Ryophlira POV

A gentle, repetitive pressure on my shoulder slowly dragged me out of the deepest, warmest sleep I had experienced in years. I blinked against the dim dawn light, my eyelids heavy as I looked up to see Ari standing over the bed, her expression a mix of quiet fondness and lingering anxiety.

I let out a long yawn, stretching my arms high above my head. As I rolled over to my side, my hand blindly swept across the sheets, searching for the solid, radiant furnace of heat that had kept the arctic chill at bay all night.

Nothing. The mattress beside me was completely cold, empty, and freshly made. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Not really giving much thought to where he could possibly be at this ungodly hour, I pushed myself up against the headboard, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I scanned the sprawling, master suite. My gaze lingered on the towering arched windows and the heavy curtains dancing lazily in the early morning breeze.

"Dammit," I muttered, my voice thick and raspy from sleep. "It’s real. It wasn’t all a dream."

"Yes, sadly, it is very real," Ari replied softly, offering a faint, sympathetic smile.

She gently pulled the heavy fur blankets back, helping me up out of the massive bed. I let out another massive yawn, my legs feeling slightly shaky as I slowly walked, practically shuffling my feet across the polished floor toward the washroom.

The bath Ari had prepared for me was pure heaven. The scalding water drove the last remnants of sleep from my bones, and the familiar, rich scent of jasmine soap and thick body oil filled the steamy room, temporarily masking the oppressive scent of the North.

Once I was fully dried and my skin was oiled, Ari helped me dress in the proper attire she had prepared. It was a stunning, high-collared gown featuring a white laced blouse with elegantly voluminous, flowing bell sleeves adorned with delicate icy-blue floral embroidery. A deep royal blue corset cinched tightly around my waist, extending down over a heavy, matching midnight-blue overskirt that bustled over layers of white silk ruffles. My pointed elven ears peeked out perfectly from beneath my hair, which Ari had beautifully gathered and pinned up into a structured, elegant crown of natural curls and coils, held secure by a delicate pins.

As I stood before the mirror, I slowly adjusted the heavy ring glinting on my finger.

"Ari," I murmured, staring at the band. "Does this mean I have to take his last name?"

"You don’t technically have to," Ari noted thoughtfully as she adjusted my sleeves. "Though your mother chose to take your father’s name when they wed."

"Hmm... I will think about it," I sighed.

Once my heavy winter coat was securely fastened over my shoulders, Ari and I stepped out of the suite, walking briskly down the grand, echoing palace walkways. As we walked, a strange sensation crept up my spine. The vast, cavernous halls of the palace were completely empty of all the staff. There was no one around. Just a dense, echoing silence that felt entirely unnatural. I frowned to myself, wondering where everyone could possibly be and why the capital’s heart was so eerily quiet.

The moment we finally pushed through the massive rimmed exit doors and walked outside into the open.

Lined up in flawless, military formations across the snow-dusted courtyard were the soldiers and personal guards I had brought with me from the West. And all the way to the far left of the palace grounds, a huge, staggering structure of glass and reinforced iron was already almost halfway built, glinting beneath the weak northern sun.

I stopped dead in my tracks, genuinely surprised by the sheer, supernatural speed of the construction. I quickly nudged Ari with my elbow. "How long exactly was I asleep for?"

"Awhile," Ari answered with an amused glint in her eye. "The King explicitly ordered the entire palace staff to not disturb you under any circumstances."

I adjusted the collar of my coat, a bit flustered. I wasn’t entirely sure whether I should feel genuinely happy that I got some much-needed extra rest, or deeply irritated at him for pretending to care about my well-being.

Bracing my posture, I walked out onto the stone platform to stand directly in front of them. The moment I came into view, the soldiers and guards snapped their fists to their chests, dropping to one knee in perfect unison, remaining bowed in deep, reverent respect.

"Thank you all so much for your unwavering dedication to both our true home, Rakon, and now to the North," I announced, my voice carrying cleanly over the frozen air. "Ari will be moving down the lines shortly to hand each of you a finalized parchment containing your specific assigned regions where you will be stationed. Along with those orders, you will each receive two teleportation crystals and a personal bag of gold."

I took a deep, steadying breath, watching the steam rise into the frosty air before continuing.

"With each unit assigned to the four outer regions, you will split into two distinct operational units. One unit will report directly to the watchtowers at each respective border bewteen the North and other kingdoms to guard our perimeters. The other unit will remain stationed at the castles and estates in each region that I have personally bought with my own private funds. There will be specialized magic users integrated into every single unit—those who can command the various elements will be the primary individuals responsible for managing the greenhouses built on the very land you all will be living on."

I paused, making direct eye contact with the frontline captains. "Every month, the units will rotate places. The gold provided is for you and your families, for anything you may require to establish yourselves comfortably. Furthermore, any and all financial profits generated from the crop yields of the greenhouse in your specific region will belong entirely to you all. The teleportation crystals are meant for you to bring your families here safely to stay with you."

"Thank you, my Queen!" they roared in a powerful, thunderous unison that rattled the frost from the nearby pines.

A guard in the front row carefully raised his head. "What about you, my Queen? What will you do if you generously give us all of your personal money and resources?"

A wicked, knowing smile touched my lips. "I have my husband’s bottomless royal treasury to use, of course. There is absolutely no need to worry about me."

"What if the local people of the regions or the regional nobles attempt to challenge our authority? What should we do then?" another captain called out.

"Tell them it is a direct royal order from the Queen," I replied smoothly. My smile remained fixed, but I tilted my head slightly, my voice dropping into a chillingly calm, nonchalant tone. "And if they so much as touch a single hair on any of your heads, or set foot on the designated greenhouse lands without your explicit consent... then kill them."

I stopped smiling entirely, my eyes burning. "Fight back. Do not allow yourselves to be bullied or pushed around by anyone."

"Yes, my Queen!"

Ari then stepped forward, handing out specialized, black devices to the elemental mages. These magical containment units were designed to securely store my fire magic and steadily convert it into constant, nurturing sunlight for the crops inside the structures.

"These devices will be hung in the main greenhouse here," I instructed, gesturing to the massive construction to our left. "Those of you who did not receive a regional assignment sheet will remain here in the capital, guarding me, the King, and looking after the central greenhouse."

Just as I finished speaking, a young maid from the northern palace staff nervously approached from behind, gently tapping my shoulder. I turned, and she immediately bowed low.

"My Queen... you have company waiting for you in the tea room."

I looked at Ari, completely confused. "Company?" I turned back to the maid. "Very well, lead the way. Ari, stay here and finish up the distributions, then join me inside."

Ari nodded sharply, and I followed the nervous maid back through the palace halls toward the tea room. When she pushed the doors open, I stepped into a room that was in dark, rich mahogany, heavy fur rugs throwing off the chill, and a massive roaring fireplace cut from black stone.

Standing directly near the hearth were four ladies draped in heavily exaggerated winter coats and ridiculously oversized, feathered hats. They turned slowly as the door clicked, tracking my entrance with cold, judgmental stares.

Not a single one of them curtsied. None of them spoke.

I paused in the doorway, placing my arms behind my back as my eyes narrowed. "When a Queen enters a room, you are supposed to greet her. Or is it that the high nobles of the North simply have absolutely no goddamn manners?"

The woman standing in the center, sporting a ridiculously large green velvet hat, let out a loud, mocking sniff. "Excuse us. But down here in the civilized courts, we do not waste our greetings on foreign barbarians."

A dark, dangerous fire flared in my gut. I forced a blindingly fake smile onto my face as I took a slow step toward the fireplace.

"Oh, trust me, I can show you a real barbarian if you’d like," I said, my voice dripping with a terrifyingly sweet sarcasm. "Would you prefer to swallow your own teeth first, or would you rather just choke on my fist?"

The ladies gasped in unison, their faces turning completely pale.

The woman wearing a towering pink feathered hat frantically stepped forward, clearing her throat in a panic. "Our apologies, Your Highness! It seems we simply got off on the wrong foot! We... we are the wives of the Ministers of each of the four outer regions."

I stared at them, reading the blatant malice and entitlement radiating off their stuck-up faces. I knew right then and there that these women were going to be an absolute, exhausting handful. But a viciously eager thought crossed my mind. I was more than ready to teach these noble bitched a permanent lesson in royal hierarchy.

But as I braced myself for the political ambush, I couldn’t help but scream internally:

Where the absolute fuck is Yue-Senn, and how dare he leave me to deal with this shit alone?