The Royal Revenge
Chapter 69: Sudden Switch

Chapter 69: Sudden Switch

"Your majesty! You must return the palace at once!" a woman with rose colored cheeks said as she jumped off the bird mid-flight. She rushed over to the girl and kneeled before her before she started nagging again for her to return.

"Minerva, you don’t need to be so frantic over something like this," the girl smiled kindly at the woman. "The birds had been tired for the past days that they didn’t hear the bell ring, and so I woke them up and saw for myself who came to our little kingdom."

"It was not your responsibility, my queen," the woman said. "I should have been more alert to the bell’s ringing. I deserve to be punished, your majesty. You may do whatever you want with me."

"Don’t be so silly, Minerva," the Eastern Queen giggled. "Come now, rise my dear and do me a favor of escorting our visitors."

Elys noticed how the girl’s expression switched in the blink of an eye when she turned her attention back to them. One moment she had been kind and understanding with the woman named Minerva, the next thing her eyes turned cold and her face serious.

The woman lifted herself into her full height. She was just a few inches shy from having the same height as the girl, her built a bit on the lanky side. She turned to where her queen was looking at, and then grimaced.

"Vampires?" Minerva commented. "How were you even able to get past the werewolves?"

Aleksander shrugged his shoulders and then nudged for Elys. The princess in turn dug out the official letter from her satchel, along with a few of the scrolls that had King Raxus’ seal.

Minerva accepted the letter and one of the scrolls, put on a monocle, and then inspected the seal for authenticity.

"Hm, seems to be legitimate," she hummed.

"Is there anything else you might want to look for?" Elys offered.

"No," Minerva shook her head and passed the scroll back to Elys but kept the letter addressed to them as she commented, "What surprises me the most is that all of you agreed to have the bracelet on – ah..." she gasped as she noticed Elys’ bare wrist, "except a few humans I see."

"You mean this blasted magic inhibitor?" Aleksander raised his hand, "Yeah, it took a lot of convincing in my part to agree to this, no thank you by the way."

Minerva scowled at the prince’s attitude, but the Eastern Queen tapped her by the shoulder and shook her head.

"We are a peaceful kingdom, your highness," the queen reminded Aleksander, "If you wish to converse with me as what your letter intended, then you must keep your attitude at bay."

Elys scowled at Aleksander and quickly muttered an apology to the girl, "Forgive my husband, your majesty. It has been a long journey from the West and we had been attacked by bandits too. Our carriage and horses are lost as well."

"Very well, then," the queen beckoned for Minerva, "have the birds bring them over to the Jade Palace. Provide them with basic necessities they lost, as well as tend to any injuries if there may be any."

"Understood, your majesty," Minerva bowed her head.

The giant bluebird spread its wings and chirped. This time around, Elys and the rest were anticipating it that they were able to cover their ears just in time to muffle the sound.

"Lawin and I will return to prepare for the day," the queen continued. She turned her head to face the prince and princess, and then said to them, "I will meet with you three hours after breakfast. Tell Minerva whatever it is that you might need, except for blood and meat."

The Eastern Queen remained cold even as she stepped away and hopped on to her bluebird’s back. The bird flapped its wings, gathering wind beneath them as it lifted into the air with the Eastern Queen on its back.

The girl glanced back to Elys and company as they flew away and into the other side of the cliff. The bird soared high, gliding around rock formations until they vanished from sight.

"Very well then," Minerva cleared her throat, "who here are afraid of heights?"

"I do," Henry raised his hand.

"Goodness," Minerva commented. "That would be too bad then."

The woman whistled with her mouth, a sharp and precise tone traveling far. The vampires covered their sensitive ears, and then from the far horizon, they saw several giant birds flying towards them, complete with saddles.

"Wait," Henry began to panic, "don’t tell me we are going to ride those things? Is that even safe?"

"It is for us," Minerva grinned. "Well, you will need to be acquainted to heights then, because we will be traveling by air, and unless you want to return the way you came, by all means, I won’t be trying to stop you."

The old man shivered with the thought of walking alone in the narrow road they had taken. He braced himself as the birds slowly landed, the prince and princess hopping on them right off the bat as if it was normal.

When the prince and princess were already in the air, the other birds who didn’t have a rider perched in turn, and Cordelia and the knights took each for themselves.

In the end, Henry was the only one left. His knees were buckling with the thought of riding a bird on his own. He never had thought the day would come that he was going to be in the air on a giant bird.

"Come on, scaredy pants," Cordelia called out to him, "its not that bad up here."

"Easy for you to say," the old man said as he tried to hop on the last bird that waited for him. It looked impatient, and Henry felt all more intimated.

"Hurry up," Minerva said as she slapped Henry’s shoulder and pushed him towards the bird.

"Akh!" the old man screamed. He crashed on to the bird and it screeched in surprise.

Seeing that Henry was now good to go, Minerva commanded the bird to fly and up in the air it went.

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A/N: Ch67~68 has already been edited. Sorry for that mess (╥﹏╥)