"U-uhm," Elena muttered, a little startled by what the man had just said. "W-what do you mean?"
The man did not say a word at first as he kept glancing at Elena like she had grown two horns. Then he turned to King Killian and suddenly, he dropped to the ground on his butt, the look on his face was full of terror and surprise. He pointed at King Killian. "Y-you both are supposed to be dead. Y-your love is forbidden."
Before Elena could understand what was going on, the man rose to his feet and then scurried away, yelling, "Calamity has fallen upon this kingdom! We must all evacuate from this land!"
He kept crying and yelling and then, the strangest thing happened.
The man ran straight into the fire! Of course, he instantly caught on fire and only stopped yelling when his body was fully disfigured. Right there and then, the man got burnt to ashes.
Elena gasped, covering her mouth with both hands in shock as tears welled up in her eyes. She could not believe what had just happened. Her whole body grew cold while her legs remained rooted to the ground.
Piercing cries and yells filled the air after the people witnessed what had just happened. The children couldn't stop crying their eyes out. Some adults even fainted while the others shifted into their wolf form and ran away. Once again, the festival was ruined because of King Killian's presence.
Speaking of King Killian, the man was ever so pleased with what had just happened. If he knew how to smile, he would have done so. Instead, his face remained firm like stone. Throughout the night, the man's death was the only entertainment he got.
"W-what just happened?" Elena muttered to herself still in shock. Her body had started trembling now.
"That's papa see." A young girl next to Elena said, replying to Elena's unasked question. "He goes by that name because he claims to see things from the future and past." The girl added, her voice a bit shaky even as she tried to keep it firm. She was horrified but was trying to maintain her cool.
The girl spared a glance at Elena before continuing. "While others called him a drunk, I believed in everything he said." She sniffled a snot as tears rolled down her eyes. She quickly wiped them with the back of her palm. "No one knows where he came from or if he has a family, but in the past five years he has never missed coming to this festival."
The cries started getting intense, her body shaking violently. "I-I don't know why he would just kill himself."
Elena's heart ached for the young girl, and she wanted to provide a little comfort by hugging her, but King Killian suddenly said, "Come on, Elena, that's enough. We came for a festival, not to listen to some tales under the moonlight." His tone screamed boredom.
Elena's jaw dropped and the girl scurried away, still crying. She slowly turned to face Killian. "D-do you really not care about what had just happened?"
"Of course not Elena, as a matter of fact, what happened made my night." King Killian replied truthfully, shrugging his shoulders. "Now, if you don't mind, let's go home. I'm tired and need to rest. The cries and wails are making me sick." He added, stretching his hand for Elena to take.
Why was Elena even surprised? The man she married enjoyed death! Did she really think he'd pity a stranger who jumped into the fire because he got terrified by them? One could say the couple were the reason for the man's death, and King Killian didn't care?
Heck!
As much as Elena did not want to take King Killian's hand, she could not dare deny his offer. Grudgingly, she took her husband's hand, allowing him to lead her out of the forest.
The ride back home was quiet as neither said a word to the other. While Elena was thinking about the words that came out of the man's mouth and what it could mean, King Killian was calm. Very calm.
He really couldn't care less.
The rest of the night went by so fast and within a blink of an eye, it was morning. Elena did not even notice when King Killian left for a council meeting until she woke up and saw the note he left for her.
She had not even regained herself that morning when a bubbly Irene walked into the room. "Good morning my Queen, your early morning tea is ready!"
"Irene, since when did I start having early morning tea?" Elena's voice was groggy with sleep as she asked. She rose from the bed and shoved her feet into her flip-flops before walking over to the vanity table.
"Well, I figured you should start today, my Queen," Irene replied before stretching the tea forward. "This is very good for the skin my Queen, I'm very sure you'd like it."
Elena heaved a sigh before taking the cup of tea from Irene. There was no point arguing with her anyway, guess she'd have to add morning teas to her schedule. "Thank you, Irene," Elena said, returning the cup after gulping down the content.
After taking care of her hair, Elena rose and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. "What's my schedule for today?"
"Uhm, since you're still newly married, there's nothing for you to do. However, we can take this as an opportunity to teach you how to read." Irene reported. "But, I think it's best we visited the garden first for the early morning sunlight!" She added, smiling.
"Hmmm. Okay." Elena voiced, before focusing her gaze on her reflection as she brushed her mouth, after which she went to have her bath while listening to Irene's stories.
Meanwhile, outside the room stood warrior Ruko, the guard who had a thing for the Queen. He was excited because he now finally had a chance to be close to the Queen.
After getting a guard to switch positions with him, he finally got to guard the Queen instead of standing guard outside.
There were over five guards guarding the hallway at that moment and warrior Ruko was the guard closest to the Queen's room. What a perfect setup for him. A pleasant morning!
It was even more pleasant because he was the one who had planted the idea of going to the garden in Irene's head.
Outside, he could distract Irene and then easily make his first move. "Oh, my lovely Queen." Warrior Ruko thought, smiling as he recalled his plan for the day.
If everything went as planned, he could have his way with Elena and the King would never find out!