Chapter 43
The preparations had paid off after months, and even then Ralphine still hoped and prayed that nothing would happen on her D–day. Unlike the other mates who accepted each other and got mated the next day, her bond with Miroslav was unique in its own way. The king had taken his time to let her settle in. It wasn’t the easiest but with the trauma he found her with she had settled in well. She was his pride and the pride of Asmoria even though she was not crowned yet.
“Your Highness, how do you feel about the day?” Kara asked excitedly as she watched Ralph stand in front of the mirrors. She was scared, but Kara had already gotten used to those and found them appealing as they were scars of battle. A battle that Ralphine had fought and won. It took a lot of courage to make the decision she had made all those months ago and if she had to do it again, she would. Koslov was never home for her after the death of her parents and she wanted a fresh start.
“It’s just a normal day, Kara. No need to be excited about it,” Ralphine said even though she was lying about it. She knew that this was the most important of days, not just for her but also for the Lycans. This was the craziest or the most daring decision she had ever made in her life and she wasn’t sure it would stay for long. Well, she had learned to accept thighs as they were and it was with that same spirit that she would be facing her future. Whatever would happen, would happen whether Ralph liked it or not, so there was no point in trying to fight it all.
“Oh, come on, girl… It’s your big day. You know we haven’t seen a queen being crowned for the past seven hundred years. Having this ceremony is exciting for all of us and the realm. The leaders of all the factions will come. People have traveled far and wide to come and witness history. Even the warlocks who were at war with us have paused because of the great ceremony. It is the ceremony of ceremonies. And more than anything, it’s your day,” Kara said proudly as she watched her queen from a distance.
Over the few months, Kara had been haunted by her decision to let Ralph go with Polina, and it had eaten her up more than once. However, with the help of Ralphine, she got over the guild Of course, it hadn’t been the easiest of things for the both of them, but they had managed to work it all out. They wanted peace and for their personal peace of mind, they knew they could be able to face this together.
The two had grown closer in those months, almost like best friends. And while Ralph always had her walls high up, Kara was honored to be the one she went to in case of issues that she didn’t want to worry the king about. It was a beautiful bond, just the two of them trying to do their best for their people and hoping for the best in a world that knew nothing of humanity, “Then again, they weren’t alone in this journey. They had their friends, and the people of Asmoria, so that had to count for
something, right?
“You make it sound like it’s the day of all days,” Ralphine teased and Kara just walked over to where she was watching as the queen watched her long red gown that was fitted with so many diamonds and pearls. The gown was heavy, but it was beautiful and worth it.
Ralph knew that much because this was a gown that had been fitted specifically for her. If she had been in Koslov, this gown. alone would have let her live the life she wanted and even more. The pearls and diamonds were so expensive that they would sustain her for the longest time, and she didn’t even have to work. But then again, she was in Asmoria, the land of the richest of the richest, not to mention the title she held there.
“Don’t get all shy on me now, Ralph… I am not the king, but I know he would definitely love to see you out there. Heion and Viktor are flooding the mind links with their desire to see you, not to mention them bickering over breakfast–ns, this should be fine. And before you ask, the king is elated, though he is a little too silent. Perhaps even he is thinking of what it would feel like to watch you walk there. All in all, the boys don’t matter today, because today is your day, the prettiest girl of us all.” Kara said confidently and proudly as she held Ralphine’s hands in reassurance. She knew the girl was having a hard time with this, but she hoped that once the coronation ceremony was done, she would be more relaxed.
“Kard-”
“Don’t you dare put yourself down today, Ralph, or I swear I will Your Highness‘ you for the rest of my life. You know it comes a little too easy for me than Ralph, right?” Kara said and the queen stared at her with puppy eyes as if that was meant to make Katra cave in. It was interesting though because no matter what happened, Kara wasn’t going to back down.
“You wouldn’t dare. Ralph said even though she knew damn well that Kara would do just that
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Chapter 43
“You wanna bet on that Kara teased and Raph sighed.
88%T
“I hope I will be the queen your people need Kara,” Ralphine said thoughtfully as she looked at her high guard on the other side of the mirror. She loved what they both looked like but all of this didn’t matter to her. She knew that she would have a lot of responsibilities once she stepped up to the queenship, but maybe it wouldn’t be as bad, right?
“We know you will do great, Ralph. We trust you. You changed our king, and it wasn’t even because you wanted to have him for yourself. You turned him into a more humane version of himself. I grew up in this castle, as a guard, but I had never seen the king be that relaxed. The way he is with you or even us. You made him understand what humanity is and you made him want to be a better person. And before you tell me you did nothing, you changed him, Ralph. Only you.
“If we could have, then we would have done it already, given he trusts us, but you opened his heart to love, to humanity, to care, and to love without fear. You taught him what it truly meant to rely on people and honestly, we can’t thank you enough. So, whatever happens with Drescher and Polina, just know that we, the Lycans of Asmoria, value you as our queen. You are literally the best thing that happened to us,” Kara said and Ralph stared softly.
1
She had heard this countless times but hearing it just before she stepped out to go to the throne room to get crowned, made her feel like this wasn’t a bad dream. It still felt dreamy, but it was the kind that made her want to know what wou! happen on the other side of the pages, what it would be like, to explore different futures in a land that had the most powl of the
the unbeatable race of all time. This was certainly going to be adventurous.
Faces,
“Let’s go, they must be waiting.” Ralphine said and Kara helped her carry the hem of her gown. It was long and heavy. Thankfully it was beautiful and not one of the heinous dresses from the fifth–century rulers of Astoria,
“You look so beautiful. So, head high, you’re out queen, your highness,” Kara said proudly before they looked into the mirror one more time and made their way out of the king’s chambers. When they got out, Ralph wasn’t expecting to see warriors lined up in the entire hallway with their swords beside them. They looked like they were ready to be commanded into war. This was like a guard of honor, only that the line was a little too long. There were so many of them that for a moment Ralph faltered.
However, Kara was quick to help her and remind her that no matter what happened, she would always be the king’s choice and no one would ever change that, ever. And so, the two women walked down the hall, and the stars before they made it to the entrance of the throne room. The line of warriors was still as long, the only difference was that with every warrior that Ralph passed, they formed another line to follow her. If she wasn’t sure what this meant, she would have collapsed from anxiety, but at least she had Kara to remind her that this was normal.
The Amoria palace was beautifully decorated. Everything was either gold, yellow, white, or black, there were lavender flowers all over the place, scattered beautifully and insanely intoxicating like the king wanted everyone to know that the Lycan queen had the most beautiful of scents. Usually, the wolf either had a woody or rainforest scent but the queen had one that none had. Ralphine felt like she was in some alternate reality, because she couldn’t imagine that all of this was for her, and because of her. The children were not dancing around as usual. Instead, they were standing at attention and bowing at their queen. Oh, but she was a powerful woman.
“All rise for the chosen queen of Asmoria, the people’s queen, Queen Ralphine Belyaeva!!!” Heion announced and the throne room gates opened. Ralphine had to do a double–take of other doors to figure out what the fuck this led them to. She hadn’t expected that they would be literal gates, gates that could hold twenty Lycans if they walked in one line, across the door. It was insanely huge and she stopped just to take a look.
“This is where I leave, my queen. I will see you on the inside. Don’t be scared, and if you are feeling jittery, you can look to the king, we can all feel how excited he is for this, and how happy he is. He certainly made the right decision,” Kara said as she let Ralphine’s gown down. There was no need for her to help her with it again because this was Ralphine’s day and it had to be perfect,
Thank you, Kara,” Ralphine said as she looked at the door that had opened for her. The moment she walked through these doors, her life would change permanently and there wouldn’t be reset button for her. She knew that there was so much that came with the crown she would wear and for a moment, she wondered whether it would be worth it. Perhaps it wouldn’t be and maybe that could explain the decision she made, that got everyone’s attention
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