Chapter 2
"Bow before Her Royal Majesty, Avalia, Queen of Rein."
When she gathered the courage to look up, her guests had their head bowed in respect. Giving herself a second to compose herself, she then spoke.
"Welcome to Rein. I'm happy to have our Kingdoms together in Peace. Please, come in and make yourself at home. While I know our celebrations surely pale in comparison to ones in Sindria and Kou, I am hoping you will enjoy what my people have to offer." The Queen offers, walking into the palace, waiting for the men and their attendants to follow. They do so, both of their eyes on the Immortal woman, exactly where they needed to be, she thought. Her daughters stood at the bottom of the stairs, their faces already a bit pink as they waited for their Queen to announce them.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, may I present my daughters, Princess Mia and Princess Kia of Rein." Avalia gestures to the girls, who bow lowly to the visiting Royals. Kouen, again, doesn't seem interested and Sinbad does. Kouen only seems interested in Avalia.
"Could we move along with signing the treaty?" Kouen says in a bored voice. Her eyes narrow slightly at the Prince. Sinbad sees the Queen's offense to his comment and interjects.
"Maybe that's best. Get the treaty signed then we can all have a great night!" The King's voice is much deeper than Avalia imagined and it stirred girlish feelings in her. She nods in agreement.
"Yes, of course, forgive me for having you wait, Prince Kouen. This way please." The Queen instructs. After they are in the room, Prince Kouen quickly signs the treaty paper, handing the quill over to her. She's about to sign then stops, suddenly remembering something.
"Oh, that's right! Allow me to bring someone in before I sign, just for clarification. Bring in our guest from Kou." Avalia commands a guard, who not a minute or so later brings in the banged-up prisoner. The Kou guests look confused.
"This lovely man said he was sent from the Royal Ren family of Kou. Sent to kill me. I just want to clarify that he was lying before I signed. Naturally that would cause quite a damper on our relationship if the people I was supposed to be allying myself with were sending assassins to kill me." She explained, her voice sickly sweet. The Prince doesn't show any emotion, however his siblings behind him can't hide their horror.
"I'm insulted you would think I would order something like that." Kouen spit out. Avalia just began to laugh.
"Oh, my Dear boy, you misunderstand me! I didn't think you did, I just wanted to make sure, so your loyal subject knew the error of his ways." This seemed to be going downhill quite fast, as the Ren siblings didn't care for Avalia calling their future Emperor and brother "boy".
"How dare you address the 1st Prince of Kou as a boy! Surely he is older than you!" The shorter, feistier brother yelled. The guards seemed to begin to hover around the Queen nervously.
"Oh, forgive me, you're over 120 years old, Prince Kouen? I had no idea." Avalia knew she was beginning to push it, but hey, when you can't die, it's hard to find fun things to do. The arguing and hostility almost immediately stopped as the guests look at the Immortal woman in confusion. The Twin Princesses stood by the Queen, their eyes smiling for them.
"I'm sure you heard rumors about me. About my flawless skin, how I've seemed to stay the same age for quite some time, why I never lose a battle. I am Immortal, cursed from Dark, evil magic. I cannot die from age nor wound. I am the perfect ally. I summoned you here for a treaty, Prince Kouen, with the King of Sindria, who is already a distant ally of mine, as witness. But I also summoned you here to negotiate what I will be getting out of this. You'll get someone who lived to see wars you never will. Encountered men you have only read about. Seen and harnessed power you've only dreamed of. What will I, the Immortal Woman, get from this treaty?" Check. Avalia knew much of the game called Life. She was intimately aware of the rules, the cheats, the loopholes, the punishments. She was the Queen of Rein, in many senses, the most powerful being on the planet, as of that moment, no one knew how to kill her, and that made her the Perfect Ally and the Worst Enemy. Kouen seemed to have an internal battle, as this was an opportunity he could not give up. What could he possibly give a woman who in time will have everything? He struggled for the right words, now distracted by lips, that curved into a wicked smile. Sinbad watched the interaction with interest, and now knew there wouldn't ever be a day he regretted making this woman an ally. What a power move that was. That was the energy of a true Queen. Kouen's siblings looked at their older brother, who continued to stare at the woman. He then cleared his throat.
"What exactly do you want? You're right, you are the perfect ally, now that you have explained exactly what you are. Tell me what you want, and I will do everything in my power to grant you that." Kouen said calmly. That was exactly what the Queen had expected him to say, and now this man, who had so much potential on his own, will be eating from her hand, just as the King of Sindria would be doing soon. The Queen stands and walks over to Kouen, who then stands as well. She extends her hand, to which he realizes she is instructing for him to kiss her hand. He does so quickly, looking into the woman's dark, enchanting blue eyes. She cups his face gently after that, looking at him then his siblings.
"I would like more friends. I have only recently begun to reach out to other nations for alliances, and it seems I need friendship." Avalia says in a playful tone. Kouen doesn't take his eyes of her. His lips turn ever so slightly into a smile and he chuckles.
"So be it. Your wish is my command, Your Majesty." The Prince bows suddenly confused on why he bowed and why he just said that. Avalia only then turns and sits back down. She signed the treaty quickly. Check Mate. This battle goes to the Queen of Rein, who now has the Kou Empire in her palm, as their 1st Prince is none to shy to offer his assistance to the Queen.
"Wonderful! I'm glad to see that everyone is getting along!" Sinbad offers.
"Queen Avalia, it seems you've had some addition building added to the Palace since the last time I was here, from what I saw on the way up." He adds. Avalia nods, standing then. Her Royal Advisor takes away the treaty, bowing to them.
"I added a whole new wing for guests about 2 months ago. It's just been recently furnished. I do believe that new wing, which is called the Southern Palace, has plenty of room for the wonderful allies I have here now. If not, the Northern Palace has extra rooms as well." She spoke to him. Sinbad's attendants had been remarkably quiet, however he only seemed to bring 2 of his Household members, Ja'far and Masrur with him. For the rest of the night, the royal guests and the Queen laugh and enjoy the festivities. The Queen excused herself for a moment and quietly went down to the dungeons, where the Kou prisoner lay, groaning in pain.
"Now, if the Prince Kouen and his siblings did not send you, who did?" She asks, her tone impatient. The man just laughs at her.
"You won't get a thing from me, Your Majesty." He spits towards her after he speaks, missing her by a couple inches. The guards behind her walk forward to show the man the punishment of the crime he committed but both came to a halt when their Queen raised her hand to stop them. She merely then draws her blade, pointing it at the doomed man.
"Yes, yes, kill me! Show my Master how powerful and strong you are!" He says in a mock tone of respect, laughing manically afterwards. She gives him a soft smile, filled with pity. When black smoke began to engulf the man, he started to shriek.
"W-what is this? What are you doing?" He shouted, struggling against his chains.
"I am showing you what happened when you cross the Queen of Rein." The Immortal woman says softly, which is almost completely drowned out by the mans screams of torment.
"Spirit of Pain and Piety, I summon thee, fill thy power in me, show my enemy true pain, turn me in a great Enchantress, Give me thy power, Algea!"
I AM SO SORRY!
I didn't realize it would be so long before I updated. I am so so sorry! I'll do my best to get one out every week. Thank you all for being patient. To those who read the last Queen of Rein, the Djinn's name was Zero, but I decided to change that. Still the Djinn of Pain, this Djinn is named after the Greek God of Pain, Algea. Or at least that's what google told me. If I'm wrong, let me know! Thank you for staying and reading. R + R!
Miss Fangirl