The Regina
1360 Words
When the door to her carriage was opened, she found herself in front a beautiful villa, a ten of servants standing for her. She hesitated for a fraction of second before gently taking Jason’s hand to get out of the carriage.
Then a woman stepped forward to greet her. By the looks of it, she seemed a high-ranking aristocrat, with deep maroon hair, she was probably a fire dragon or a descendent of one.
“My greetings to the esteemed Princess of Nishak. I’m Elizabeth Rayner of house Rayner. I will be your guide through your stay in Red Rose Villa till you enter the imperial palace of Tejask.”
“Thank you for your hospitality Lady Elizabeth. I am thankful to be in your care from now.”
The woman seemed satisfied with her response as she begins to guide Shirina inside the Villa.
Shirina observed the woman silently. She had grace in every single movement and commanded respect everywhere she went. Eyes set at front, and chin held up with her face smoothed out, she looked every bit of the perfect lady that all of nobility groom their daughters to be.
It made Shirina nervous.
Tering her gaze away from the woman, Shirina observed her surroundings. And with intricate flower designs on glass and carved wood of doors, predominantly decorated by roses, it made sense why this residence is called Red Rose Villa.
Finally, they came to halt in front of a room with large gates made of red wood.
Lady Elizabeth turned to her. “This is where you will be staying for the next two days, your highness. The matrimonial ceremony has been scheduled for two days from now. You have been requested to take rest and make yourself comfortable. Let us enter now.”
The doors opened to reveal an incredibly large bedroom that was well furnished with a massive bed, seats, a balcony that has view of beautiful woods up ahead and gorgeous decorative pieces with flowers.
“I hope the room is sufficient to your liking, Princess.”
Shirina jolted and then turned to the older woman. “Ah, yes. Thank you so much. This room has exceeded up expectations, Lady Elizabeth.”
“I am glad to hear that.” Even though there was no change in expression on her face, Shirina felt that she was satisfied with her words.
“Then, please, come this way. This is where your powder room is. You will be getting ready for the ceremony here.” Elizabeth slid open the door.
A magnificent beautiful blood red wedding dress, with a embellished beautiful large veil was not what she was expecting to be waiting for her when she entered the room.
“What is this?” She questioned the lady.
“The dress you are expected to wear for the ceremony, your highness.” She replied.
“What?” Shirina raised a brow in question. “I have brought my own dress with me form Nishak.”
The moment of silence followed, and even though the woman maintained an extremely stoic expression, she could feel her aura shift.
“Of course, we are aware of that Princess. But it seems you are not aware of the Empire’s customs.”
Shirina silently ignored the jibe aimed at her. She was aware that her education was lacking in many respects. The Queen thought it was fun to keep an uneducated Princess around and let her make a fool of herself. When Shirina did not say anything, she bowed to her apologetically.
“I apologize for my rudeness, your highness. But in the Empire of Tejask, a white wedding dress is not looked upon favorably. The colour red is what is used for auspicious occasions and of course, the marriage of Emperor is no less matter. That is why the Regina took the liberty of selecting a red wedding dress for you. If you do not like this aone, we can immediately show you other options. The Regina wanted you to have a dress of your choice since it is your wedding.”
It took a few moments for her to come in terms with the information. And then for a second, she realized he did not know what or who the word “Regina” was meant for. But whoever they seemed to be, they sounded like an extremely important person. Not wanting to make a fool out of herself, she decided to research for it later.
“No, thank you. I think it is beautiful. I will definitely wear this for the ceremony.”
The woman smiled pleasantly. “I am sure Regina will be delighted to know that you have accepted her gift so graciously. She has been eager to see you.”
Okay, now getting enough information about Regina was her top priority.
“If,” Elizabeth started, “you need help understanding some of the important Empire related customs for matrimonial ceremony beforehand, I can request the temple to send a Priestess for you. Will that be to your liking, your highness?”
Shirina blinked and then exclaimed, “Yes, please. I am very grateful to you for this suggestion. I would like to be aware of my duties and actions for the ceremony.”
“Of course, Princess. I will arrange for it immediately.” Elizabeth bowed, “Now, I would like to excuse myself. If you require anything, please summon for me.”
“I will do so. Thank you for all you have done for me, Lady Elizabeth.”
As the as the doors closed, Shirina let out an exaggerated sigh and plopped down on the sofa, feeling tension seep out of her shoulders.
“Are you alright, our highness?” Emily questioned; her brown eyes scrunched in worry.
“Yes, I am fine. I was just shocked to hear that people in Empire wear red for marriage ceremonies.”
“Yes!” Emily nodded, “I was quite surprised myself. But it makes sense now.”
“Hmm?”
“All the dresses that arrived for you in Nishak, we know, they went through the Queen’s scrutiny. Your highness, now that I remember, none of them were red.”
Shirina let out a long-dejected exhale. “I did not even notice.”
She felt Emily fussing over her when she changed into more comfortable clothes and then ordered, “Emily, I want you to do something for me.”
“Your wish is my command.”
Shirina looked out of the window where the woods lay. “Gather all the information you can about this “Regina” person. They seem like an extremely important figure in the Empire. We need more details about them.”
It did not take much time for Emily to return back.
"You are here, Emily. Did you find any information about the 'Regina'?"
Emily looked overwhelmed but replied, "Y-Yes. I found something that I am sure would be of use to you, Princess."
"What is it?"
"Actually, 'Regina' is a title that was bestowed upon the Princess of the Kingdom of wind by the current Emperor."
Shirina felt her brows go up in surprise. "Emperor gave a Princess of a foreign kingdom, a title like that?"
Shirina knew that the Kingdom of wind was ruled by wind dragons. They were named as 'Zephyr'. And Zephyr Kingdom has always had strong relations of alliance and camaraderie with Tejask kingdom.
"But that is not all," Emily continued, "The lady to whom this title is given is 'Princess Eleanor Zephyr'. She is the daughter of the former King Zephyr and this is sister of the current king Zephyr. But most important of all is that she was the the fiancee of of the former Emperor of Tejask."
"Wait what?! What did you say? She was the fiancee of the former emperor?!"
Shirina was flabbergasted. As much as she knows of the recent history of Tejask...the former Emperor was the current Emperor's older brother. So, 'Eleanor Zephyr' was the sister in law of Emperor Ariyan.
What was this all about?!
- Writer
