A week has passed since Deimos and I had decided to move me to Xavaria and make me his Queen. Things had been moving quickly since the day. I had officially become a resident of Xavaria and today the last of my things were being moved into the palace. Tonight would also be the night that we announced to Xavaria that I am their future Queen. Thinking about tonight’s dinner made me want to throw up, so I did my best to focus on unpacking.
“These should be the last of the boxes,” Deimos said as he walked into the room.
A handful of people followed him in each holding a couple of boxes. They added the boxes to a small pile that I hadn’t gone through yet, bowed respectfully, and then left.
“When will the new bedding be done?” I asked Deimos.
“Should be delivered this afternoon, I’ll have them brought up as soon as they get here.” He answered. “Do you want help with the rest of these boxes?”
I glanced over at the stack, “I think I can handle it. Go do whatever you need to do.”
He gave me a quick kiss before he was off again. I had been busy through the last week, but Deimos has been busier. He had been the one dealing with getting me settled in, registered, and he had handled most of the planning for tonight’s announcement dinner. I’d offered to help him with everything but he insisted that I focus on settling in first. So that’s exactly what I had done, but tonight would mark the start of my transition into Queen of Xavaria.
To say I was nervous was an understatement. Tonight the palace's ballroom would be filled to the brim citizens of Xavaria and all eyes were sure to be on me. I assumed that everyone had put two and two together after seeing us together last week, but no one knew how it all came to be. I knew how much people loved to gossip when it came to us royals. Most of the time they were harmless stories that no one really took seriously, but there were times that life-ruining rumors took over everyone’s thoughts.
I didn’t think that anything terrible was being spoken about. If that was the case, I was sure that word would have gotten back to Deimos and me by now. That being said, who knew what sort of stories people had come up with over the last week.
Letting out a sigh, I pushed the curious thoughts to the back of my head. I didn’t have time to think about what wacky stories people had possibly started spreading, I needed to finish unpacking. I turned my attention to the pile of boxes and got to work going through everything and putting it away.
Half an hour into my unpacking session, Marigold appeared in the doorway holding the new duvet that Deimos had made for our bed.
“Prince Deimos asked me to bring these up to you after they were washed.” She said quietly.
I took it from her, “Thank you.”
“Is there anything I can do for you while I’m here?”
“No thank you, I have things covered up here.”
She simply nodded and excused herself before scurrying off. It was yet another interaction that made me curious about her. There had to be a reason why she was so distant and skittish around me. I had tried asking a few other staff members but they claimed that they weren’t that close with her and had no idea why she acted that way. I wasn’t sure if I truly believed that, but I didn’t want to push them and make things more awkward. I wanted to ask Marigold herself about it, but she never stuck around long enough for me to feel comfortable asking personal questions.
I stared at the now-empty hallway for a bit longer before making up the bed and going back to unpacking. I longed to go ask the staff to handle doing all of this for me, but Deimos was insistent about the staff not spending much time in our room. Apparently, he had always held this sentiment and was protective over his personal spaces, so I didn’t bother arguing with him over it. We all had our boundaries and this was simply one of his which left me doing all of this by myself.
A few hours passed before I finished unpacking everything. I hadn’t even realized that I was finished until I reached into an empty box and then realized that all the other boxes were empty too. I immediately felt relieved and like a hundred pounds of pressure had been taken off my shoulders. It was also then that I decided to reward myself with a nice, warm bath. It didn’t take long to fill up the tub which I was grateful for. I quickly got undressed and lowered myself into the water letting every muscle in my body relax.
I stayed there until my fingers got wrinkly and the water grew cold. I was half tempted to drain it and refill it with fresh water, but I knew I would have to start getting ready for tonight soon. When the sun started to set, people would be arriving at the palace and I would have to be there to welcome them.
I reluctantly pulled myself out of the tub. The anxiety was already starting to bubble up in my body again and I did my best to suppress it as I wrapped myself in a fluffy robe. I stepped out of the bathroom and saw Deimos laying on the bed with one arm slung over his eyes blocking out the light. I could already tell that he felt the same way I did: exhausted and anxious.
“Get everything done?” I asked as I sat down at my vanity.
“As much as I could get done.” He responded. “Everything for tonight had been approved and perfected. Also, my dad gave the okay for you and me to start your training.”
I pulled out my makeup and my brushes out of the drawers, “What will our training entail exactly?”
“First we awaken your demon, then it will be about control and learning how to use your powers.”
“Do all demons have the same powers? Or is it a case by case basis?” I asked.
“We’re all the same; we control dark energy. The only difference between us is the type of training that we get.”
“I thought demons would control like...fire or something,” I admitted.
Deimos let out a small laugh, “Well I’m sorry to disappoint you there. Dark energy has its perks though, I promise you’ll have fun with it.”
“Will this whole awakening thing hurt?”
“I’ll admit, it won’t be pleasant. The best way we’ve found to awaken your demon is by making you fear for your life; the fear and adrenaline awakens that part of you since you’re desperate to protect yourself and fight for your life.”
“You won’t actually hurt me though, right?” Even I could hear the nervousness in my voice.
“Of course not my rose. I’ll only scare you enough to awaken your demon.”
Through the mirror, I saw him pull himself out of bed. He walked up behind me and leaned down pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
“I’m going to go take a much-needed shower now.” He said. Just before he walked into the bathroom, he turned and looked at me again, “Don’t put on too much makeup. I like it best when you look more natural.”
I opened my mouth to try and respond, but it was too late. He had disappeared into the bathroom closing the door behind him. I turned my attention to the mirror looking at the foundation that I had just finished applying before glancing down at the makeup I had already pulled out. It took my brain a moment to fully wrap my head around what he’d said. Once it clicked in my head, something inside of me grew upset. I had never been told what to wear or to keep my makeup natural. Typically at events like these, you wanted to get dolled up and look as fabulous as you possibly could which is exactly what I wanted to do.
That being said, I didn’t want to upset him tonight of all nights. He had been working so hard to make sure that this party looked perfect and everything would go smoothly all for my sake. So, if he wanted me to apply more natural-looking makeup I would.
I exchanged the red lipstick that I had intended on wearing with a more natural pink and put away my mascara. I made sure to keep my eyeshadow and blush light making it hard to tell that I was wearing anything at all. Natural just as Deimos had instructed.
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