Alex and Louis made their way down a hallway and out into a small garden, they"ve been isolated for days now, which was understandable. They were guests of the emperor and his birthday banquet was drawing close, all preparations were in full swing and the personal of the palace would rather not have unauthorized guests walking all over the place. But the section of the palace they were placed in was large enough, so far in the eight days they"ve been here, they"ve had meetings with tailors, had a few training exercises and a visit from Zhang Sanfeng, but apart from that they"ve not met anyone else, especially in the case of Alex who honestly had no idea what his future bride looks like apart from paintings he saw by chance.Apparently the princess was a very private person, and she was currently in the kingdom of Australia in the elite joint academy of all the still functioning global powers of earth, training.
However for the past day or two, there"s been rumors going around that she had returned back to the forbidden city in preparation for her father"s birthday.
And while that seemed like good news, in all honesty Alex was a little bit unsettle by it, after this was the girl he was expected to marry. However the thing is he just discovered that she was quite a bit older than he was, of course normally that shouldn"t matter in the long run, even if it meant that should this be a world where cultivation didn"t matter, then quite frankly the woman he was about to get married to would be his grandmother. And Louis was more than happy to elucidate on that particular point.
"Im serious though! I mean technically she could give birth to at least three of you if not more, and quite a few older than you too. How can you be okay marrying her, she"s older than you with 50 years!" Louis called out in barely undisguised humor as hey walked into a garden. Alex shook his head and looked up at the full moon hanging in the sky.
"If you don"t shut up, I"m going to have Khan chase you all night, and this time I"ll make sure he leaves more than just a superficial scratch." Alex threatened with a look so cold Louis was frozen in the spot for a second.
He blinked his eyes in surprise, Alex was not a loud individual, that much was known about him, and while he could have as much fun as any other kid his age, a.s.suming the world they lived in allowed it, Alex would have fun. Just that in a group of kids he would be the silent, brooding one, but even with that in play, Louis knew there was a warmth to Alex that not many would see at a glance. He wasn"t devastatingly handsome, but he wasn"t average either and can be considered fairly good looking, and he had blue green eyes so soulful that when you looked into them you felt safe. But over the last few months, Louis noticed that the warmth Alex was known for had been slowly fading away, or rather retreating deep into himself and would only come out on rare occasions.
The curve to this however was the ice cold chilly gaze that replaced that warmth, and even though Louis doesn"t swing that way, he couldn"t help but acknowledge the fact that being cold made Alex a whole lot more handsome and very, very scary. It was as if his entire being commanded power and he could make anyone and anything submit with just a look, it was nerve grating, and these days anytime Alex decided to threaten a person he almost usually goes through with it. The old Alex was almost completely gone by this point, Louis couldn"t help but ended if the story would have been a little bit more different if his father was still hear.
They eventually made it to the middle of the garden where surprisingly enough Khan was waiting for them, but it wasn"t the idea of him waiting for them that baffled Alex and Louis, it was the fact that he was laying down with his head on the lap of a woman so beautiful Louis was at loss for words as he stood there with his feet planted and his mouth opened. Alex was just as affected but, he had more control of his reaction as he didn"t even stop for a bit and walked into he was in front of the woman. She looked up at him and he looked down at her, the small pond reflecting the moonlight and the koi fish in it casting a soft glow on her black hair. Alex shifted his gaze and the took his feet back, before unceremoniously swinging it into the a.s.s of the still sleeping spirit causing it to help in anger as he jumped upwards, wind blasting every which way.
"Who dares! I"ll rip you limb from limb! Curse your families for then thousand generations! Rip apart your flesh and...…"
"Khan!"
"Mmmaster! What are you doing here?" The Kamaitachi asked as he sat back on his haunches, his very really long tail leaving smooth trails on the pond behind him. Alex sat down on the gra.s.s beside the pond, leaning against a pillar that held the roof of a small pavilion, directly opposite the woman who was still silent.
"I think the idea is what are you doing here? Didn"t I give you a task? Did you complete it?" Alex didn"t notice one bit how cold his tone had become, he was decisive and bland, unwilling to show weakness to anyone or anything, he had changed, but whether that was good or bad, it was up to the universe to decide.
"But I did! She"s right there! I brought her here just like you asked me to!...I just got a little bit sidetracked so I couldn"t come deliver the message that my task was done.....sorry(mumbles)" Alex couldn"t help smiling, the bond he had with Khan wasn"t one of a master and servant, but rather like that between brothers if not a father and child. In these past few days only the antics of the spirit could elicit any sort of reaction from him. Alex turned to face the woman and then got back up to his feet just as Louis walked close enough, then he bowed to her.
"I bid you a good evening ninth princess Victoria, I hope your trip from the kingdom of Australia was fine." Louis"s eyes widened in shock as he gave a flourished n.o.ble bow, much more refined than Alex"s to the princess. The princess shifted her gaze to Louis first speaking first.
"Louis of house Lumiere, this is a far cry from what the son of a duke is expected to do, especially with the responsibilities that"s been left behind for you back in France. But never the less it is good to see you again, I"ve heard much about your talent and skills from your elder brother, it was my wish that I would be able to have someone as capable as you as part of my retinue, what do you say about that."
Alex smiled as he sat back down, he heard Khan growl and watched as Louis"s face took on a different shade as he was put in a tough spot.
Obviously the princess did not put Alex in her sights, completely ignoring his greetings and talking to Louis who for all intents and purposes was Alex"s subordinate. Of all the things or ways Alex expected her to react, she took one that quite frankly he expected but she took a curve with it. He expected her to ignore him, but this woman was making political alliances, and quite frankly she didn"t have to bend over to Alex.
If you thought about it deeply enough, this marriage alliance was not something she felt inclined to refuse, there were tons of ways for her to make life miserable for Alex and just be his wife in name only, after all his mother was doing the same thing to her elder cousin red dragon. As for support, by virtue of marrying the young Master not the Zhang family, the founding clan of the Wudang sect, support became her"s automatically, plus she was dealing with a big that"s green and completely incapable of politics and all it"s intricacies, she probably felt she could control Alex if it comes down to it, after all what can a 14 almost 15 year old boy do.
"You flatter me your highness, but my sword, my life, my loyalty all of it belongs to my young Master. No amount of wealth and power can compare to the debt of a life, or the bond of brotherhood we share, I can"t in good faith serve anyone else but him, not even if you"re going to be one of his wives." Alex smiled again, he expected Louis"s answer, but not one that could be as eloquent as this. The princess gave a small scoff and small smile on a rather emotionless face.
"Everyone has a price Lumiere, yours just happens to be different. So instead I"ll ask him, Zhang Xiao Feng, gift this servant of yours to me, there"s so much at stake that you don"t understand and his potential would be wasted serving you. The resources I have would be integral in making him one of, if not the most powerful cultivator in the future, if you"re truly his brother then you would consider what"s best for his future." The princess said as she turned to Alex.
Alex smiled again as he turned to Louis who squinted his eyes a bit, Louis knew Alex wouldn"t give him up, he was just trying to warn Alex not to do anything rash after the disrespect he just endured. But the again what could be do or say, she was more powerful than he was, she had more resources, more political strength, more followers and more achievements. Alex just started his first into the cultivation world just under a year ago, he couldn"t compare to her, so expecting her to treat him like an equal was going a bit too far.
"It was eventful meeting you ninth princess Lu Victoria, until next time good night. Khan, Louis, let"s go."