Elements Of An Alliance

Chapter 2: Meeting

After several days of seasickness, the ship was nearing the Aspean harbor. Adonis stood at the bow, a breeze ruffling his hair. He took a deep breath and instantly regretted it, gagging slightly at the seawater's smell.

Within a few minutes, they'd arrived. The platform was prepared to allow Adonis to disembark. He carefully stepped back on land and closed his eyes, heaving a sigh of relief. "Finally, sweet firm land..."

Opening his eyes, he yelped at the royals staring at him. The king cleared his throat and bowed, his daughter following suit. "Good evening, Prince Adonis. It's a pleasure to see you again."

Adonis smiled nervously and bowed as well. "It's a pleasure to be here, Your Majesty. My Mother and Father send their warmest regards."

He paused, then looked back up at the king. "Pardon, again?"

King Kazuki stumbled over his words. "Well, er- Yes! Yes, we have. Met before. If I'm not mistaken, your father has brought you along on some trips, no?"

Adonis thought about it for a moment. "Oh, I must've forgotten... My apologies."

Kazuki smiled warmly. "Nothing to apologize for. Come now, we can talk more on the way to the palace." The prince and princess nodded. All three climbed into a carriage before heading off towards the palace.

"So, Adonis..."

Adonis turned towards Kazuki. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

Kazuki's eyebrows furrowed slightly in a pensive expression. "I take it your father gave you that pin?"

"Right, he did. He gave this to me shortly before I left Kotia."

"Ah. It looks lovely."

Adonis opened his mouth to reply, but Kiyomi interrupted. "We're here!" She stood carefully as the door was opened, then stepped out. Kazuki looked up from the pin and blinked. "Ah. So quickly..?"

Adonis laughed nervously. "Perhaps the conversation just distracted us." He tugged on the cuff of his sleeves. This was incredibly awkward, and it hadn't even been a long conversation.

Kiyomi had already walked a short distance from the carriage, calling out. "Father, Prince Adonis, we should hurry! Otherwise Mother might start the meeting without us!"

Kazuki nodded and stepped out of the carriage, Adonis following. They walked into the palace, Kazuki leading the way towards the meeting room. A guard bowed and opened the door.

Kiyomi hummed softly and walked into the room, Akane standing at the front of the table. "Ah, welcome again. I was just about to begin." Adonis stepped into the room after the princess, looking around.

There were five chairs along the table, reminiscent of thrones. Each chair had its kingdom's symbol engraved into the back. He gave a bow to the Queen, then went to sit down.

Kazuki stood next to Akane as she began speaking. "Hello again, and welcome to the kingdom of Aspea. It's a pleasure to be seeing you all, and it's quite thrilling to know what you'll all be doing here. I am Queen Akane, as you all may know. This officially marks the first meeting of the second elemental alliance."

Kazuki smiled before speaking. "We know it'd be good to start with introductions to each other, but I'm afraid that'll have to wait. We are slightly behind schedule, and we'd like to catch up on that so you may all go and explore after."

The royal teens all looked at each other, then at the King and Queen. They all murmured words of agreement.

Kazuki clasped his hands together.

"Very well. Let's begin."