The King's Slave

The Golden Palace

Ilyia, The Land of the Gods

June 12, 1645

-Queen Almira Adrienne Ivaris-

The battle is over and all of us now returned to our land. Right after the battle, we all flew back here to the Golden Palace by Seth’s orders. And now, everyone else was assembled in the throne room as Seth walked down the aisle to the throne.

He sat on the King’s throne and I stood beside him to show him my support.

“Fellow gods and goddesses... We have won the war! Everything is finally over... I have gathered you here today so we can discuss some things.” Seth started.

I looked at him sitting atop my father’s throne and my heart swelled with pride. He really looked every inch a king now that he was back to wearing his robes and not anymore his battle gear.

“For the first order of business: I need everyone here for a few years for we shall start the rebuilding of Ilyia. That is the first and foremost thing we should do. All efforts will be towards restoring our home.” Seth declared.

I heard murmurs of assent from the other gods and goddesses in the room. Their eyes even shone with happiness while some had tears of joy after hearing that Ilyia shall be rebuilt.

“Second. I call forward Azrael!” Seth shouted and I tensed beside him.

Was he still going to punish Duncan after everything?

Duncan stepped forward with Lis beside him. “Azrael... You have been found guilty of the same sins as Argyll. And for this you have to be punished.” Seth declared. By now, the whole room has gone still and silent.

The other Gods and Goddesses have also witnessed the time that Duncan chose to fight for us instead of against us. Now, all of us waited with bated breath as Seth decided Duncan’s punishment.

“You are therefore exiled—” Seth began.

“No! My King! Please take into consideration all that he has done for us! If it weren’t for him I’d be dead by now! Please!” I shouted frantically.

Seth lifted a hand and I fell silent. “I have taken it into consideration. Let me finish, my queen.” He said. I nodded and stood straight beside him again as I awaited his decision.

“Due to your actions, you are therefore exiled to the joined Kingdom of Amaranth and Ivaris. For your sentence, you shall act as King in my stead and see to the rebuilding of both Kingdoms for I must remain here. You are to be King until my first heir comes of age and takes over the throne.” Seth declared.

When he finished speaking, I already had tears in my eyes. He looked at me and smiled; it was my favourite smile. My heart jumped inside my chest and more tears flowed. Seth lifted his hand and he intertwined his fingers with mine and squeezed.

Then he turned his head back to Duncan whose expression was now shock. The Ten Gods of Justice all grinned at him including Lis, who stood beside him.

“Anyone have anything to say? Is the sentence acceptable?” Seth asked.

I nodded and I also heard murmurs of assent from the crowd. “It is acceptable.” Duncan replied, his eyes also filled with tears of joy.

“My King, we shall go with him to Amaranth-Ivaris to make sure he does his sentence well!” Rurik shouted.

“Aye, we will!” Brodie said and it was echoed eight more times as all the Ten Gods of Justice vowed their willingness to go with their Captain in this life.

Truly, my heart was close to bursting...

“I’ll come with him too...” Lis declared.

I did not know who was more shocked between Duncan and me after she said those words. My jaw and Duncan’s fell open. Seth reached up from his throne and lightly touched my chin so that I could close my mouth. I closed it with a snap and Seth laughed.

“You will do that?” Duncan asked breathlessly as he looked at Lis with an intense emotion. She nodded to him and a look of understanding passed between the two of them.

And for the first time in a long time, Duncan smiled.

It was not an ordinary smile. For when he smiled, he smiled with his whole heart and his whole being. His body glowed with happiness and I was very happy for him.

“What happens to me after your heir arrives?” Duncan asked.

“You are free from your sentence by then to live out your eternity in the manner you wish. Remember, you have to turn over the throne someday.” Seth repeated.

“Yes. I will turn over the throne.” Duncan replied.

“And I expect you to do a fine job with Amaranth-Ivaris. My queen and I will check in from time to time.”

“I understand.” Duncan replied drily but his eyes betrayed him by mirroring the joy he felt.

“You are dismissed.” He said to Duncan. “Now, I call forth Sylvan!” Seth announced.

Sylvan stepped out from the shadows and went before the throne. Whispers went out from the crowd at seeing him in Ilyia once more.

“For your and your army’s very valuable help in this battle... As a reward, your exile is lifted. The portals are open to you once more. You may now return to Ilyia as you please.” Seth declared.

Sylvan smiled and then bowed. And with that, the entire crowd burst into applause. Sylvan grinned at all of them and then went back to his spot by the pillars after Seth dismissed him.

“And now... Because the threat to Ilyia is over, I ask my queen and the Guardian of the Fountains and the Portals to now open all the portals so that the Gods may go to the other realms and do their duties.” Seth announced.

I nodded and then stepped forward.

I summoned the power of the Guardian within me and then concentrated hard to call out all the Guardians of the Nine Fountains of the Gods.

I took a deep breath and then started calling out the names of all the Nine Fountains.

“Ruadan! Viola! Aerimea! Gorth! Terra! Aislinn! Juno! Fiona! Jorah!”

One by one I called them and they all appeared before me. They knelt on the ground and bowed. They all had silver hair and were wearing the same robe that was made of silver. I heard gasps from the other Gods and Goddesses as the Fountains arrived.

And because they were all together, the room pulsed with a great amount of magic.

“The threat to the Nine Realms has been eliminated. I now order you to open all the portals and share the power of the Fountains once more.” I commanded.

They all lifted their heads and looked at me with their silver eyes.

“Yes, mistress!” they said and then all of them vanished into mist as each of them went back to their own realms to open their portals.

“What now, my King?” I whispered to Seth. He smiled at me and held my hand again. And slowly he lifted it to his lips to kiss the back of my palm. The action sent shivers down my spine.

“And now, we celebrate!” Seth shouted and the crowd went wild.

We all used our combined magic to clean the throne room of thousands of years worth of decay. Before the day was over, the entire palace gleamed again. Seth also summoned the help of Celestians to fix everything.

When night came, everything was spotless. The Banquet Hall was decorated and the enticing smells of food wafted across the hall. The Gods and Goddesses slowly arrived one by one and they were now decked in their most beautiful clothes and jewellery. Some brought their consorts with them who were from the other realms.

And among those was Sylvan.

“Brother, I would like you to meet my wife, my mate, my queen... Aerine.” He said and wrapped his arm around the woman beside him. Seth lifted her hand and kissed it.

“It’s nice to meet you, sister.” He replied. I went to her side and kissed her on the cheeks. She smiled shyly at Seth and me.

“It’s a great pleasure to meet the King and Queen of the Gods.” She whispered.

Seth laughed and then drew me closer to him. “None of that! For now, we’re just brothers and sisters here.” He said to her.

“Yes... Sylvan has told me so much about you! All your battles before and the things you did!” she said excitedly.

Seth blanched. “I would love to hear that someday...” I told her. Seth coughed and shuffled his feet restlessly.

“I don’t think those stories are for your ears, li’eras.” Seth told me. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Aerine would tell me and I would listen to all the gruesome details.” I told him and he lost his color even further.

“I think you’d also like Sylvan and Aerine’s love story.” Seth said.

“But I already know that one! My father told me the story when I was still younger! But I would love to hear it from you Aerine. After you tell me about Aiken and Sylvan before.” I said, emphasizing the word after.

Seth mumbled something I didn’t understand as he ran a hand through his hair nervously.

And this time, it was Sylvan who laughed. “I would love telling you more, Selene!” he said and Seth shot him a glare.

After that, Sylvan and Aerine were swept away with the other Gods and Goddesses who wanted a word with them. I knew they all wanted to congratulate Sylvan on his great army and to welcome him back to Ilyia.

When he was gone, Seth and I were left alone again.

I saw him look at me from head to toe. “Have I told you how beautiful you look today?” he asked.

I looked at one of the gilded mirrors in one of the pillars. Today, I wore a light blue ball gown that was one of his gifts to me when we were still in Ivaris. I also retrieved the sapphires he gave me and wore them all.

“No... I don’t believe you did that yet.” I replied with a smile.

He pulled me to his arms and settled his hands on my waist. “You look very beautiful, my queen.” He whispered softly.

I reached up and touched the collar of his robes.

“And you look handsome, my King.” I told him and he laughed

“I like it that you went back to Ivaris and retrieved all the things I’ve given you.”

“Of course! I can’t leave them behind. They’re special to me.” I replied as we swayed in time with the music.

“We have to go back to my old home. I have more jewellery there that I want to bestow upon you.” He whispered to my ear.

“Alright.” I replied and reached up to place my hands on his shoulders while we twirled and danced in time with the music.

“Vel eras mira... I love you, li’eras. We’ve been through so much and now we’re finally here. Now, we’ll get the life we’ve dreamed about.”

“And what kind of life is that, li’eras?” I asked.

“I’m happy as long as you’re with me. We could both be paupers and I’d still be happy. But in our case, we’re Gods... And I’m a King and you my Queen... The life we’ll have will be filled with more trials, decisions over the Nine Realms, restoring and rebuilding Ilyia and many more. It sounds hard but we’ll get to spend our eternity together... And that is all I could ever ask for...” he replied.

I was stunned speechless at his beautiful words. I just stared at him for a long time and willed my tears not to spill. Lately, it seemed as if all I’ve been doing was crying. Seth smiled and reached over to wipe my tears.

“Do you know how much I love you?” I asked.

“I do, Adrienne... You love me as much as I love you... And I love you so much...”

“Vel eras mira drea.” I whispered and Seth chuckled.

“No, li’eras... I don’t think it’s possible for you to love me more. Why don’t we just call a truce and say we love each other as much as the other?” he suggested.

“Fine.” I replied and we both laughed.

And that night truly was a celebration. It was the first gathering of the Gods in thousands of years. That day also marked the dawn of a new era. Seth said that we were restoring the Dynasty of the Gods.

And that we did...

Seth also said that it was the start of our eternity together. Our life, our love and our reign over Ilyia.

And that we did too...