The Dragon King's Dark Angel

9 - Dinner with Atreyu

King Atreyu

    While Lorelei and Brianna helped Genevieve get ready for dinner, I took a quick shower, then I pulled on my nicest tuxedo.  The slacks and jacket were both black, whereas the undershirt was a cream color with the tie being black with red stripes.  

    I had yet to tell Genevieve, but after seeing her in action earlier in the day, I had my head cook prepare a feast to celebrate the arrival of our Queen.  She still had some healing to do, but I was confident that she would be able to hold her own if anybody gave her any problems.  Of course, I would also deal with that person if that were to happen.

    After getting dressed, I combed my hair back and got it looking nice, then I pulled on my nicest shoes before going to the living room, where I had a seat on the couch.  I occupied my time by reading through a book about dark angels that I had Israel pick up for me.

    It was a very interesting read, thus far, and I felt like I was learning a lot about my mate.  However, there was one thing that I didn't understand.  All of the dark angels in the text had black wings and either black or red eyes.  

    However, Genevieve's wings went from red to black, and her eyes were a stunning amethyst color.  I was having a hard time wrapping my head around that, and I couldn't help but to wonder if there was more to this angel that I found myself fated to be with.

    I got through almost fifteen pages of the book, when I heard footsteps coming down the hall.  Right away, I put my bookmark where I left off, then I set the book down on the rectangular table in front of the couch.  After that, I stood up and nervously straightened my tie.  I couldn't remember ever being so nervous about having dinner with a woman, but there I was... a bundle of nerves.

    As soon as Genevieve came into my line of sight, my jaw slacked and my eyes widened with surprise.  She looked absolutely stunning with the red gown hugging her perfectly, curvy body frame.  The gown stopped just above her feet that had red heels strapped to them making her look a little taller.

    The ladies did an excellent job with her hair and make-up.  They made her look like royalty, and I couldn't have been happier with their work.  In addition to that, Genevieve's skin had a shine to it, and that made her downright breathtaking.

    After I regained my composure, I walked over to Genevieve and reached up to touch her face, but she instinctively flinched away from my touch.  I didn't take that to heart, since I knew the reason for it.  Instead, I flashed a smile at Genevieve and politely asked, "Are you ready for dinner, my love?"

    She immediately returned the smile and shyly responded, "Yes."

    So as not to scare her again, I stood next to her and extended my elbow out, then Genevieve locked her arm with mine.  With my mate hanging off my arm, I proudly led her through the large castle to the dining hall where all of my citizens were patiently waiting for us.

    As we got closer, the sounds of people laughing and talking got louder.  I could feel Genevieve shiver with fear anytime she heard a deep voice, and I couldn't help but to feel bad for her.  

    It bothered me a great deal that she had been abused and taken advantage of by King Gideon and his kingdom of savages.  Every time Genevieve flinched or trembled, it fueled the fire of my desire to get revenge.

    Before we entered the dining hall, I surprised Genevieve by pulling her into a sweet embrace, then I softly murmured, "Don't be scared, angel!  I will be with you the whole time, and I will make sure nobody does anything to upset you!"

    She nodded her head in response, as anxiety swirled in her beautiful, amethyst eyes.  I hugged her a little tighter, and she surprisingly started to relax in my embrace.  

    There was no stopping my lips from curving up to form an ear to ear smile, then I sweetly mumbled, "I can't wait for everybody to meet you.  You're gonna like our citizens.  They're good folks."

    "I hope they like me," she shakily whispered.

    "They are going to love you!  I'm sure of that!" I quickly assured Genevieve before dropping my arms and grabbing her hand.

    Despite the fact that she was still a little scared of me, Genevieve tightly held onto my hand, as I led her into the dining hall.  Instantly, the entire room fell silent and everybody's eyes snapped to the two of us.

    There were several warriors and a few others that had seen Genevieve and knew she was an angel, but those who weren't aware of that fact immediately went wide-eyed with surprise.  The few that saw how bad of shape Genevieve was in when I first returned home with her were quick to display pleased smiles.  

    Out of respect for their King and future Queen, everybody remained silent and gave us a bow of their heads.  A second later, they all looked back up at us with smiles plastered to their faces.

    After that, I enthusiastically greeted them by saying, "Thank you for joining us to celebrate the arrival of my mate and queen.  I am most pleased to introduce you all to Genevieve Kimble.  Yes, she is a dark angel, and no, that does not change anything.  As soon as Genevieve feels comfortable taking the throne, she will be your Queen.  From this day forward, I expect each and every one of you to show her the same respect that you show me."

    When I was done addressing my citizens, I dipped my head down to Genevieve's ear and asked, "Is there anything you would like to say to everybody?"

Genevieve

    When Atreyu asked if there was anything I wanted to say, I was nervous as heck, but I somehow managed to flash a little smile at him, then I took a deep breath before timidly stating, "It's a pleasure to meet you all.  I look forward to spending more time with everybody."

    I didn't see a single frown in the crowd, and that helped to ease my mind a little bit.  When they were sure I was done speaking, I heard several voices call out, "Welcome to the Red Thorn Kingdom."  So far everybody seemed nice, and I was hoping that remained the case.  

    After that, Atreyu led me to the head of the table, then he pulled the chair out to the right side of his seat.  As soon as I sat down, he pushed my chair in for me, and I thought that was super sweet of him.

    Once Atreyu was seated, he beamed a smile at me and jokingly remarked, "Angel, don't eat too much this time.  I don't want you feeling ill later."

    "Okay," I shyly replied, then I looked down at my place setting.

    There was a large plate, a smaller plate, a bowl, a glass and multiple sizes of eating utensils.  I had no clue what they were all for, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from enjoying the food.  Too many months I went without adequate food, and I wasn't about to let anything or anybody stop me from eating ever again.

    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the woman beside me was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement.  When I glanced over at her, the pretty woman with dark brown hair and amber eyes happily exclaimed, "Hello, my lady.  My name is Korina Willis, and I am pleased to be of service to you."

    Before I had the chance to reply, I heard Atreyu's deep chuckle before he cheerfully informed me, "Angel, Korina is your personal bodyguard.  You will be spending a lot of your time with her and Lorelei."

    "Why do I need a bodyguard?" I asked in confusion.

    Atreyu reached over and rubbed the pad of his thumb over the top of my left hand as he explained, "My love, every member of the royal family has a personal bodyguard, and you will be no exception to that rule.  Considering what happened to you at the Dark Mountain Kingdom and the way I left things with King Gideon, it's even more important that you have a personal bodyguard that you can trust."

    Right away, I glanced back at Korina and point blank asked, "Can I trust you, Korina?"

    "Of course!" she immediately answered with a look of hurt plastered on her face.

    "I'm sorry, dear.  I didn't mean to offend you.  It's just hard for me to trust anybody, but if you prove to me that I can trust you, we will get along just fine," I assured the woman who appeared to be close to my age.

    "It's okay, my lady.  I completely understand.  I promise, you can trust me wholeheartedly!  I will never do or say anything to betray your trust!" she adamantly stated in all seriousness.

    "Thank you," I replied before looking back over at Atreyu to see that he was simply observing my interaction with Korina.

    It was only a minute or two after that, then the kitchen staff started wheeling carts full of food into the dining hall.  There was no stopping my mouth from watering when the amazing aromas of the different foods hit my nose.

    However, I was worried about getting sick again.  That was something I hoped to never have to experience another single time, so I ate my food excessively slowly and made sure not to eat too much.

    Throughout dinner, there were several different conversations going on, and I enjoyed being able to listen to what everybody had to say.  They all seemed really close, and I found that to be interesting after being at the Dark Mountain Kingdom where the people didn't hardly talk to each other at all.

    As soon as I finished eating, Atreyu was eager to get me back to his living quarters.  After he pulled my chair away from the table, he extended his hand out to me.  At first, I was hesitant to accept his hand, but I thought it would be rude of me not to, so after a second, I accepted his large hand and let him pull me to my feet.

    Korina, Lorelei, and two men all stood up and followed behind us.  The second we entered into the living room, Atreyu proudly stated, "Angel, I want you to meet my personal bodyguard, Malachi Sanders, and my personal servant, Noah Sampson.  Guys, this is my special angel, Genevieve.  If she asks you for anything, I expect you to obey her command like you do mine."

    "Yes, sir," the men obediently said in unison.  

    It was obvious that the citizens at the Red Thorn Kingdom had a lot of respect for Atreyu.  It wasn't the same kind of respect that King Gideon got from his citizens.  The only reason he got any respect was because his citizens feared what might happen to them, if they didn't show him respect.  

    On the other hand, Atreyu's citizens didn't look at him with nothing but fear in their eyes.  Instead, their eyes reflected genuine respect, and that was a great thing to see.

    When Malachi greeted me, I noticed right away that he had the deeper voice of the two, but it didn't seem to affect me like some of the other deeper voices.  His black hair was shaved, and his dark brown eyes were warmer than one would expect.  Also, he had a surprisingly nice smile, but his stance was nothing but serious.

    Whereas, Noah had soft, green eyes and medium length, dark blonde hair.  He also had a nice smile, and he appeared to be a little older than Atreyu and Malachi.  I liked how soft-spoken he was, and that helped me to warm up to him a little faster than Malachi.