Freya's POV
When I woke up the next morning, Adrien was already gone from bed. To probably attend to his duties as King. There was a block on our telepathic bond, so I assumed he was really busy at the moment. I was going to learn about these duties soon enough.
Just after I awoke, I heard knocks on the door. "My Queen, it is Ana, your lady-in-waiting." A voice came from the other side.
I quickly donned a robe and permitted her to enter. Ana was younger than I expected, much younger than Dalia, she was vibrant with youth and she had the most beautiful violet eyes I had ever seen. She stood at almost my height and her eyes shone with sincerity. Something told me this was the start of an endearing friendship.
While I had my bath, Ana prepared my dress for the day in the second room designated for the wardrobes. After exploring the large space the day before, I found a connecting door. My guess that it was to be used for admitting my lady-in-waiting instead of the main bed chamber door was correct.
After wearing my gown, I sat in front of a large mirror while Ana confidently styled my hair. She and I were in sync and one would think that she had been my lady-in-waiting for a long time. I liked what she did with my hair and it seemed like I wouldn't be needing Dalia anymore.
"Shall we go down for your breakfast now, My Queen?" She asked when she was done dressing me up.
"Of course."
Heading downstairs with Ana, I observed the environment, everything was clean and beautiful, and the decorations and settings exuded elegance, but it wasn't my style. The first thing I would be doing here was redecorating.
"What were your duties before I arrived, Ana?" I looked back at Ana who was climbing down behind me.
"I used to clean before I was chosen, My lady."
"And who's in charge of making that decision?" I asked.
"It is Philippa, My queen. The head of the female servants, Edward is the head of the males."
After breakfast, I would have a formal introduction to all of them. It was time for them to meet their queen.
When I was done with my breakfast, still seated in the dining room, I sent for the servant's heads and they came immediately. Philippa was a middle-aged woman. As a demon, the aging process was slowed down significantly so Philippa was definitely older than most. What I didn't like were the look of defiance on her face and her stiff posture. She knew she had to do the introduction but delayed it, out of unwillingness to hand over the authority of the household to me.
I understood that the underworld had not had a queen for a long time, so she wasn't used to a higher authority than hers, in matters concerning the daily activities of the palace. I may only be nineteen, but I was born into this role and taking charge came easily to me. I wanted a good relationship, but I was going to crush any resistance from her regardless of that or her age.
"Philippa." my voice was calm but carried with it a heavy dose of authority. "Why am I yet to be introduced to the servants and given a proper tour of my new home?"
"My….my.. Lady." she stuttered.
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to say more
"Forgive my insolence, my lady, that will be done right away." She bowed quickly, her defiance going up in flames. Edward followed suit, bowing as low as he could.
"You're forgiven, we'll have the introduction outside." I allowed a smile to grace my face. "Let's work together okay?"
"Yes, My Queen." They both chorused and we went outside. The servants were immediately gathered and formally introduced to me, though I had met some of them already.
I tried to properly talk with Philippa as she gave me a tour of the main residence in the palace. She was more agreeable than in the morning and explained away as I asked more questions, seemingly happy to provide all the answers I needed. It was far better to have a good relationship with her.
The main residence of the palace had two wings, with the west wing belonging to Adrien. Where his room was located, and I now stayed too, our bed chambers. The east wing housed several other bedchambers for visitors. Those were for the upper floors. The ground floor had a central entrance area, a large sitting area, a dining area, a befitting sunroom, a library, a music room, and then the kitchen and servant quarters.
After we toured the main residence, Edward took us on a brief tour of the palace grounds. I didn't let it last long as I had seen most of it and I was getting tired. The only thing I hadn't seen was the throne room, where council meetings and other official meetings were held.
It was gigantic, with massive pillars soaring towards the ceiling that was adorned with carvings depicting scenes of underworld lore. The air, heavy with a sense of authority, echoed with distant whispers of the countless decisions made here. A large and imposing throne took all the attention, and the tables and chairs flanking the sides of the room suggested a place for council deliberations. This was a place where decisions, both grave and mundane, were made. The room sat empty though and we moved on from there.
I thought about it, my duties as Queen of the underworld, were overseeing the minor details such as household chores and hosting of balls, and of course, providing an heir to the throne. This was what I was taught, this would have been my duties as wife to the next warlord of the third hell. But I couldn't help the loneliness that suddenly hit me. Aside from these, what else would I do?
*******
By lunchtime, Adrien was back. I sat in the library, sipping tea and reading a book I snagged from one of the numerous shelves when he came. Joy flooded my heart as soon as I saw him and I dismissed Ana who was in the room with me immediately.
"My Queen." He leaned down to me, capturing my lips in a delicious kiss.
"Where have you been?" I muttered, holding his head to me and kissing him back. "You left without a word and with a block on our bond."
A tiny squeak left my lips as he stood, lifting me up before he placed me on a large table. He pushed aside my many layers of clothing and went down on his knees. He wasn't about to do what I thought he was about to do right? The devilish glint in his eyes told me he was, and the pebbling of my nipples told me I wasn't against the idea as much as I thought I was.
"Adrien, we can't." I whispered, looking at the door. "Not here." My words died on a moan as his head disappeared underneath my gown, and his mouth covered the most intimate part of me.
"This… is.. my… house.. Snow." He said through our bond. His words in my head were punctuated with slow licks that made my eyes roll back in my head with ecstasy. His mouth then ceased their wonderful ministrations and I almost cried.
".....And you are my wife. I can do whatever I want." He smirked and stood between my legs.
He ravaged my mouth, then left kisses from my neck to my breasts, eliciting moans from me.
"Shhhh" Adrien whispered, sending a look to the door before tugging down the front of my gown, exposing me as much as he could. He captured a nipple in his mouth and I whimpered, pulling at his hair. His tongue on my breasts wrought sensations and that intimate part of me pulsed for him.
He struggled with his pants for a second before freeing himself, and stopping our kiss, he stared deeply into my eyes as he plunged his hard length into me. I stared back, my gaze clouded with desire.
Liquid fire raced through my veins, I was so full, full of him. I wrapped my legs around him as best as I could with my layers of clothes as Adrien continuously plunged into me. Holding back my moans took a lot of effort as I was delirious with desire.
We fell back to earth together after a while, panting with all the effort it took. Finally, Adrien helped me down from the table and I almost planted my face into the floor, as my legs were rubbery and weak. He chuckled, earning a deathly glare from me.
Seated side by side on the chair, I rested my head on the broad expanse of his chest, perspiration covering both our faces. His hand toyed with my now disheveled hair. "We've been trying to fight back a demon pest invasion in the east territories, those little pests are persistent." He muttered. His words resonated in his chest underneath my head as he spoke. "I had to leave early and I didn't want to wake you."
"Okay." I sighed, snuggling into his chest. "I was introduced to the servants today, but I had nothing to do after that. There's really nothing to do around here."
"There is someone I'd like you to finally meet... He is back."
That piqued my interest – who was it that Adrien wanted me to meet? It didn't seem likely that the King of the underworld had any friends.
"Who's he?" I asked, my interest aroused.
"You'll see my love." He laughed lightly "He's here right now."
"Whaaaaaat!" I jumped, "I'm to meet whoever that is looking like this?" I pointed to my hair with its pins askew.
"You look perfectly lovely, Snow." He said with a heavy dose of mockery.
"You evil man, this was on purpose wasn't it?" I rained tiny blows onto his chest and he laughed heartily at my anger. It only infuriated me more.
Standing up, he made to leave the room "I'll send Ana in." He winked as he opened the door, leaving me all alone. I tried to fix the pins in my hair but I knew I was only making it worse. I sighed wearily, leaving it be. There was no escaping this.
A few moments later, Ana entered, a small smile playing on her lips as she saw my state. She definitely knew what had transpired. "My Queen."
Blushing wildly, I tried to maintain what shred of dignity I had left. "Is there a way to get to my room without following the main entrance?" I asked.
"Come, my lady, we'll use the servants' stairways."
The library was the last room on this side, it sat at the end of the corridor, and Ana led me to a camouflaged door on the wall, I never would have noticed it on my own.
She produced a set of keys from her gown and unlocked the door. I was definitely going to have a set of those keys too.
The space was dark, being cut off from the outside lights, and was instead lit with oil lanterns, hanging from the stone walls and illuminating the space. Ana unhooked one of the lanterns for our use.
The space had its own corridor, extending farther than I could see, probably the length of the whole building. I was going to explore it another time. Now I just needed to get to my bedchamber.
As Ana carefully helped me up the first of the stairs, I heard a happy giggle accompanied by a deep voice murmuring something. I turned to her to see if she heard the giggle too, and her expression suggested that she did.
I abandoned the stairs and walked further down the corridor, and a scream tore from my throat when a shadow moved. I jumped back immediately, sending pins flying from my hair but then I heard deep laughter.
I heard a sharp gasp as well and a young maid fell to her knees from the darkness. "Forgive me, my Queen." I remembered her from earlier; she was a cleaning maid.
I held on to Ana's hand, trying to catch my breath. A second form moved into the light as well; a tall blonde man, obviously the source of the deep voice.
I eyed the both of them, annoyed. "This is a stairway meant for a different use, do not repeat this." I said with authority. "Go back to your duties." Then, breathing steadily to calm my heart from the scare, I went back to the stairs with Ana.
The stairs went straight up to the west wing on the second floor, leading straight to my dressing room.
As Ana fixed my hair, I thought of the man. He didn't look like one of the servants and I didn't remember him from the introduction, I would ask about him later.
After fixing my hair, I changed into a different gown before going back down.