"Welcome to the great Moon palace." Heracles announced as the carriage landed in front of a large shinning double golden door. She got down with the help of the man in charge of the ride. She smiled a nervous one at him from which earned her a warm pleasant smile from him as well. She blushed and averted her gaze, walking quickly to Heracles' side. She shook her head as if shaking off every thought.
"Zelloy." A chorus greeting came again from the guards stationed in front of the large door. She flinched when their spheres hit against the floor again. God. She berated mentally. I really need to get used to this. She rolled her eyes while the door opened, revealing a magnificent throne room with Lord Asmodeus seated gracefully on his throne in a majestic wine attire. Her prying eyes greedily searched the room in wonder. Heracles shook his head and pulled her along with him, knowing too well how marveled she was. Her eyes zoomed into the large chandelier hanging up the ceiling, to the long white curtains with a few shade of gold patterns in them cascading down the long glass windows. Tezznin allowed the man to drag her on the red carpet laid from the entrance to the throne up a few stairs on a tribune. The stairs and the tiled floor itself screamed of perfect artisanship with large paintings of what she deemed to be the former kings and queens hanging on the walls.
"Greetings your highness." Heracles bowed. By now, the fascinated girl gazed at the king in utter awe and thoughtfully bowed as well.
"Zelloy." She said and touched her forehead like she saw the people do earlier. Heracles chuckled with a shake of his head at her gesture.
"Your highness, I present to you the lost gem as you call her. Tezznin Empusa." Heracles announced after rising with his gaze bent low. Tezznin's gaze rose from the floor to the king, now taking into consideration his good looks in utter admiration. She had to admit that the man for his age was too good looking to be true and his wine attire only adding more quality and tenderness to his pale complexion. His eyes, a mix of blue and gold just like Eliot's but something in them promised a great threat if tempered with. A chill went down her spine. She suddenly felt childishly jealous of him and everyone else present in the room. How could he be as graceful and beautiful as a man? She shrugged helplessly.
"Tezznin, my dear." A powerful manly voice echoed in the throne room. She flinched and stared into his eyes with mouth slightly opened. His long raven hair with a golden crown adorning it cascaded smoothly down his shoulders. He had a warm smile on his lips with a sense of longing she could see in his eyes as he stared at her. A blush crept its way to her cheek and she instantly peeled her gaze from him.
"Come up here Tezznin." He commanded, leaving the girl confused and suddenly afraid. He turned to Heracles who only urged her to move up with an assuring smile. A nervous smile fell on her lips and she hesitantly took the first step up the first stair.
..........
Tezznin stood before the man with her heart pumping hard against her chest. Her lips parted but she felt tongue-tied and she swallowed the huge lump in her throat. The king's piercing gaze stared at her. Pierced into her soul and a nervous smile formed on her lips when she took notice of the fond smile on his face but she peeled her gaze again and stared everywhere but him. His beauty made it quite intimidating to stare long at him. She concluded.
"Tezznin dear, I am glad to finally meet. I must confess seeing you now in person is overwhelming. How do you do?" His powerful voice she was still not used to sounded and it frightened her, sending a chill down her spine. Her mouth fell loose with an odd look on her face. 'Overwhelming?' She thought. What did he mean by overwhelming? She shrugged.
"I'm…I'm plea…pleased to meet you your…highness." She faltered as she left out a shallow breath after somehow managing to at least complete her sentence. Fidgeting with her now sweaty hands, she pleadingly stared down at Heracles whom she had now realized to have developed a comfortable feel around him. Her eyes silently pleaded for intervention but all the former did was smile in assurance to the girl. Her face fell.
"Tezznin. You do not need to fear me." Lord Asmodeus chuckled and rose. She instinctively inched back at his person towering tall and powerfully over her. "I'm Eliot's father, so you can be rest assured that I'm as harmless as a fly." The king said with a mischievous grin earning himself a doubtful gaze and a frown from the girl. His aura alone failed him in being harmless. She thought.
"Well this fly is certainly too big to be harmless." She courageously said. Both Lord Asmodeus and Heracles laughed.
"Come Tezznin. There's something I want to show you." He said and walked ahead.
...…
The trio walked in the majestic hallway with some soldiers trailing behind them. Red doors greeted her on either sides as they moved ahead. The girl's eyes wondered about. A few paces ahead laid a black door. A frown settled on her face. It left her wondering why the door did not follow the likes of the others she saw so far. Her eyes laid hard on it as they neared it. She watched the duo beside her share a knowing and silent gaze. A gaze that suggested a silent communication she was left out of.
Heracles proceeded to open the door, the squeaky sound of the opening door revealing a very dark room. Her confusion only increased now as the duo entered and the king turned gesturing for her to enter. She suddenly fell on edge, weary of the situation at hand. She mentally questioned how she ended up here in the first place. Could these people be trusted? What if they were leading her into a trap and not knowing this place, doom was certainly her piece of cake. She moved back, holding the hem of her dress with a look of suspicion over her face.
Lord Asmodeus upon seeing her reaction smiled to himself and shook his head. Her thoughts were written clearly on her face. His lips parted, "Tezznin my dear, do come in. Oh and if you are feeling weary now, then I must say it was certainly stupid of you to walk into Heracles' arms in the first place. I mean not to disrespect you or judge your intelligence but I'm sure you are aware if we had any intentions of hurting you, we could have done so a long time and save ourselves all this stress." The lord reasoned with a lopsided smile at the corners of his thin lips.
A blank look fell on her face as she finally came to the realization at how silly she had been. She suddenly face palmed, her face flashing red at the thought of thinking like that. After all, she willingly walked into the wolf's territory. Both Lord Asmodeus and Heracles chuckled and the former entered still face palming while the guards stationed outside waited for them.
"Careful. You might fall with your eyes covered." Heracles said teasingly as she almost stumbled.
Inside the dark room, Heracles walked a few paces and lighted a candle, flashing some light over the dark room. Tezznin squeezed her face at the almost empty room with only a bed, a study table and wardrobe. "What is all this?" She whispered with her eyes scanning the room.
"This my dear, is Eliot's room." Lord Asmodeus announced.