The Clash Of Drakkon: Book Four Of The Drakkon Series

Chapter Sixteen

Alessandra Drakkon

Queen of the Drakkon Empire

"Your majesty, a box came for you while you were sleeping." I raise a brow and head over to the table where the box had been placed, I could tell my guards had already inspected it, the nice ribbon was still on it but untied. I didn't fault them for this, after being separated and almost dying quite a few times in the last few weeks, I am not sure I would see anything they did in order to ensure my safety was overkill, except if they locked me away in a room and never intended to let me out, but I knew they would never do that, even if they wanted to. They understood that I had an Empire to save and rule, and that was not something I could do within the safe confines of a room.

I lift the lid on the box and look inside, the first thing that catches my attention is the large deer mask, it was white in color with silver markings going around the eyes in spirals, it had a white upside-down moon on the forehead over top of a black circle with a silver outline. It had long white ears with pink insides going outwards where my temples would be, and then it had silver triangles at the tops of the mask where the horns connected, it was beautiful, and I knew it had everything to with the festival that was supposed to happen today. The one Malia had mentioned at dinner two days ago.

I picked up the mask and moved it out of the box and onto the table, underneath the mask was a beautiful white dress with silver beadwork. Once I had taken the dress out and handed it to Yanu, there was another smaller box left behind. Inside it were a pair white flats, not the heels I would have expected to go with this dress. Moving the box of shoes, I notice a small rectangular white piece of paper, picking it up I noticed it was heavy cardstock and written in scrawling silver ink was a message addressed to me from Kalo.

"See you in the garden, we're going to the festival, Kalo. How cute, he just assumes I'm going with him without even asking me." I had half a mind to ignore his gift and skip the festival all together, but a part of me couldn't help but want to go. The dress he had given me was breathtaking, nothing like the style I wore back on Draka, but beautiful nonetheless.

I sighed and stared down at the lovely dress, the intriguing deer mask, I wish I could say that it was a hard choice to decide to go to the festival, and yet I knew I was too intrigued to find out what all the fuss was about to miss it, Malia had made sure of that. So, I dressed myself up in the provided clothing and headed to the garden, the flats did make it much easier to walk along the gravel pathways though.

I choke on the air in my throat the second my eyes catch sight of Kalo, his clothing much more similar to what the Entitled men wore on Draka, it was a black suit, the coat buttoning up to the throat like an Indian jodhpuri on earth, beautiful gold stitching of branches twined along half of it, giving it a matching design to his gold and black sun mask. Unlike my mask his didn't cover his entire face, only the top half, much closer to a masquerade mask, beautiful gold metal work went around his mask in swirls and spirals, though it was the large sun in the center of his forehead that drew the most attention.

Clearly, he was the sun, and I was the moon in this situation, he must hear the gravel move under my feet because he notices me a second later, to not have noticed me until now must have meant he was deep in thought. "Alessandra!" His voice is surprised, confusing me, did the outfit he sent not look good? When I had stood in front of the mirror earlier, I thought it suited me well, the white looking marvelous against my red hair and purple eyes. "What are you doing here?" This time it was my turn to stare at him in confusion, what was he talking about?

"What do you mean? I got a box with this outfit in it, the note said to meet you in the garden, that we were going to the festival, did you not send it to me?" He shakes his head and groans, confusing me even more, who else could send it to me but him?