The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 88: Sister

Chapter 88: Sister

Mineah sighed as she stood out on the balcony of her room, the sunset beyond flashing its dying rays onto her skin. It wasn’t as hot as she was used to in Ebodia, but its beauty still stood out to her after all of the hours she had just spent meeting with the rest of the Royal Family.

"What an intriguing sunset," she whispered to herself. "It looks so warm, and yet the cool air almost makes it more like a light than anything else."

Letting herself relax, she allowed herself another sigh as she felt the exhaustion from the previous gathering set in. It had been tiring having to accommodate everyone, but somehow, she managed it without too much trouble. She supposed she could only thank her faithful Shadow Maidens for making sure that nothing would be amiss.

That, and for giving her enough space that she wouldn’t be swamped by all of the people that attended.

"I should give them something nice one of these days," she chuckled to herself. "They’ve done so much for me..."

She let out another sigh as she closed her eyes, letting the cool air wash over her as she marinated in the environment around her. This was nice... simply letting nature do what it was supposed to do...

"Hmm?"

Sensing something, Mineah cracked her eyes open only to hear the flapping of her pet’s telltale wings. It would seem that Nik had returned to her from wherever it was that he was from, and whatever it was that it did, it was visibly preening as it perched itself on the nearest railing in front of her.

"Welcome back," she greeted her pet with a smile. "Found something interesting lately?"

[Interesting isn’t the word I’d use for it,] Nik smugly cawed through their link. [In fact, I’m simply just that amazing.]

Mineah raised an eyebrow at her pet’s words. It seemed very proud of itself for some reason. "What happened?"

[Why, it’s only that a lot of ravens have been vying for the king’s attention these days,] Nik explained himself with a mischievous tone. [Unfortunately for them, they’ve already failed before they even began to try.]

"And why is that?" she humored.

[Do I even have to say that, Master? It’s because I’m the best,] Nik smugly boasted. [I was chosen by the King to guard you, Master. And obviously, being chosen like that means that I was the only one worthy of the task.]

Mineah couldn’t help but chuckle at her pet’s preening. She couldn’t fault it for thinking that way though. Even she could at least attest to her new pet’s smarter-than-normal thinking.

"Of course, you’d think that," she lightly chuckled as she pet her raven. "Not that you don’t deserve the praise."

She warmly smiled as Nik nuzzled against her finger, cuddling its neck up to her hand as she gently stroked its feathers.

Satisfied, she decided to look around and sit on the nearest chair next to her. She let out a small breath as she felt her legs thank her for the reprieve, her back quickly relaxing as she let herself slouch onto the soft leather of her chair.

Absently, she let her thoughts wander once more. From one thought to another, Mineah saw various plans and other random observations rush through her mind before she quickly moved on to the next one. Eventually, however, she remembered a particular piece of news that she had just recently overheard.

"Sister..."

Based on the latest news she got, it would seem Cordon would not easily accept her sister as their new Queen, She was a human, and thus they saw her as being too weak and undeserving of their King. Her big sister Xenia would need to pass the trials inside the Element Forest to prove them wrong, and then win the trial by combat to fight other werewolves until she remained the last one standing.

"I only hope that you’re safe out there, Sister..." she absently mumbled to herself as she stared out at the setting sun. "I know you’re strong, but you have a tendency to overestimate yourself at times."

Mineah shook her head at the amusing memory she just had. She knew just how stubborn her sister could be whenever it came to a challenge. Why, she could even remember watching her flail about during training whenever she got up to her old tricks. Add to that her usual jaunts out with the masses with her disguises, the headache her sister caused to both herself and her family was almost legendary.

She chuckled to herself once more as she imagined Xenia just flailing about yet again, only this time in the water as she trained for whatever challenge she was about to face. Oh, she was sure that her older sister had what it takes to be undefeatable, but getting there was a journey that she could only wish she was available to witness.

"To see you up to your old tricks again," Mineah mused aloud to herself. "I wish I can be there to cheer you on..."

[You sound sad, Master,] Nik suddenly chimed from her grasp. [Is there something wrong?]

"What? Oh, I’m just reminiscing on a few things," she chuckled. "My sister seems to be very busy these days, and I wish I can at least make sure that she won’t get herself into more trouble than she could handle."

[Oh? Then why not send me to her?]

Mineah blinked at the suggestion. Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. "Are you sure? You’ll be parted from me for a fair amount of time if I told you to stay by Sister’s side."

[I’m a big raven now,] Nik smugly reassured her. [I can handle anything that nature throws at me!]

Chuckling, Mineah nodded as she opened her hands up, freeing her pet from her gentle grasp. "Very well. I want you to go to my sister’s side and watch over her," she instructed. "Keep me updated with her progress, and make sure that nothing happens to her if you can help it."

[Leave it to me!]

She smiled as her raven promptly flew up into the air. Watching it disappear into the horizon, Mineah blinked as she noticed the dimming surroundings. It would seem that night had already come, which meant that she had to get some rest for the days ahead.

"I’ll see you soon, Sister," she smiled to herself as she left the balcony. "Of that, I am sure."