FALLEN ANGEL: MARRIED TO THE DEMON KING
Chapter 55: THE TEA PARTY WITH THE NOBLE LADIES (2)

Chapter 55: THE TEA PARTY WITH THE NOBLE LADIES (2)

"None of them are wearing purple," Arella muttered.

Velmoria gave her a glance. "Of course they are not. Purple clothing is the color of royalty."

"Oh." Arella remembered reading that. It was different for the human realm, where the color of royals had always been red and gold.

Velmoria peeked at the garden next to Arella. "They have all attended, your majesty." She said finally, after doing a quick headcount.

Arella nodded and adjusted the lavender choker that rested around her neck. Velmoria helped her adjust her dress and fix her hair, and she was ready.

She took a deep breath and followed behind Velmoria, making their way out of the room. Her grace was already very much inbuilt by her mother, so to anyone who looked at her, they would feel like she looked every inch regal.

Echo, her ever faithful mutt, waited outside the doors. His fur shone like the night sky, obviously freshly washed. He circled Arella once, then stopped in front of her, looked up at her face, before circling her a second time.

"Your majesty, we have no time." Velmoria reminded her.

"Leave him; I think he has figured out that I am very nervous. He does this to calm me down once in a while." Arella patted the creature’s head after he had stopped in front of her once more. "You must have woken up on the right side of the bed, calming me down like this." She ruffled his fur hard, and Echo allowed her to.

The air outside felt warmer than inside the palace walls did, and the scent of roses mingled with the light perfume that the noble women gathered had put on. The suns, by this point, had reached their peak and cast a soft golden light over the garden.

Arella stepped into the garden with a quiet grace that would have made her mother proud. The silence that befell the noble ladies upon her arrival was palpable. They had all turned and gazed at her, and Arella almost felt self-conscious.

Almost.

Time seemed to come to a halt as Arella and Echo stopped at the head of the table. Standing there, she gave every woman a once-over.

Then, as if the women had been struck, they all stood from their chairs, led by the one Arella recognized as Lady Seraphine from the small portraits she had seen from the books Velmoria had her read. The resemblance between the two was striking.

"Your majesty," the noble ladies addressed her as they bowed.

"You may be seated," Arella waved for them to stand as a servant pulled out her seat for her. After she was settled in, the tea was served. The soft clink of porcelain filled the air as servants carefully served the tea, pouring the fragrant tea into dainty little cups.

A bowl filled with food that Arella did not recognize was placed in front of Echo, who did not wait before he had already dug his head into the bowl to eat. Arella smiled at his figure. The little glutton.

Arella thanked the attendant who served her tea, gracing the female demon with a bright smile. As if they had also just caught their manners, a few noble ladies followed her lead, thanking their servers as Arella took a small sip of her tea, the delicate floral notes warming her tongue. As she placed her cup back on the saucer, all the noble ladies had been served.

This was a game as much as it was a gathering—a carefully curated stage where power was displayed in subtle gestures such as the highest ranking taking the first sip of tea.

She silently sent thanks to Velmoria, who had been the one to inform her of everything she needed to know for the party. According to the demon culture, this was her opportunity to set her tone as queen, seeing as it was the first gathering she had hosted in the palace.

"Thank you all for making time to join me for tea today," Arella said as she picked up a pastry from the table and took a bite. The cake-like pastry was sweet, but not unbearably so. It paired very well with the tea.

Lady Immera Thariel, one of the demons Arella had planned to get close to, was the first to reply, "It is an honor to attend your gathering, your majesty." She placed her tea cup down, "You honor us with your presence. It has been centuries since the royal family last hosted a gathering like this one."

Even seated, Arella could tell that she was tall, huge even. Her body was tall, and she carried herself with a kind of confidence that could only be as a result of her military upbringing. Her features were youthful, the only indication of her age being the crows feet at the corners of her eyes and the streaks of silver in her dark purple hair. Her eyes were a piercing shade of violet, and they regarded Arella with a sharp intensity.

"But lady Immera, the generals always come to the castle to discuss matters with the current demon king." Another demon spoke.

"Bah. Who does not know that the true power lies in connections forged by the females of the family?" Lady Immera poked into a cake with her fork. "They have gotten used to having us stay in our homes so much so that I almost forgot how many of you look."

Arella nervously laughed, unsure of how to deal with the situation.

"But we have a demon queen now." Lady Seraphine added to the conversation. Her skin was pale, ice-like, and a pair of dark blue horns twisted up from the front of her head to the back, just like a crown would. She was absolutely gorgeous.

"It is time such traditions are revived. The court is the strongest when it is unified, and I doubt the men can continue to handle matters on their own for much longer." Arella chuckled, "Gatherings such as this can ensure we are all in agreement on the kind of realm we want to build."

The other noblewomen murmured in agreement, their postures relaxing just slightly. Lady Immera inclined her head, her expression unreadable. "Wise words, your majesty. The realm could indeed benefit from stronger ties among its leaders."

The subtle emphasis on ’leaders’ did not escape Arella’s notice. She immediately knew that Lady Immera was testing her, probing to see if she, despite being an angel, could truly understand the balance of power within the realm.

The women, due to the lack of a queen, had been thrown out of all things political-related. Velmoria had told her as such the night before. For one such as Lady Immera, it was sure to be a sore spot for her to get her son, who was not even in line to take over the family, to relay information from the general meetings.

"And it is leaders who set an example." Arella’s voice was light, and she tapped on the rim of her tea cup with her forefinger. "We must work together to ensure anyone who dares to try to bring down the kingdom does not succeed."

Her face and tone had taken a darker note that did not escape the eyes of the noble ladies. Lady Immera’s lips twitched imperceptibly into what might have been the beginnings of a smile. It was not much, but it was enough to tell Arella that she had passed a trial the older demon had put in place for her.

The conversation shifted into more lighter topics as Lady Seraphine leaned forward, her delicate icy features bright with interest. "Your Majesty, I must say, the choice for this garden was perfect. I do not think I have seen such white flowers in the demon realm before."

Arella smiled, grateful for the opportunity to steer the conversation into better territory. "Indeed," she agreed, "they are quite beautiful, I have to admit. When I first saw the garden, I was also quite captivated. It felt like the perfect setting for a gathering." she took a sip of the tea before continuing to speak, "In the human realm, white roses often symbolize new beginnings; I found it fitting for this gathering."

"You were spot on your majesty." Another demon spoke up as they looked at the glittering white petals.

"Aiya. Did you not hear of the rumor that the king grew these roses himself?"

Arella’s head shot up upon hearing that. "How romantic." Another one added.

"Romantic?" Arella asked.

.

S/T:

After Arella sounds menacing.

The other demons thoughts: Why does she look more like a demon than we do?

Meanwhile Arella: If we can make the demons be good and get along with angels, won’t my parent’s work get reduced?! I will practically become a hero! (She raises her mental nose up in the air, as if her plan has already worked and she is now hailed a hero among heros.)

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶