Page 152 of The White King's Favorite

Just as she finished her sentence, Cessilia and Ashen appeared at the end of the corridor, holding hands. Tessandra smiled. Although she wasn’t fond of the King himself, she had rarely seen her usually shy cousin looking so happy.

“...No need to mention all that to those two,” she muttered to Naptunie and Sabael.

“Why?”

“They probably already know,” she said, moving from the wall.

The five of them met up in the corridor, Cessilia smiling at them, although there was a dash of pink on her cheeks. Both she and the King had changed clothes too.

“Lady Cessilia, your hair is so pretty like that! But you don’t have any hair ornaments, will that be fine?”

“I th-think it will,” chuckled Cessilia. “I d-don’t think this c-competition is really about looks...”

Tessandra glanced at the King but didn’t say anything. She shrugged.

“Let’s go,” she sighed. “I have a feeling this new banquet won’t be relaxing at all, anyway.”

She walked ahead, while the two siblings, a bit more self-conscious about the King’s presence, politely let him and Cessilia through first. Their little group made their way downstairs in silence. The closer they got to the cave where the banquet was being held, the heavier the tension got.

While going down the stairs, though, Cessilia couldn’t help but admire how their surroundings became less handcrafted but more natural. The walls were now irregular, designed by the waves that once reached this place. The windows were rarer too and were the last things men had put in there. Even the stairs got less and less equal, more uneven and forcing them to watch their steps. The path was narrow, forcing them to come down two at a time. Had everyone come down this narrow path? It didn’t leave much room for a proper evacuation in case something happened... It would be easy to block the way out too. Her cousin probably had the same thoughts, as Tessandra kept nervously glancing all around.

Finally, they reached a much more open area. It wasn’t a room per se, more like a very large cave that had been designed to look like a hall. The ceiling was entirely made of stone, some stalactites even coming down from the ceiling. There were only a handful of windows, all too small to brighten the whole cave without the help of a few well-placed mirrors, some torches lit up against the walls, and at the other end of the cave, a small lake. Just like the one she had been to with Ashen before, this water was crystal clear, almost turquoise, and reflected the light like a large mirror. There had been a conscious effort made by the human craftsmen too. Unlike the roof of the cave, all of the walls up to a certain height had been decorated with gorgeous mosaics, most made of stained glass, shaped gems, or polished stones, to represent scenes or beautiful designs. A portion of the cave’s floor had been dug to an even level and had a clean floor of stained glass and polished stones. It was as if the lower half of the cave had been made into a large hall, while the top was still very natural, where no man’s tool could reach. It was a truly unique place, beautiful both by the efforts men had made and the natural talents of nature.

The cave was large, but most of it was used as an arena, just like Naptunie had described. A large circle had been dug below the natural cave’s floor, while stairs had been carved all around, three levels for the guests to sit around it. Outside of this arena, the cave was mostly left to its natural state, with only three entries like the one Cessilia’s group had just walked out of, small holes on the other side, probably dead ends to smaller caves, and the little lake. As they finally reached the last step into the cave, Cessilia was surprised by the sand color of the stones around, much clearer than the ones from outside. Perhaps the lack of seawater and sunlight reaching them had preserved the stone’s natural color...

“It’s so beautiful!” exclaimed Naptunie, saying out loud what Cessi was also thinking.

Her voice echoed in the cave, attracting all eyes to their little group. Although the cave was very large, the echo was equally as impressive, and thus, the smallest sound could be heard everywhere. Moreover, the people already seated on the steps of the arena had been rather quiet, or only whispering, thus their entrance was not discreet at all.

There were a lot more people than Cessilia remembered seeing at the first banquet, perhaps because the room had been smaller before. Now, the cave seemed filled with people from all clans, their eyes going right to her. It would have been a bit scary if she hadn’t prepared herself for at least this much attention. However, with Tessandra in front of her and Ashen holding her hand, Cessilia wasn’t scared at all. Moreover, she wasn’t only getting defiant glares. A lot of the eyes looked happy to see her, notably those from the clans she had already befriended. She looked around, trying to spot her closest allies, but none of those who had helped at the Outer Wall were there. She suspected the Yonchaa, Hashat, and Sehsan had sent representatives and remained at the Outer Wall to help. She recognized Lady Bastat’s father and Nanaye, the candidate of the Yonchaa Tribe and Naptunie’s friend. The Hashat Family was represented by Hephael’s father, although the man looked a bit unhappy to be there, his arms crossed and his lips pinched.

Seated on the first level was the Yekara Clan, more numerous than before. Cessilia frowned. They were all wearing blood-red outfits, their eyes on her. Their leader, Lord Yebekh, was between his two candidates and smirking. He definitely had something on his mind...

“Is it me or... are there a lot of people?” muttered Naptunie, a bit worried.

“The Yekara asked to bring more men, saying they were worried for their candidates after the murder,” muttered Ashen. “I couldn’t refuse, but I brought more of our guards, just in case...”

Sabael nodded. Indeed, he recognized some of his fellow Royal Soldiers, even nodding at those he personally knew or was friends with. Still, it couldn’t be helped that the atmosphere would be tense with so many people. There would have been no reason for the Yekara Clan to bring this many people if they didn’t have something in mind.

“...Krai really won’t be able to come here,” groaned Tessandra. “It’s still raining outside, and there’s no point in him coming, either; he’d risk killing us all if the cave collapses.”

This was definitely part of the alienated clans’ plan. Cessilia had thought the same while looking around the cave. She could hear the sea waves outside, probably not too far on the other side of the cave’s walls, but the underwater passage probably led them further than that. They could also hear the rain, much calmer than before but seconded by a storm getting closer and closer. She silently hoped Naptunie was right about that waterway...

They finally reached what seemed like the arena, but far from parting with her, Ashen held her hand tight and guided her to his seat in the stalls. Unlike all the other seats carved around them, the King’s throne was much larger, more embellished, and almost as tall as two rows by itself. No one had sat near it, so when Ashen sat down, Cessilia was noticeably the only one within his proximity. After a hesitation, she sat right next to him, in a normal seat, but with the King still holding her hand. Tessandra, Nana, and Sabael sat close by, although deliberately leaving some space for the couple. Their seating gathered a lot of attention once again, some staring while others glared. The women behind the Yekara Leader, in particular, seemed to be piercing holes through Cessilia, but she ignored them. Instead, she glanced at the Pangoja Leader. That middle-aged man seemed to have lost weight and aged a few years in just a couple of days’ time. Perhaps he was very affected by his candidate’s death. The remaining one was seated right next to him, with a defiant look in her eyes. Istis had a beautiful, long, orange dress that did not match her unhappy expression, as if she had been dragged here by force. In fact, she was the only candidate not looking toward the King or Cessilia, her eyes down on her hands.

“Welcome, Your Majesty!” exclaimed Lord Yebekh as if he was the main host of the banquet.

“You sound very happy,” hissed Ashen.

“Of course! This banquet will most likely be a memorable one... Hopefully, no bad news comes to mess with our candidates’ performances this time. We shall expect the ladies of our Kingdom to demonstrate their best skills, so Your Majesty can choose a queen from the best of them.”

His obvious intent to exclude Cessilia from the “ladies of our Kingdom” was rather straightforward, and got him a few glares. Not only from Tessandra and Ashen but from several people from the other families as well. Even Axelane, the beautiful candidate of the Nahaf Family, looked a bit annoyed at his arrogance, rolling her eyes and grabbing the hems of her gorgeous, long, golden dress.

“...Enough,” said Ashen. “This banquet is only happening so we can confirm who my future Queen will be. Since some of you still think this is even necessary...”

He was obviously referring to two clans amongst the seven, but both the Pangoja and Yekara Leaders decided to play dumb, remaining silent. Ashen formed a fist with the hand that wasn’t holding Cessilia’s. If it wasn’t for those two clans’ power, he would have ended this foolish, useless competition long ago. There was no way he’d choose a woman other than Cessilia. The only reason he couldn’t end it was that the Yekara and Pangoja Clan might use this as an excuse to start another civil war. With Cessilia’s latest achievements, though, this might not be a concern anymore. She had rallied several tribes and families to her with impressive speed and diplomacy.

Ashen took a deep breath.

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