I was woken the next morning by Jackson violently shaking me awake, I turned and raised my hands, trying to explain that I did not require any more action, which somehow Jackson understood and stopped shaking me, giving me a chance to get out and walk sleepily to the window. It was not even dawn yet, and it would be another hour before the sun would rise. I stared at Jackson, questioning his sanity in this situation. He silently mouthed 'Meeting in Dres' and pointed to my wardrobe, indicating for me to get dressed, he then exited the room and left me to get changed. While I would normally just do a conversation like this over the phone, I had made my own personal decision to travel to Dres for a meeting, as I was convinced that there was going to be something more important than the closure of C.L.O.U.D. such as a peace negotiation between our two countries. I was being flown there in private aircraft, which would fit Sam, who was also a pilot, just adding to how much I admired the guy. My military advisor had threatened me to make sure that he would come, not that I was scared, I just simply could not care what the man did, but him fuming in my home wasn't good. Jackson was going as my manservant, as I did not require a body guard, no matter where I was going. I got changed into a white shirt with a red tuxedo over the top of it, with black pants and dull red shoes. I chose not to wear a crown, as it would simply give me a stuck-up appearance when I approached someone I had not met. I was fine with not having it on, as all it did was just snap every head in the room towards me, and after fourteen years of learning to blend in, it was the most uncomfortable experience I could have been given.
The only airstrip in the south was in Gambrene, but all it held was passenger and cargo jets, with the exception of a few private jets. Glaive and Raven were signing legal obligations and were unable to attend me to the meeting, so I just decided to take it into my own hands. I was driven to a shade black jet where I was hustled onto the plane by some heavy duty officials, who went so far as to chat on their earpieces, which just made me sad at how hard they must be trying to impress their bosses. I wandered down and took a seat at the centre of the aircraft, which had inflight entertainment, meaning that I could spend time listening to movies and music and not have to deal with my advisor drilling me with useless information which I wasn't going to be needing even when we land. The jet taxied off towards the runway, which had been vacated especially for me, however, hundreds of people lined the tarmac, all hoping to get a glimpse of me. I have to say that I was blown away by the amount of people that stood there, none of them from Sloce, all of them either from Carabin or Gambrene. I waved at them, even though I knew full well that there was no chance in the world that any of them would actually see me, as the plane lined up, it's pointed snout extending towards where it would eventually take off, which I hoped did not require severe jostling. The only time I had been in aircrafts was when I was required to go on that one fateful mission, which hadn't been altogether smooth, with hard seats and little to no comfort, it was simply there as a way of annoying us into a state where we would only focus on the mission, which did not work all that well, but it was still there as an excuse for them to pretend they tried which if it helped them sleep at night, I was not fine with it.
The plane flight was considered by most to take five hours from Gambrene to the capital of Dres, Dafirda. But that calculation did not take into account that today we were being given a tail wind, not to mention the large amounts of fuel that this jet could carry, so that time was halved approximately, although there was always the chance that a problem would occur, which would delay us by a long time, maybe even our lives, but right at the moment was not the time I wanted to be worrying about problems such as that, no matter how plausible they were. I sat back and turned on the entertainment screen, and scrolled through the seemingly endless choice of movies, wondering how I was going to be able to watch all the movies that I wished to see in the time provided, my answer was not answered however, as the second that I went to ask, they gave me a fruit platter, which I was happy enough with and obliged to eating while watching some of the newest releases in film, and the sound was perfect, unlike the cheap headphones that I used to listen to music through, these blocked out all other noise but the screen in front of me, which made me paranoid, but my subconscious was too tired from the large amounts of work and travel in the recent times that I simply did not care anymore, all I cared about was the screen in front of me, and what was happening on it, which was in such beautiful resolution that I wanted to thank its creator with a big high five, even though it is the most unkingly thing to do, I didn't even care. The hours ticked by, with me not really noticing the time or the outside world until we landed with the most gentle thunk that had probably ever happened in the history of aircrafts. We were greeted by an even larger party than the one in Carabin. There was rows of soldiers that turned and saluted at me when I walked slowly down the stairs to the black carpet that had been rolled out, which was the official colour of Dres, which did not make me feel any happier about the situation that I was in.
Jackson walked to my left and my advisor meandered behind, cautiously following us towards the queen of Dres. She met us halfway to the airport terminal, with a dress that sparkled so much it looked like it had been woven out of stardust, which of course seemed stupid, but it just got me thinking about the technology it would require to fashion the garment. I held out my hand in an action of friendship, which she took in the nicest way. Her hands were soft and gentle, and the touch sent shivers down my spine, but I managed to stand up straight and follow her towards a black stretched limousine, which had the flag of Dres and Sloce on it, it's beauty alone made me want to turn tail and run, as it was made so beautifully that even me, who had no interest in vehicles unless they looked cool and were way up the price range, had to admire it. What was even more impressive was the escort that we were given by the army. seven helicopters flew overhead, five motor bikes to the front and to the back, and two hummers that drove on either side of it. It was an impressive convoy, but I had the feeling this was more for her than myself, and that it was not just to show off to other countries that she had a large army, as I could outclass her any day on that account. She looked out the window at everyone of Dafirda and multiple other towns in the region with a look of worry, like any one of them was going to turn out to be the assassin that was trying to kill her, and although she seemed perfectly fine at the moment, I could tell that there was always going to be the chance that it went down hill, and that would not be good if in the presence of another leader. However, we managed to get through the city unscathed, which meant that was one less problem for me to worry about.
We pulled up in front of what I assumed to be the palace, which almost made me laugh that I couldn't recognize it even with it being my home for the past 14 years. I stared up at the building, which appeared to be made of one single piece of rock which, combined with the stardust dress, made me think that these people were from outer space or something along those lines. I was so busy gawking at it that it required a sharp nudge from Jackson to keep me looking like the king I was supposed to be. I straightened in such comical fashion that I was certain that I heard the queen laugh, but the notes could have been confused by the notes of the harp that filtered down from inside the entrance hall, where I was escorted to. The hall had a diamond chandelier that was about five metres in diameter and three metres tall, with a long and high nature about it. The court jester sat at the harp, playing the wondrous melody that conflicted the emotions, at times seeming happy, at others seeming sad, to the point where the literal translation of 'tears of joy' came into effect. The entire group spread out around the hall, obviously trying to coax me in the direction of the conference room, which I could see ahead of us, although it just made me feel insignificant, so I decided not to move until there was a direct order, as I had been told so many times within these very walls, only ten feet below, where C.L.O.U.D. was still operating, which just made me sick thinking about it. Forcing more children to do the same as The Storm and I were forced to do just sickened me, there was no way that I was going to let it continue, even if I was forced to destroy the friendship that had already been stretched during Dragor's reign of Sloce. I stood there while everyone filed in, lastly the queen entered, the light from the chandelier bouncing off her dress and casting light displays in every direction. Her brown hair in a tight pony tail, and eyes that could have competed with Adrianus for sharpness. She looked at me and gave a slight smile, then, hardly speaking, asked me to follow her, to the point where I was convinced that she was a ventriloquist. I doggedly followed her down a brightly lit corridor and into a room that I immediately worked out was sound proof, and with my extensive learning, knew that there was not even one-way glass for people to view us in. I turned only to see Jackson and my advisor, neither looking pleased, being held back while the doors were closed. I was not in the mood to start an argument, as I noticed that the queen had no advisors or adversaries with her either, making us both on even ground. I stood bolt still, not sure where I was wanted. The woman facing me was around my age, maybe younger or older by about a year, but nothing more than that. I could not help but stare at her dress, which had changed from a beautiful sparkly dress into a jet black dress, a similar colour to onyx. There was not much that I could do but stare to be fair, but when the queen noticed me staring she simply burst out laughing, which was as sweet as the harp, I just had lost the lovely sound under the beautiful piece of music.
"Braedon Astor, King of Sloce, slayer of the usurper Dragor, whatever other title you hold, do not tell me that you are confused by my dress." Her voice was as clear as water, which fell tumbling out of her mouth and washed over me. "It is simply dependent on the light to perform its acts of beauty, but when in the darkness it fades into the shadows similar to me. I know that you don't know my name, and for now you won't be able to, but it will not take long for you to learn it. I also know why you are hear, that much I can help you with. After you and your friends escaped, my father's dying order was to have C.L.O.U.D. disbanded, so that no one like you would ever have to be subjected to the same fate. We all may not be able to run from our destinies, but we are still able to mould them when we are given a chance." I noticed a small flicker on the wall behind her, a television. On it, there was headlines about how Queen Victoria the second had greeted Braedon Astor, as they were here to talk about peace. Obviously Victoria was oblivious to this, and a second later it was turned off, which was weird, but I decided not to press the matter. There were more important tasks at hand that needed much more urgent attention than chatting about names, but I was not going to let her think that she had won in any way as, knowing people similar to her, she would exploit this power to her own advantage, although her air was different, more care free, with more freedom than many others that I have met, like she did not care if she lived or died, but wanting to live her moments alive as much as she could, which was something that not a lot of people around the world thought these days.
"Well, Victoria, Queen of Dres, that is most certainly news to my ears, however, I am also here to bring about the peace of our nations. I understand that our families were once close, and that Dragor has since destroyed that, as he did to many things. I am here to fix the wrongs of the past, and while I may not be able to change the past, I am still able to manipulate the future. Our lands border each other, and this means that we can not only be effective trading partners, but we can also be friends and, if you were to allow it, allies. Our armies massed together would form an army that not even the other eight kingdoms could topple, and with the alliance that I have struck with Gambrene and Carabin, we have nothing to fear should a time of war come. Our armies are not the only thing that would benefit however." Victoria stared at me, open mouthed, trying to work out how I had known her name, without having prior knowledge from inside the walls of this building. I looked down, not sure how I was going to continue this conversation, as it was so awkward that I could barely bring myself to it. I had only just met Victoria, but apparently, according to my advisor, there had already been a marriage arranged between the pair of us, which was extremely awkward and I was not even sure why I bothered asking it, as she was most certainly not interested in me, as I was sure as daylight that I wasn't the sort of person that she would get in a relationship with, let alone marry, even if for the sake of alliances. Victoria obviously sensed my awkward feeling, as she burst out laughing and came over and hugged me, the strangest interaction I had ever had with another human being.
"I know that I can come across as imposing on people,"she whispered in my ear softly, sounding so distant I wanted to move towards the sound, even though there was no room to do so. "I have to tell myself that every day, but never feel worried of how I would react to what you say, as I will normally take it well, or not take it at all, although the latter is rarely required as most people are too scared of me by then to dare to ask, I can see why this goes into a cycle now, that is confusing, I need to work around that in the future. But back to my main point, never feel like I need not know what you were going to say, because all that does is make it harder for both you and I to do our jobs properly." Her voice was crystal clear, there was no hint of malice or annoyance in it, she honestly sounded intrigued by what I had to say, which made me feel like I was special, which immediately made me want to get the hell away from here, but curiosity held me still and in place. The thought of saying it almost made my chest want to burst apart and tell her everything about me, from what my favourite colour was to what I had for dinner last night, how I was as a person and what I was like outside of the imperial act that I was forced to put on for such diplomatic ventures as this. I wanted to scream her name out loud and go insane for joy, but somehow I kept myself controlled enough.
"W-would yo-you b-b-be my wife?" I asked, pulling out the ring that had been forged by the blacksmiths of Sandros for me. It was a gold band, with onyx that was set inside it. But it had a red diamond on the top, which sparkled from the different angles in such a way that it almost outclassed her dress. Victoria was shellshocked. She stood so still that she did not even blink for about ten seconds. At last she turned to me and simply whispered the words in my ear.
"Always." Which was enough to send shivers down my spine. We hooked arms and walked out into the waiting crowd, with Victoria holding up the ring for everyone in the hall to see.