A pulchritudinous dayspring was gifted to the Adriel residence. The chilliness of forenoon waltzed away as the sunlight's warm took its place on stage. Zane Adriel had no wish to wake up so early, but the sun thought otherwise. Being an indolent arse as he was, rising early was challenging. However, he had a good reason to do so that Sunday morning.
About a week ago, Zane received a letter from the royal courtier, stating that he was asked to visit the Buckingham palace on his majesty's orders. Even for a nobleman, this ought to be a a consequential issue. It wasn't everyday that the king of England invited a nobleman such as himself to the Buckingham palace. What a great honour!
Without waking anyone up, Zane tiptoed out of the abode bright and early for his daily jogging. Before he could sneak out of the estate, someone came his way.
"Sir Zane, where are you headed so early?" A soft, ghostly voice asked from behind.
Zane flinched, terrified out of his wits, and turned around to see Sabrina with a hand trowel.
"Oh dear god, it's you! What're you doing in the lawn, looking so sloppy?" Zane exhaled, his heart beating excessively.
"I was planting some flowering plants to pass the time. The devices here are overly complex for me to understand!"
"Ah I see...that's odd, but who am I to judge!" Zane let our a giggle of relief.
"What about you, sir? Where to?"
"Just going out for a run. I'm out of shape, you see."
"I don't think running is something you need to stay in shape, Sir Zane..."
"What do you mean?!"
"You see, you're already skinny and barely have any muscles. I'd suggest you start working on building musclesand eat grandly!"
The truth was more bitter than bitter gourd itself, for Zane Adriel. Of course, he was insecured about his body, his weight. Having a pretty face wasn't all cookies and whipped cream. Zane always envied well-built men, not being able to get 6 packs himself. But oh well, that was that.
"L-Let's not come to that, please. I'll be back in no time, later!"
Zane waved Sabrina goodbye before running outside the gate in a hurry. The weather was just perfect for a run, the cool air messed Zane's hair, which he didn't care for nevertheless. The stress relieving run for him right before his encounter with the king himself. It was surreal, but exciting.
Small boutiques, restaurants, libraries, began to open early as well, as people prepared for a new day. The lovely old lady of the flower shop was first to greet Zane among them. She had the sweetest smile, which could make anyone's day.
"Good morning, Mrs Jenkins! Lovely weather to be selling flowers, no?" Zane greeted politely.
"Indeed, laddie! You should gift some to a loved one, eh?"
"Mrs Jenkins, you can't expect me to regularly give flowers to someone. Nevertheless, I'll buy that big rose bouquet to give to the ladies I meet!"
Zane had a lovely habit of distributing flowers to ladies just randomly. No matter how old or young they were, he'd never differentiate between them. That was one of the sweetest traits he had, which was admired by all.
He took the bouquet, and bid the florist goodbye with twinkling eyes. He ran through the streets, stopping by frequently to hand out flowers to ladies and congratulating their partners as well. Someone like Zane Adriel was admired and loved by everyone; he was like an angel without wings, according to citizens. Ironic, he was one actually.
Finally, the moment he reached his destination arrived, it was most disorderly. A group of young ladies came running to him ecstatically, like they awaited him only.
"Hello, stunning maidens!" Zane beamed as they surrounded him like ants.
"We missed you, Zane!"
"Why didn't you come here for the past few days?!"
"We're so glad you're here, now!"
Just like that, the maidens squealed one after another. Zane Adriel was indeed honoured and grateful to have received such adoration from so many- just as expected from an Angel. However, Zane couldn't exercise anymore, being surrounded by the ladies the whole time. Maybe coming to the park was not a good idea after all.
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Somehow, the Allura household managed to survive an entire week with Noah Desmond's presence. Though, each day passed with sleepless nights due to Noah's indefatigable activities which prevented the servants from resting. Alexandra rarely ever slept, but he had no interest in her; she was monotonous. What Noah did, he'd choose one or two servants to chat with all night or go for midnight clubbing.
Even for breakfast, everyone's energy in the Allura mansion was drained except Noah Desmond. Alexandra did understand her servants' conditions, but was she going to do anything? Not unless it was extreme. And this time, their service was inexcusable.
"Liam, would you mind explaining why there's a shoelace in my omelette?" Alexandra sighed, rancorous.
"Dear me, mistress, I apologize! I'll get you another one!" Liam shrieked panicking.
"You lot look miserable these days. Much worse at your jobs than normal. What may be the issue?" Alexandra queried, resting her chin on her palm.
"Oh mistress, you have no idea how beastly that gentleman can be. Last night, he drank till 2am!" Erin whispered to her mistress in distress.
"Liam and I had to carry him to bed, despite the hell of a drama he pulled up!" Denis complained to Alexandra's othe ear.
"He is quite dashing whatsoever..." Edith jumped in shyly.
Alexandra and her servants goggled at Edith, stunned by her remark.
"What? He is..." She flushed.
While the household's servants badmouthed Noah Desmond, he enjoyed the breakfast unbothered by what anyone said. He was a fool in such scenarios; not exactly the proper and polite type of chap. Alexandra had to fix that anyhow.
"Noah, I hear you got wasted last night?"
"Yeah, it was the best night ever! Have to admit, you have some good alcohol in here." Noah cheered enthusiastically.
"My households peace was compromised by your petulance. Try to not ruin their leisure, please. Not everyone enjoys life so carelessly with no concerns of who they effect."
The servants cheered for their mistress with pride, knowing she could never lose to anyone. They diligently listened to their conversation, until Alexandra ordered them to leave.
"Do let us speak alone for a bit." She asked politely.
Slightly disappointed and unwilling, the servants left the room without questioning their mistress once. Lord knows what she might end up doing if they ever do- they were too afraid to ask.
"Oh come on Al. It's no big deal, I'm just utilising the time I have before the battle begins. Who knows how everything might change-"
"Enough with the battle prophecy, Desmond. It is pointless and meaningless. There will be no battle. Yes it is true we are being mistreated, but I couldn't worry less."
Noah grinned- this time, it wasn't exactly his usual playful, humorous one. This one was sinister, nefarious, unexplainable. His eyes no longer seemed enthusiastic, rather pure evil.
"The world is changing, everyone is changing. You can't expect society to have a same mindset as they did centuries ago. No-one wishes to be ruled over, Al, we all want to be the ones to rule. Demons may have gotten out of that, but the humans and Angels? Not a chance. You and I both are not superstitious, but there's no way this prophecy could go wrong. Who knows, by the time most of us realise this, it might be too late."
As soon as Noah stopped speaking, a pin-drop silence took over. Alexandra had no words to debate with, while the grin on Noah's face remained.
"What are you implying, exactly?"
"We're running out of time. We must start preparing for battle. If this battle of retention begins soon, highly likely we'll be the first ones to go extinct."
The earl transferred to a deep thought, finally responding to the bitter truth. Everyone yearns for a position like no other, through which they can control others. To Alexandra Allura, there was no good or evil. Every living being had both hidden within then. Some prefer goodness on their outer shell, while some buried their good deep somewhere. Angels, Demons, humans, it's the same with all- it didn't matter.
"If anything does seem to happen, I'll make sure to lend a hand. And besides, we Demons are born fighters."
"Right back at ya'!" Noah smiled once again.
Out of the blue, Alexandra glanced at her pocketwatch in the middle of their meal, reminded of something significant.
"My my, look at the time. I'll be taking my leave now." She stood in a hurry, putting her handkerchief and silverware neatly on the table.
"Wait, what happened?" Noah queried curiously.
"Nothing too significant." She replied while Denis handed her an onyx coat.
As Alexandra dashed to the door, Noah followed her to the doorstep in bewilderment.
"Whoa whoa, where are you headed so early? We were supposed to go horse riding!"
"I'm afraid that will have to wait."
"But-"
"You all, please don't set the house on fire whilst my unavailability. And Noah, please, please be good." Alexandra instructed everyone, almost desperate.
After the car keys were handed to her, she quickly set off without any other words, leaving Noah disappointed and melancholic.
"Well, that went well..." He thought with a sigh.
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Zane Adriel, after hours of struggling to get something formal to wear for his with his majesty, finally arrived at the Buckingham palace. Not just that, Sierra wouldn't stop bawling for him to stay. Though, it is not everyday when the king of Britain invites you to the Buckingham palace for a chat.
The biggest challenge of all was finding the perfect formal outfit for the event. But fortunately in the end, he was able to choose a classy tailcoat that caught everyone's attention. Indeed, the classic British clothes is never to be forgotten.
The Buckingham palace itself felt wonderful. The superiority and class is held was immeasurable. A nervous breakdown did occur to him at some point, which was eventually forgotten by the magnificent view of the palace.
Zane got out of his car, still in awe with everything. A delight it was to see humans developing so well in their own ways. He took his time to admire his surroundings, before entering the palace.
To his surprise, another vehicle came swerving to the centre of the estate. If Zane hadn't moved, he would've had to rush to the hospital before meeting the king. The driver must've had the motive of killing him or so.
"Who the heck drives so roughly?!" Zane exclaimed, catching his breath.
He was left of no choice but to confront the driver as he hadn't come out yet. Zane stomped to the car furiously, ready to pick a fight.
"Hey lunatic, that was extremely rude of you! I could've gotten severely affected due to your aggressive driving-"
Zane's infuriated yells came to a pause right when the driver got out. At first, it appeared to be a boy- no, most likely a female. A lean, intimidating, threatening one-the type that shouldn't be messed with.
Unfortunately, it was none other than the earl Alexandra Allura who Zane was about to quarrel with. Head to toe, the earl was dressed in black like it were one's funeral. She approached Zane, frightening him before she did anything further.
"So we meet again, Mr Zane Adriel." She spited bitterly, taking off her dark shades.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Alexandra Allura. Can't say I'm too glad." Zane retorted, maintaining eye contact despite being terrified.
Their eyes never changed direction, assuring neither's defeat. True, Zane wasn't the kind to break the peace, but he saw Alexandra no less than a fiend. Zane compared her deadpan face to a corpse's- unnaturally pale skin, colourless eyes, dry lips. At some point he did doubt if she was actually alive.
"I work for his majesty, Mr Adriel. What about you? What did you do this time."
"Doesn't matter. What's really significant now, is that you're a horrible driver. I could've died because of your crazy turns!"
"No need to aggravate, that was intentional. I prefer a grand entry rather than monotonous ones." Alexandra justified pococurantly.
"You are absolutely unreasonable! Anyways, I need to go in. I have a meeting with the king." Zane smirked proudly, sneaking past her.
"Not if I do so first."
With that, Zane and Alexandra raced toward the entrance as if their life depended on it. The guards of Buckingham palace could easily mistake them for children, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was who'd get in first.
The first one to reach the entrance, was Zane Adriel. His strategy of victory was rather unfair; but oh well, everything is fair in love and war. And this was war.
"Hah, I win! So long, sucker!" Zane grinned mischievously, shoving the door on Alexandra's face before running off.
"Your victory was unjust, Mr Adriel." Alexandra sighed with abomination, racing to catch up with him.
"Alright then, the first one to reach his majesty wins the title!"
"Agreed."
Exerting to their highest speed, Zane and Alexandra sprinted towards Isaac's office whilst they were chased by security men because of their rudderless kerfuffle. Coincidentally, both of them reached this door at the same time, and ended up bumping against each other. They grabbed each handle, and glared at each other competitively.
"How impertinent, familiar with the phase, ladies first?" Alexandra hissed indifferently at her opponent.
"Hey, you're the one to talk! This is war, madame earl!" Zane debated, attempting to open the door before her.
"Oh good lord, what are you two doing?!" Sir Ainsley jumped in discombobulated.
"Morning, Uncle Ainsley! Lovely seeing you here!" Zane greeted, distracted.
While Zane Adriel was occupied, Alexandra cunningly sneaked inside the room, alerting Zane.
"Alexandra that's cheating! Get back here!"
Zane nagged loudly as he stepped in the office, followed by Sir Ainsley. Oh his terrible luck, Isaac Rogers was already present in the room, and he didn't look quite pleased. Infuriated and panicked, Sir Ainsley glared at him to insinuate and how to the king.
"Ah, greetings your majesty. I am obligated to be in your presence." Zane bowed majestically.
Zane peered at Alexandra for a split second, noticing she cared not one bit and still had that apathetic demeanor. Isaac still didn't appear enthusiastic and examined Zane as if judging.
"So, you are Zane Adriel? The one Ainsley said so positive about?"
"Indeed, my king. How may I be of service? I'm looking forward to it!"
Zane's instincts knew his secret weapon had to be used now- the amiable smile and aura. So, Zane quickly put of his best smile, an incandescent asset.
"Oh what a wonderful boy you are! I like you already!" Isaac finally exclaimed.
How comedic, the king turned out to be as fervent as him. This was quite the surprise.
"Please, take a seat. Let's have little chat."