It was a grand festival in the capital. All the buildings were illuminated and decorated. There were traces of fireworks every minute or so. The vendors and merchants were never this happy before for this festival had just been a windfall for them. Children were dancing and playing with mirth and joy. Maidens were giggling and buying fashionable accessories from the vendors. Men were gossiping around the fire. Young men were playing games. Women were chiming showing off their new clothes and jewelry. All in all, the mood was of festivity and joy.
Amidst stood Castle Mercurius in all its glory. People from far-off places came to admire its beauty and grace. The whole country of Fiore was proud of this architectural marvel of theirs that they always boasted to anyone who wasn't a Fiorian about the castle and the royal heritage associated with it.
On the top of its tallest tower, stood a tall well- built muscular blonde man with a lightning-shaped scar near his eyes, gazing the streets. His clothes revealed of his army background. He was so much engrossed in his thoughts that he seldom noticed the entry of another person dressed in a black suit.
"Your lordship, it is time for the Grand Ball. We beg upon your lordship to grace your presence there."
"And what of it? I'd rather be in a war than those pretentious banquets. Here, I was thinking about expanding the borders and increasing our influence and you just spoiled it."
"But your lordship, I….."
"Easy there, Commander Laxus. Why are you barking at insignificant creatures like him and wasting your energy? " In came a silver haired serene elegant lady in a white strapless gown with a wine glass in her hand. "His Majesty is awaiting you in his chambers."
Without a word, Laxus ran down to the King's chambers. Soon he reached there and got inside without asking permission to guards. He bowed and stood on one knee and said, "General Laxus at your service, my lord."
The tall well-built handsome man in the room with blue hair and princely attire gestured him to get up.
"Enough of the formalities, Laxus. I need to know the situation in the border." He poured wine into two glasses and offered one to Laxus which he readily took.
"Now we are talking, sir. I had already sent your Highness a report on the situation. If your Highness did not get it, I have another copy and here it is." He said handing it over to the King. Both of them were cousins and best friends before until one of them became the King and the other, commander-in-chief of the army.
The King opened the document and studied it well. He was not just a diplomatic chess-master, but also a genius in warfare. He specialized in all forms of combat and like Laxus preferred battle field any day over the pretentious palace parties.
"Beautiful. I think we can start our move soon after the festival. But take steps to make it look it like the other country was at fault and not us. It is necessary to maintain diplomatic neutrality." He said moving his chess pieces.
"May I talk to your majesty as my old friend for a moment?" Laxus asked to which the King nodded.
"Jellal, are you participating in the war as an ordinary soldier under cover? If so, who is going to take cover for you while you are gone?"
"Ultear will do the needful. She is the Queen after all." He said in a commanding tone.
"But then, you will have to obey me and your King position won't help you." Laxus laughed.
"Who do you think you are talking to Laxus?" Jellal said with a playful smile. "After all is said and done, you are coming back straight to me, aren't you?"
"May those souls find salvation who made you the King. By the way, earlier you sounded just like a bastard when you spoke about throwing the blame and so." Laxus whispered in his ear.
At that moment, the maid came in, bowed and said.
"Duke Rob Scarlet would like to meet your majesty."
"Ask him to come in." Jellal ordered befitting a King.
An elderly man who is elegantly dressed in white silky robes came in. He bowed before the King.
"Lord Rob Scarlet, what is the status of my proposal? Have you taken any decision, yet?"
"If it is about the Duchess, I'm sorry to say that the elders in the dukedom are in opposition against your majesty's proposal." Rob was trembling with fear.
"And may I know the reason?" He asked curiously.
"She was Simon's wife even though it was short-lived and hence is a rightful property of Mikazuchi Household."Rob wiped the sweat beads on his fore-head.
"So what? It lasted only a day and she is technically a virgin even now. And as per the rules of this country, any virgin can be King's consort." Jellal smirked and continued. "If you don't give her peacefully, I'll send the army and lay waste to your tiny dukedom."
"I don't have to say anything about that. I'll inform the situation to Duchess and let her take the final decision. But your majesty will have to abide by whatever decision she makes."
"How dare you defy your majesty?" Laxus hissed. "You'll definitely pay for it."
"Lord Scarlet, you need to reiterate in your mind that neither do I need yours nor your puny little daughter's permission to make her my consort. But, well…. If both of you want the entire dukedom's blood on your shoulders, I need not say more." The King said calmly with half-shut eyes sipping his wine.
Lord Scarlet's face went pale and it looked ghostly. He stood upon his knees and shivered.
"Mercy, my King, Mercy. It isn't like the Duchess is the only beautiful woman in the country."
The King coolly walked on to his chess board and moved the pieces thus sending a pawn into oblivion and said with a sneer, "But any woman isn't Lady Scarlet, is it? You know, Lord Scarlet? I have a very bad habit of not forgoing things, be it men,land or money once I cast my gaze upon it."
He continued after a brief pause, "So, I need to see her in the palace by tomorrow night. If not, I will remove even the traces of existence of your microscopic dukedom. Now, General Laxus will accompany you on your return journey to see to it that everything is done in accordingly."
Then, he gestured Lord Scarlet to exit his chambers and both of them were now left alone.
"What is so special about her, Jellal than the Queen?" Laxus asked after refilling the glass.
"She is sanguine -a light which is so bright and divine that it purifies all the darkness in her vicinity, an untainted innocent beautiful flower which removes the sins of people at its instant touch, an undaunted fighter who would do anything to protect her underlings." Jellal's face darkened and a cold smile laced it.
"Such a light should be the property of the King and no one else. Don't you think Laxus that it would be quite entertaining to watch her struggling in the black abyss that I am planning to put her up in?"
"It sounds more like your majesty being fallen head over heels for her."In came a seductive female voice from the door.
A tall beautiful lady with pale skin and long black hair wearing a silver gown came in. Precious diamonds laced her necklace, hair and dress. Her chiseled facial features, curves, finely shaped thighs, huge bosoms and round buttocks were more than enough to enthrall any gentle soul.
"Simon's death was your doing, wasn't it, sweetheart? "She gently stroked his fore-head with her long slender fingers.
"Queen Ultear, may I ask you what are you doing here when the party is going on downstairs?" the young King scorned removing her finger from his fore-head.
"The Queen should accompany the King wherever he is, isn't it General Laxus?" She asked smiling leaning on one leg.
"Laxus, you may leave now and set on to the mission that I have given you five minutes before." The King commanded.
Laxus stood on one of his knees and bowed, "as your wish, your majesty" and departed.
"May I ask you my queen that why you resort to such cheap tactics before others?" He scoffed.
"Cheap tactics? Your majesty is pretty much forgetting that I am your only lawful wife and whoever comes after me shall remain royal concubines." She was playing with her strands and continued with a smirk. "I don't have any problem in your majesty keeping her as long as she remains within her limits and not intrude into mine. Also, I don't believe in such stupid things called love or commitment."
His face changed and almost became devilish. He held both of her arms tight within his calloused strong grip and said, "Mademoiselle Ultear, your fate was sealed the day you married me. The moment you even think of sleeping with someone else would be the moment when you say finale to your life. For I will shred your body to pieces and feed the wolves."
Tears started to drip from her eyes due to his strong grip; still she smiled faintly and said. "You mistook me, your majesty. My loyalty for you would be undying and it would last until my last breathe. If it is for your happiness, I am in fact willing to accept her as my little sister. "Her voice cracked.
"But still you know, I too am a woman and as far as I know, no woman likes to share her husband with someone else."
"Theatrics? Wow…. The only thing lacking until now was that. This is why I say all women are alike no matter how much of a mask they put upon their face. The only thing good about them is that they entertain you a lot with their antics and thrill you with their histrionics." He scoffed.
"I think I am not the one who could teach your majesty about the real worth of a woman. But your majesty, be sure not to bite your lips, when you learn it." She stared into his eyes boldly.
Just then, a voice was heard from outside.
"Your majesty, a messenger is seeking your audience."
"Enter", he said leaving his strong grip on her which had already left its mark on her arms.
The messenger was clad in black and was wearing ninja-style clothing covering the face. He (or she?) handed over the message to the King which he opened and read immediately. He then gestured the messenger to go and summoned a soldier.
"Send messengers asking General Neekis, General Stinger and Vice General Macbeth to come to my chambers at the earliest."
"Anything serious?" The Queen asked with concern.
"Oh! Nothing for you to worry about. It is just that King of Frostia has started his moves on our border. It is high time we teach him a lesson."
"Are we going to have a war?" She asked shaking him anxiously.
"Not when we have his only daughter and heiress Yukino on our sides as she is madly in love with my younger brother Prince Sting." He smirked.
"Your majesty is sure that she will stand with us?"
"Women lose reason when it comes to love. Here, they lose all logic and goes after emotion." He took another glass of wine, sipped it and continued.
"Which is why, I want my sister Princess Lucy to be married to King of Celestia soon."
"What if she falls for someone? Will your majesty execute her too?" she asked while pouring herself a glass of wine."I thought she is the only being that your majesty genuinely loved."
"I don't deny what you just said and which is why I don't want her to be my weakness." Saying this he placed his glass on the table and marched out of his chambers. The palace guards were surprised to see the King without bodyguards, but his stern expression made them shut their mouths and bow with fear as the King was known widely to be ruthless.
Suddenly, a figure clad in black sprang upon him and attacked him with the sword with all the might. He dodged thanks to his inhumane quick reflexes and removed his sword from sheathe in lightning flash and stroke back. The next few seconds saw a fierce display of sword-play. The King himself was a master swordsman and was undoubtedly one of the strongest one. It was actually a feat to outlast him after his first strike and an accomplishment to match him even if it was for a few seconds.
But the success of the mysterious swordsman was just temporary. The King pinned him on to the walls and removed the masked muffler from the face.
"Well, Well…. What do we have here? A wild she-cat? Quite amusing."
She hissed and tried to slip away from him. But he laid his sword across her neck in such a position that she found it difficult to breathe and was panting hard.
"It was quite a pleasure to meet you, Lady Scarlet though I may say that I never expected you like this. Attacking the King is a treacherous offence which commands death-sentence. But I may pardon you, if you willingly agree to be my consort. Do you have any other say in this regard?"
She spat on his face and said, "I would rather die than be one of your royal decorations. You can execute me or throw into prison."
He wiped away the spit with his kerchief and slapped both of her cheeks leaving a five-finger mark. He called the guards and asked for handcuffs. After hand-cuffing her, he dragged her to his huge spacious stately bedroom and threw her into the bed attaching the other end of the handcuff to the bed. He held her scarlet tresses firmly with his hand and kissed her violently leaving his teeth marks on her lips and making it swollen.
"Let's start the cat and mouse game, Duchess and see who the final victor is." He said licking his lips with a cold smile.