White Roses - ReVamped

Chapter Thirty-Six: A Queen for You

Erasmus dragged me up the stairs and the curtains pulled back when we reached the top. An intense white light blinded me for a moment and a rare of people cheering and clapping hands. We stood on top of a stairway and I saw hundreds of faeries in groups, wearing fancy masks and dresses. Well, those that liked wearing clothes. I heard songs of birds and inhuman screams. A huge long table sat in the middle of the crowd. There was a huge chandelier hanging above the table. The walls white carved with dragons and other faeries into it.

"Smile."

I forced a smile. I looked around and saw two thrones standing right above us on a small balcony. An old withered man looked down at Erasmus. He had the same purple hair, but it was beginning to grey at the roots. His hands looked bony like he starved himself. A small goatee grew on his face. There was a mild look of disgust as sharp blue eyes met mine. He wore a heavy looking crown on his head and he picked up his hand and waved.

Erasmus took me down the stairs. People parted and I looked around the room. For a second, I thought I saw Lowell with his dreadlocks high on his head. I almost cried out for him, but Erasmus pulled out a chair and we stood by the pulled out chairs. We stood by a large table. The mouse continued introducing Jinx and her partner, a very handsome Kitsune with sharp red ears and long hair that went down his shoulders. People cheered and yelled her name. I looked up to see the old king smiling down at his daughter. 

I could see the same hatred for humans that Erasmus had. I looked back at Erasmus. He looked straight a head with a flat expression on his face. He had to feel his dad's eyes burning into him, but he kept his head straight and I felt his hand slide down my arm and squeezed my hand. 

Jinx stood on the opposite side of the table. The trumpets and drums roared to life as I looked at the crowd of strange faces. Some of them were too beautiful to look at for long and some wore masks to hide the beauty or the nightmare. People began trying to find their seats. I guess there was an order to it that I couldn't really see and they stood by their chairs like Erasmus and I as we waited.

Matty.

I turned a hard right. Drake. I looked through the sea of faces and expected to meet hard pink eyes. None. I don't know why I thought he would be here. He always had been here to help me when I needed him the most. Was he okay? Okay, a dumb thought. His queen was dead. He couldn't be okay. But was he safe? Yeah, a better question. I wondered if the rest of the court had been eaten alive when the queen died.

A loud screech pulled me back and I saw the King stood at the head of the table. A pretty tall woman who looked like a paler version of Jinx stood next to him. She dressed in diamonds and gold with her lips painted red. Her skin seemed so thin that I could count the veins.

"Ladies and gentleman," The deep rusted voice of the king fell over the crowd. Everyone grew quiet to the smallest of whispers. "Thank you for coming. As I'm sure you're all well aware that we have so much to celebrate." The energy in the room seemed to buzz and I had a feeling I was going to be thrusted right into the center of it. I wanted to scream no fucking thank you, take the glass of wine, gulp it down, and walk out of here with my middle finger in the air. Fuck you and thank you, I'll be leaving now.

 "My son has finally," the word spat out and I squeezed his hand back, "finally picked a suitable fiancé." He could at least try to hide his disdain for me a bit. I turned to look at the man. Erasmus hadn't even done that. The man looked at me, smiling.  Maybe it wasn't me he wanted to rip apart. People cheered at this and he waited. When silence fell again he continued to smile. "Also we are here to honor the lovely Huli Jing."

I looked down the table to see a white geshia. She wore a white kimono and her face painted white except for her lips. They were blood red and she had one arm wrapped around Lowell. Lowell looked at me with a stern look he used to wear when the bullies threw food and mud at us like... I squinted and thought I could see him dressed as a pharaoh. Or at least, a statue of one.