The Royal Mark-Chapter 253: The Other Alphas

’Tell me where are you, I’ll go there,’ Chris asked mentally to Elsa.

’In the castle’s main entrance,’ she replied.

’How did you get in there? It’s far from the dining hall.’

’I saw through the window that there’s a long line of carriages carrying a lot of trunks, so I checked it out. When I got here, I was ambushed. You didn’t tell me you have other relatives coming and now they don’t want to let me go! I need your help...’

’I’ll be right there,’ he answered before turning to Hoven, "Our aunt is here. How did she know that we were already here?"

Hoven gulped and started stuttering, "Well, uhm... Even though they fled to Vrenada when your uncle announced his marriage to the witch queen she always contacts me and she’s part of the family so I told her last night that we won. I told her when the coronation was but maybe she couldn’t wait?"

Chris rolled his eyes and could only imagine the patience that his wife was putting up right now.

"My love!" Elsa exclaimed as soon as she saw Chris to divert the attention of the people from her to him.

Chris put up his best smile and stood beside Elsa before greeting their guests.

"Aunt Elena! I think you have missed the announcement. The coronation is in two days."

"I know dear, and I’m happy to meet the new addition to our family." The old lady smiled at Elsa while still holding her hand. "These nephews of mine are always cranky."

"Nephews?" Elsa asked. Another surprise for her.

"Oh, didn’t Christopher and Hoven tell you? I am their aunt. I am the cousin of the late King Ulfgar Jorgensen and my husband is the brother of Hoven’s father. So rude of me, I forgot to tell you my name. I am Elena Heraldsen, call me Aunt Elena."

"I am glad to meet you, Aunt Elena," Elsa smiled and pinched the back of Chris which made him jolt in surprise.

"So, Auntie, what brings you here? This place is still a mess, I think it’s best if you stay in the Heraldsen Mansion," Chris said.

"I can see that and I am here to help you clean up and make sure the castle is ready in two days," the old lady said.

"Oh! That is wonderful. Please help yourself, we better leave you to it so you can focus on beautifying the castle," Elsa quickly replied.

’What are you doing?’ Chris asked.

’What else? Making her busy. She was so talkative and didn’t want to let me go. Let her do what she wants so she would have no time to interview me.’

’You have a point.’

"Aunt Elana, me and my wife are so happy that you are willing to help us. But I apologize I need to take my wife to the dining hall, it’s almost noon and we haven’t eaten breakfast yet. You can join us," Chris said.

"No need for that dear. I already ate before coming here, please do whatever you need to do and let me take care of everything. I have brought my servants here and they are the best at doing this kind of work."

"Alright, enjoy your stay here," Chris said before patting Hoven’s shoulder. "Hoven will assist you with whatever you need. Please don’t hesitate to ask him for help. We’ll get going now."

’You bastard!’ Hoven quickly exclaimed.

’Sorry, brother. It’s your fault she’s here, so enjoy chatting with our aunt until evening, bye!’

Chris quickly pulled Elsa towards the dining hall without looking back.

"I thought I would never be able to walk away from her. She asks too many questions, much worse than a detective," Elsa uttered.

"She’s like that, and she talks nonstop. After my mom died, she spent half of her time here in the castle and half in the Heraldsen Mansion. I guess she’s trying to make us feel what a mother’s love feels like especially to Neia.

My Mom and Aunt Elena were very close and Neia always followed her around when our mom passed away."

"I guess she’s a nice person then, huh?" Elsa said.

"Yeah, she is. But her talkativeness is often annoying, she just doesn’t know when to stop," Chris chuckled and so did Elsa.

When the couple arrived at the dining hall, both their jaw dropped. There was so much food on the table and it was not just for two people.

"What is this?" Chris asked the chamberlain.

"Your meal, Your Majesty," he said.

"I can see that, but why is it too much?"

"We don’t know that the Queen likes and we don’t want her to think food is bad in Arcanis, so I told the cook to prepare the best dishes that a human would like."

Chris rubbed his face with both his hands while Elsa laughed.

"Thank you, I appreciate that. But this is too much and I don’t like wasting food. How about you call everyone in the kitchen who hasn’t eaten yet so we can share the food," Elsa suggested.

"But Your Majesty, the King and Queen don’t dine with the servants," the chamberlain said.

"Say’s who? The King and Queen are right in front of you and we are telling you to invite anyone who wants to eat. I am sure they haven’t eaten yet because they prepared for this. From now on, no more wasting of food in this castle," Elsa said.

The chamberlain and the servants who heard it felt happy and excited. Not only because of the delicious food on the long table but also because their new Queen is not like the evil witch queen who does not treat them well.

After eating, Chris and Elsa went their separate ways. Chris had to check with his people and see the ongoing repair of the damaged parts of the castle, while Elsa went to see Laureen.

She found Andrius and Laura in her room and Laureen was already awake.

"How are you feeling?" Elsa asked.

"Not good, Your Majesty. They told me what happened, but I can’t remember any of that. Most of my memories were blurred, and... And..." Laureen was not able to finish what she wanted to say and burst out in tears.

Laura hugged her daughter and spoke on her behalf. "There’s something wrong with her wolf. She can feel her but she said it was like she was not there at the same time."

"Let’s try my divine power and see what I can do." Elsa sat beside Laureen and started healing her with divine magic.

Everyone was closely watching the two women and saw how Elsa’s expression changed so many times in that short period of time.

"I think there’s something blocking my magic inside you. I cannot go further it was as if there was a wall," Elsa said.

"I feel the same. It was like my wolf is in a cage with no doors and windows," Laureen mentioned.

"Besides that, what else do you feel?"

"I feel weak, the longer I cannot communicate with my wolf, the weaker I feel. It feels like I am slowly losing myself. I feel like I am slowly dying..." Laureen sobbed once more.

Elsa embraced Laureen and said, "Tomorrow, Elandir will arrive and my grandmother will come too in two days. I promise I will ask for help from them and we will try our best to solve this. I am not an expert when it comes to this thing but I will not stop until I find a way to help you. Do you understand?"

Laureen nodded and pulled away. She wiped her tears and uttered, "I am sorry, I am being a burden to everyone. And thank you, Your Majesty. Even though it is not your responsibility, you are still doing your best to help me."

"Don’t think like that. You are not a burden and you are my responsibility. You helped me and Chris, and also Arcanis. Just hang in there and don’t let go, okay?"

Laureen nodded and finally smiled.

Together with her ladies-in-waiting, Elsa then went to the room where Aeson and Gavin were. She checked the two right away and asked Arla to come closer.

"Can you confirm what I am sensing in their stomach? I can sense something made from the earth but not the same as the hecatolite," Elsa told Arla.

Arla hovered her hands on Aeson’s stomach first and then Gavin’s. "You’re right. I can sense it too, and I think it is a part of a tree or a plant."

"Alright. I will operate on them," Elsa declared.

"Lexi, please get some volunteers who are willing to absorb their pain as I open them up to see what that bitch queen implanted in them," She added.

Lexi didn’t even have to go out of the room to search. When she told Hoven, Blake, and Tallor about it through their mind link, they quickly sent the other alphas who already volunteered earlier in case their Queen asked for it.