07/25/12

Curious about who the advisors are? You'll find out more about them this chapter!

            One night, the royals and their assistants were called to meet the advisors for their first meeting. Victoria and Hyuna arrived at the conference room before Nichkhun and Hyunseung. The room was decorated with traditional blue and white flower wallpaper covering the ceiling. Instead of regular wood used for walls, the room was constructed with the thick and cooling wood of wazli trees. The polished wood walls emanated a dark red brown color, which created a dark atmosphere. Perfect for meetings with the advisors, Victoria thought sarcastically.

            The advisors were already in the conference room when Victoria and Hyuna arrived. Victoria’s heart had been pounding nervously ever since she received notice of their meeting with the advisors. They were the ones that were now in charge of her life, and it was best to stay in good terms with them, no matter how much she wanted to strangle them for making her become queen.

            She looked at all six of them, who were sitting around the circular conference table. Victoria recognized their faces, since she always had meals with them, but she never had the chance to see them up close. Eyeing the advisors closely, she was surprised to see that only two of them wore stern and cold expressions. The others were smiling and beckoning them to sit down.

            Hyuna and Victoria bowed slightly and sat down, Hyuna sitting to the left of an advisor and Victoria sitting to the left of Hyuna. Silence filled the room for a few minutes while they waited for the king and his assistant. Victoria started to get irritated. Where is that stupid bastard? We’re supposed to arrive here right after dinner! What’s the matter with him?

            Noticing Victoria’s anxious face, Hyuna put her hand on Victoria’s. Looking up, the queen saw her best friend smile reassuringly at her. She relaxed a little and smiled back. Really, where the heck is he? I don’t want to be stuck in here with the advisors all night. As she finished that thought, Victoria heard the sound of running footsteps. She turned and saw Nichkhun and Hyunseung covered in sand dust.

            “I thought I told you to change into clean clothes before you came here,” the chief advisor eyed Nichkhun disapprovingly. His wrinkles deepened as his mouth carried a frown.

            “I’m terribly sorry,” Nichkhun bowed slightly. “After dinner, Hyunseung and I were going to go back to change, but as we were walking by the camels, we heard a loud whining. We were just going to briefly check on them, but it turned out that one of the camels was giving birth. While Hyunseung was guarding the camel, I went out to find the animal doctor. The search to find the doctor took longer than expected. This is the reason for our tardiness and unseemliness tonight.”

            Victoria had to force down her smile. She tried to look indifferent, but it was apparent that Nichkhun impressed the advisors with his explanation. Turning her head to look at the advisors, she saw that all of them looked amused, even the two stern ones.

            “Alright then. Let us proceed with our meeting. Sit down,” the chief advisor cleared his throat. Nichkhun sat next to Victoria, and Hyunseung sat to the left of him. “First are the introductions. My name is Rasfin, and my specialty in magic is space. From teleportation and invisibility to compression of objects, I am ranked number one in these spells. In addition, as the chief advisor, I will be observing the king and queen’s overall actions.”

            “I am Advisor Hon,” the old man sitting to the right of Rasfin said. “I am the messenger for Advisor Rasfin. I am in charge of notifying every one of the decisions made by the advisors. My specialty in magic is air. I am best at spells of flight, wind, control of birds, and the like.”

            The other old man sitting to the left of Rasfin smiled at the four teenagers. “Hello, I am Yusli, and I am in charge of royal family traditions. My specialty in magic is memorization. Whether it is to make someone remember something or to make someone forget something, I am the one to look for.”

            The rest of the advisors introduced themselves as Kiman, Dezi, and Apuy. Advisor Kiman was in charge of citizen life, and his specialty was water. Dezi was in charge of the economy, with a specialty in earth magic, and Apuy was in charge of law enforcement, with a specialty in fire. Victoria looked up quickly at Advisor Apuy as he was introducing himself. She fought the urge to glare at him. So he’s the man who killed my parents.

            After the introductions, Advisor Hon handed each of the four destined ones a necklace. All of them were made out of a thin slice of metal, and they were attached to black string.

            “Please wear these necklaces from now on. Do not take them off,” Advisor Yusli announced. “These are necklace handed down from the previous incarnation of the king, queen, and assistants. It is a tradition for the four of you to wear these necklaces.”

            Like dog collars, Victoria thought darkly. Still, she put it on. Hers was in the shape of a heart inscribed with the acronym that denoted royalty in Tawaranese. The necklace was pretty, so she did not object to it too much. Hyuna’s necklace was in the shape of a star, and the inscription is the acronym for royal assistant. Nichkhun’s was a circle with the acronym for royalty, and Hyunseung’s was a square with the acronym for royal assistant.

            “With that out of the way, we advisors would like to convey to you four our hopes for the future,” Advisor Kiman started. “Now that the destined king and queen are ruling the country, the people of Tawaran are more at ease. Before this, the civilians were suspicious of corruption in the royal family.

            “However, with the newly reincarnated king and queen back in the throne, the people will be less restless. The goal for you two once you reach the Palace is to become close to the civilians of Tawaran. This will be done with frequent appearances in national celebrations and the apparent chemistry between the king and queen.”

            “What?!” Victoria shouted. “Chemistry?!”

            “Yeah, that’s what he said,” Nichkhun said coldly, rolling his eyes. “You don’t have to be so sensitive about it. It’s annoying.”

            The advisors all looked at each other with confusion in their eyes. Advisor Yusli spoke up first. “I thought your relationship was already in good terms. Unless what I saw a few nights ago was just an illusion.”

            “No,” Victoria said. “That was a misunderstanding. We were doing that because—”

            “Because I was exposed to alcohol, and I forced myself on her,” Nichkhun interrupted. Victoria turned sharply to face him. She mouthed the word ‘what’ to him, but he ignored her. “There was a bottle of wine in the royal bedroom, and it was the first time I was exposed to a large amount of alcohol. I had no recollection of my actions until Victoria told me about them. It was a stupid mistake, and I regret my actions deeply.”

            Victoria kept silent and lowered her head. Although she didn’t know why he made up the story, she didn’t want to betray the good explanation with her face.

            Rasfin cleared his throat again after a silence took over the room. “I suppose we all had our expectations of your relationship set too high. I sometimes forget about the fact that this is the first time you two have met in this lifetime. Forgive us for our assumptions. The rumors of your supposed relationship will be brought down. We do not want any false information to float around the camp.”

            “Thank you, Advisor Rasfin,” Victoria spoke as humbly as she could.

                        :::::::

            After the meeting, Nichkhun, Victoria, Hyuna, and Hyunseung all went back to their rooms. When they reached their room, Victoria sat on her bed as Nichkhun leaned on the wall. They were both facing the wall opposite the bed. Victoria spoke first. “Why didn’t you tell them it was some sort of spell?”

            “There was no reason to do that,” Nichkhun answered. “It didn’t seem like they knew about it, and we can’t prove that we were under a spell.”

            Victoria sighed. “Oh well, thanks for the cover up.”

            “No problem. I didn’t have to lie that much,” he said in monotone.

            Victoria stood up and took off covering and outer cloak. “It’s late. We should go to sleep.”

            “Yeah,” Nichkhun took a deep breath and started walking to his side of the room. He found the blanket back on his bed. “You sure you don’t want the blanket? It’s really cold at night.”

            “As if I don’t know that it is cold at night.” Victoria said sarcastically. She hated it when somebody worried about her. It was as if they thought she was too weak to do anything on her own. “I’ll be fine! Besides, won’t you be cold as well?”

            “Well, maybe we can ask for an extra blanket tomorrow,” he tried to compromise.

            “No, we shouldn’t ask,” Victoria stated. “You heard the advisors. They packed all their blankets, and it’s just enough for everybody to use one. If we ask for one, a servant is going to be sleeping without a blanket. On the ground. At least I have a bed.”

            Nichkhun thought about it. “You’re right.”

            They were getting ready to sleep when Victoria just realized something. “What did you just say?”

            “Umm,” Nichkhun was confused. “You’re right?”

            “HA!” Victoria said excitedly. “I won an argument! I should mark this on my calendar.”

            Nichkhun secretly smiled. He was glad he blew out the candles already. “Do you actually have a calendar?”

            There was a short pause. “No.”

            He laughed. “Then how are you supposed to mark it on your calendar when you don’t even have one?”

            “I’ll mark it in my mind, and I’ll put the date down when we get to the Palace!” she fired back.

            “If you remember,” he added.

            “Yeah, if I remember.”