Twenty-two years ago in the magical realm.
Lord lungu can feel eyes on him as he heads to the throne room where the king and other powerful species in the realm are waiting for him. Lord lungu can not believe it has come to this. A week ago he met his fated mate Princess Rose and for the first time he thought the gods were on his side but now he understands that they never were. Two days ago someone saw him coming out of Princess Rose's quarters and word spread everywhere like wildfire. Now everyone is talking about how he has betrayed Lady Ruby, his mate. And now he has to stand in front of species who don't even know him and explain his actions. Adultery is frowned upon in the magical realm. Everyone is supposed to be loyal to their mate.
"Are you okay?" His best friend General Chanda asks him as they reach the door to the crown room.
"Yeah, I am okay. Is Lady Ruby in there too?"
"Yes, she came with her uncle lord mwansa and the other witches. They came from Tasma yesterday." General Chanda tells him. Tasma is home to witches. Some witches live in the Crystal Kingdom but most of them live in Tasma.
"Fuck It. That warlock has always found fault in me. I am sure he has been waiting for this opportunity for years." Lord lungu says in frustration.
"Come on, let's get this over with, you have not done anything wrong," General Chanda says as he leads the way into the throne room.
Everyone turns their heads the moment General Chanda and lord lungu enter the throne room. Some are looking at lord lungu with curiosity while others are looking at him with disgust. They look at him until he sits next to lord Sakala, his father's oldest friend. Lord lungu notices Lady Ruby the moment he sits down. She is sitting between her uncle lord Amos Mwansa and her sister Lady Mary. Her eyes look puffy like she has been crying for a long time. Lord Lungu's heart breaks at how broken Lady Ruby looks. She looks at him for a few minutes and then looks away as she wipes her tears.
The room is full of powerful species. Thirteen vampires are present, the Vampires are the most in the room since the crime has been committed in the Crystal Kingdom which is a vampire kingdom. There are two Dragons from the Oval kingdom present, two witches, and three warlocks from the Tasma kingdom who are all related to Lady Ruby. There are two elves and one faerie and lastly six werewolves.
King Magnus is sitting on his throne with an unreadable expression on his face like always. To his right is his cousin and right-hand lord Mark Banda who also has a face that can not be read. To the king's left Is lord Frank Mumba, his adviser. Both lord banda and lord Mumba are powerful vampires.
Lord lungu can feel lord frank mumba's eyes on him. The king's adviser has always been fond of lord lungu even though he doesn't like showing it in public. Lord Mumba and lord Lungu's late father used to have a good relationship and so the old vampire finds himself protective of the young hybrid.
King Magnus's right-hand lord Mark Banda gets up from his chair and stands in front of the gathered species. All the species who are talking stop the moment they see him standing. Lord Banda is one of the strongest vampires alive, and the fact that he has a bit of pure vampire magic blood flowing in him makes him even more powerful.
"May Lumina, the goddess of light, be upon us all." He greets.
"May her light shine our way." They all respond.
"We are here because something that should not have happened as happened. Lord lungu, warden of the most sacred wards in the Crystal Kingdom, you have been accused of committing adultery with the dragon princess, Rose. This council would love to know from you if you have indeed committed this sin. Please come sit near the seers." Lord Banda says pointing to a chair in the center of the room, where four seers are sitting. Three seers are vampires while one is a werewolf. The seers will be able to tell if lord lungu lies.
Lord lungu gets up from his seat and goes to the center of the room where the seers are waiting. Lord lungu greets each one of them before taking his seat.
"Lord lungu, can you tell everyone gathered here when you met the dragon princess?" Lord Banda asks.
"I met Princess Rose at the royal ball a week ago," Lord answers, truthfully.
"And you threw everything you have just to have her in your bed?" Lord Amos Mwansa asks, some of the species laugh at the comment while others remain quiet.
"Silence! Don't talk when it's not your time to do so." Lord Banda commands and the room goes quiet. The only noise that can be heard is everyone's breath. Lord Banda looks at the seers and they nod letting him know that lord lungu is telling the truth.
"The seers have confirmed that lord lungu is telling the truth about when he and the dragon princess first met." Lord Banda explains.
"Lord lungu can you tell us if you and Princess Rose have ever been intimate." Lord Banda asks.
"Yes, my lord we have." Lord lungu says without hesitation. Everyone in the room looks at him in surprise. They did not expect him to answer the question with no shame.
"Are you not ashamed? My niece who is Your mate is here and you are standing there telling everyone that you were intimate with someone else." Lord Amos Mwansa says in anger.
"Would you rather I lie to everyone, my lord?" Lord lungu asks lord Amos Mwansa who looks so angry.
Lord Amos Mwansa wants to say something but one look from Lord Banda has him closing his mouth immediately.
"Lord lungu when did you and the dragon princess become intimate?" Lord Banda.
"The morning after the day we met. I went to her quarters after midnight." Lord lungu answers. He hears a gasp coming from Lady Ruby's direction. Lord lungu can tell that the revelation must have hurt her.
"She is loose for a princess." Lord Amos Mwansa comments
A growl comes from lord lungu the moment lord Amos Mwansa says that. Everyone's eyes turn to him in surprise.
"Say that again," lord lungu dares him as he takes long strides towards him. Lord Lungu's eyes are green indicating the presence of his wolf.
Lord Banda looks at the king, silently asking him if he should intervene. King Magnus shakes his head, a smile on his face. King Magnus has always hated lord Amos Mwansa's behavior towards other species, he always thinks that he is superior to everyone else because he is more powerful than the average warlock. King Magnus wants to see how lord Mwansa will get out of this. He has made the mistake of angering the death bringer and now he has to pay the price.
"Are you so infatuated with the dragon princess that you want to start a fight with me? Is her cunt that good?" Lord Amos Mwansa asks with a smirk.
Lord lungu reaches where lord Amos Mwansa is sitting and strangles him with one hand. His wolf's claws can be seen coming out.
The smirk on lord Amos's face has been wiped out and has been replaced with fear. Everyone stands up and watches as Lord Amos struggles to breathe.
"What makes you think you have a right to say something like that about my mate? You are not even worthy of mentioning her name." Lord lungu growls.
"Your mate?" Lord Kabwe, the dragon general who has been silent the entire time asks. Lord lungu looks at him and lets go of lord Amos Mwansa's neck, who starts coughing the moment he is let go.
"Yes, my lord. Prince Rose is my fated mate. She is my other half, she is mine. A gift from the gods of union. I am sure everyone in this room knows that Lady Ruby is not my fated mate. But that does not mean that I don't care about her feelings. I was going to tell her about Princess Rose when the time was right. I did not want anyone to find out like this." Lord lungu says, looking at everyone in the room. When his eyes reach the king, King Magnus nods at him with approval, his eyes full of pride.
When the king asked him to stay behind a week ago, he had told him to be strong and be ready because when others find out who Princess Rose is to him, there is going to be confusion and he was right.
The room had gone into chaos the moment they heard lord lungu say Princess Rose was his mate. Some are surprised that he is fated with one of the most powerful beings while the vampires are scared that being mated to Princess Rose will mean that the dragons will have access to the great mountains, the holder of the powerful pure vampire magic. Pure vampire magic has made it possible for vampires to be in control of the entire magical realm.
"Silence!" King Magnus says as he stands from his chair. "I already know that lord lungu and Princess Rose are mates. That's why I asked him to stay behind a week ago so that he gets to know her and decide what he wants to do" King Magnus says. Everyone apart from lord lungu, Lord Banda, and lord Mumba is surprised by this revelation.
"You knew?" One of the vampire lords present asks the king.
"Yes, I found out on the day of the ball. The dragon princess almost burnt the entire ballroom when she found out lord lungu was mated to someone else. That's why I convinced her to try and get to know him better. They both have had time to get to know each other and they will tell us what they want to do." The king states.
"What does that mean? And what will become of my niece?" Lord Amos Mwansa asks, holding the sobbing lady Ruby.
"As I said, it's up to lord lungu and Princess Rose to decide." The king says.
"But the princess is not here," Lord Amos Mwansa says.
"The princess has a headache and could not join us but we can still hear lord Lungu's decision." Lord Kabwe explains.
"He can just have them both. I am sure the princess will not be angry considering her parents were in a triad relationship." Lord Mulenga an elf says.
"It is not only up to him, the decision will affect everyone involved including my niece, who is a victim in all of this." Lord Amos Mwansa says in frustration.
"Lord lungu have you made a decision?" King Magnus asks.
"No, my king, I will have to talk to Princess Rose first."
"Okay, we will wait for your decision tomorrow morning. We will continue this meeting tomorrow." King Magnus says as he gets up from his seat and leaves the room. Other species follow him behind leaving only the werewolves and the witches and warlocks.
Lord lungu looks at Lady Ruby who is holding onto her sister with dear life. He looks at her for a few seconds and then walks out of the room to go find Princess Rose so that they can make a decision together.