The next morning, the royal couple and their retinue came to the docks early to leave Port Hope. Drayce helped Seren board the ship amidst the liveliness of the port, the sailors scrambling about to make sure all the cargo were in place and the people were all accounted for.

Drayce and Seren stood side by side at the bow while observing all the bustling both in the ship and on the port. Seren asked, “Will we be stopping at another island afterwards?”

pAnDa (nov)e1​ “Indeed. We will take another stopover on Turtle Island after two days if the weather is good, and then afterwards we will enter the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Griven.”

“Griven? Oh, I wonder if I can meet Rayjin?” But then she remembered that the little girl would probably be with her parents in the capital, not in some distant coastal territory. “How many days will it take for us to get to Griven?”

“About five or six days from now. If we are to stay overnight on Turtle Island, from there it will take two to three days more to reach the city of Selve in Griven.”

“So from the capital of Megaris it takes about one week to reach Griven via the sea?” she asked.

“Hmm, and from Griven, it will take about another week to reach Abetha, though we will be making stops at ports like this.”

“Megaris to Abetha will take roughly two weeks.”

“Yes, but only if the sea is calm and the wind is in our favor. Still, it’s faster than taking the land route given that it’s already winter.”.”

“Understood.”

The ship’s anchor was raised under the instructions of Captain Benett who was standing behind the ship’s wheel at the quarterdeck, while Seren and Drayce simply enjoyed standing at the railing, observing the heavy iron chains being pulled back into the ship.

Once again, there was a sound of a bell ringing at the port just like in Megaris, which indicated the ship was leaving the dock. All the sailors made cheering sounds as the large ship unfurled its sails from the masts, and Seren looked at them acting merry, some even bursting into sailing songs and sea shanties. A wide smile spread on her lips seeing that cheerful atmosphere.

“Who could have guessed these sailors were dealing with a life-threatening storm two nights before?” she commented.

“Seems like my Queen is really enjoying all this.”

“Of course, I do…uhm…except for feeling sea sick. I hope I won’t feel that bad again.”

“We should travel more often so you will get more used to this.”

For a moment, the crying face of Jasper, Drayce’s most trusted aide, flashed in Seren’s mind. She could only offer a brief silence out of pity for him, but the thought of traveling with her husband was too good a notion for her to not accept.

After the rowdy people somewhat settled down,  Seren looked around the ship. “I haven’t seen Mister Elf in a while.” She remembered the last time she saw him seemed to be the night when Drayce saved the ship.

“Are you talking about me, Your Majesty?”please visit panda(-)N0ve1.co)m

The voice caught her attention and she turned to look at the silver-haired elf walking leisurely at the bow of the ship.

“Ah, yes. I was just wondering as I had not seen you around, Mister Yorian,” she replied.

“Thank you for looking out for me, Your Majesty. You might have missed me because I was resting away from the humans,” he said, “but it will make me glad if you call me simply by my name.”

This came out without a context for Seren—one moment he was telling her something, and the next second, he changed it to something else. “Uhm…Name?”

“Though I am about a thousand years old, Your Majesty can’t deny I look younger than your husband, can you?” He smiled playfully, and without giving her a chance to deny it, he said, “….and my name is Yorian, just Yorian.”

Seren pondered over what he said and then realized he really does look younger than Drayce’s age. The elf had the appearance of a human male in his early twenties. “Well…” She looked at Drayce to know his opinion.

“It’s up to you,” Drayce replied as he wished for her to learn to make decisions on her own. It was also necessary for her to learn to interact with others, knowing when to accept or reject people’s goodwill to her. After all, as Queen, she would be subjected to more situations like this in the future.

She looked back at the waiting elf. “Fine…Yorian.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he smiled at her politely. “There is something else I have been meaning to talk with you. Is it all right for you to spare me a bit of your time to satisfy my curiosity?”

“Yes, I don’t mind,” she said as she fully faced the elf, her purple eyes firmly meeting his gaze. “What are you curious about, Yorian?”

A straight back, chin slightly tilted up, eyes that were solemn and unflinching—it was an elegant and dignified appearance that those who knew the Third Princess of Abetha from a few months ago wouldn’t have imagined she was capable of.

The old Seren used to appear quiet and withdrawn, uneasy with conversations but pretending to be unbothered, but the past three months had changed her to  a confident individual capable of taking matters on her own even when she was facing a powerful person. She didn’t look like a person sheltered under her husband’s wings.

Staring at his Queen, Drayce felt a burst of pride as he quietly took a step back, giving space for the two to have this much delayed conversation.

“Your Majesty, I believe you must be curious about the hidden powers inside you,” the elf jumped directly to the point without wasting time.

Seren didn’t expect him to talk about that. She felt a little hesitant, but she did not outwardly show her feelings. “I am.”

“So do I,” the elf replied. “I wish to know what kind of powers you hold and what you are capable of.”

Seren looked at him a little warily. Until today no one had raised this issue, not even her own husband. All her life, her powers were treated as a curse and her nanny had refused to tell her anything about them, even forbidding her from trying to explore magic. All she knew was that she had a dangerous power locked inside her and evil people were after her to get that power.

Why was this elf suddenly interested in the powers she couldn’t even use?

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