Empress Khione: Her Revenge

Reuniting with an old friend

The journey from Mount Nerei to the Royal Kingdom was quite uneventful. The mountain was quite far from the kingdom so it took about three hours to reach the end of the mountain's trail and then it took about twelve hours to reach the kingdom's gates. It was a draining journey for both Khione and Jasper so the moment their eyes landed on the kingdom's entrance, they both sighed out in relief. However, both of their relief quickly changed into anxiety upon seeing the huge creatures guarding the gates. 

Entrance to the kingdom required screening by the king's guardians, who were known as Cerberus. The would check the identity of the person who tried to enter and then they would check their belongings to ensure no dangerous weapons were brought in.

"Wait here," Jasper said as he stepped forward to speak to a Cerberus who was standing guard at the gate. 

The Cerberus were just like regular werewolves, only they had been trained to guard the royals. They were much stronger than the pack warriors and they were also considered the most loyal creatures to walk the planet. Their sole purpose in life was to protect their king and they would see to it even if it meant their downfall. They were also the main reason the royals managed to stay as the werewolf leaders for as long as they have. Nothing could get in the way of their loyalty. 

Khione watched Jasper cautiously walk towards a Cerberus. Although Jasper himself was pretty tall, the Cerberus he spoke to still managed to tower over him. And the fact that he had a large, muscular built made Jasper look even smaller. 

They spoke for about a minute before Jasper signalled for Khione to come closer. The guard looked through her bags before he signalled for a female Cerberus to screen her body. 

Khione had to admit, the female Cerberus looked so cool that it made her heart skip a beat. She had such a powerful aura that it almost made Khione feel breathless. She went through the screening all the while holding her breath and once it was done, she breathlessly thanked the warrior before she stepped beside Jasper. 

"All good," the female Cerberus said to the other, whom simply nodded in response before letting Khione and Jasper through. 

The moment they stepped through, it was as if they had entered a whole new world. Although the other side of the gates lead to a forest area and meadow until eventually it lead to the mountains, the inside of the gate looked more like a small village. There was almost no signs of botany and just consisted of buildings and roads. It looked like any other pack territory, only one a much larger scale. 

"The princess said that you're already on the list of participants so we'll just need to make our way to the hotel that was prepared for you. It's a bit far though, so we should hail a taxi," Jasper informed Khione who simply nodded in response.

She wondered how the princess managed to sign her up without ever actually leaving the palace but she remembered that before she left, the princess told her that she had people stationed in the palace that would be looking out for her. So although the princess herself didn't actually enter the kingdom, she assumed one of her people did all the work for her. 

It took a mere 20 minutes to reach the address provided by the princess and once they reached, they were unsurprised to see so many Cerberus guards stationed outside. The building was after all filled with the bloodlines of the alphas living outside the kingdom. if anything were to happen to any of them, the King would be placed in a very awkward situation. 

"Name?" a Cerberus suddenly appeared before Jasper and Khione. Had Khione not heard his footsteps, she would have been shocked to see him so close to them. 

"Khione Amaruq," she gave her name, using her grandfather's surname. 

"Jasper Dragas," Jasper answered right after.

The Cerberus looked through his list and once he found what he was looking for, he looked both Khione and Jasper up and down, as if looking through their souls before he nodded and let them through. 

"You had been assigned room number 1 in the East Wing. One of the attendants will show you through."

On cue, a middle aged woman rushed towards them with a large smile on her face and show them the way to their room. 

The hotel was nothing fancy or large but something about it gave off a very grand and expensive feel. It was as if she walked into a small mansion. 

"You will be staying at the hotel throughout the duration of the ceremony," the attendant suddenly said, gaining both Khione and Jasper's attention. "Once the ceremony ends, you are required to leave within two days." 

The attendant then stopped walking and pointed towards a large open dining hall, "This is where you will eat all of your meals. We have a set time for breakfast, lunch and dinner, however, you are free to enter the kitchen at any other time you are feeling peckish. We just ask that you advise one of the kitchen staff entering. They will help you fix a meal." 

Both Khione and Jasper nodded in response. They knew for a fact that the two of them would be making use of the kitchen quite a fair bit. Khione hadn't had a proper meal in over a year and Jasper just naturally had a very large appetite. 

"The wings of the hotel are labelled based on their location in regards to the lounge hall," the attendant said as she guided them towards a large living area that consisted of a television, sofas and shelves filled with books. "Up north of this room is the North Wing and to the left is the West Wing. Your room is in the East ring which is just to the right."

The attendant then guided them to the East Wing and although it was a very long and wide hall area that could have easily fit at least ten rooms, it only had two rooms – one of the left wall and one on the right. 

"This is your room," she pointed to the room on the left. "If you need anything at all, your room has a landline which you can use to contact any of the hotel workers."

With that said, she handed Jasper a key to their room and then left. Once she was out of sight, Jasper unlocked the door and right as they were about to enter, the door on the opposite side opened to reveal another contestant. 

"Macy?" Khione gasped upon seeing her best friend. Out of everyone she could have possibly seen there right at that moment, Macy was not one of them. 

On one hand she felt really happy to see her friend again, but on the other, something deep within her felt pure, animalistic anger. She had the urge to rip Macy's head off and she couldn't understand why she was feeling such a way. 

Khione turned towards Jasper with a questioning look but he simply shrugged, looking equally confused upon seeing Macy there. 

"What are you doing here?" Khione asked, her voice loud and clear but void of any emotion. It was as if her voice belonged to someone else, and she could understand why she was experiencing something so strange to her.  

"I should be asking you that," Macy asked with a slightly confused laugh before she added mightily, "I am here to represent the Blue Valley Pack in the mating ceremony."