~Andreia, Moonworld~
Eight coaches, each adorned with the crest of Andreia on their doors, rode into the front yard of the mansion that use to be my home.
The polished surfaces of their exteriors gleamed beautifully in the morning sun, and had beautifully random patterns carved onto their doors, and frames.
These coaches were decorated with the most beautiful fabrics in all of Andreia, and even the horses that pulled these coaches were dressed in colourful fabrics that signified the status of the people in the them.
The vehicles came to a stop in front of the mansion’s entrance, where the priestess of Andreia, and sir Steven stood.
The priestess carried her usual emotionless and unreadable expression on her face, standing like doll that awaited only the goddesses’ command.
Sir Steven on the other hand, had a nervous look on his face.
He was usually a brave knight, ready to face any danger life threw at him, but standing before these carriages carrying men of a class far beyond his, his courage slowly withered.
“Steel yourself, Steven.
I told you, they cannot harm you as long as the goddess is on your side,” The priestess spoke as if sensing the fear within Steven’s heart.
As he heard her voice, Steven furrowed his brows in an attempt to calm himself down.
The men and women who sat in the carriages began stepping out one by one.
The first four carriages carried Dukes who were tasked by the late king with governing the four cities of Andreia.
Two of these Dukes arrived with their Duchesses, and the other two brought escorts that were either soldiers or servants.
“Lord and Lady William, Duke and Duchess of the eastern Andreia, you’re highly welcomed to the royal house,” The priestess said as the first two nobles walked to her and sir Steven, her facial expression remaining unchanged.
The two nobles bowed slightly to the priestess, and Steven bowed back to them, after which, the nobles walked past them and were escorted by guards into the building.
“Lord and Lady Christopher, Duke and Duchess of the Western Andreia, you’re highly welcomed to the royal house,” the priestess said.
The dukes’ brows furrowed as he stared into the priestesses’ eyes.
It was clearly written in the faces of he and his wife that they did not want to be here at all, and were forced to come by the priestess.
Lord Christopher tightened his fist and gritted his teeth, he was about to move a step forward when his wife held back his right hand.
“Please calm down, dear.
You do not want to anger the goddess even more than she already is with the western city,” Lady Christopher said softly.
“You should listen to your wife, attacking the priestess is against the laws of Andreia and would instantly lead to not only your death, but hers as well,” The priestess said with a calm tone.
Her gaze into the duke’s eyes were cold and unwavering, and her words went like a thing needle through his chest.
“My apologies, Priestess,” he softly, reached for his wife’s hand, and they both walked past the priestess and into the building.
“Yes, but his anger shouldn’t be toward me, but to the late king.
Besides, the king’s decision after his battle with Valtoria was for the betterment of al the Andreian cities.
I see no reason why he would harbour hatred towards the royal house,” The priestess responded.
“But…
if you really think about it, he has every right to be upset.
He’s only human after all,” Steven countered with a concerned expression on his face.
“Right, let’s just focus on why we’re here for now.
The matters of the western city can be dealt with after,” The priestess concluded.
She welcomed the next duke; Lord Sander, duke of the Northern city, who arrived at the mansion with a beautiful female escort, and the last Duke; lord Ernest; Duke of the Southern city, who arrived with one of his most trusted guards.
After the dukes had gone into the mansion and taken their places, the doors of the last four carriages opened, and Armoured men stepped out of them.
these men were Generals who commanded entire armies and were in charge of protecting the cities from attack.
They wore differently designed armours, and carried different weapons, some hanging at their backs and others by their waist.
The first general stepped forward, and Steven gulped, his heart beating rapidly.
this knight had a scar across his left eye and looked to be in his early fifties.
He had dark grey hair, black eyes and had a large stature, either because of his armour, or because he had a very muscular body.
The General walked quickly and stopped before the priestess, his metal boots clashing against the cobble stone.
“General Victor, it is an honour to have you join us this fine morning,” the priestess said softly, bowing slightly to him.
General Victor controlled an army based in the Eastern City, and was especially happy to be here even though it wasn’t showing on his face.
“I’m glad you invited me.
I was busy with some other matters, but my subordinates are handling things well in my absence,” General Victor spoke with a bold voice.
After speaking, he turned to sir Steven.
Standing before this man, sir steven looked like a child who had just been birthed.
From his eyes, one could tell that Steven had great respect for the man that stood before him, but it wasn’t just respect that was in his eyes, there was another emotion that Steven had always harboured toward this man since he was a child; fear.
Steven’s brows furrowed and his fists tightened.
He looked directly into the Generals eyes, and replied with a cold tone, “Father.”
The general stared at him for a moment, their gazes getting more and more intense by the second.
The general suddenly burst into laughter and gently slammed his right palm into stevens head.
“Don’t be like that with your old man, we haven’t seen each other in weeks.
The king died on your watch so I guess protecting the castle was a little too big of a job for you,” General Victor said with a bright smile, resting his left arm across stevens shoulders.
“For your information, I and my band of Knights have been protecting the castle very well on our own, and the king was poisoned by his own wife, there’s really nothing we could have done about it,” Steven replied with an annoyed expression.
“Hahaha, I miss you too boy,” Victor uttered.
“What, I never said─” Steven was about to speak when Victor suddenly interrupted.
“You’ve been chosen by the moon goddess to be the next king of Andreia, and personally I don’t think there is a better candidate for the role.
You’ve proven to be a great leader and a brave knight, so be rest assured that I will support you until my last breath.”
Steven smiled.
“Thank you, father.”
”You are welcomed.
I must warn you, though, you may be chosen by the goddess, but be that as it may, you will still have enemies who will fight against you.
All these other generals, and nobles have their eyes on the throne and will do everything in their power to make it theirs.
But, don’t worry too much, with me on your side, everything should be fine,” Victor warned, the smile on his face vanishing completely.
“Should be?” Steven asked worriedly.
“Priestess, it’s almost time to commence the meeting,” one of the guards said to the priestess.
the priestess nodded, then turned back to the other generals and signalled for them to come in.
All the generals and all the Nobles present sat at a round table.
The table was covered in meals of different kinds and different verities of wine, spreading a beautifully delicious aroma into the surrounding air.
Maids came into the meeting hall one by one to serve drinks and meals to the guests in metal goblets and ceramic plates.
After the serving was done, the priestess prayed to the moon goddess, then permitted everyone to eat.
Breakfast lasted only thirty minutes, and once everyone was done eating, the maids came back to clear the table, leaving only the bottles of wine, and the goblets.
“Now that our stomachs are filled and minds are at ease, let the meeting commence,” The priestess declared.