Chapter • 7

                                                                  Zylith.

The entire venue was suddenly stuck with pin-drop silence. And I couldn't blame them, even I would be struck by lightning if I heard my own words. I was literally calling the most powerful man of this nation an impostor to his face. Only, I realized my blunder a little too late.

Yes. I can totally feel it. Me and fish are so alike. We both get into trouble when we open our mouths. They get hooked to the fishing pool and I get screwed.

Lord Gilbert besides me had an expression of utter terror. His stance held a sense of wild tremor and shiny drops of sweat decorated his broad forehead. Oh! And he looked at me like I'd just slaughtered his entirely family.

I turned away from Lord Gilbert in fright and stared at fake mummy brat while he stared back at me with comparable intensity. Telling me I was dead meat with his foreboding killer aura.

"...Lady Elizabeth, I know how much you enjoy humor, but I must point out that it is not such a great time for you to play your pranks around my Lady." He chuckled softly and in that moment I knew. I knew this was not Reuben's brother but Reuben himself that lay disguised under that mummy attire (And for your info, his chuckle was very sinister up close). I don't know how I mistook his foreboding aura and dark sense of humor for his little brother. A fool, I'm a real fool sometimes.

"...Aaa...ahahahaha..Yeah, I'm sorry. Haha...it's such an auspicious day that I just couldn't stop myself from being giddy and naughty you know. Ahahaha...I..I beg your pardon your Majesty. I seem to have gotten carried away." I tactically wiped the tensed bead of sweat droplets that ran down the side of my face.

"No worries my lady, but please refrain from causing me unnecessary excitement from here after today." His tone was honey-dyed, and I could tell he was smiling while he playfully chided me, but behind that playfulness I knew he was warning me to refrain my actions if I didn't want to die a bloody death.

I didn't even have the courage to muttered out a yes under his sinister aura and hence just settled with a weak nod.

The fear-stricken priest beside us was jolted awake by Lord Gilbert to start his marriage chants again and after much drama we had our 'We Dos' done with.

"Now please...Your Majesty first. Proceed to the sacred room of the pristine Night." The priest uttered in a monotonous manner and suddenly Reuben took my hand and we proceeded to the Sacred room of the Pristine Night, a wake of Royal crowd behind our trail.

Please, don't get me wrong. I pretty much guessed what this Sacred room would be all about, but did the whole freaking crowd of guests had to go visit our honeymoon suite with us?

My thoughts were jumbled, and I was like a mindless zombie following behind my Royal groom. We finally reached this Sacred room and the priest started blessing the room. The bed in particular if I might add.

Other than Reuben, me, Lord Gilbert and the priest no one dared entered this private quarter of the King and all the wedding guests bore witness from outside the room.

I looked at the grand mahogany bed which looked like a gem-entrenched casket of softness and looked up at the chanting old priest who was very vigorously blabbering blessed words of fertility, and then turned around to look at the expecting regal crowd and felt very embarrassed under their knowing eyes.

The rituals of this country were so weird, why the hell would we need to show outsiders the bed on which we would supposedly to play hanky panky. Didn't anyone find it uncouth and unorthodox? Thinking about what everyone was thinking of inside their heads while looking at us and at the bed, made me visibly blush up like a squashed tomato. Was having a dirty mind an innate instinct of humans no matter the era?

"A penny for your thoughts? A hundred gold droubles says they are lewd." I heard an abrupt whisper in my ears and suddenly felt myself blushing all the more. I was pretty sure, now my face looked like a freaking monkey-bottom. Crimson and ugly.

I looked at Reuben, exhibiting a nasty look to make him understand what I was thinking about at the moment. Imagining myself screeching all the colorful words available in my dictionary into his ears. Ah! The satisfaction.

But I couldn't really scream into his face. He was the king for goodness sake. Even if he granted me permission to speak my mind, I had to practice some restrains, or I feared I wouldn't know when my head will end up rolling on the ground. So for now, all I could ever do was glare or show my displeasure by making a face.

He snickered in response to my glare and said, "I don't mind you thinking about lascivious thoughts. Do tell me all about your imaginations tonight, I promise I shall fulfil them all to the best of my ability."

'To the best of his ability!?' I widened my eyes to the point where they felt like they would fall out of my sockets and my train of thoughts derailed to leave no survivors.

I looked at his mirthful face like he was the Devil incarnate and realized, I'm at a place in life where peace was my first priority. So, I had to deliberately avoid certain people, like my supposed fake husband to protect my mental, emotional and spiritual state.

'Our Father, who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom comes; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven as long as I'm granted the patience to brave through this shit storm of ridiculousness; for I'm afraid if my patience runs thin I will end up bitch-slapping some perverts so hard that even Google won't be able to find them. Amen.'

I kept chanting my self-conceived prayer of endurance because I feared if I did not, I would end up saying and doing things which could arbitrarily end my life in a jiffy.

"You sure ignoring and pretending to have not heard my words is the right way to go?" I heard his low mutter and a cold chill ran down my spine.

"How dare I Your Majesty?" I swallowed hard as I whispered back, to which he only chuckled.

"Or are you trying to avoid what's to come tonight?" He muttered in an ambiguous tone and I visibly turned a deeper shade of scarlet at his obvious indication.

'This asshole deserves a handjob from Edward Scissorhands.' I grumbled inside my head but kept a straight face on the outside.

He sensed my obvious silence and knew I wasn't going to respond to his lecherous suggestions and let slip a slight laughter to demonstration his amusement.

I felt like knocking his head off with the nearest earthen vase but held back my murderous intents and acted as if he was air.

After blessing the God forbidden bed for, I don't know how long, the high priest headed towards us and bowed his head once saying, "Your Majesties." To which Reuben slightly nodded his head, and the priest continued, "The Royal bed of Fertility has been blessed with a fecundity prayer of our holy Goddess Alzyreil. Hoping and praying for a harmonious union of Your Royal Highnesses, and to bare the fruitfulness of this union as soon as possible; I, grand high priest Lombart Dorialus appeal thy Goddess to besiege this Royal couple with eternal blessings." The high priest recited in his wabbly chafing voice.

Reuben held my hand and bowed a little towards the high priest and indirectly urged me to follow suit, to which I did. Then he looked towards the grappling crowd at the door and gave them a little bow and at last he walked me towards the balcony of the splendid room and there, under the thousand spirited eyes of the general public beneath the castle, we bowed once to them.

Then he spoke in a very clear and crisp voice, "Hear, my beloved subjects. My deepest gratitude to you for attending my wedding. I am deeply moved and thankful for all your blessings. And now, I present to you, my first Consort and the first Queen of Reveldron, Queen Elizabeth Rosalinda Ronales the Regalious. Rejoice!"

His voice had a majestic sensation to it which stirred up the public quiet well, and the very next minute there were loud cheers and hollers wishing well wishes and felicitations towards us in hoards.

I was taken aback by such an astounding salutation from the citizens of Reveldron and felt really out of place for the very first time. Before I came here, I was just a normal everyday teenage student who didn't know much other than being sarcastic and ditsy. Hell, I don't think I even did anything productive for the society other than bullying the bullies in school. And now, even though fake, I had to literally shoulder the responsibilities of a Queen of an entire country. Imagine the irony. Looking at the happy and expectant faces of the people cheering for me suddenly got me cold feet. I was just an ordinary person trying to survive, how the hell did I end up in a situation such as this?

I felt a cold sweat run down my back and gulped hard, the gravity of the situation finally sinking in.

What the hell was I to do from now on!!!

"Calm your nerves and smile." I heard a low whisper from behind me and the hand on my waist palpably tightened. Never in the history of calming down has anyone calmed down by being told to calm down.

I looked at Reuben in a dubious manner and then looked back at the cheering crowd, trying to ease my nerves but they were my nerves. Where on earth did they ever learnt to calm down.

I was visibly crying without tears now. Forget smiling, I was positive I looked like the female version of Shrek, green with anxiety and extremely ugly.

And then I felt Reuben abruptly pinching the side of my waist while he muttered to me, "I told you to calm down and smile and you subsequently turn into a green fiend the very next minute? Where's the logic in that?"

"I... I, it's too much pressure okay! I can't calm down." I whisper-screeched back. Calm down, my aunt! I think I was rather having a panic attack under the pressure.

"Oh? But you do know you have to appear in public ever so often from here after, right?" He said in a frisky tone. Why did I feel he was taking pleasure in my misery.

"I know okay. Please don't stress me anymore than I already am Your Majesty." I yapped in exasperation.

"Oh no. I would never, My Queen." I felt him smiling at my predicament and my irritation grew ten folds.

"Are you amused with this situation Your Highness?" I spat out in ire. I couldn't believe he was such an ass to drive pleasure out of my plight.

"How could I, fake Lizzy." He muttered back. "Hear me, I have an idea. I think I can make you relax your nerves in an instant." To which I raised a brow.

"Oh? How's that?"

"Like this." He abruptly grabbed me and planted his cold lips on mine like it was the most natural thing to do. In front of everyone.

"..........." I've decided. I'm digging a hole in the palace yard to bury this freak.

I felt like I was in season 5 of my life and the writers were just making ridiculous shit happen to keep it interesting.

Yeah. Those were the thoughts circulating inside my mind as I was being kissed the hell out in front of every being of Reveldron. Not a great feeling, I tell you. Not that the guy didn't know how to kiss but being kissed by a stranger, much less a person who was intent on taking my life just the other day was very.... uncomfortable. I may look wild, but I was in no way cool with PDAing with a stranger of medieval times. What can I say, I was an innocent soul that way.

I consistently tried to pull back or push him off, but I was unsuccessful. Apparently, the guy seemed to have realize my discomfort and was in turn kissing me more fiercely. He arms were around my waist in a vice like grip and I found it impossible to break free of his grasp. I was cursing God for being a sexist and bestowing strength only to the masculine gender as I vaguely felt he was enjoying this farce way too much as he deepened the kiss.

The moment he put his slimy tongue into my mouth, I hit my bottom-line. How was I Zylith Sanders, if I wasn't to use my teeth to stop the invasion of my mouth. I still fuzzily remember biting off my bully second cousin's nose off when he tried to intimidate me with his glare and his wide scruffy face; and biting Lora Jerrell's pointy index finger off in fourth grade when she tried to pin me as the culprit who pushed her in the cafeteria; oh, and I could never forget the taste of the blood of those bastard slave traffickers when I had a bite of their flesh. So, I was basically a pro. I was a maven at biting, so expert that I feared I would be retrogressing into a cannibal very soon.

Hence, I looked at his serene face with sneering eyes as if disparaging him with a tone that said, 'Buckle up you pea-brained Kermit, you just flipped my bitchswitch on' and bit his tongue off with all my might, seemingly trying to rip it off his mouth.

He groaned in pain and I subsequently felt an abrupt sense of pleasure in the plight of his desolation. But the very next second, I felt a pain very similar to my tongue being dismembered off mercilessly. The son of a bi*ch bit me in retort.

My face crumpled into a foul countenance and I felt helpless in the clutches of this profane brute.

Keep calm and hold in your grudges Zylith. This too shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.

To be Continued........