Lady Aliona knew the moment her husband stepped into the Manor, being able to feel his heartbeat which beat stronger as he got closer to her, she smiled lovingly when she felt his arms wrapped around her shoulder. Resting her body on him, she closed her eyes while breathing in his scent.
The servants were used to the public display of affection by the couple, something that was not uncommon among the vampires, so they paid them no mind.
"I heard you didn't wait for Vivian to help you this morning before coming to tend to your garden, the same thing you did yesterday, and the day before that." Leave it to her husband to know what went on in his absence. He had been busy lately at the Upper House that he didn't even come home since the day before, still, he had the time to listen to Herbert's summary of how the house had been run.
She had had a lot on her mind lately, which was the reason she had instructed Vivian to sleep in, that she would tend to herself, she only told her to heat the water in her bath overnight in order to be warm by the time she got up early in the morning.
"Is everything all right?" Nickolai gazed his wife's loving face. He knew how they had been trying for an offspring and the longing he saw in her eyes was enough to let him know how much she yearned for one. To him, what mattered was his wife, they had been together for centuries and tried everything but nothing had worked. To take her mind off it, he suddenly carried her in a bridal style and before Aliona could end her gasp of surprise by the sudden movement, she found herself in a clearing miles away from the manor, seeing the roof of the Manor far away from where they once were.
The sound of water nearby meant they were close to a stream, "when did we have a clearing this beautiful in the area that I know nothing about?" She looked around, taking in her surroundings. Seeing the familiar road ahead, she asked "isn't that the road to the upper house?"
"Correct! I told Herbert to create a place where we can hear the sound of water streaming by and bird chirping, suitable for a picnic."
She smiled, "but isn't it too early for a picnic, the sun is barely out"
"Well, there's no law that says picnic has to be in a particular time of the day, is it?" Nickolai flashed her a smile.
Walking up to him, she kissed him deeply to show her appreciation. She knew he was trying to get her mind off whatever was occupying it.
"So, how was the meeting with the other members?"
"Well, you know Lord Wicharoft's time as the presider of the council is almost over and it will be my turn soon, we are in the middle of settling things for a proper and smooth transition of authority."
Lord Wicharoft is the leader and one of the representatives of the witches, since each specie has to have some of their kinds representing their interest at the Upper House. His reign of leading the House will end soon and a vampire is next in line to take over, followed by werewolf, and then human and other creatures with smaller quantities like the faes. Each specie takes turn presiding the house to maintain fairness within the kingdom and among the species.
"What about the rumor? Any trace of where it started from?"
Nickolai's jaw tightened, "not yet but I'm thinking it's from them. It is just a ruse to make us panic"
"you think so?'
With a nod, "yes, I think so"
There had been rumor circulating that the leader of the demon specie had gotten his hands on the 'Eyes of Rah'.
Long time ago, the witches, wolves and vampires experienced a surge and increase in their power, the seers among the witches at that time claimed that the goddess Phemerah had distributed her powers among the species, however, no one knew who the recipient of her eyes, the most powerful part of her body is.
No one knew how true the legendary Eyes was but it was believed that owning it is as good as being the most superior over other species. Its form nor the extent of its power were unknown, different stories had been passed down from various sources, some believed it to be a rare stone in the shape of an eye while the most popular one was it being the actual eyes of the supernatural Phemerah who still wanders the earth in search of who to gift her eyes.
It was believed that demons were angry that they weren't blessed and had been searching for the eyes which will make them superior. Humans had also panicked that they weren't blessed with anything and in trying to be just as powerful as other species had been focusing on training their men to be formidable soldiers, growing wolfsbane, witcharves, dermins and varvain as weapon in case the other kinds decide to turn against them.
The demons had long time parted ways with the others, wanting to build their own kingdom and rule as they like, they travelled and settled in far north. Other creatures didn't dare enter their territory and the same had been for the kingdom of Burligharm where the other species reside.
Within the Burligharm territory, there were various towns which the four creatures largely reside, the North mostly comprised the human, South for the witches, East for the wolves and West for the vampires. Even though the regions were ruled by different rulers, there was no restriction among the creatures when it comes to entering these regions and there were other towns scattered among these regions, settled by whoever had the privilege and influence. The upper house however was situated at the center of the four regions.
"I'm still waiting for Henry to relay his findings"
"Lord Richard and his wife will arrive later today, we better go back and get some sleep before they arrive."
Lady Aliona was not too keen about welcoming her husband's twin brother and his wife but as the lady of the Manor, she didn't have a choice than to welcome them, hoping they'd keep their trouble at bay, unlike the last time they visited.
Her husband's mood had also turned sore, not looking forward to seeing his twin, he was glad they decided to come to the Manor anyway on their own accord, he needed to keep a close watch on them, seeing that they were coming just about time when he will be appointed the presider of the upper house showed his brother was up to no good.
The lovebirds quietly listened awhile to the soft chirping of the birds and the soothing sound of the stream before disappearing back to their chamber.