The Blood King's Bride
Chapter Seventy Eight

The Blood Kingdom.

The king's castle...

Elena made her way to Calhoun's study. She gently knocked on his door when she

arrived, waiting for his command to come in. Once that happened, she gently opened the door, entering inside.

She was greeted by the sight of Calhoun pacing. He was dressed formally in what seemed

to be a traditional suit, and the attire made him more handsome. He turned to look at her, then paused once he focused on her form.

Blushing, she removed her eyes from his. "We have to get going. Your parents are

probably waiting for us."

He remained silent, then began strolling towards her.

"You are beautiful." He said once he stood next to her. He placed his hands on her chin,

dragging them up to see his face. She looked at him a bit embarrassed, but his total concentration

was on how the beautiful girl was about to be his.

Mine was what he thought.

He slowly brought his head down to hers, then gently brushed his lips against hers. He

repeated the action before finally conceding and kissing her deeply.

Elena's hands automatically came over him, dragging him closer to her. Calhoun placed

his free hand on her back, urging her closer to him.

They went at it for a while before Elena had to break it.

"We have a meeting with your parents, remember?" she said teasingly. Calhoun looked at

her with smoky eyes, inwardly trying to get himself.

"You're beautiful." He said, causing Elena to laugh out loud.

"I know. You have said that already, so many times." She replied, grinning. "Thank you.

Now let's go meet your parents." She ran her hands down his attire, unconsciously arranging it for him.

"You sure you are not mad at the fact that I pushed this early?"

Smoothing out a wrinkle by his shoulder, she replied,

"Oh I was, trust me. But I think your kiss handled it."

"Well then, if that is the case-" he said, slowly leaning down to her.

"Hey!" she said, gently slapping his shoulder. "Now is not the time."

She straightened his collar then moved away from him.

"Let's go meet them."

The meeting was sectioned to happen at the family dinner table. Once they entered the living room, they saw the past king and the Royal mother having a discussion.

"You both are quite early," Calhoun said, looking at them suspiciously.

"Well, you can't blame us for your tardiness." His mother said.

"Unlike you who wishes to arrive anytime you want, we also have things to oversee after this."

Elena's hands were drenched in sweat. She was lost between apologizing to her or simply keeping quiet.

Noticing the nervous energy slowly beginning to surround Elena, Calhoun gave them a sharp look.

"Father, Mother, my bride Elena." He said, introducing her as he gently nudged her

forward. Elena bowed to them, totally courteous in her courtesy.

"It's nice to meet you, your majesties." She said, making her voice as calm as possible

even if she was terrified. The queen gave her a shrewd look while the past king merely grunted.

Not knowing what else to do, she turned to face Calhoun, who led her to her seat right in front of him, just opposite his.

The servants walked in with a tray filled with food and started to lay them on the table. Elena could recognize some of the servants. She wondered if they were shocked to see her sharing the same table with not only the king but his royal family.

"Elena," the queen started after a while. The table was filled with an awkward silence

after the servants were done sharing the food. She had been expecting Calhoun to bring up a topic, but he seemed not to know what to do. Elena suspected if it was a result of nervousness or because that was the way he simply was.

"My queen." Elena replied, turning to face her though she remained bowing in reverence. "In the blood kingdom, we look at people in the face." The queen said softly, soft enough for Elena to understand that it was a rebuke.

"I apologize." She said calmly, slowly raising her head to face the queen. Under the table, she was squeezing her hands out of nervousness.

She didn't want to mess it up.

"Our son told us that you are a princess," the queen continued. "What is a princess like you doing in a land such as ours?"

She reflexively glanced at Calhoun before looking back at the queen again.

"I was on my way back to my kingdom when I was accosted by some men who called themselves Warriors of the blood king.

"You were kidnapped?" the queen said, widening her eyes.

"Yes, your Majesty." She said, nodding her head slowly.

"When I arrived in the kingdom, my friends and I were rescued by the real warriors of the

blood kingdom. That was how we found out that there were factions of people who went against

the king's laws and sought for slaves, kidnapping and selling them to those who would buy."

"Your friend is the revered Balaksa. Have you always known about that?"

"No, your Majesty." Elena replied, wishing for her heart to remain still.

"I found out just at about the same time as others." The table became silent again, filled

with the clicking and clanging of utensils against ceramic plates.

"Calhoun tells me that you are an excellent sword fighter." The king spoke for the first

time since their dinner began.

"I'm a good fighter, my Lord." Elena said humbly.

"Why does a lady such as you learn to fight?" the queen asked, cutting in.

"I have dreams I wish to achieve, my lady." She replied, her eyes hardening slightly.

"And what would that be?" the royal mother pressed.

"Mother," Calhoun cut in before Elena could reply.

"Can we talk of other things except fighting? I think we already have experienced enough of that."

The queen merely grunted.

"Do you have other skills apart from fighting then?" the queen asked.

"I can cook." She answered shyly. The queen raised her eyes in mild surprise.

"Really? That is good." She said, taking in a spoonful of her food. "I don't know if you

have noticed, but since Calhoun returned he had not been eating well. Perhaps you can make him

eat better. A king can't rule without his strength."

Elena turned to look at Calhoun and saw him looking at her mischievously. Before she

could react, he had already turned to his mother.

"Oh, there is a reason I haven't been eating well." He said, his smile sly.

His mother looked at him, now curious. "Oh really? And that would be?"

He grinned at Elena again. "She is the reason. From the first time I tasted her food, I have

been addicted. I'll say the same goes out for whoever tastes her food."

The queen turned her glance back to Elena, and the king stared at her curiously.

"So you are that good a cook?" she questioned. Elena blushed, bowing her head.

"I'd love to taste your cooking. Tomorrow perhaps, if it's possible for you." She looked up quickly. "Oh, I have no problem, my lady. I'll do what pleases you." The queen nodded her head, satisfied with her answer. Their dinner continued with the

past king and his wife prodding Elena with questions. At the same time, Calhoun helped remove her from situations she didn't feel comfortable answering while also boasting about her. After a while, she got pleased with them and could carry out a conversation with them smoothly. After the dinner, the servants moved forward to clear the dishes. Elena sat, her nerves partially calm as she watched the maids pick up after her.

"I have to admit, I enjoyed the dinner, dear Elena." The queen said. Immediately, she stood, her husband following her along.

"I'll take my leave now. Looking forward to tasting your food tomorrow." With a final

royal sweep of her gown, the queen moved out of the dinner table, following her husband's trail.

Finally, only she and Calhoun were left in the vast dining room.

Elena quickly released a heavy breath. "That was intense." Calhoun grinned, moving

from here he was to where she sat.

"You handled it well. You didn't look like you were about to faint from lack of air.

Really." He teased when she hit him on his shoulder.

"Oh, I wonder what they would be thinking about me now." She said, worried.

"Don't worry. They loved you." He said, removing a tendril of hair that had fallen off her face. "And if they don't, you would surely win their hearts with your cooking." "Oh stop Calhoun." Elena said, slightly annoyed. "You are not making this any easier." Calhoun laughed loudly.

"Trust me. I know my parents. They were having this sick fun just watching you sweat where you sat."

Elena's eyes widened, the horror shining through her eyes.

"Was I that obvious?" She said, her voice small.

"Don't fret." Calhoun said, smiling softly as he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her head.

"You were perfect."

After Calhoun escorted Elena back to her room, he returned to his study and saw both his parents waiting for him. He wasn't surprised at their presence there as he had already expected

them.

He quietly closed the door and took the only empty seat in the room. His mother sat

behind his desk while his father stood behind her.

They all stared at themselves for a while, trying to gauge the other's reaction when immediately, the queen grinned.

"I love her. She is perfect."

"You sure were having fun teasing her." Calhoun said drily.

"Oh please." His mother replied, rolling her eyes. "What's the point of having a daughter

in law if I can't tease her?" she said, jerking her head towards her husband.

"Ask him what I went through in the hands of his mother. I'm a kind goddess compared to her." She said, almost snarling.

"Now, now dear, let's not talk about dear mama like that." Calhoun's father said, gently patting his wife's back. The queen growled at her husband.

Calhoun chuckled. "Elena is nervous as hell now. But I assure you, wait until you both taste her food. You won't be as smug as you are now."

"Yeah. We'll see till then." She said, assuming a stuck-up pose.

"On a more serious note," his father said after some time had passed in silence.

"We need to start preparing for the binding wedding. Your bride needs to be of a strong

mind to be able to get through with it. If she wishes to be the blood queen, she cannot, should not

get nervous. Our powerful country needs a powerful queen."

Calhoun nodded, his expression serious. "Elena would be a powerful queen. You can

count on it."

Back in her room, Elena lay on the bed with Forest and Elion flanking by her side.

"So, it went well?" Elion asked. Elena simply nodded her head.

"I was nervous as hell, but surprisingly it went well."

"That's good, right? What's with the face then?" Forest said.

"The queen wants me to cook the dinner for tomorrow."

"Is that a bad thing? I mean, you are pretty skilled in that area, right?" Elion asked.

"It's not a bad thing, it's a horrible thing!" Forest exclaimed, standing up. At least, Elena

thought, she had someone who understood her.

"What's so horrible about it?" Elion asked, genuinely confused.

"It's different when you are cooking for strangers than your soon to be in-laws." Forest said, now pacing. "What if they don't like it? If it were strangers, the worse that could happen if that were the case would be to refund their money back to them. But these are your in-laws. They aren't just any type of people. Oh, God! You have to give them your best!" he quickly sat back

on the bed, holding on to Elena's hand with fierce determination etched on his face. "Don't worry. I'll support you."

Elena felt that Forest was more scared for her than she was.

"You both shouldn't worry." Elion said, chuckling. "At the end of the day, it would turn

out to be fine."