the movement, but Giselle noticed her irises moving slightly, obviously observing everything with a sharp notice. They'd exchange their thoughts later. Now was the time to gather as much information as possible.

"Very well..." Ivo cleared his throat and took one step toward Giselle's redhead mistress. "My Lady, may I present you Selene Riffolk, our court member and person who will introduce you to the castle's grounds and customs." He gestured at the blond vampire woman, who watched them with a bored expression. Giselle could already tell that after Qadir, that was her least favorite vampire so far, not that she knew many of them. "And my humble person is named Ivo Falone, second-in-command to the lovely vampire who had been accompanying you during the journey." He smiled widely with a wink and bowed in half in a gesture of respect.

Giselle noticed the blondie hadn't bothered with the gesture earlier.

Interesting.

More points for Ivo fanger, then.

Ivo continued, "As for the rest of our company, that'd be our servants asked to help you with accommodating. Boys, take the horses already and get the bags to the chambers." The boys, who in fact, were adult human men— Giselle managed to work out— took the reins out of their hands and led horses to the stables. Where are they from, these humans? Were they here willingly or did someone force them? These were the questions already swirling inside Giselle's head. Catching Freya's eyes' path, she was probably thinking the same. "The girls will take you to your chambers and offer you anything you may fancy. You must be exhausted after all of this traveling."

"I'm quite alright..." Freya stated calmly. "But thank you for all of this. May I ask when I'm set to meet with the King?"

Selene cocked an eyebrow at Freya's question as if interested in the little human wanting to know anything her life-related. She outdid Ivo in answering, "Your meeting with the King is scheduled for tomorrow's dinner. Tonight the King has other matters at hand, I'm afraid." And maybe sensing that whatever she said sounded quite offensive, she added, "And you must be tired, even if you're stating otherwise, so it'd be good to prepare accordingly."

Giselle silently added that little blonde head to her black list of decapitations. She couldn't help that whatever seemed to flow out of this woman's mouth only added more fuel to stick to the list even stronger.

Freya frowned but didn't comment on Blondie's flauntingly non-proper behavior. "Very well then." She simply said, making Giselle proud with her royal confidence and posture. "I understand there will be suitable chamber and equipment for my maid here, Giselle?"