Tyrion hopped down from his horse and rubbed him gently, patting him on the back a few times before handing his rear to the stable boy who then led him away into the stable where the other horses stood in their stalls rearing and neighing.
Taking long strides, he marched straight to the throne room where his father and some of the clan members were already seated seemingly having a discussion about something.
Seeing his son approaching, Maximus's face suddenly lit up with a smile and he opened his arms wide, motioning for him to come closer.
"Greetings, father," Tyrion said when he was finally standing in front of his father, his head bowed to him in respect. "I was told you wanted to see me," he disclosed standing upright.
"Yes, my son," king Maximus disclosed, his voice so deep it resounded in the four corners of the room. He adjusted himself well on the throne, his gaze directed at Tyrion. "Your bride, the princess had since arrived here almost days ago yet you were nowhere to be found in the palace that's why I had to send Luke after you," he said. "Look my son," he got up, closing the distance between him and Tyrion and threw his arms over his shoulder, "I know you're not in favour of this arrangement but do bear in mind that it is an important role you've been given; one that will help you prove to the entire clan that you're capable of ruling them. Don't waste this great opportunity, my son." He patted him on the back.
"I won't father," Tyrion assured.
"Alright then, go look for your bride and offer her a proper welcome," he remarked then leaning closer to him, more like in a whisper, he said, "but be careful. I heard she's a wild one," and looked across to where the clan elders were seated. Tyrion immediately followed his gaze and that was when he noticed his brother Allen seated amongst the elders, glaring at him. His lips curled up into a half smile as he suddenly realised what his father was talking about.
Back when Luke had visited him in the woods and he had asked of the princess, he had revealed everything she had been up to in the palace to him including how she had attacked his brother and his mate so hearing his father made a joke about it felt amusing to him.
"Thanks for the heads up, father, I'll take note of that," Tyrion declared, gave one last bow, then winked at Allen whose eyes were still on him before exiting the throne room.
While walking away, Tyrion could feel Allen's hard gaze penetrating his soul from behind but he just ignored it as his mind was completely set on something else; meeting the princess.
Although he still doesn't acknowledge her as his 'wife', the stories he's heard of her so far made him want to know her more.
In fact, his desire to meet her was so strong it got him questioning himself wether he was beginning to fall for her even though she was a human and he was supposed to hate her.
After making his way out of the throne room, Tyrion went straight to Stormy's chambers hoping to see her there but was unfortunately met with her absence.
Suddenly remembering that Luke had told him she practices archery with the guards on the training field, he decided to head that way.
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Stormy was on the field practicing with the gaurds as usual when she heard Ella's voice calling out to her and spun around to see her running towards her in a frenzy.
Holding her bow and arrow in her two hands, she creased her forehead into a tight frown, her head tilted to the side as she waited patiently for her maid to arrive all the while wondering what her excitement was about.
In no time, Ella was right in front of her, crouched over and holding her knees while struggling to breathe and although Stormy was curious to know what was actually making her that giddy with excitement, she waited until after she was finally done catching her breath then she asked her the one question repeating over and over again in her head.
'What was going on?'
With a smile, Ella revealed that the king's first son and Stormy's supposed husband was finally back in the palace and was actually looking for her, causing Stormy to feel a tingling sensation in her belly and her cheeks to go red.
After everything Ella had told her about him, she had found herself falling deeply in love with him, although she knew he wasn't hers and she wasn't supposed to be feeling that way.
Of course, to everyone else there, she was his rightful wife since they presume her to be princess Zelda Bernadotte Nikaulson, the daughter of king Raymond Bernadotte Nikaulson the second and the heiress to the throne of the Avalon kingdom but then she herself knew that was a lie.
She, Stormy was a complete nobody...a maid who was only there acting like the princess because she had been forced into doing so.
Her being there was as a retribution for the stupid mistake she made in the past and she wasn't about to make another one again by falling for a man she knew she doesn't deserve the tiniest bit.
He was the prince of one of the greatest kingdoms in the world and there was no way he was going to have anything to do with someone like her.
Yes, he might actually end up falling for her thinking she was the princess, but once he finds out that she was just an imposter, a kitchen maid who even the sewer rats are better than, she knows he'll not even bother to take a look at her anymore.
In fact, he might even asked for her head to be chopped off and given to him on a stake or worse have his kingdom go to war with her people; which wouldn't have even bothered her that much were it not for her mother.
She was and has always been the reason she puts herself in some dire situations. If not for her, she would've escaped from that place a long time ago and free herself from the clutches of the evil queen.
As a matter of fact, she's thought of going to the king to tell him the truth about who she was several times since her arrival in Nightingvale but then when she thinks of what the outcome of her actions will be and how it might affect her mother, she always ends up changing her mind.
From the rumours she's heard back in the palace, the marriage between the princess and the prince was supposed to be a very important and crucial one. Like some form of ritual or covenant that was meant to bond the two kingdoms together so she was quite aware it was a big deal for both sides and that was why it had come as a shock to her when the queen had asked her to go instead of the princess.
Till now, she still couldn't figure out why the queen, who had spent days and weeks making preparations for her daughter's marriage suddenly changed her mind at the last minute.
Was she trying to save her daughter from something? Was that why she was sent here instead of the princess?
Could she be in any danger?
At this very moment, the nervousness Stormy had felt when she had first arrived in Nightingvale came rushing back and she entirely forgot about the prince.
It wasn't until Ella nudged her back into the present that she finally remembered she had told her about the prince looking for her and so laying the bow and arrow down on the grass, she lifted her gown up a bit and followed after Ella.
Knowing her quarters was the first place he'd have gone to look for her, they both headed there, however, when they finally got there, they found no trace of him.
Thinking he might've made a stop on the way to her chambers, Ella suggested they wait there for him for a while to see if he'll come but even then he didn't show up.
Now at her wits end and still wanting to meet the prince so badly, Stormy decided they should go meet him in his chambers instead and although Ella tried to talk her out of it, telling her it was a bad idea, she nevertheless got her to take her there.
However, they never made it because hallway to the prince chambers, they were met by Luke who disclosed to them that the prince had once again left the palace for an important issue, leaving Stormy frustrated and disappointed.
In fact, she really wanted to meet him so bad it was driving her crazy.
Feeling heartbroken by the fact that she couldn't see the prince, Stormy slowly turned around and without saying a word walked back to her chambers and for the rest of the day, hid herself there, refusing to go out even when it was finally time for dinner.
Ella, having no other choice had to serve her her food in her chambers and coerce her like she was a baby before she finally ate.
And this, however left Stromy quite confused.
Why was she acting that way? She barely even knew the prince so how come she couldn't get him out of her head even though she's tried several times to?
Was she under some kind of spell?
Could she be going mad?
The next couple of days, Stormy invested more time in her archery practice trying to use it as a means to get rid of the wild thoughts she kept having about the prince but unfortunately it didn't help much.
The more time she spent on the field, the more she's reminded of him.
According to what she's been told by Ella, he's one of the greatest soldiers in the kingdom and the best archer there ever was so whenever she sees the other gaurds practicing, she ends up picturing them as him instead, causing her to become distracted and less focused.
Day after day, Stormy tries to keep herself busy just so she could get rid of the saucy images she's been making of him in her head but all to no avail.
"Damn you, Amy," she had cussed out one time when she remembered how she used to talk to her about fairytales, fairies and princesses falling in love with princes and blaming her for being the one responsible for the weird thoughts going through her head.
As days go by and the prince still hadn't returned, Stormy's obssession with him grew stronger and she began to hang out more at the palace gate, waiting patiently for the day he'll come back.
She'll wake up very early in the morning, take her rose bath and head there, then spend the entire day sitting down and watching the troops and people come in and go all in the hopes of meeting her prince or as Amy would say, 'her prince charming'.
Stormy's consistency coupled with her determination left everyone in the palace speechless, including the king and one other person; Reina.
She had actually been in support of the marriage arrangement between her brother and the princess at first but after learning about the evil plans of some of the clan elders, it had occurred to her that they were only setting a trap for them just so they could take the throne away from them and that made her change her stance on the whole issue and since she wasn't able to prevent the marriage too from happening, she ended up being very frustrated, causing her to always act rude and disrespectful towards Stormy instead.
To her, she being there was a complete sign of impending doom. A cause for alarm and it bothers her how no one else seemed to care except her.
Even her father seemed to have no issues whatsoever with her being there although she had informed him about the plans the elders were making.
It was as if every single one of them had gone crazy; except of course her younger brother Allen.
He was the only one who seems to be thinking straight and the only person who shares the same beliefs with her.
As a matter of fact, he had openly made it clear not once but multiple times that he wasn't comfortable with the princess being in Nightingvale, and although his agenda was slightly different from hers, she was still glad he also saw the gravity of the situation they were in.
In accordance with the treaty they had signed some years back, her kind weren't allowed to attack the humans unless of course they strike first so if something bad should happen to the princess under their watch, they will be blamed and held accountable and that was what the clan elders wanted.
If they manage to cause the princess any harm, her family would have to appear in front of the council and if they were found guilty, they'll all be stripped off their royal titles and banished from the kingdom for all eternity hence giving them the chance to take over the throne.
Sadly, her presence was the only thing threatening their existence and it's the reason she was so tense and bothered.
And it was also what keeps fuelling her dislike for her.
She feels like she doesn't belong there and she keeps proving her right every single time she does something impulsive.
So far, her impetuous actions had kept getting on her nerves every single time but she always disregards them, however, when on one of her usual rounds with Bertha, Rebekah's sister, Reina realised she had stepped out of the palace gate, she decided enough was enough and went to confront her.
"What at all is it you're looking for?" she had asked her after she met up with her.
Confused, Stormy stared at Reina with a questioning look. "What do you mean?" she demanded.
"What do I mean, seriously?" Reina scoffed. "Are you that dumb? Gosh, you must be so stupid."
"Excuse, you," Stormy exclaimed, her face full of displeasure. She was aware the princess doesn't like her but she hadn't thought she'll go as far as to insult her or call her names. "Look here, I do know and understand the fact that you hate me, Reina but I won't have you disrespect me. I am not one of your maids so mind how you talk to me, because next time I might not be in such a good mood." With this, Stormy brushed past Reina, hitting her in the process.
Bertha, enraged as she watched Stormy casually walk away after disrespecting Reina immediately rushed towards her and pinned her to the ground, her eyes dark and full of malice with her fangs bared and her claws portracting as she readies to attack her, however, before she could do anything, Tyrion suddenly appeared and pushed her off her.
Then, after checking to make sure that she was okay, he then head over to where Bertha had landed and bent next to her, and in a low and threatening tone, he said, "Try to lay your hands on her next time and I swear I'll drive a stake through your blackened heart."