COMMENT
Chapter 96
[RALPHINE]
+5
The walk back to the palace was a silent one for the queen and her high guard who was still struggling to figure out where the danger she posed to Queen Ralphine was. It was eating at her and frankly, Kara was going nuts trying to make it all make sense. She was worried about the outcome of it all and could only wish that she had a clear understanding of the mess. She wanted to go back to Volkov and press on a little more with Volkov, but then she couldn’t. It would violate everything they were working on at the moment, not to mention it would seem like she was going behind the queen’s back which frankly, wasn’t a good idea at the moment.
“Your majesty. Can we still go check the other warriors?… What I mean is, the boys probably haven’t even figured out shit in the kitchen and if we go to them we might distract thein,” Kara said and the queen stared at her like she already knew that Kara was hiding something, but she was trusting Kara to open up. It was not much really but Ralph was hoping that at the end of the day she didn’t have to worry about Kara betraying her and Miroslav. She had noticed the changes and she chose to trust the woman who couldn’t even trust herself. Perhaps it was a risk that the Lycan queen was willing to take at the moment.
“Alright, sure. We can also walk around with the kids, and make sure they are not as stigmatized,” Queen Ralphine said softly as she looked at her warrior. She wasn’t going to ask about anything, not right now anyway, so together, the two women found their away across Asmoria, interacting with the local Lycans and warriors alike. It was suddenly warm, they had one big family and a queen who cared for them all. The assessment wasn’t as terrible as Kara would have imagined it, but it took just as long because by the time the moon began showing, they were spent. The queen and the high guard had already made so many rounds and couldn’t feel their feet.
“Should I create a portal, your highness?” Kara asked and Ralph frowned at her, making Kara stare at her worriedly. Had she done something wrong? Was she in trouble for some reason? Was it something she said or something she did? Kara didn’t know what to think of that, so she just stayed silent as she watched the queen, waiting for whatever judgment came from Ralphine. Kara was curious but perhaps this time, she would let her majesty initiate the conversation because otherwise she would probably find herself in even worse trouble than she had imagined possible.
“No, we both can manage. Besides, there isn’t any harm in exercising, is there, Kara dear?” Ralph asked as she looked at the high guard who was walking on eggshells around her. It was distracting and even got Ralph more curious than she could have thought possible. All of this just didn’t make any sense to her and with what they had learned from Volkov, it would take a while for them to get over this.
“Well-” Kara began and Ralph interrupted her, her voice tender like she wa
offer.
hoping for more than what she was about to
“I thought I told you to call me just Ralph the first day. And here I thought we were close,” Ralph sighed dramatically, as she looked ahead of her, not focusing on the warrior who was staring at her in surprise. Of course, Kara remembered all that. She had known it from the very first time she had interacted with Ralph, but then when the queen was crowned, she wasn’t sure if that was ever going to be an option anymore. It was like she had crossed over and she was way up the rank and unreachable for casual guards just like Miro. But then the only difference was that with King Miroslav, it wasn’t hard to tell because they had been friends first before everything.
“I just thought that you wouldn’t appreciate me calling you by your name after the coronation,” Kara said and Ralph sighed dramatically as if to ask Kara what she was thinking all this time. It was a puzzle for the both of them, but one that Ralph was more than willing to compete nonetheless.
“You can call me Ralph when it’s just us. Let the formalities be used when we are interacting with everyone else. You are the only person I feel so close to tiger than the three musketeers,” Ralph said and kara snickered at the name the queen had coined for the king and his best friends. She couldn’t blame the woman though, because over the years she had seen first- hand how the trio acted like they shared one brain cell and even then it was still insufficient for them to function on, when they weren’t being themselves and their roles.
“Alright your M- Alright Ralph,” Kara said and the queen relaxed.
“Now that we are past that, I think something is eating you up. You wanted to ask Volkov but you were worried. What is it this
Chapter 96
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time?” Ralph asked and Kar looked at her pitifully as if she wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. She didn’t want to worry the queen and the king had made sure of that. Right now, she didn’t need to be worried about Drescher Volkov, but if only it was that easy. All of this could bounce back and hit Kara and she wasn’t certain that that was what she needed at the
moment.
“It’s nothing we can’t handle, Ralph. My job is to make sure that none of the petty troubles reach you. So, no worries, your majesty, I will make sure it doesn’t get to you,” Kara said earnestly before she realized she had just called Ralph by her title. Then again, they both knew it would take some time for them to get used to the casual state. It wasn’t like they were all about to run away, right? After all they had each other on this side of the world and they could trust each other, right?
“If it’s about Drescher, don’t worry too much. Death is too good a mercy for him. Volkov will eventually get his son’s dead body, but it’s the process that matters. I know he did something to you and you are hiding it, which is fine, because I trust you. But if it is too much and you feel suffocated, you can always tell me. I will always try my best to help. After all, that’s what friends are for, right?” Ralph asked and Kara nodded gently. She knew that this was a great risk, but then at the same time, she couldn’t break Ralphine’s heart. She had just agreed to be friendly and if she slept more secrets, it wouldn’t be fair to their new bond.
“Of course I will. Thank you, Ralph,” Kara said earnestly before they both decided that it was time to head back to the palace and see for themselves the miracles that the three musketeers had performed there already and if they needed to find someone to do damage control.
When they got to the palace they were met with a crowd of Lycans who had shock written all over their faces like they had seen something that they had never expected. They seemed so focused on the situation and it was nearly shocking. For a moment Ralph was worried about the people. Of course, she couldn’t hide their fear, which was comforting, but then came the curiosity of what had happened to get them absorbed in whatever fiasco was there.
“Stay behind me, young majesty,” Kara said and this time, Ralph didn’t protest because they were among the other Lycans.
“Holy hell what the fuck happened here?” Kara asked as she facepalmed. She had reached the centre of the madness alright, but then she finally understood the shock on the faces of the Lycans. It was like they wanted to take pictures of that moment, but then they couldn’t do shit, because human tech wasn’t allowed in Asmoria. So, they just stared at them like the world had found some other meaning that they didn’t know of. Surely it couldn’t be that bad, right?
“Well, goddamn. What the fuck did you do?!” Ralph shrieked as she took in the sight before everyone.
If there was a rehabilitation center somewhere close, she could have dragged the three idiots there because there was no way these were the same people that Asmoria depended on for safety and strategic thinking. Surely there had to be others who could make more sense than the trio, right? Because the ones before them were just three idiots who happened to have found each other in the long trip to make a fool of themselves.
“Your majesty, I believe they are yours?” Osman, the head chef, said to Ralph that staring at the poor man who had a roller in his hands like that was the only thing he could use to chase the trip from his sight. He looked so done with them that if they hadn’t been the royals of the kingdom, Osman would have dragged them with their ears around the palace just to remind them to never step into any kitchen in the palace ever again. This was a horror show and Ralph couldn’t help but feel terrible for the kitchen staff.
“Unfortunately, Osman… Unfortunately, they are mine,” Ralph sighed as she looked at her husband, the Lycan king who was covered in flour from head to toe. You would think he had taken a bath in all the flour in the kitchen, especially with the glare that Osman was giving them. The same was for the other town idiots even as Ralph tried to think of a way to fix this mess. Hei and Viktor were pouting while Miro looked like he had just been chased out when he had found something to make his life better. As if that was not bad enough, they were carrying bowls of what seemed to be supplies from the kitchen,
There was a gas cooker in front of them and a few nonstick cooking pans that looked nothing like they had been, there were snake eggs around and the three musketeers reeked of sweat, eggs, oil, and cheese. Ralph had so many questions, but then Osman’s dark glare at the three a’s was enough for the Queen to know the kitchen had to have been in a worse state if they had been kicked out with everything they had been working on.
“Well, with all the respect, Your Majesty. If I see these trio in my kitchen again, you will ding them in the dungeons. My kitchen looks like shit, almost like there was a hurricane I wasn’t informed of. If they fuck up next time, try the garden or the
Chapter 96
weed farm. They can do better there with your hands than in my kitchen,” Osman huffed and Miro stared at the chef softly, like that was supposed to make the man relent.
Osman was over a thousand years old so he had seen his fair share of idiots, but these three had to have pushed him to his limits. The poor man was probably losing his mind because of these three… And to think they had been in the same kitchen for over three hours. That was a lot of torture for an old man and the three musketeers had successfully made him snap.
“Miro started it!” Heion said when he realized they were in trouble with no one to save them. Maybe they could throw the king under the bus and make a run for it while everyone was distracted, right? Maybe that would give them a head start, even though the high guards would probably trip them and watch them fall on their asses, no?
“You said we could blend the spaghetti with watermelons!” the king bit back and the Lycans gasped at the atrocities their king had committed. These people were dumb as fuck and the Lycans were seeing the dangers of having highly intelligent people who knew nothing of other things at the same time. Perhaps Osman needed to whack their faces and bring them back to reality, right?
“I told you it was a bad idea. We should have blended with oil and avocado-“Viktor argued and Osman growled at him, making the Lycan beta shut up instantly.
“Never come into my kitchen again. Never, alright???” Osman huffed disappointedly again, as he glared at the trio who had instantly shut up, even though they were mouthing words that could probably get them into ruble again.
“We just wanted to make dinner,” Heion said as if that was supposed to make it all better.
“We have seventy kitchen staff in this kingdom. Trust me, if I needed help, you three would not be on the last, and if you had to be on the list, you would be among the bottom three. I bet newborn babies know how to use the kitchen better than you. You three are banned from my kitchen. If you so much as want a glass of water, make an order and it shall be brought to you. Is that understood?” Osman said and they nodded sheepishly before the old man carried his gas and walked away, to prepare the meal for the royals.
With Osman gone, the Lycans stared at their rulers with curious faces while others straight up thought their leaders were dumb shits that were never to be allowed in the kitchen anymore. Seeing as it was almost ten o’clock in the night, the Lycans began dispersing until it was just the three musketeers, the queen, and Kara along with some warriors, who were still not convinced that their musketeers would look this terrible.
“You all need therapy,” Ralph said as she laughed finally at the mess before her. She couldn’t even get mad, because she knew they had gotten this messy because they were trying to make things right, and had failed spectacularly. T was the thought that counted, even though there was the hope of Osman not losing his mind next time.
Soon enough they began whining about how hard it was in the kitchen and how thankful they were that they were banned from the kitchen. It was a beautiful crazed night, one that they knew marked the end of their relief days, but it was pretty nonetheless.
That night, when they finally cleaned up, and had a prosperous meal, the royals went to bed, each with the thought of tomorrow and what it would hold. Tomorrow meant a lot of things for them, and even if they were together, they knew tomorrow would be the first of many challenges. However, they were open for it all because after all, they were the warriors who would be going after Drescher Volkov, right?
“Goodnight Asmoria,” the man in question said in the distance as he watched the lights go off in the Lycan palace, a reminder that they had rested for the night.
Tomorrow would certainly be an interesting day for them all, right?
