"Hello! Fari. Thank you for having me," Aselia greeted her back, that unwelcoming smile didn’t escape her.

"It’s Farisha, only my brother calls me by my nick," she replied with hostility coating her voice and a glare in her honey-coloured eyes.

"Now now, Fari. What did we talk about?" Jaguar intercepted, seeing his sister’s behaviour.

She scowled and moved back to her chair and began to fiddle with the box Jaguar had given her, seeming engrossed with her gift, Jaguar sighed and led Aselia to the right side of the table.

"I apologise, having four brothers and loving parents has spoiled her rotten," he quietly confided to Aselia before dragging the chair out so she could sit. Aselia straightened her dress and quietly sat down.

"Don’t worry, I don’t mind at all," Aselia gave him a reassuring smile. She had experience with Wasp, this was nothing.

Jaguar sat down beside her, the head chair and the chair on the left beside it were empty and Aselia guessed they were waiting for King Zohane and his second Queen.

The aroma of the different arrays of food displayed in front of her filled Aselia’s head and her mouth began to water. There were a variety of dishes they had served, from roasted lamb to glazed ribs to different kinds of rice and pasta.

Soon the scurrying of royal servants and fast steps of royal guards were heard and King Zohane holding the hand of his Queen entered and made their way to the table. Jaguar got up and so did Aselia.

His parents beamed seeing their son as he left the table and went over to meet his parents. King Zohane was a picture of grandeur and magnificence in his special kingly attire, he seemed of the same age as Jaguar was.

His queen seemed older than him, in her late forties, adorning a full-sleeved flowing burgundy gown she carried herself with perfection. Aselia wondered about her species. Considering what Jaguar was, she had a hint. She was composed and had a heartwarming smile as she embraced her son and kissed his forehead. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Leia!" Jaguar gently called her and she stepped out of her reverie to find all of them staring at her. She quickly sauntered over to them, clutching her dress, trying to act like a perfect lady, hoping she wouldn’t trip on the heels she had been wearing.

Jaguar made the introductions:

"Father, mother please meet my co-worker and friend Leia."

They both heartily smiled at her and shook hands.

Plastering a smile on her face she greeted them with as much respect as was possible for her to show and spoke in a polite fashion:

"Good Evening! It’s an honour to meet you."

"We are very happy to have you here and hope you will have a wonderful time at tomorrow’s ball," Jaguar’s mother held her hand in hers and patted it with her other.

"Thank you! My queen," Aselia was almost blushing at this point.

"Please! Call me Sharline," her melodious voice was almost soothing.

"I hope he hasn’t caused you any trouble," King Zohane asked eyeing his son. His eyes momentarily took in Aselia’s eye and hair colour and he wondered if she was an elf, he couldn’t confirm because her ears were hidden.

"Oh! Not at all, quite the opposite actually," Aselia’s gaze met Jaguar and he was watching her with a dripping affection.

"Come! Let’s continue over dinner," King Zohane pointed towards the table and led his wife over, while Jaguar guided Aselia back and helped her settle in.

Farisha was buried in her phone. Adorning the necklace, she was busy taking selfies.

"Young lady, what did I say about phones during meals," her mother’s voice was low but firm and Farisha sighed audibly before putting it away and scowling at her.

"Let’s begin! Please dig in," the king announced and servants began to serve them food. But Jaguar didn’t let anyone serve Aselia, he did it himself. His parents and sister watched him in amusement.

"Emeradius City is one of my favourite places in our world, I always wanted to visit it. It’s breathtakingly beautiful," Aselia carried on the conversation. Unknowing that Xiran had already brought her here and gifted her a piece of land where they were supposed to make their home.

"Our city has no rival, although Fritez come pretty close but we are on top without a doubt," there was a hint of pride in King Zohane’s voice as he answered her while cutting his meat. Aselia nodded.

"So, how did you two meet?" Farisha sarcastically asked, playing with her food.

"We work together," Jaguar answered her while filling Aselia’s glass with some red wine.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Farisha eyed them suspiciously and Aselia almost choked on her food at the direct question, she gulped hard and quickly took a sip of the wine. Jaguar opened his mouth but closed it without uttering a word.

"Farisha dear, let’s not ask personal questions and put our guest ill at ease," her father chided her with a fake smile and she became quiet after that.

"So what are your hobbies? my dear," Queen Sharlaine inquired taking a small bite of chicken. Aselia was in a predicament, she couldn’t say martial arts, biking, car racing or video gaming. There was only one safe answer.

"I like to paint in my free time."

"Wonderful, I love and appreciate art. Please indulge me some time," Sharlaine seemed genuinely happy with her answer.

"It would be my pleasure," Aselia’s cheeks were crimsoning again like a tomato. She was feeling extremely hot. The pressure to not make a mistake or say something wrong in front of them was immense.

"She can also beat almost anyone’s ass in hand-to-hand combat. Did mine a few times," Jaguar heartily added with a small chuckle, seeming proud of her.

"Wow! Really?" King Zohane was utterly surprised. The Fire King as he had come to be known admired strong women who could handle themselves. After what went down in his family at the hands of Phantom, he wanted women to be trained in case of emergency.

"Yes! Father, she is amazing," Jaguar went on and on, singing her praises, embarrassing her further while she kept a sheepish smile on her face. The rest of the dinner went over in peace. King and Queen instructed Jaguar to let the guest rest so she will be fresh for tomorrow’s event as they took their leave. Jaguar followed them for a private moment as his father had requested, leaving Aselia alone for five minutes with Farisha.

Farisha also got up to retire to her room, but before leaving she turned to Aselia and said:

"I don’t know what the deal between my brother and you is, but if you hurt him like his previous bitchy girlfriend. I will hurt you in ways you can’t imagine. Just because my brother is smitten by you, doesn’t mean you can hurt him."

With these words, she whirled around and left, leaving Aselia dumbfounded.