I woke up to the intercom and the strange, flipping sensation in my stomach.
I looked around, Maddox was awake, alone with Zina, Elliot and a crying Seraphine. All three of the Air hosts were sitting down at the front of the plane, their bodies strapped in as the plane slowly moved down.
As if sensing my movement, Maddox turned to me, his face almost surprised, "You're awake?"
I nodded sleepily, running a hand over my face, "It would seem so, how long was I asleep?"
"Almost the whole flight, you woke up for about ten minutes halfway through, but the rest of the time you were completely asleep," He said, carefully watching my movements.
I yawned, "Well, that explains why I'm so drowsy,"
I leaned forward to try a catch a glimpse of where we were. "Are we arriving now?"
Maddox nodded, "We'll be down within the next five minutes. Would you like to swap seats so you can look out of the window properly?" He offered, his hand already on his seat belt.
I quickly nodded, pushing my unfastened belt to the side and moving into the seat where Maddox was just sitting. I found my gaze locked on the window, staring at the world below me, watching as we flew into the island. I pressed my hand to the window, immediately curling back. It was hot, like someone had taken a flame to the window and left it there.
I could see the ocean, but not as I had ever seen it before. I was used to the darkness, a blue so deep you thought that the water was black. You couldn't see what lies below the water, every stroke a risk. Travelling by boat in the North was rare for this reason. That clearly wasn't a problem here.
It was so clear that I could see every individual fish, ever shard of coral, even from the height of the plane. People in kayaks paddled across the green-blue water, their heads turning up as we flew above them.
Their buildings were different too, soft, circular edges made out of a sandy looking brick. I could see colour, every colour of the rainbow was spread out among the buildings, the people in the streets looking like specks of red, blue and yellow. It was highly likely that this was the wolves side of their city. It was strange not seeing endless acres of dark, green forests. Instead, I saw endless deserts, tufts and patches of grass were covering the pathways and the edge of this part of the city, but when I looked past that, looked to where there was nothing but nature herself, it was yellow, red and orange sand. We were on the edge of the city, It was strange seeing buildings, then grass than sand all directly next to the beach. We kept flying in, the sand quickly disappearing and being replaced by endless buildings and houses.
Maddox grabbed my arm, "We need to get changed. We're about to land."
I dragged my eyes away from the window and stood up, quickly being ushered into one of the rooms on the plane. The dress was placed gingerly on the bed occupying the room, two boxes sitting directly next to it.
I pulled off the dress I was wearing, and as quickly as I possibly could, I changed into the gown.
It was a deep, purple velvet. The colour of the North. It was off the shoulders, the neckline covered in jewels that faded into nothing. The dress was pinched at my waist, the waistline was covered in jewels too, leading into a line that ran down my front, stopping halfway up my thigh. The sleeves fell off my arms, almost lone enough to touch the floor. I pulled my hair in front of me as I opened the two other boxes. One held a necklace and a pair of earrings, both decorated in light purple gems. The other box held the blue Tiara that Margaret had gifted me. I carefully looped the earrings through my lobes, fastened the necklace around my neck and then placed the tiara on my head, letting it nestle itself among my hair.
There was a knocking at my door, "Elora, are you done? You need to be sitting because the plane is about to make contact with the ground." Zina.
"I'm coming out now, one second," I shouted in reply, rushing over and opening the door.
Zina stood waiting at the door. She was wearing purple as well, but her dress was a lot calmer. It was less heavy, leaving her arms on show with a neck high collar. It finished on the floor, but had no train. She grabbed my hand and pushed me into the closest seat, taking a place directly next to me.
We were just in time, as not a millisecond later, I felt the plane crash against the floor, the plane suddenly travelling quicker then I had ever elt it before, the ties skidding loudly against the road, the wind racing through my ears. Not even a moment later, it was over. The plane slowly came to a stop.
I looked over to Maddox, who was wearing a black suit with a purple tie, his chest covered in a range of golden medals. An elaborate crown sat neatly on top of his head. Elliot looked the same, minus the crown and the medals.
I pulled myself out of the seat and made my way over to him, "How long do we have until we need to leave?"
"Only a few minutes. They need to organize the stairs and attach them to the doorway. we'll go down first, Zina and Elliot will follow suit. Just so you know, they won't be wearing anything like this. Unfortunately, it will be extremely hot, especially with what we are wearing, so they don't wear this style of clothing." Maddox explained, carefully readjusting my tiara.
I just nodded, "I'll be fine, I promise."
He moved his hand out of my hand and laid it along my jawline, cupping my head in his hand, "I know you will." He whispered, "I'm just making sure, I don't want you to feel scared or out of your depth."
I put my hand over his," As long as you stay with me I'll be fine."
I knew that I probably wouldn't be fine. But there was no point in telling Maddox that.
He smiled in response, though he probably knew that I was lying as well.
"You're Majesty, we're ready to depart the jet. awaiting your command," One of the air hosts called out.
Maddox turned around and gave them a curt nod before turning back to me.
"Are you ready to go? Or do you need another minute?"
I took a breath, "No, I'm ready. Let's do this."
And with that, Maddox grabbed my hand and led me to the plane door. It only took a moment for the door to open, revealing me to the harsh bright light.
It only took me a moment to curse whoever decided that I should be wearing this dress.
The heat was immediate, pelting onto my face and making me sweat. I could feel the sun burning me as we began our descent down the wide, metal stairs. I squeezed on Maddox's hand, everything being so bright that I could barely see.
Then I saw them, the Royal family of the South.
It was easy to pick who was who. Omnia and Jupiter stood in the middle. They were decorated with massive head pieces and gold bands running up their arms. Taj and Amina stood on Jupiter's right, The two wearing a silver band that crossed through their forehead. Amina's was decorated in red jewels, while Taj's was in yellow. Caterina and Verena were standing on the right of Omnia, Caterina wearing a stunning headpiece that curled around her ears. The Empress, Duchess and Princess Caterina were all wearing similar clothes, a flowy white dress accented with gold. Amina and Caterina's dress both having two long slits that began at their naval and ran through to the end of the dress. Omnia's dress was accompanied by a thin blue veil that attached itself to her shoulders and ran out miles behind her. White eyeliner ran underneath the girls' eyes, popping against their nearly black skin, highlighting their identical icy-blue eyes, excluding Amina of course.
Taj and Jupiter seemed to be dressed similarly too, flowy white pants and no shirts, their chests covered in tribal tattoos and large golden chains. I felt them watching us, their eyes an eerie grey-white.
And even though Amina was part of their family through mating only, you could tell they were a family, and one of extreme power. Everything was organized, their clothes matching up still unique, their gold bands, their different crowns and power symbols that still managed to look clean and organized.
All except Verena.
Their youngest daughter.
She was standing to her older sisters left, a harsh and unforgiving look on her face. Her pitch black hair was braided, pulled into a bun on the top of her head. Unlike her family members, she wore no crown, no elegant head piece. She wore a skirt, and white it was white, I could see the red and brown stains across it. She wore a thick strap of material over her chest, it was off white in colour but I could see strands of yellow, red and blue that had been sewed into it. Instead of golden bands running up her arms like her family members, golden snakes laid on her biceps. But before I noticed all of that, I noticed her weapons. A dagger handle was sticking out of her boot and a bow was slung over her torso, a full quiver on her back. Like her family, her grey-blue eyes were underlines in white, though red war paint was smeared on her cheeks.
It was clear she wasn't a princess,
She was a warrior.
We reached the end of the stairs, standing only a few meters away. The moment Zina and Elliot were standing next to us, Maddox fell into a deep box, kneeling on the floor.
"Thank you, for welcoming us to your country," He said simply. Elliot followed his action.
I watched Zina bow, so hesitantly, I bowed too. I felt the moments tick by, one, two, three.
"You are always welcome. Rise." A voice that could have only belonged to the Empress addressed.
So I did, hoping they didn't notice the gentle shake of my hand.
I was used to Zina, Elliot and Maddox towering over me. The height of the imperial family certainly didn't do anything to calm my nerves.
"Zina! My darling, come here and let me meet my Great Niece!" Jupiter laughed joyfully.
Suddenly, the stoic atmosphere was lifted as Zina ran over and embraced the man with one hand, carefully placing Sera in his free arm. I watched as Zina pulled away and then embraced Empress Luna Omnia,
"Tell your northern wolf that your not coming to visit enough!" She whispered cheekily, though still loud enough for us all to hear.
"Make sure I get Seraphine next! I was at the birth, that must give me some sort of advantage," Caterina called out, wrapping her arms around her cousin as she spoke.
"Not if I have anything to do with it," It was Amina this time, practically stealing the giggling baby from Emperor Alpha Jupiter. "Oh Taj, look at her!"
"Why didn't you tell me Zina was related to them!" I whispered angrily, "You could have saved me so much stress!"
"Must have slipped my mind," He whispered back with a laugh. "I told you they were lovely people, didn't I?"
I watched Zina hug Verena, her mouth curling into a small smile, but nothing more then that. Zina then ran over to Taj and Amina, embracing them.
Was this what having a large family looked like? I suppose I did have a large family now, but I wonder what I would have done to have this sort of family when I was younger. I probably would have done anything.
I watched Omnia rake her eyes over the three of us before doubling back on me. She cocked her head,
"Now, I don't recognize you." She marveled, "Would I be so bold as to say that the Alpha King Lancaster has found his mate?"
Before I had a chance to respond, Jupiter raised his nose into the air, "And a human one at that. One would wonder what on earth the Moon Goddess must have in plan for you."
"A human mated to a royal. I never thought I would see the day," Omnia continued, her eyes twinkling.
I had no idea if this was going well or not. I gripped on to Maddox's hand tighter.
"Aunt Om, this is Elora Reed. The future Luna Queen." Zina introduced slowly, seeming to be having the same confusion as me.
"Well. Let me be the first to welcome you to our country. And offer our congratulants to Alpha King Maddox on finding his mate." She beamed, "May your continent prosper under her rule."
I felt relief rush out of me, like water rushing out of a creek after months without rain.
"I can assure you, it will. You'll never meet a more competent and loving Luna Queen. I already know that Elora will do many wonderful things," Maddox bragged, my cheeks going red at his words.
"We'll be sure to make our way up for her coronation," Emperor Alpha Jupiter assured, "Our whole family."
"When we pick a date, you'll be the first to know." Maddox promised.
"I'm surprised you have not fainted yet," Amina sniggered, "With this heat, and the clothes that your wearing, its surely a miracle. Especially as we are in the middle of summer."
"It's beneficial in the cold, but it doesn't get hot in the North. You never realize how much you miss it until you're in the cold all the time," Zina laughed, taking Sera out of Taj's arms and bringing her over to Catalina.
"I'm sure it is, but perhaps we should head inside?" Catalina suggested, clearly overjoyed with the pup in her arms.
"Of course, please, follow us inside. We can continue talking." Omnia commanded with a wave, turning in a blue fury before walking, her mate and children following in equal dramatic flair.
All for Verena, who had no extras attached to her outfit or figure.
I followed them in, hoping that the walk would stop the shaking that still rack my body. As they walked I realized, I had not said a single word. Clearly I wasn't as 'fine' as I thought. I shouldn't have come, I should have left it to Maddox, Zina and Elliot. I should have stayed at home-
Maddox brought our clasped hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss, "Take a breath dove, you're doing wonderfully."
I only nodded with a smile, trying to calm my uneven breaths, hoping to put on a front to show the strangers that I was unaffected. We ended up at the back, Elliot catching up to walk with Zina, not hesitating to take Sera out of Catalina's arms, much to her disapproval.
My skin burned as the heat continued to beat me to a pulp, so I focused on the words of the Southerners in front of me, and I did what I did best.
I hoped for the best. This had to go right,
Or else we had nothing.
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See you in the next chapter,
Eryn