2-040, See the New KING

Mihai blushed as she sheepishly bowed, the woman never learning how to take such adoration easily. 

Her gold and chrysolite crown glittered with flashes of blinding diamond white, sapphire blue, ruby red, and jade green, radiating the woman’s face so that it appeared to emit its own divine glow.  And the iridescence of the woman’s silken satin gown, with its woven, purple lace and kingly, royal-purple flowing cape gave the impression that one the Cherubs had arrived from the outer-worlds to gather with them.

For the longest time, the crowd, including Ardon, stood transfixed, their breathing of silent excitement being the only sound filling the chambers.  Eventually, with a great deal of effort, they began to queue up to offer welcome to the new king.  As with the others, Ardon found himself shuffling along to get into the long receiving line so that he, too, could offer up his salutations, a decision he was quickly going to regret.

 How he managed to do it Ardon never could quite figure out, but Zadar had wiggled his way past the crowd and was the first to gather Mihai’s attention.  He, unlike his more reserved brethren, swooped down into a graceful bow while grasping the woman’s hand up in his.  Still bowing, he looked up and into Mihai’s eyes, uttered sweet salutations, and then kissed her hand.  Mihai blushed again, thanking Zadar for his tender kindnesses.  Zadar then stood up and advanced his attention upon Mihai’s escort, demonstrating an equal affection for her, setting the precedent for all the others to follow.

It was when Zadar turned his attention away from Mihai that Ardon noticed the woman’s escort.  His face paled as he groaned silently within.  ‘That woman!  Why her?  Why tonight?  What deviltry has delivered her to this doorstep this eve?  And why was she placed as the King’s escort on this important night?’  And worse, he wondered why the fates had placed him in such a dangerous place at this moment.  There was no escape, not so close to the front of the receiving line.  He must suffer and endure whatever indignities were to be heaped upon him, hoping only for indignities.

One after another, Mihai passed along the line, the men courteously following along in Zadar’s stead, the women bending in a curtsy and then tenderly kissing Mihai on the lips.  This was followed by offering the same salutation to Mihai’s escort, one RachelOchranNohah, an acquired name, RachelOchlah, meaning ‘little charming ewe’, being her birth name.  She preferred to be called ‘DarlaUmehahAstrni’ or ‘Darla’, she never offering a reason why.  Few outside the military ranks knew this woman, and the few who did cared little to be in her close company.  For many of them it was most disconcerting to see her here… and with Mihai.  So it was, for many this formal recognition of Darla was little more than protocol.  Still, there were some in the crowd whose love and care for this girl was real and genuine.

Enjoy other posts: 

Prologue,

Destiny's Road 1-001, 1-002, 1-003, 1-004, 1-005, 1-006, 1-007, 1-008, 1-009,

1-010, 1-011, 1-012, 1-013, 1-014, 1-015, 1-016, 1-017, 1-018, 1-019, 1-020,

1-021, 1-022, 1-023, 1-024 & 1-025  

Of Councils Great and Small 2-026, 2-027, 2-028, 2-029, 2-030, 2-031, 

2-032, 2-033, 2-034, 2-035, 2-036, 2-037, 2-038, 2-039, 2-040, 2-041, 2-042, 
2-043, 2-044, 2-045, 2-046, 2-047, 2-048, 2-049 & 2-050 

Legend's Heroes 3-051, 3-052, 3-053, 3-054, 3-055, 3-056, 3-057, 3-058,

3-059, 3-060, 3-061, 3-062, 3-063, 3-064, 3-065, 3-066, 3-067, 3-068, 3-069,

3-070, 3-071, 3-072, 3-073, 3-074 & 3-075

Forges of Hell 4-076, 4-077, 4-078, 4-079, 4-080, 4-081, 4-082, 4-083, 4-084,
4-085, 4-086, 4-087, 4-088, 4-089, 4-090, 4-091, 4-092, 4-093, 4-094, 4-095,
4-096, 4-097, 4-098, 4-099 & 4-100

If you desire to read more without waiting please enjoy finding find your own book at:

Amazon.com; Smashwords.com; 

Diesel-Ebooks.com, BN.com; ebookstore.sony.com