SOFT AND GENTLE knocks were heard from the door. It was not enough to wake up the people in the room. So the knocking lasted for a few minutes before the people outside the door realized that what they were doing couldn't wake up the people inside. So their gentle and soft knocking turned a bit louder after a few minutes of no response from the inside.
This time, it was enough to finally wake up the people inside the room. It was the only human in the room who was the first to wake up. Actually, before the knocking on the door started to get louder, Diana was already awake. It was just that she was still muddleheaded and not fully awake yet.
So when the knocking gets louder, she finally stands up from the futon mattress she is lying on, lazily pushing Cornelia's leg that is on his tummy. While walking towards the door, Diana swiftly combed her hair to straighten it up and checked the side of her eyes for some goo. When she knew that she looked presentable for a newly awake person, Diana opened the door.
"Good morning, D!" Selene greeted, full of hyperactivity and eagerness.
"Good morning," Diana said back before staring at the other people aside from Selene.
Besides Selene, there is her mate, Cairo. Behind the couple are two unfamiliar people with the same face, one female and one male, obviously twins.
Seeing Diana's curious look, the male of the twins greeted her first with a bow. "Good morning, Her Highness." And the female one immediately followed suit.
Diana's sleepiness disappeared with the title with which the two addressed her. "What's with that title?" she subconsciously asked, shock and surprise plastered on her face.
Cairo did not let the twins answer Diana or hide them once again behind him. Diana could only look at the Cairo in question. And Cairo only smiled slightly at Diana before looking behind her.
"What's with the commotion?" Cornelia asked from behind.
At that moment, Diana knew that Cairo had no plan to answer her question, and she also had no plan to hear more about it. She could only turn her back to look at her friends, who were already awake. She's not sure if it was because of the noise from the door or if it was really their time to wake up.
Without a choice, Diana stepped inside the room again to let the people outside come inside, after making sure that the futon was already properly folded to the side.
"For a sleepover, this cleanliness is superb," Selene commented after roaming her eyes around the room.
The room was not too big, but it was also not too small for a single person. So when it was used as the place for the morning sleepover that Diana and her friends decided on, it was enough to accommodate them. Even with Selene, Cairo, and the twins, there was still plenty of space for everyone.
"I will wash my face first," Kylee, who was the last one to wake up, said, already walking towards the bathroom.
While the always hyperactive Cornelia silently followed Kylee inside the bathroom, without bothering to greet the guests. While the host and owner of the room, Froilan, welcomed the guests with Diana. He even offered the sofas, which they pushed aside before taking the floor for their morning sleepover.
"There's no need to take a seat, actually. This will be fast, as we only wanted to introduce everyone to each other. We already asked the chefs to prepare your lunch with some snacks. Once we're done, you can all proceed to the dining room before having the time to roam around," Cairo kindly rejected.
He and his mate, Selene, remained standing while the twins stood behind them. Froilan could only silently shrug his shoulders and not insist. He instead took one of the offered seats, while Diana directly sat on one of the sofas.
The other two individuals who entered the bathroom came out of it looking refreshed and fully awake. That's only when they properly greeted the guests and took the available seats.
"Since everyone's here, let us introduce to you all the new members of your little team." Cairo stepped aside to fully show the twins behind him. "Say hello to your new team and masters, Nikki and Nikko."
When the twins heard their names, they immediately came forward and slightly bowed. "Good morning. I am Nikko Frank, the older brother. I am a sentinel and the assigned guard of her highness."
"And I am Nikki Frank, the younger one. I am also a sentinel. We will be helping her highness and her team to roam around and get familiarized with the palace and some other important places outside the palace," the woman added.
Diana, who had already heard them call her "her highness," was no longer surprised by how the twin addressed her once again, but not her companion. Cornelia and the rest had a surprised look on their faces as they looked between Diana and the twins. Their eyes not only showed surprise, but they also questioned if they were hearing it right or not.
"So you're 'Her Highness' now, D? Should we call you like that too?" Cornelia asked. Her voice and the way she looked at Diana were obviously full of teasing.
Diana only answered her with rolling eyes. It was Kylee who reprimanded the teasing friend and seriously looked at the twins.
"Nice to meet you two. Can you wait for us outside first as her Highness, Diana, still needs to clean and refresh herself before the tour. It wouldn't be a good impression for the lycan people to see that, right?"
"Yes, of course." It was Selene who answered. "Since we already did our job, we should probably go ahead now. We will let the twins wait for you outside your door."
As Selene said that, she was already holding the hand of her mate and dragging him away after glancing at the twins. Cairo allowed his mate to drag him away silently while the twins slightly bowed their heads in front of Diana before following after. It was even those two who closed the door from the outside.
The moment Diana and her friends were left out inside the room, a loud sigh was heard not only from Diana but from everyone.
"We aren't prepared for this, D. Are you taking this all calmly?" Kylee asked lithely.
"Don't ask me, as I am also unprepared for this sudden courteous treatment. But we don't have any choice now. We can only adjust not only to our new environment but also to everything."
Because Diana knew that there was someone waiting for them, after she said that, she immediately moved and stood up. Like Kylee said, she took a short bath and changed into more comfortable yet presentable clothes. It was a simple baby blue sweatshirt and high-waisted jeans. It's not too much for roaming and touring around, yet it wasn't so casual either.
After tying her hair in a messy bun, she finally came out of the bathroom. She was welcomed by her friends, who were also dressed presentably.
"Let's go."
TOURING AROUND the palace is not an easy task. Diana and her entourage had been walking around the palace's grounds for five hours, yet there were still some places they hadn't been. Maybe if they had started their tour earlier instead of eating brunch, or maybe if they had arrived earlier and started their tour in the morning, at this time, they might have been done with the tour.
Not that Diana is ranting. She just wanted to finish the tour and become familiar with the palace before the day ended. Unfortunately, it was not fate.
Feeling regrettable, Diana still forced herself to stop her tracks. This made the people following her from behind stop and look at her. So Diana also turned around to look at them after glancing at her already dark surroundings.
"Let's call it a day and continue the tour tomorrow," she announced.
"Yes, Her Highness," the twins agreed.
"Well, whatever you say, D," Kylee agreed for the others.
"This is also the time for supper, Her Highness. His Highness, together with the rest, are already waiting for everyone in the dining area to eat," Nikki added.
"So early?" Cornelia asked in surprise.
And Diana stopped herself from nodding her head. Maybe because they were used to it in their pack, eating at this time—when the sun hadn't completely set—was too early for them to eat dinner.
"It's because his highness, the King, will start his visitations with the other pack when the dark comes," Nikki patiently answered.
"Speaking of the king, where is he for the whole afternoon? I did not see even a shadow of him when we tour around. And what's with his night visits? Is he some kind of hybrid?" Diana bombarded the twins with questions that she had been eager to ask them since the beginning of their tour.
The twins did not answer immediately, as they only stared at Diana. The look in their eyes was unreadable, as it was still the same expression, but Diana could still say that Nikki and Nikko were both hesitating to answer. Or maybe they don't know how to answer some of her questions.
She could only shake her head. "Nevermind. I too am hungry, and it's not good making the king wait, right?"
And so, Diana and Co. finally cut their tour for that day and walked together towards the main palace. With the twins' guide, they walk directly to the dining room, and as Nikki said, His Highness the King, together with his men, are all waiting in their seats.
The moment Diana stepped in, the trusted people of Gener who were already in their seats stood up, except, of course, Gener himself. Since she had spent a week learning some of the customs of the royals in the Flaming Raven Pack, she knew that it was a formal courtesy for the future queen that she would become.
Diana might be getting used to this type of treatment from the twins, who are regarded with the utmost respect, but there is still that discomfort and self-consciousness being treated with high regard. All she could hope was that she could get used to it during the course. For now, she could only act unbothered by everything.
Diana followed behind Nikki, who continued walking towards the table while Nikko stood in the doorframe dividing the dining room and the open hall like a guard. And as expected, the chair that Nikki pulled for her is the one on the right side of Gener's chair. Just like how they had their seating arrangement in the house of Alpha Frank.
While taking a seat, Diana never took a glance at the Lycan king on her right side, whose eyes had been glued to her the moment she entered the hall. Instead, her eyes were watching another newfound pair of mates who acted more like enemies than lovers.
Diana watched as her friend Kylee growled at his mate, who immediately stood up and met him. She entertained herself by watching how Kylee ignored Zamiel and was about to sit between Cornelia and Froilan, but Zamiel quickly held his arms. And as if Kylee would let the beta have his way, he shook off Zamiel's hand, which wasn't as tight, freeing Kylee.
It seems like Cornelia also finds it amusing, so he pulled Froilan to the seat beside her. Kylee noticed his friend's act, but he could only glare at her and pull the chair where Froilan was supposed to be sitting. This left Zamiel no choice, and he could only scoop his annoyed mate over his shoulder.
"What the fvck? Let me go in this instance!" Kylee shouted, almost sounding like a screech.
Zamiel did not heed his words and continued walking to the other side of the table. He even held Kylee on his bum 'inadvertently'. And that just made Kylee madder; he no longer maintained his serious and always calm posture as he grabbed a fist of Zamiel's hair while threateningly telling his mate to put him down.
"Let's just eat, Lee, okay?" Zamiel said calmly, putting Kylee in the chair next to his, which was also the chair on the left side of Gener's.
"Who allowed you to call me that?" Kylee snarled but still adjusted the way he was sitting.
And Diana was very entertained by everything. It may sound rude and mean to her friend, but she really finds it amusing to watch Kylee—her friend who was always serious, calm, and composed—end up totally the opposite. It was the first time Diana found Kylee losing his composure and acting like some spoiled child, and it was both amusing and adorable.
"Were you able to visit all the places in the palace?" Gener suddenly asked her, which made Diana finally look his way.
Diana was about to open her mouth for sarcastic remarks but quickly closed them when she remembered where she was and who the person was. Despite how she swears to herself that she will never show reverence towards Gener, she still knows her place and would not dare humiliate the Lycan king in front of his people—maybe only in front of his close subordinates.
"Not everything, Your Highness." Her short answer was enough to gather everyone's attention.
From the two mated pairs, Zamiel and Kylee, who also realized where they were, everyone's attention was drawn to the real owners of tonight's spotlight, Diana and Gener.
It made Diana feel a bit conscious, so she could only stare down at her empty plate while Gener, who was already used to it, looked ahead.
"This is the first day for the guests in the palace, but technically it will not be the last," Gener started. "As your king, I will do everything to meet all your concerns and requests with regards to your new home. I will also lend you my people if you have any questions I won't be able to answer. Lastly, I wish that you will find the palace suitable to be your new home and my people as your new family. Welcome to our Iland Palace."