4 days later
Calliria's POV
It's been four days since we started our search for Cyran and Diane. We've gotten nowhere in those four days. I released Drayton three days ago, apologising profusely for not believing him. He said it was okay and that he understood, especially since he was only one, other than Corinne and myself, with the combination into not only the cells, but into Cyran's cell. It wasn't confusing as to why I suspected him.
Corinne had taken to training the warriors hand to hand combat every morning. It was a good idea but I didn't like it because I would wake up every morning without her next to me. Whether it was because we were dropping Corey to school or training the warriors, we never saw each other first thing in the mornings. It wasn't what I was use to, especially since we've been waking up next to each other practically everyday since we met.
The council left yesterday, letting me and Corinne know that they were happy with the way we were running things. Like I didn't know that already. Although, I had to thank them because if it wasn't for them, we never would have found out that Diane was a witch and was the one that helped Cyran escape. I still would have been falsely accusing Drayton if it wasn't for them so I owed them a great deal of gratitude.
Right now, I was back at the castle after dropping Corey off at school. It was Friday and it was supposed to be me and Corinne dropping him, but Corinne was up until late last night educating the warriors in weak spots and all that so I left her in bed this morning to get some rest.
When it came to hand to hand combat, Corinne was extremely skilled. I was a better fighter in wolf form and I was very skilled in the use of weapons but hand to hand combat was Corinne's forté. I watched her train the warriors one afternoon and she did not play around. She tested them every day on what they learnt in the previous lesson and if they got a question wrong, the punishment was harsh. One time, one of our warriors got an easy question wrong so the punishment was for him to fight Corinne. It was safe to say that she beat him, bad. He was limping for hours after that, which is saying something because he was a wolf and wolves heal fairly quickly. Although, he didn't get a question wrong after that so he definitely learnt his lesson. I now see where Corinne got her dominance from.
Due to everything that has been going on, me and Corinne haven't really had any time to be intimate. The last time we had sex was four days ago and although it seems like not a long time ago, it was. I'm not saying I'm a sex fiend or anything but when you're used to having sex at least every day, four days felt like a lifetime. I wasn't going to push her though, I knew that when she wanted to, she would and until then, I'm going to keep my mouth closed.
I walked into mine and Corinne's room to see that Corinne wasn't in bed, but the bed wasn't made, letting me know that she was in the bathroom. She always made the bed before she left the room. It was a habit she said that she couldn't shake off. I took my crown off and placed it on the side table before sitting on the bed, leaning back against the headboard. I knew Corinne would kill me for lying on the bed with my shoes on, she hated it when I did that but I just couldn't be bothered to take them off just to put them back on soon anyway.
The bathroom to the left of me opened and Corinne walked out in a towel. I don't think she realised I was in the room though because she dropped the towel just before she got to her underwear drawer. No matter how many times I had explored Corinne's body, I couldn't help but admire it. I let out a low whistle which made her scream in shock and turn to face me, covering what she could of her body with her hands. I chuckled and she let out a small sigh of relief when she realised it was me,
"You almost gave me a heart attack Callie." She exclaimed and I smiled at her,
"My apologies, I just couldn't help but appreciate your body. You know you don't have to cover it up right? I have seen and conquered all of it already." I said with a smirk, making her raise an eyebrow at me,
"So I am a quest to you?" She asked, moving to her underwear drawer, putting on a matching bra and panties.
I looked at her shocked, "What? No! Of course not!"
"You just stated that you have conquered me. You conquer a quest do you not?"
I groaned, "You know that's not what I meant."
She turned to face me again with a smile on her face, "I know it's not, I was only joking." She looked down at my shoes and frowned, "Get your shoes off the bed, you know I hate that."
I lay my head back on the headboard and closed my eyes, "I'm not taking my shoes off Corinne. It takes me forever to get them back on. You insist on me wearing these combat boots and they're hard work to get on and off."
The pressure increased on my waist so I opened my eyes to see that Corinne was now straddling me, only in her bra and panties may I add. I looked down her body slowly as she moved closer to me, hovering above me with her lips just above mine. I unconsciously licked my lips as she lustfully looked into my eyes,
"Can you take your shoes off please?" She asked innocently. I would've had a reply if it wasn't for the fact that her hand was venturing lower and lower down my body. I mentally thanked myself for wearing a belt with my jeans today. That made it harder for what I knew Corinne wanted to do.
She brushed her lips against mine as she somehow managed to manoeuvre her hand into my jeans. I was mentally cursing right now,
"Please?" She asked again. I closed my eyes and nodded,
"Okay. Yes."
She moved her hand and jumped off of me, "Great! Thanks!"
I opened my eyes and glared at her playfully, "You are such a tease."
She smiled and winked at me and she disappeared into our walk-in closet. I shook my head amused and took off my shoes like I said I would, although I knew I would just have to put them back on soon,
"When are you going to train the warriors?" I called out to her,
"I'm not!" She shouted back to me, "I gave them the day off today. They deserved it after the late session last night!"
I nodded although she couldn't see me. I was about to shout out to her again when she walked out of the closet. I growled at her attire. She was only wearing a white vest top and a pair of black shorts but the shorts weren't as long as I wanted them to be,
"Where do you think you are going dressed like that?" I asked, making her look at me confused before looking down at herself confused,
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
I stood up from the bed and walked towards her. She backed all the way up until I had her against the wall. I looked down at her,
"Those shorts are way way too short for my liking Corinne." I ran my hands up her legs until I got to the belt loops on her shorts, pulling her closer to me, making her let out a small gasp,
"You're showing way too much leg and the only time you should be showing this much is when we're alone. When you're underneath me, wrapping them around my waist, withering under my touch, begging for more. Do you understand me?"
She closed her eyes and shivered against me, leaning her head on chest. She eventually nodded,
"I understand." She whispered.
"Good." I said, satisfied with the fact that she didn't fight me on it, like she normally would, "Can you go and change please?"
She nodded and went to move out of my arms when I pulled her back towards me gently. I pouted down at her,
"Leaving your wife without giving her a morning kiss?"
She smiled and gave me a peck on the lips. Removing my fingers from her belt loops, she allowed herself to move from my arms. I smiled at her retreating figure. I still couldn't believe I had someone as amazing as her. I was able to call that beautiful woman my wife and I seriously couldn't thank the Goddess enough.
Corinne walked back out of the closet now wearing black jeans. We nearly matched to the tee today. Corinne had the tendency to dress me now so I was wearing a black vest top, black jeans and black combat boots. I also had my leather jacket on today as it wasn't particularly warm outside. I looked pretty badass if you asked me. I wasn't used to this informal style of attire but I did find it extremely comfortable and Corinne said I looked hot so why not?
Corinne was wearing a white vest top with her black jeans. She also took out her black and white combat boots so I knew she would be wearing those today,
"We match." I stated with a smile on my face and she nodded, an amused look on her face,
"We usually do but we wear the royal colours a lot. I guess we both needed a change today."
I nodded in agreement and she walked up to me, running her hands through my hair,
"You need a trim Callie."
My hair was waist length at the moment. When straightened out, it reached just below my butt. I've always had long hair, ever since I can remember but it's been a while since I've had it cut, hence why it was waist length right now. I haven't really had time to go and have it cut but Corinne loved to run her hands through it, as long as it was. I wonder if Corinne would like my hair short?
"What if I cut it all the way down? Like, short enough so I could gel it?"
She shook her head, "No! Most definitely not! I love your hair long, just not the length it's at now."
I moved my hair over to one shoulder, "What's wrong with the length it's at now?"
"It's too long. Don't get me wrong, I love running my hands through it and tugging it during sex," I smirked at that, she really loved to tug it, "But, there's so much of it. I'd like it even more if it reached just in the middle of your back."
I nodded, "Okay, I'll get it cut before the end of the week."
She smiled, "Thank you."
She gave me a kiss before going to lay down on the bed. I walked over to her and looked down at her, she was so cute,
"I don't plan on doing anything but relaxing until noon, at least." She stated, "Yesterday was tiring."
I picked up a hairband from the side table and tied my hair into a ponytail. I then lay down on the bed next to her,
"I noticed. You went to sleep in a matter of minutes last night."
"I'm sorry about that. I'm also sorry about not taking Corey to school with you this morning, I know Friday is supposed to be the day we take him together."
I shrugged, "It was okay. I knew you were tired so I didn't mind taking him today. He practically ran all the way to school anyway."
She laughed, "I'll give him a month before it wears off, it usually does."
I smiled and nodded in agreement. We turned to face each other and just continued to stare into each others eyes for a while. We didn't speak but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. It was nice actually,
"What do you want to do until noon?" She asked quietly, making me smirk with the current thoughts that were running through my head at that question. I ran a hand down her waist,
"I can think of a few things."
She looked at me amused before moving herself over so that she was straddling me. I was getting a sense of dé ja vu again. She ran her hand up my chest slowly,
"Well, it has been a while."
"One-hundred and five hours to be exact."
She laughed, "You've been counting?"
"Partially." I said with a smile, leaning up to press my lips against hers. She immediately took control and lightly licked my bottom lip. I didn't hesitate to grant her entry.
Usually, as a Queen, I would never allow someone to have control over me or to dominate me but with Corinne is was different. Her dominant side, especially in the bedroom, was such a turn on and I didn't mind submitting to her one bit.
She ran her hands down to my belt and swiftly got it undone. How she managed to do that while kissing me was a mystery to me. Although I will admit, she has very skilled hands.
She rose off of my lap slightly so that she could push my jeans down my legs. I helped her by kicking my jeans off but we never broke away from the kiss. She sat back down on my lap and smirked against my lips. Just as I felt her hook a finger into the side of my panties, there was a knock on the door. I groaned and pulled away from her,
"What?!" I shouted towards whoever was behind the door. Corinne moved off of me and I frustratedly got off of the bed and put my jeans back on as a reply came through the door,
"The royal guards of the mermaid kingdom are awaiting your arrival your majesty."
I did up my belt and made sure I looked presentable before opening the door. He bowed to me,
"Why are they here unannounced?"
"It was last minute." He replied. I stared him down for a while before nodding,
"Alright. Tell them we shall be down in a moment."
He nodded and bowed again before walking off. I closed the door and hit it angrily with my palm,
"All the fucking time!!" I shouted. I don't usually swear. I only did it when I was extremely angry or upset. I was the former. Every time me and Corinne were close to getting somewhere, we got interrupted. I knew we were Queens and we had business to take care of but it seemed to happen more times than usual. I don't remember getting called upon this much before Corinne arrived. I was frustrated, both mentally and sexually and these constant interruptions were not helping me right now, especially after that little scene a minute ago. I was even more frustrated.
I felt Corinne wrap her arms around my waist and she leant her head against my back,
"We'll continue that later, I promise."
I growled and turned around to face her properly, "Do not make a promise if you cannot keep it. Especially one like that."
She took my chin in her hands and looked me directly in the eyes, "I promise you, we will continue later. I bought something the other day and I've been meaning to try it out."
I raised an eyebrow at her, curious as to what she bought, "What is it exactly?" I enquired. She winked at me,
"You'll find out later."
I groaned in anticipation. Corinne was insatiable in bed, even more so when we were role-playing and such, so I was really curious now as to what she had bought. We both sat down on the bed and put on our combat boots. I told you we would be putting them on soon.
Corinne then walked over to both sides of the bed, picking up our crowns.
She placed mine on my head first, adjusting it to her liking before placing hers on. She then took my hand in hers,
"Let's go see what the royal guards want."
I nodded and she pulled me up from the bed. I pressed my lips against hers on the way up and she gently pushed me away, stopping me from taking the kiss any further,
"Later." She said with a smirk. Later could not come quick enough.
We both walked out of the room, downstairs towards the front of castle. Naturally I assumed the guards would be in the meeting room. Everyone got sent there if they wanted to meet with me or Corinne.
When we walked into the meeting room, there were two guards sitting down. They immediately stood up and bowed to us as we entered the room. They stopped bowing once me and Corinne sat down opposite them,
"Your majesties."
I nodded, "I believe you are newly appointed guards to the mermaid kingdom, am I correct?"
They both nodded, "We were promoted last month. I am Kingsley and this here is Vernon."
"I see. I'm sure you know me already but this is my wife, Corinne."
Corinne waved slightly and I smiled at how cute she was. I really loved her, no words could ever express how much I truly loved her.
I cleared my throat, "So, what brings you to our realm?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He slid it over to me on the table. In neat calligraphy there was a single word; Remington,
"King Chalmers and Queen Anastasia are cordially inviting you to the annual Under the Sea Ball."
The name was so ironic. I usually never attended this ball, for matters of my own. It's being held earlier than usual though but the ball is literally held under the sea. Not where we had to find a way to breathe under water but it was more of a city under a dome, underneath the ocean. Like Atlantis.
Chalmers and Anastasia Livingston are the King and Queen of the mermaid world. They rarely come on land, hence why their guards are here but they are among the more peaceful species and try to avoid conflict at all possible costs. They have four children, two sons and two daughters, the sons are twins as well as the daughters. I always used to look up to them when I was younger, wishing to have a relationship like theirs. According to the book of royals, they have been together for fifty two years, married for fifty.
Me and Corinne were technically there already in terms of mating, marriage and children but I knew that deep down, Corinne wanted a biological child. There were ways of doing that and in the distant future, I would make it happen.
I came back to reality, noticing that the guards, as well as Corinne were looking at me for a reply,
"It's earlier than usual." I noted. Kingsley nodded,
"It is. They have moved it forward by three months due to reasons I'm forbidden to discuss."
I nodded and proceeded to open the envelope. I unfolded the paper and placed it in the middle of me and Corinne so that she could read it as well. It read:
The annual ball is a tradition held by many kingdoms across the world. The Under the Sea Ball will be held at Livingston Castle on the 29th May 2015, 7pm sharp. Come dressed accordingly.
We hope you are able to attend,
King Chalmers Livingston & Queen Anastasia Livingston.
I read over the invitation and then looked back up at the two guards, who were waiting patiently for us to finish reading,
"Tell the King and Queen we will be attending."
They smiled, "Excellent," Vernon started, "They will be delighted."
"Is that all?" I asked. They nodded and stood up,
"The King and Queen would also like to offer their assistance in the predicament you seem to have gotten yourself into with the vampires. They would like to discuss it a bit more during the ball. They said to take your time and think about it. Thank you for your time. We will see ourselves out."
They bowed to us both and walked out of the room. I folded the letter back up and put it back into the envelope before sliding it away from me. I sighed and leant back on the chair,
"I hate balls." I stated and she looked at me confused,
"Since when? You said you enjoyed them."
"Don't get me wrong, I love dressing up for balls. The formality of it is what intrigues me, however, when it comes to talking with royals from all over the world about topics I do not care to discuss, that's when I start to hate them."
She smiled, "I see. Well, at least now I can save you from the torture."
I laughed, "That you can. So much for relaxing until noon."
She groaned and placed her head on the table, "Don't remind me. I was so adamant on staying in our room and to top it off, I didn't make the bed. I think I'll go and do it now."
She went to stand up when I pulled her back down, but onto my lap this time,
"Leave it, I'll get one of the maids to make it."
She shook her head, "You know I feel weird about letting other people do things like that for me."
I leant my head on her shoulder, "You are a Queen, I keep telling you, you shouldn't have to do everything for yourself."
"I like to though." She muttered, making me smile,
"I'm aware. Just allow someone else to make the bed this one time"
She sighed, "Okay, fine. Just this once though. What shall we do in the mean time then? The search for Cyran and Diane is still happening. The warriors have a day off and everything seems fairly quiet. The ball is a week away so although we have that to worry about, there isn't much else."
I hummed in agreement, "That is true. I don't really know."
"How about we go through with that fight now? Hand to hand combat, me against you? If you win, you get to use what I bought and if I win, I get to use it."
"I don't know what it is though." I reminded her,
"You'll like it, believe me."
Now I was really curious. More so than before. I gently lifted her off my lap and placed her on the floor,
"Can you fight in jeans?" I asked her and she raised an eyebrow at me amused,
"You're seriously asking me that? I could probably still fight you in a straight jacket."
I laughed, "We shall see about that one."
We both walked out of the room towards the training field. It was completely empty today as all of the warriors had a day off so it was perfect for this. A few people walked past us, intrigued in what we were doing but other than that, there was no one around.
We both stood opposite each other, "Don't go easy on me."
She smirked, "I wasn't planning to."
I smiled and I bowed to her, receiving one back. Neither of us wanted to make the first move, that was clear. I'm not a very patient person though so I decided to make the first move after five minutes of calculating each others moves. I went in for a punch, which she anticipated. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards her,
"Try harder baby." She winked before swiping my feet out from underneath me. As I fell to the ground, I grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her down with me, flipping us over so that she hit the ground before I did. Super speed really came in handy sometimes.
She kicked me off of her making me land a few metres away from her. I growled lowly and stood up, running towards her. I went for a round kick but she ducked and went in to punch me. I side stepped to avoid it before punching her in the stomach. She wasn't able to avoid that one. She took a step back before quickly composing herself and going in for another punch. I caught her wrist in my hand so she used her other hand. I caught that wrist as well so she used that advantage and lifted herself up, kicking me in the chest, forcing me to let go of her wrists.
When I fell to the ground, she tried moving away from me but I grabbed her ankle and dragged her back towards me. She kicked me in the face but I shook the pain away, keeping hold of her ankle and lifting her up. She was upside down right now but she wasn't phased. She grabbed ahold of the bet loops in my jeans and I knew what she was going to do. I knew I had to let go of her ankle or she'd flip me over. I let go and allowed her feet back on the ground but she didn't let go of me. As small as the belt loops were, she managed to use them to flip me over, making me land on my back.
I groaned in pain at the impact and closed my eyes. No doubt Corinne would walk over to me in a minute to check if I was alright.
I was right. I felt her hover over me and her hand caressed my cheek. I took that advantage and opened my eyes, grabbing her wrist and flipping her over me in the process. She groaned in both pain and frustration.
We both stood up and circled each other again. That was practice. She was pissed now and I knew it. She wasn't about to hold back any longer.
We continued fighting each other for around forty-five minutes. Neither of us wanted to back down because both of us wanted to win. This was probably the longest fight I have ever been in. When she said she was talented in hand to hand combat, I never knew she meant this talented. She was hard to beat.
By the end of the fight, we had a whole crowd watching us. Corinne actually beat me in the end though. She used a move that I had specifically taught her. If I knew it was going to backfire on me, I never would have taught it to her. She used all of her force and energy to push me back, making me hit the wall opposite her. Yes. She pushed me that far. I told her that if you focused and channeled enough energy and power, you could push your opponent a great distance. I guess she remembered that.
I think the impact actually made me pass out because one minute I was making impact with the wall and the next minute, water was being thrown over me.
I coughed and sucked in a deep breath, before blinking a few times, letting my surroundings come into focus.
I was surrounded by a crowd and Corinne was directly above me, tears falling down her face. She let out a sigh of relief,
"Thank the Goddess."
I coughed a few more times before sitting up and groaning in pain. My head hurt like hell,
"Wow. It feels like I've been hit by a truck." I said. She looked at me apologetically,
"I'm so sorry baby, I didn't mean to push you that far back. You passed out for about fifteen minutes and you wouldn't wake up, I didn't mean to hurt you that badly I swear!"
More tears fell down her face and I gently wiped them away for her, ignoring the pain in nearly every part of my body,
"It's okay. I said not to go easy on me and you didn't. You won the fight fairly so don't apologise."
She shook her head in disagreement, "I hurt you so bad that you passed out. I feel like such a terrible wife and mate."
I shook my head, disagreeing with her completely. I went to stand up and winced in pain. I could feel her getting even more guilty, which isn't what I wanted. She wrapped her arm around my waist and helped to pull me up to my feet. I took deep breaths and closed my eyes, allowing the pain to pass before I opened them back up again, looking directly into her eyes,
"I know you didn't mean it Corinne. You're stronger than you think. You're not a terrible wife or mate okay? Don't think that. You beat me and proved to me and everyone else that you are an amazing fighter, I will never be able to take that away from you, stop putting yourself down."
She looked at me incredulously, "How are you not the slightest bit angry with me? You passed out Callie! You're in pain right now, I can see it!"
I shrugged, "So what? It was bound to happen." I leant forward so that I could whisper in her ear without anyone else hearing, "I know you'll take care of me later so I can handle the pain. You always know how to make me feel better."
She purred against me, understanding the double meaning behind my words. I leant back and winked at her before turning to face the crowd,
"I would like to present to you your winner! Queen Corinne!"
Everyone gave her a round of applause and bowed to her. I bowed to her as well. She was a truly amazing fighter and she deserved all the credit in the world. I looked back up to see her smiling at everyone and she turned to face me, bowing to me once again.
Then out of nowhere I felt a ring of pain through my head. It was so powerful that I grabbed my head in pain, letting out a shout before dropping to the floor with my eyes closed. It hurt so bad,
"Callie!" Corinne shouted out concerned. I couldn't even reply to her, the pain was so intense. I screamed out in pain before I heard a faint clap come from the distance. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to get rid of the pain, to see Cyran and Diane walk through the crowd. As much pain as I was in right now, I growled at them,
"Now now sister, no need to growl at us." Cyran said. I went to stand up to lunge at them when the pain got worse, ten times worse. I fell back to the ground and felt the tears run down my face at how painful this was. I knew Diane was behind this but I couldn't do anything about it right now and neither could anyone else without mine or Corinne's command,
"I wouldn't try anything if I was you. Diane, you can stop now, I think she's gotten the hint."
The pain stopped immediately in my head and I let out a deep breath of relief. I rubbed my temples slightly and wiped away the tears that had fallen down my face before composing myself and standing up beside Corinne. Corinne took my face in hers and looked up at me worriedly,
"Are you okay now?"
I nodded and gave her a reassuring smile, "I'm fine, I promise."
"Awe, isn't that sweet," Cyran started, "A commoner attending to a Queen. Charming."
I growled at him and Corinne removed her hands from my face so that we could both turn to face them,
"You have the audacity to step foot back onto my kingdom and talk to your Queen in such a manner?!"
Cyran laughed, "She is not my Queen. You are also not my Queen. I will never be led by two dykes."
The crowd growled at him at the use of that word. No one minded mine and Corinne's marriage but when people came and disrespected us in such a way, they didn't like it, especially since there were a few people I know of who were gay within the crowd. That was a low blow for them as well, not just us,
"Your closed mind is why you could never have been King. Why are you here?!"
He shrugged, "To merely give you a warning dear sister. You locked me up for two years and now I'm out for revenge. I could kill you right now but that would be too easy. I'll strike when you least expect it so watch your back. Just know, I'm allied with witches now so I would reevaluate any strategy plan you had going on."
He turned around to leave but stopped midway, "Oh! I almost forgot. King Symmons says hello."
He chuckled and took Diane's hand, walking away from us. As much as I wanted to run after him, I knew I couldn't. The pain in my head earlier was enough to know that I couldn't get anywhere near him when Diane was around. Add to the fact that he was now allied with witches, powerful witches may I add, it looked like we were in a losing battle,
"Why are you not chasing after him?!" Someone shouted out towards me. The crowd agreed and I raised my hand to silence them,
"Unless you haven't noticed or chose not to look, I was controlled by a witch. The pain that rang through my head was unbearable and until we figure out how we can catch him without that happening again, we can't blindly chase after him. Add that to the fact that he is also allied with King Symmons, ask me again why I'm not chasing after him!"
The crowd ducked their heads, "Everyone is dismissed!"
They all bowed and walked off in and around the castle. I let out a frustrated scream and took my hair out of it's ponytail, running my hands through it. Corinne placed her hand on my shoulder,
"Everything will be okay love, you know that good always prevails."
I chuckled, "You and your Disney films Corinne."
She smiled sheepishly, "I can't help it but it's true. Although your parents died in battle, your kingdom was the one who won in the end. Good prevailed then and it will prevail now."
"We'll see."
She nodded and took my hand in hers, leading me into the castle, "Where are we going?"
She led me towards the Hall of Royals, I know because I always avoid this part of the castle,
"We are going to walk through the Hall of Royals right now."
I pulled her to a stop and removed my hand from hers, "You know I don't like going through there! I haven't been through there for two years and I'm not going through there now!"
She sighed and took both of my hands in hers, "The longer you prolong this, the harder it will be. What if Corey asked you one day to go through there? Are you going to deny him that?" I looked away from her knowing that she was right, "You look away from me because you know I speak the truth. Just take a deep breath and we'll walk through there together."
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths before opening them again and nodding to her, letting her know that I was ready to do this.
She smiled reassuringly and released one of my hands but kept hold of my other one. We walked through the hall and I looked from side to side, taking in all of the Kings and Queens that reigned before me. The only time your picture was hung in the Hall of Royals was either if you died or passed the reign onto someone else. The pictures were hung in time order so my parents' pictures would be the last ones in the hall.
The hall was fairly long due to the fact that the wolf kingdom has had a King and Queen for centuries. Me and Corinne were the only same-sex rulers ever to be recorded in history, not just in our kingdom, but in every kingdom around the world. It was unheard of to have two Queens or two Kings in a kingdom but the Goddess chose Corinne for me and I wasn't going to question that.
When we came to my parents' pictures, Corinne pulled me to a stop and I looked up at their pictures. I felt my eyes water at the sight of them. They each had an individual picture but they were both smiling. They looked so happy and seeing their picture just confirmed to me that they were actually gone. They were never coming back. This is why I avoided coming down here for so long. I was clinging onto the tiniest bit of hope that maybe they weren't really dead, even after two and half years.
I walked up to my dads picture first. I ran a finger over his gold plaque; King Carlyle Tobias Remington. 2nd September 1963 - 11th February 2013.
I then moved onto my mums picture and ran a finger over her plaque; Queen Callystah Rebecca Remington. 28th October 1965 - 11th February 2013.
I closed my eyes and allowed the tears to fall. Corinne rubbed her hand up and down my back, trying to keep me calm,
"Just let it all out baby." She said and I broke down. I slid down to the floor and put my head in my hands. It's been a very long time since I've cried like this but it needed to happen. I needed to let out all the emotion that I had kept suppressed over the years. I've spent the last two and a half years putting on a mask for everyone when all I really wanted to do was sit in a corner and cry. This is what I wanted to do most of the time and now I was finally doing it.
I think I spent at least ten minutes crying. Corinne sat next to me the whole time in silence. I loved her for that.
I lifted my head up and wiped away the last few tears that had fallen from my eyes. I stood up onto my feet and turned to face the pictures again,
"I think it's time I finally said goodbye." I said. Yes, I went to their funeral but I never actually said goodbye to them. I didn't want to let them go but I think I'm ready to do that now. I needed to do it to be able to truly move on.
Corinne nodded and smiled reassuringly. I raised the tips of my fingers to my lips before placing them on my dads picture,
"Goodbye daddy."
I then did the same thing with my mums, raising the tips of my fingers to my lips before placing them on her picture,
"Goodbye mummy."
I wiped away a stray tear that had fallen down my face before smiling to myself and turning to face Corinne. She got the hint. She took my hand in hers and we started to walk back through the hall. I took a final glance at my parents' pictures and smiled before turning my attention to what was in front of me.
It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders after doing that. I finally said my goodbyes and now I could let them go, knowing that they're in a better place. I could finally move on.