She Belongs To The Devil

"Whoa! There's a small river flowing right in front of the gate!" Zach got up from his seat and exclaimed as he looked out of the window.
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Ramon rolled his eyes and instantly corrected him, "Look closely! That's not a river; it isn't flowing. It's called a moat."

"What's the difference?" Zach kept on staring at the moat as the carriages advanced towards the outer gate of the Drayston castle.

Ramon leaned his head towards the window of the carriage and replied as he examined the tall stone wall, "It's basically a ditch that is dug around the castle to improve the castle's defenses. You see the drawbridge that this carriage is moving on right now, yes? The enemies can't enter once the bridge is pulled up."

"Huh!" Zach also craned his neck and looked up at the wall in front of them. And he exclaimed again, "Whoa! And the wall is double, maybe triple the height of our Palace's wall's height."

Kenneth turned his head to see that Zach was taking almost half of his body out of the window.

He smiled seeing his excitement and informed him, "Our castle was built by taking extreme measures for defenses. In the past, our Kingdom used to constantly go to war with the neighboring kingdoms. So, the castle was built to protect the Royals even when every last defense of the Kingdom was to fall down."

The Drayston Castle was built on top of a cliff. It was surrounded by the moat from three sides while its rear faced the cliff. A river flew below that cliff.

And just like Kenneth had said, the Royals would have enough time to flee even if the castle was compromised. There was an underground tunnel that would lead to the river below the cliff. And the river would mix with the ocean after a few hours of travel by boat.

The huge outer gate creaked open to let all everyone in.

The guards were all standing in line on either side of the path. And they all saluted the Royals as the carriage entered the castle compound.

Ariel peeked out of the window that wasn't covered by Zach.

This castle also gave off a similar vibe as the houses that the Royals had seen on their way here.

The cold breeze swooshing around the castle was able to set up a mystical mood. The torches that were tied to the posts were lighting up the path. Ariel could see that almost all of the structures inside the Drayston Castle were built using stones. And she felt as if she was in some fantasy land.

The royal carriages stopped in front of the central keep where the Royals resided.

"All right," Kenneth clapped his hand and said with a smile on his face, "This is where we step out. Let's all go and greet my parents. And then after, I will personally show you all to your respective rooms where you will be residing during your stay here."

"Sounds great! Let's go!" Ariel gave a wide smile to everyone and waited for the coachman to open the door.

When the door was open, everyone got out of the carriage in an orderly fashion.

Ariel glanced towards the other carriages. She found one of the coachmen checking the handle of the carriage he drove as if something was wrong.

And soon after, she saw Damien's aura beside that carriage.

"Is something wrong?" Kenneth almost startled Ariel when he questioned her.

Ariel turned to look at Kenneth with an awkward smile on her face. "Nothing! Nothing's wrong." She darted her eyes around and asked, "Which way do we go?"

"This way," Kenneth led the way as he had been doing for the past few days.

And the other four walked behind him in an elegant manner.

They entered the keep's main door and walked down a long corridor where several guards were stationed. After a while, Kenneth led them up the private stairs used by the King, Queen, and him.

There weren't any guards there since the stairs were circular and it didn't have enough space for guards to stand on without blocking the path.

So, those who were walking behind Kenneth instantly seized the opportunity to straighten their clothes and smooth out their messy hair. And when the stairs were about to end, they immediately assumed their elegant stances.

"We're almost there," Kenneth gave a heads up to the others before leading them towards the place where his parents were at this hour.

When he announced that, all the other four instantly felt nervous for some reason. It was especially true for Ariel.

The Royals from Wyverndale hadn't visited the King and the Queen of another Kingdom. The twins and Zach had visited the Royals of Aberdeen, but they were their relatives. So they had never felt this nervous before meeting the monarchs of another Kingdom.

Kenneth had been told after getting out of the carriage that his parents were waiting for the Royals of Wyverndale in a grand meeting room.

When they reached the door, the guards bowed to all the Royals and pushed the door to the meeting room open after announcing their presence to the King and the Queen.

Though it was way past the time for the King and Queen to still be in their royal attire, today, they were still wearing those heavy clothes and several pieces of jewelry in order to welcome the special guests.

They were sitting gracefully on a sofa with elaborate designs. And when they saw the Princes and Princesses enter the room, they gave a welcoming smile to all of them.

Kenneth instantly fisted over his chest and greeted his parents with a slight bow, "Greetings, Your Majesties. I hope both of you are in good health."

And the others also followed. They all gave a bow to the monarchs of Brenalia and said in a sophisticated manner, "Greetings, Your Majesties. May Brenalia prosper under your rule."

Both the King and the Queen gave an acknowledging bow to the Princes and Princesses.

And King Walter welcomed them all as he darted his eyes at all of the guests, "I welcome all of you to my Kingdom. I had heard a lot about all of you from the Crown Prince. Please make yourselves at home."

Ariel gave a bright smile and said on everyone's behalf, "Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty. We will be in your care."

Queen Florence then glanced at her son and lovingly said to him, "Ken, why don't you show your guests to their rooms. And afterward, we have a welcome dinner in the main dining hall. Gather there at 9."

Kenneth gave a smile to his mother and agreed. "I am looking forward to the dinner, mother. We will all be there in time."

Kenneth and the others turned around and left the room.

The Crown Prince led his guests through another long corridor.

Ariel caught up to him and asked, "So, your mother calls you Ken, huh. It was really lovely, the way she called you that."

Kenneth gave a subtle smile. And he hinted to Ariel, "You can also call me Ken if you like it that much. I think it's about time we start addressing each other by our nicknames."