The Story of the Seven

CHAPTER 11 - Gracing Her Highness

Out of the blue, I heard a masculine voice in front of me, booming clear and loud.

"Welcome Haruto, welcome. I hereby bestow you the honor of meeting our queen."

With that, all the various "security apparatus" that were restraining me became unbound, thanks to someone behind me.

I opened my eyes and looked around.

The room I was in turned out to be very spacious, with a huge glass skylight. The room, constructed of cold marble, smooth wood, and refined glass, was a mix of Western imperial castles and Japanese traditional palaces. Paintings of Asian and Western styles adorned the walls, intricate murals inlaid on the ground, and the back wall made completely of stained-glass. Beyond the glass, a magnificent view of Mount Fuji and the lakes surrounding it. In front of the glass, an elevated platform, with fire blazers on either side. Truly, it looked like a throne room in the mystical palace of Zenithia.

But that didn't really matter to me at that moment, because my eyes were fixated on "the Queen".

I burned the imagine in my retina; registered the date in my brain.

The Queen.

Mysterious.

Elegant.

Tall.

Regal.

Proud.

Male.

......

What??

WHY THE GOD DAMN HELL IS THE QUEEN A MALE!?!?!?

I just stared blankly at the male in front of me, like a bewildered kitten.

Not trusting my voice, I forced myself to say, "Hello, your majesty."

"Hey, Haruto. Nice to see you for the first time, face to face. I've heard about you for the past few weeks from my friends."

"????????"

Allow me to clarify my confusion. When I addressed the queen, the male in front of me did not answer. Rather, a female voice from behind me answered.

Slowly, cautiously, I turned around to see a petite woman wearing a kimono. She stuck her hand out to me.

"Hi, I'm the queen that you wanted to meet. Sorry to disappoint you; I'm not as impressive as I'm rumored to be."

"Err... Umm..."

I stuttered, unable to make out the right words.

What was this woman – so fragile looking, innocent looking, meek looking.

Yet she radiated power; she shined so brightly it was hard to stare directly at her face; she glowed with mystical warmth that could make cold-blooded serial killers weep in remorse.

To summarize her in one word – god.

"Are you okay? Did the security protocols get on your nerves?"

The queen busied herself over me, looking worried.

"Ah, no, I'm fine." (Haruto)

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm really fine."

"Then you must have some questions for me?"

"Alright. With all due respect, who's the man behind me?"

"Ah, he's my most trusted advisor and my primary bodyguard. You surely didn't mistaken him for the queen, did you?"

The queen laughed at her own joke, oblivious to the fact that I was staring at the ground bright-faced in shame.