Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
Aside from the desk the room contained a large lilac colored chaise lounge and a few comfortable looking armchairs that were in the shape of and colored like butterflies. There were a few different tables, several display cases, and shelves built into the walls that were filled to the brim with books that seemed to shine in the light. Most of those books were probably trimmed in gold as well. I desperately wanted to look at some of them.
“Please, sit Riviana.” Gloriana indicated one of the butterfly chairs, it was made with shades of blue and black and it looked like a Crowned Hairstreak butterfly. The chair that Gloriana sat in had a slightly greenish hue to the primary color and it was shaped like a Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing butterfly.
Once we were both seated Gloriana shook her whole body as if she were a dog or something. It was like Gloriana was shaking away her anxiety or something. Only when she spoke next I saw she was actually shaking away her Queen persona.
“Hahh, this has been quite the exhausting day already, hasn’t it.” She was smiling at me as if she and I were the best of friends just having a friendly chat.
“That it has.” I smiled at her, accepting her invite to speak like friends.
“Seriously, Riviana, I wish I could be more like you. I imagine you don’t have to deal with the same level of politics that I do. I envy you for that.”
“While that is true, I also know that I need to act like a proper Queen as well.”
“Oh phooey, what is a proper Queen anyway. It’s your kingdom and your people, you get to set the rules. I would change mine if I could but my people have had the same rules for eons.” I watched as she rolled her eyes. “Now then, let us get on to some proper girl talk.”
I was surprised to see and hear Gloriana giggle then. Her laugh was musical and it lit up her whole face. I would tell that deep down she just wanted to be herself more. I was really truly glad I didn’t have this lifestyle all the time. It was hard enough already. Though I also knew that eventually it would probably get to that point, once the entire shifter world knows about the Luna Queen. They will all raise their children and then their children’s children to respect me and my children.
The real kicker though was that I didn’t even know how long I was going to live for. I mean, Gabriel said my life would be longer than average. What did that even mean?
Now that things were calmer, though, Gloriana and I got right down to talking about the fun side of being a girl.
“Oh please, tell me you do not actually call him Fido.” Queen Gloriana was laughing so hard at the moment. “That is too perfect. And he really calls you his little bunny? Where did that even come from?” She laughed repeatedly as I told her harmless story after harmless story.
There hadn’t been quite as many funny stories from Gloriana but she did tell me about her life. I guess being a Queen made it so you didn’t get to have as much fun.
Curtis, the current consort, was Gloriana’s fifteenth consort. She had never married any of them but she would spend at least a hundred years with them before she swapped them out for a new one. Apparently the selection process was very rigorous and she could spend years looking for the next one.
She indeed did not have any children. She also expressed sadness about that. I could imagine her depression. To go that long with so many different men and not find the one meant to be yours. That had to be hard. And the fact that you are the queen so you basically know every single person in your kingdom so it’s not like she was missing a mate opportunity, unless her mate was not a Fae. That was a possibility too, I guess.
There was a lot we talked about over the course of approximately two hours or so. It was fun, and really nice, getting to know the Fae queen. It was nice to see that even if I do become a true regal queen I could still be myself when there weren’t any unfamiliar people around. As long as I was around those close to me I could be the real me.
When our chat was finally over I connected to Joaquin mentally.
‘Little Bunny? Are you alright? What’s taking so long?’
‘I am fine, Joaquin, we just chatted for a while. I am ready to come to our room for the night though.’
‘I will come get you right away.’ I pictured him jumping out of a chair to come rushing toward me.
‘Someone is one their way to get you, he should be there soon.’
When Joaquin saw me, safe and unharmed, she seemed to let just a little bit of his emotions slip. I could tell that he was relieved for sure.
“Let us go, Joaquin. I am tired and wish to retire for the rest of the evening.”
“I will send someone to your room with a light evening snack, Riviana. You need to keep up with your food intake, for those babies you’ve got in there.”
“Thank you Gloriana.
****
Joaquin
****
When my Little bunny disappeared with Queen Gloriana for hours on end I thought I was going to die. I didn’t know what was about to happen to her. After that crazy mess the baquet turned into I thought that she was going to die or something. It was horrible.
She didn’t find anything wrong with it though. Does she not know how precious she is to me? Does she not realize that she is carrying precious cargo with her? What the hell am I going to do with that woman?
She came back though. Thank the Goddess. And nothing bad happened at all. Apparently she just spent the night getting to know the queen. She was basically saying that Queen Gloriana was happy to have another Queen that she could be friends with. That was awkward, but OK.
The next day, our first full day in the Fae compound, we were going to be given a full tour. Queen Gloriana, understandably, didn’t have the whole day free to devote to us. So we would eat breakfast with her, explore and get to know people, and finish the day by having a private dinner with her.
The guards would, once again, eat their meals in their rooms or in a separate room in shifts. I felt bad making them wait like this but they had done it before when on guard duty. And if we started making things more like a real royal kingdom then we would have to make this a part of their daily life.
Another thing we would need to make certain of was training proper guards for the estate and the city. During our time walking through the compound on our tour I noticed several guards in disguise. They were positioned in places that were supposed to be inconspicuous but they were noticeable to me.
They were supposed to just sit there and observe, I could tell that was their main job, and since we got to decide where to go on a whim I knew they weren’t following us. No, they were just a covert set of guards.
Maybe I could implement that strategy with Colorado Springs. It will be a little harder of course, but not impossible. I already had guards patrolling in and around our compound but that wasn’t enough. I needed to stop threats before they got to my front door.
There was also a lot more happening inside the Fae compound than what I had expected. I knew that they would be self sufficient, that was obvious because they didn’t often go out into the human worlds. However, they had a lot of services and buildings that I hadn’t expected to see.
Despite the clear Scottish and Celtic styles all around the compound, there was a lot of Greek history showing in the way this place was built as well. There was a wide open Plaza that was halfway through the entire area that looked to be a meeting place for the residents of their little ‘city’ they had here. There was a covered walkway that the Greek used to call a Stoa. The columns here didn’t have that white marble feel to them, instead they were either made of elaborately carved wood or some ancient looking stone.