When Draven entered the council hall, he found that all the council members were present and simply waiting for his arrival. The various leaders and elders that represented the different territories of the kingdom were seated inside the solemn hall made out of carved stone, making idle chatter with each other or their subordinates.
If an ordinary human were to see the sight, they would be stunned with eyes bulging in disbelief, as each and every person inside the council hall were creatures that they thought were figures of folktales and legends. There were beautiful elegant elves, tiny winged faeries, shapeshifters in their animal forms and females who looked like humans in ancient clothing on the surface but were in fact witches.
As the Draven entered the council hall, the fourteen council members all rose from their seats to greet him.
The eleven High Elders of each elf clan, the Queen of the Fae, the Head of the Witches, the Chief of the Shapeshifters and the Devil.
These fifteen existences composed the highest governing body of Agartha.
Draven sat on the throne at the forefront of the hall and only then did the others sat down in their respective chairs. Leeora, the Head Elder and representative of the Wood Elf Clan, were among them.
"How are the races and clans faring for the past month?" Draven asked straight to the point with a nonchalant face.
Although Agartha was called a kingdom, it was in fact more a blessed land that Draven protected, a haven for the supernatural creatures that could not coexist with the humans of the continent. There was little sense of formality and he didn't generally care about how each race governed themselves. In fact, he mostly found the council meeting that happens once a month redundant since he felt that each clan elder or leader of the race didn't really need him to fix their individual issues.
"Your Majesty is as impatient as usual," one of the council members chuckled.
It was a male elf with long bushy white hair, his pointed ears somewhat longer than average, wearing a long white robe that was open in front yet its hems touched the floor. He was Halifax, the High Elder of the Moon Elf Clan and acting figurehead of the elf race. He was the oldest living existence amongst his kind, even much older than Leeora, the High Elder of the Wood Elf Clan.
In general, the inhabitants of Agartha belonged to five major races—the elves, the witches, the faeries, the shapeshifters and the humans—each of them having their own territories that were self-governing and self-sustaining.
Out of five territories, the elf race was the largest one with eleven clans, each of them with a representative within the council. As elves were the most dominant race in terms of population, their territory spanned almost half of the kingdom, including the royal palace where the King resides, while the other magical races occupied the rest of the kingdom, dividing it equally among themselves.
As for humans?
Those pitiful humans who were refugees lucky enough to stumble upon the hidden Kingdom of Agartha were welcomed to stay, but they were confined to the villages at the border of the kingdom, generally not mingling with the other races. Though some of them were bad seeds, many of them were war orphans or victims of crimes, thus the magical races pitied them. It was out of pure kindness of the heart that they were allowed to stay.
However, they were treated like stray cats and not actual people of the kingdom, thus, although they occupy a territory, there were no human representatives in the council meeting. As the remaining minority, humans were as good as non-existent in the eyes of the other races.
Halifax spoke up, "Your Majesty, we have heard that you brought a female human to the palace."
Draven simply nodded as he knew what would come next.
Seeing the King not bothered by these questions, everyone exchanged gazes.
Halifax continued, "Your Majesty, you must have your own considerations, but for more than a century, we have been following this rule that no human is allowed in the territories of our races. Humans are only allowed to stay at the human villages at the borders of the kingdom. May we know the reason for Your Majesty to break this rule?"
Draven remained silent, sitting calmly in his throne with his red eyes only observing the members of the council.
"Indeed, Your Majesty, we all wish to know the reason," a graceful lady representing the witches said as she stood up and lowered her head in front of the King.
"Your Majesty," a few others said in unison as they also stood up.
"Do I need anyone's permission in this kingdom?"
Everyone heard a cold, calm but authoritative voice ring inside the stone walls of the council hall.
More than several centuries back, this powerful man had alone saved their races from the cruel hands of humans and built this kingdom to protect the supernatural beings seeking refuge. His powers were immeasurable and he feared no one.
Yet despite this, he was more a guardian protecting Agartha from outside threats than an actual king sitting on the throne. Draven mostly never involved himself in territorial matters and each race lived without control from him, able to live with freedom under his protection.
Someone with such power, high status and freehand attitude towards his people, did he need anyone's permission in the kingdom he himself created?
"Apologies, Your Majesty if our words have offended you," said Halifax as he bowed to the king and others did the same.
An uncomfortable silence enveloped the hall, and it was the Queen of the Fae who broke it as she nervously fluttered her beautiful wings behind her. "We are sorry. We just wish to know why His Majesty broke this rule and brought a human to the palace. Perhaps she's special?"
"I have my reasons," the King replied coldly.
Halifax sighed. "We know, Your Majesty. It is just… the fear and hatred of our people remains, and we will have to explain ourselves to them once they ask why a human is coexisting among elves. Have we not learned our lesson? We gave humans chances, again and again in the past, but weren't we betrayed? Our kins enslaved or killed? We have lost so much…remember that cruel slaughter…?"
The council members turned silent at the mention of what Halifax said. Erlos, who was standing near Draven, lowered his head.
What happened in the past, the passing time did not wash away the pain and fury that the supernatural beings involved had felt back then.
Others supported what Halifax said. All they wanted was an explanation, otherwise, many of the wounds and scars that these long-lived beings kept would probably be reopened. By that time, wouldn't the populace start to question King Draven's intentions? The peace that the people of Agartha were experiencing would fade into oblivion.
"Please send that human to the villages, Your Majesty."
"Indeed. Letting her stay for a couple more days to recover is acceptable, but any longer than that, the hostility of the elves against humans would flare up."
"Your Majesty—"
Draven had it enough. "Once I find the things I am searching for, I will think about it."
His response silenced everyone. It seemed like the King needed the human to look for something.
"And… how long will that take, Your Majesty?" asked the Queen of the Fae.
"As long as I want," Draven replied as he looked at the tiny fairy with an icy glare.
King Draven listened to no one, and it was already lucky for him to indulge them with a response. Since the King gave them an explanation, Halifax felt that it would be bad for everyone to continue probing. The High Elder of the Moon Elves decided to interrupt.
"We thank His Majesty for letting us know that you are keeping that human for a reason. We will patiently wait for His Majesty. We believe His Majesty won't overlook our worries."
Draven stayed quiet as he didn't find it necessary to answer or assure anyone. With that concern cleared up, the council reported about the various issues their clans and races were experiencing. Though Draven didn't interfere in territorial matters, he always kept himself aware of what was happening in his kingdom.
On most days, the Devil of Agartha was an idle king, but that didn't mean he had no affairs to oversee. Whenever he was in his study, what awaited him was an endless pile of reports, not only from the leaders of the races under him but also from those beings secretly roaming the continent, who send news of the outside world to him from time to time.
It was late when Draven returned to his chamber.
On the way back, Erlos informed him, "Sire, I have handed over that jade pendant to Elder Leeora. She said that she will bring the human girl to her clan residence tomorrow, therefore I had that human girl continue staying in the guest room for the meantime."
"Did I ask you?" came Draven's bland response as he continued walking along the hallway with long strides.
Erlos wanted to roll his eyes, long used to his bad-tempered master. He was sure his master was interested in that human girl, otherwise, he wouldn't go as far as waste precious magic to leave Agartha and cross such a distance. Sadly, his master was someone who was no good with words and couldn't just thank him….
Erlos frowned as he tried to keep up with Draven's long strides. After teleporting twice today, his body was drained of energy and his muscles ached. Normally, he would only be catching his breath while running behind his master, but after their adventure earlier, the elf was so exhausted he wanted to immediately retire to his own quarters.
Unfortunately, he couldn't. As long as Draven was awake and moving about, it was Erlos' job to blindly follow him everywhere.
"Sire, walk slowly, walk slowly! Why are you always in a rush? If you want, you can transfer the both of us towards...ahem... on another thought, I retract my statement. My body is already so exhausted another teleport will make me pass out—oh wait, this direction is wrong. Are we not heading to your sleeping chamber, Sire?"
Instead of replying to him, Draven took another turn, entering another hallway that led further to his own chamber. Erlos felt bewildered.
"S-sire, why are we going this way? Are you in the mood for a midnight stroll? The garden is on the other side." Erlos could not help but whine, "Sire, you should get another companion for something like this and not trouble this poor, overworked servant of yours—"
"You should keep your legs working. I don't want you to turn into a sloth," Draven replied while continuing to walk with large strides. The pitiful young elf tried to match his pace as best as he could.
'Sloth? Being your servant has made me the most active person ever on this entire continent.'
It took Erlos several seconds to realize that at the end of the familiar hallway was the guest room where that human girl was staying. The elf servant hid a grin, but his pointed ears twitched as his imagination soared.
Draven slowed down the more he neared that particular chamber, his expression pensive, looking as if he was trying but failing to focus his senses.
'Why can't I sense her presence, as if she is not in the palace at all?'
This was one of the reasons why he decided to keep that strange female creature, instead of throwing her into the human villages.
Since that female arrived at the palace, she was the only one whose presence Draven could not sense. From time to time, he would spread his power to sense each and every person's presence and their activities inside the palace. Without even seeing them, he knew exactly their situation—all but this particular human girl who seemed not human at all.
Physical strength beyond what any human was capable of.
An ability to wield magic and use a shape-shifting spell.
A strange state that allows her to escape his senses.
…and a power that could summon him.
Draven stopped in front of the door of the guest room and looked at it, but no matter what, he still could not sense her presence. He asked the servants present outside, "Is that creature inside?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Erlos caught up to him at that point. "Is the human girl asleep now?" He then turned towards Draven. "Sire, should we wake her up?"
The servant explained. "I believe she is still awake. The High Elder left mere minutes ago, and the young lady just had her meal and medicine."
Draven left without saying a word, leaving Erlos scratching his ears before following behind him once more.
The devil king only had one question in his mind.
'What is stopping me from reaching her?'
Draven returned to his bed-chamber and he was greeted with a hoot by the wise bird waiting for his arrival. Draven went towards the window where Midnight, his snowy white owl was perched on the window sill, his big round eyes blinking at his master. Seeing his master pet the bird, Erlos went to prepare his bath.
After hearing a satisfied hoot, Draven looked at the dark sky. "I can't sense her presence at all. Isn't it strange?"
The owl nodded, wisdom clear in its big eyes.
Draven continued, "You know what you have to do."
The owl nodded again lightly and spread his wings, as if excusing himself from the presence of the King. The owl flew away the moment Erlos returned from the side chamber. "Sire, your bath is ready."
"Go retire for the night."
Relieved that he could finally go rest in his own quarters, the elf servant bowed. "May you have a pleasant sleep, Sire."
It didn't surprise Erlos as whenever something troubled his master, he always preferred to stay alone.
Once Erlos left, Draven took his time taking off his clothes as he walked towards the side chamber. First his black boots, then his gloves and his long form-fitting tailcoat. His strong fingers unbuttoned his brown waistcoat and beige dress shirt, and by the time he entered the side chamber, he was clad in nothing but slim black trousers.
Messy black hair barely covering his ears, a symmetrical, angular face with defined lips, his broad shoulders led to a wide chest with chiselled muscles, before narrowing to a toned abdomen. A runic tattoo of a black dragon covered the left side of his chest, further enhancing his dangerous looks.
Coupled with his cold and serious face, the handsome manly appearance of the Devil of Agartha was nothing short of wicked, the type of rugged beauty that could rouse desires and corrupt even the pure.
However, the fear of his powers easily clouded the people's judgment of him and no one dared evaluate his looks. Not only that, the temptation of his body was a sight that no female had the privilege to see.
After fully undressing, Draven stepped inside the pool of heated water waiting for him and sat with his eyes closed. Slowly, he let go of himself, allowing his body to sink deeper until his face completely went under the surface of the water and he held his breath. But all of the sudden, his calm was shattered by an unexpected memory.
'That female creature—?'
It was his encounter with that strange human girl in the morning. Back then, that tiny thing was covered in blue-gold scales like a reptile, her eyes were completely pitch black as if darkness itself had swallowed them whole, but she quickly turned back into her original human form and escaped under her bed.
But there was a small detail he missed.
'Her eyes…Her eyes…They are…?'
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