Welcome To The Castle

"Forgive me, but I need to leave you for a while, milady. The Great Theos is calling for me," King Leandro informed Aisha. Regret could be visibly seen in his lavender eyes.

A muscle on his jaw clenched as he fought his overwhelming urge to stay and know more about his new acquisition.

King Leandro and Aisha were nearing the Castle Gates when The Great Theos called on Leandro through extra sensory perception.

King Leandro has no choice but to submit, being the chosen King of Gaea.

The sun was already setting, and the torches were being lighted throughout the Castle walls. Draco slowly landed, as not to frighten the female human at his back.

"No sweat! Take your time, your Majesty!" Aisha quickly replied in a bubbly voice. But one would not be mistaken that she was nervous as she quivered.

She didn't even cast a glance at him as she firmly clutched on one of Draco's horns. She didn't want to go down!

Her heart still hasn't moved on from almost kissing the King just a few minutes ago! She drew in a deep breath as she felt her stomach rolling.

"No way, Aisha! Get a hold of yourself. You know what happened with Jake! Besides, you have no idea what this King is going to do to you," She scolded herself for her forbidden desire.

She decided to focus her attention on the Castle's structure instead. Her lovely autumn eyes widened in horror as she beheld the King's abode.

Gaea was like a beautiful painting using the 160 colors in a Crayola box. But this is like just using the color gray and black.

"I-I didn't expect it like this," She uttered as she bit her lips. Her wary eyes roamed around her colossal prison cell.

Everywhere she looked was walls as high as the tallest skyscrapers in the metropolis. And there were no streets going out of it and into the countryside!

She put her small, feeble arms around Draco's gigantic head and leaned her head on him. "Please don't leave me here. Please take me with you," she begged him in a whisper.

"What would I expect? The people here are giants. I looked like a snail in a large aquarium in this place," Aisha continued to mutter to herself.

"You better get used to it," King Leandro responded to her obvious disliking in a rough voice.

In one quick move, he put his well-built arm around her small waist, pulling her to his left, making Aisha slide to it.

"Wait!" Aisha blurted out. But since King Leandro was stronger than her, her slender back involuntarily shifted to lean on it.

Her hands flew in the air, unconsciously coiling themselves unto the King's broad shoulders for support.

King Leandro's other hand lifted her silky smooth legs until her whole body was now limp in his muscular arms.

With her fluttering eyelashes and mouth gaped open, she lifted her surprised face to King Leandro.

He was also gazing at her. His exotic amethyst eyes blazed with an inner torch. With their nearness, she could feel his thumping heartbeat. Her dainty little nose turned up as she smelled his masculine scent.

His warmth penetrated through his robe that was draped over her, making her body instinctively snuggle to him.

Her sparkling brandy eyes darted to his throat as it moved up and down.

One could only hear pounding heartbeats until he was distracted by something that made him look up at the sky.

Aisha looked up, too. But she saw nothing, except the rising moon, announcing the time of night.

"I better be going. The Great Theos is waiting for me," He commanded in a hoarse voice with a hint of dismay.

In one swift move, he moved to one side of the Draco as if he was ready to jump to the ground.

Aisha immediately shut her eyes as their position was like a two-story building. How could he possibly leap down?

She was expecting that they would come down with a huge force. But they did not.

It seemed that the King flew from Draco's back to the ground as his feet lightly touched the floor.

"Greetings, your Majesty," the Castle servants paid their respect to their King as they lined up on one side, all bowing down to him.

Aisha quickly opened her eyes and darted them to the servants. She was still in the arms of the King, and her hands were still curled up around his sculpted neck.

Her long black hair dangled back, flowing through the King's toned, rock-hard chest as they were exposed with his robe covering her nakedness.

She quickly went down on her bare feet and fixed herself. To her amazement, the servants did not look like humans, either.

They have the shape of a human with two hands and feet. But they have furry ears that are sticking up their head, whiskers on their faces and tails sticking out of their behind.

They were wearing clothes that made it look like they were from the Medieval Age with their long gowns and tunics.

"Your Majesty," One of them bowed down to the King and offered him a camel hair's coat and a king's robe.

He seemed to be the butler in the place, as he was wearing a more decent piece of clothing than the rest.

The King swiftly put them on and introduced her. "This is Lady Aisha. She would be staying with us from now on," His voice bellowed through the Castle grounds, declaring his authoritative command on everyone living.

All the people in the Castle seemed to have heard him, as they all stopped what they were doing and kneeled down. "Greetings, Lady Aisha. Welcome to the Castle."

The Castle seemed to hold almost five hundred dwellers including the other lords, knights, friars, women and children. And they were creatures from different tribes and species.

The King then faced her and gave his last command. "Lord Emilio will accompany you. I will get back at once. Wait for me until then," he gave an order that no mortal could refuse, making her head bow down to him in response.

Though she has no idea what her fate would be in this Grand Castle where there seemed to be no human that could understand her.

Her supple hand clutched her heaving chest as she watched him ride Draco again and flew in the starless sky under the light of the full moon.

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Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't find them. Just find a new way to stand.