The Dragon King’s Substitute Bride
Chapter 31

HERA

The castle servants all rise and begin to set about preparing the hall for the evening meal.

I take his arm again and Midas leads me down the steps.

A proper look around the room once again reinforces the extensive, boundless wealth of the dragon king.

Tall, gray pillars run on both sides of the large, rectangular room, holding up the high vaulted and impressively decorated ceiling. There were many large windows lining the walls.

A few of which are open, bringing in the now familiar smell of blue roses and light drafts of the mountain's chilly air.

But a centrally placed hearth, filled with glowing, cackling logs, provides merry warmth and keeps the room from getting too cold.

The stone walls are decorated with bejeweled weapons easily worth twice my entire village's fortune and murals of battle scenes painted in rich resplendent colors design the floor of plaster and beaten earth. Entertainers and musicians set up in a corner, ready to provide entertainment in between meals.

I do not assume to be an expert on the trappings of court in the dragon realm but no matter how wealthy he is surely dinner every night is not this fancy an affair.

He must have set all this up for me and knowing this causes my heart to skip a bit even though I am sure it has more to do with him maintaining a certain standard as king than making me feel welcome.

At the head of the vast room and in front of a large painting of the dragon king's crest, is a raised platform of the same grey stone as the walls and on it sits the high table and the only armless high backed chair in the hall. And it is towards that raised platform that Midas leads me.

The room fills with the buzzing busyness of the castle's servants and guests as they serve and sit at the tables lined along the walls and covered in red cloth, made of a rich gleaming material that I do not quite recognize.

In the main area, the hard wooden benches for sitting one would have seen in Averia, have been replaced with plush purple pillows and the guests sit cross legged on them sipping from cups filled with honey mead and spiced wine. But some things remain the same even across realms.

The seating arrangement is hierarchical.

Nobles and members of the council are seated closer to the royal platform.

The King's chair is also of a fascinating style I have never seen before.

Having its seating parts level with the raised floor and cushioned by ruby red pillows with golden tassels so that the king could also sit cross legged while resting his back comfortably.

There are also purple pillows extending out on both sides of the chairs for close, high ranking members of the king's court.

As we approach the royal platform, the room slowly descends into silence and everyone rises.

We and the small entourage that has somehow appeared behind us ascend the two short steps to stand behind the table.

Then just like back home, the chamberlain blows the horn that is the signal for dinner to begin and the room fills with the lively noise of everyone going about their meal.

I feel a slight tug on my sleeves.

A tall man dressed in a manner that immediately identifies him as the chief steward bows lows.

"This way your highness..." He indicates towards a pillow two seats away from the King's chair and at the end of the table.

It is two seats too much.

I stand, lips pressed together wondering how to politely tell this tall, severe looking man that I do not want to sit there, next to some royal council member who I do not know and who I would most definitely end up embarrassing myself in front of. But I know I do not have choice.

Even slaves like me know seating arrangements in royal gatherings are serious traditions that could not be broken.

Wars had been started over less.

So I resign myself to spending the rest of the night a nervous wreck beside some strange dragonkin and take my hand off Midas' arm. Midas who has since been talking to Leo turns towards us instantly.

"Where are you taking her?"

The steward stops, glancing from the King to me with a stunned, unsure expression. "To her seat at the other end of the table my Lord." Midas frowns, a gesture that pulls his brows together and causes a single crease to appear in the middle of his forehead. "Why?" "Be...because that is the queen's place my lord?"

He probably hadn't meant for it come out like a question but he also most definitely did not expect the king to be interested in something as mundane and established as seating arrangements that were probably decade old traditions. Midas however isn't about to just let this go. "And who decided this?"

The poor man looks helplessly around as if searching for the ancient ancestor who had decided the queen of the dragon realm should seat at the end of the table.

A bead of sweat rolls down the side of his face from beneath his wig and I can't help but feel sorry for him.

So I do something I do not quite believe. I lay a hand on the arm of the flustered butler.

"If his highness wishes and it is of no great inconvenience perhaps I could be seated closer to the king."

The part of my mind that never lets me forget, screams at me.

What are you doing Hera?

I wish I knew.

I realize that I should be trying to stay as far away from him as possible yet I have just done the exact opposite.

But at this moment, surrounded by all these strange faces in a room filled with dragonkin watching my every move and waiting for me to slip up, he is the only thing that is stopping me from dissolving into a pool of blind panic and worry. Ironic because he is the very cause owing to why I even have a reason to be panicking and worrying in the first place.

And yet...I do not want to leave his side.

It is a madness that astounds even me.

The steward does not hesitate to take the out I have given him. "Of course, your grace. Anything for the king."

I sit cross legged on the soft pillow besides his chair, hands in my lap. The position is uncomfortable because I am unused to it but I force my legs to adjust to it.

Midas sits to my left and seated immediately to my right is one of the old men with the long white beards that Midas had referred to as a Kingmaker.

And at the end of the table, in the spot that would have been mine is Leo.

The Kingmaker smiles at me and I smile politely back because while the man with his ancient, wrinkled appearance and sightless grey eyes frightens me to no end, it is the first genuine smile that I have received since my arrival in the dragon realm. His two colleagues sit on the other side of the King and at the opposite end of the table is a woman I do not know.

She is strikingly beautiful with black hair that glistens in the warm light of the many candles that lend light to the hall.

Almond shaped green eyes that narrow cautiously as she watches me.

I know this because while she has taken great precautions not to make it obvious, I catch her throwing glances at me. They are not glances of curiosity.

I am not sure what they are but I replace I do not like them.

Servers bring the food in great platters, laying mouth watering delicacies before everyone.

There are foods I recognize and others I don't.

I observe Henette standing close by with a few other personal servants ready to be called should the need arise.

I try to catch her eye and smile at her but she doesn't glance directly at me.

A server sets a plate in front of me and I stare at it.

It is some sort of roasted bird surrounded by vegetables and a delicious looking sauce. It seems absolutely divine and my mouth waters.

The only problem is I have absolutely no idea what to do with it.

I pick up the knife set out beside my plate and try my best to discreetly copy what I see the others around me doing but it quite doesn't work out.

So occupied am I in my quest to conquer my meal that I do not even know he has leaned in till I hear his voice low in my ear and feel his breath hot on my neck.

"I promise you it already dead and will not feel a thing you do to it."

"What?" I whisper back glancing up at him, as surprised that he has been watching me as I am that the dragon king has just made jest of me.

He smirks. "You cut it like you are afraid to hurt it."

"I'm sorry my lord but not all of us grew up eating... roast peacock for dinner."

"It is not roast...do you not know what to do?"

I bite my lip and look away. "I shall figure it out."

I go back to my task but after a few seconds he groans.

"No more, I cannot bear to watch you mutilate this animal any further. Give it to me."

He pulls my plate towards himself and proceeds to smoothly cut it into tiny bite size pieces, separating the meat from the bone without even touching it with his hands.

I lean in to try and follow the deft movement of his fingers but I get lost halfway.

He pushes the now neatly cut up pieces of meat back towards me.

"There. That is how it is done."

I pout. "I would have gotten it eventually."

He scoffs and that is when I realize that the hall has gone completely silent.

Everyone's attention is fixed on the two of us and the dragon king who doesn't even cut up his own meat but has it brought to his table already prepped.

Midas looks up and the noise resumes as everyone immediately pretends to go back to their meals.

I lower my head and lift a bite to my mouth and a moan escapes my lips before I can stop it.

Skies, if I got to taste food like this every day I might forget everything that brought me here.

But because the gods hate me, a piece of my food goes the wrong way and I begin to choke.

Tears run down my cheeks as I clutch at my chest coughing violently.

Midas promptly pulls me into his laps and that only makes me cough harder.

He lifts his cup to my lips and I wrap my hands around it and his hands holding it up, gulping down the wine greedily.

"Slowly, Hera...slowly. There you go."

He lowers the cup gently. "Feeling better?"

I nod, and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand embarrassed at the sorry sight I must make.

I don't even dare look out at the people below.

Gods they must think me a mess.

I resolve to promptly bury my head in shame the minute I am back in my seat and ever look up again.

Except he does not let me go.

Master of the castle or not, this is improper.

I look around cautiously expecting looks of shock at the king's actions but everyone at the table and in hall continues their meal as if this is normal.

Everyone but the woman at the end of the table whose discreet narrowed eye glances are not so discreet anymore.

So it is strange for Midas to cut up my food for me but acceptable that he drags me unto his lap in the middle of dinner?

What an odd bunch.

I turn back to the dragon king who still has his arms wrapped solidly around my waist.

He wipes at a drop of wine on the corner of my mouth and suddenly it is all too much for my poor heart.

He must somehow notice because he smirks. "If I did not know better Hera, I'd say you are thinking about kissing me in front of all these people."

My eyes double in size as all the blood in my body rushes to my cheek and my brain dries up, suddenly incapable of forming a complete coherent sentence. "I...That is..."

"You are flustered."

"And you my Lord have a knack for stating the obvious."

His arms tighten around me, pulling my closer. "So am I right? Do you wish to kiss me?"

Yes. By the gods, a thousand times yes.

"If the idea is in my head now it is only because you my lord put it in there."

His gaze, hot and heavy drops to my mouth. "Good."

Luckily before I can lose whatever shred of sanity I still possess, Leo appears behind the king, whispering something in his ear.

Midas stops and listens. "Where are they?"

"They are in the throne room your Grace."

He nods and the chief Ryder walks away.

He turns back to me. "I am afraid, dear wife of mine that we will have to continue this at a later time."

A part of me actually has the nerve to be disappointed.

He sets me back in my seat and gets up, striding from the hall after announcing that all is well and dinner may continue in his absence.

The minute he leaves I feel utterly exposed and finish my meal in silence.

"Long live the queen."

I turn towards the soft voice.

It is the woman with the black hair and green eyes who has been looking at me all evening.

I stare at her, unsure of what to say in response.

Sometime during the meal, the kingmaker by my side has left and now she takes his place.

"You know when I heard the king had taken a new bride, I did not believe it for a second. But now...seeing you..."

Her eyes look my up and down. "I am no longer surprised. Who can resist the lure of a shiny new toy, especially one as easily disposable as a human?"

I feel myself flush with anger at the thinly veiled insult. "I beg your pardon?"

She laughs and it is a beautiful sound I instantly detest because I can smell the manipulation beneath it.

"Oh dear me, wherever are my manners?"

I glare at her. "I was just beginning to wonder the exact same thing."

She inclines her head. "My apologies, your grace. Please, allow me to properly and formally introduce myself."

"Please, by all means."

She smirks. "I am Minth your Grace...Midas' mistress."