78__King and Queen of Cassius

The kingdom of Cassius was buzzing with anticipation. It had been over two centuries since they last had a coronation ceremony, the last having been imposed on them as Diana had been unwanted from the start.

Now, they were rebuilding and restarting with new rulers over their kingdom. Powerful rulers. Nobody would ever look down on them again for being half-breed Vamps with Rogan as their king. It was the start of endless power. Some of the people were afraid, but most were just glad they wouldn’t be dirt poor from paying high taxes any longer. Rogan had enough riches to fund twenty Cassius kingdoms if he wanted.

They had been preparing for over a week for the day and, finally, it had arrived. The coronation and wedding day of their new King and Queen.

From the large window in her castle chambers, Maia looked out over her new home as the last preparations for the celebrations were being made. She couldn’t help but smile excitedly, pressing her hands against the glass to lean forward. The whole kingdom was so cool. Everyone was a Sorcerer or an Enchantress and could do so many fascinating stuff!

She couldn’t wait for the formal ceremony to be over so she could sneak out to explore the kingdom some more. Surely learning from the people would help her strengthen her own powers.

Behind her were mountains of clothes as servants moved around preparing her outfits for the night according to how Claudia instructed them. Maia wasn’t interested, the windows beckoned her eager eyes to gaze out.

“Where’s Maia?” asked Clover from under a pile of corsets.

The buzz of conversation among the ladies died for a moment.

“There,” said Rogan’s niece, pointing her chin amusedly at the tall windows where Maia had plastered herself like a pancake. “My soon-to-be-Queen?”

“Maia!” Claudia gasped, rushing over as the servants giggled. “You can’t press your nose on the glass like that, I’ve just done your make up. You’re getting married, darling, behave.”

“I just saw a woman flying on a broom!” Maia said with a laugh, skipping back into the room to sit on her chair.

“You’ll see that often,” said the princess with a smile. “We are a kingdom of magic after all.”

“Can you fly, Arya?” asked Clover, wide-eyed.

The princess blushed and shook her head. “I hadn’t been able to practice much magic at all with the… situation… between my mother and I.” She forced a smile. “But now that I have Maia, we can learn together, right?”

“Absolutely!” Maia nodded in agreement as the servants started on her hair, putting jewels in and styling the luscious curls.

“You have wonderful hair, my lady,” said a servant girl shyly.

Maia blinked. “I do? Thank you.”

Arya nodded. “It’s thick and dark and luscious. How did you take care of it?”

Maia thought for a moment. “Well, I used to wash it in cold, clear streams and throw some coconut oils and mint oils into it.”

Claudia sighed proudly. “Such beautiful results from such minimum effort. You skilful wench.”

Just as they finished getting ready, there was a knock at the door.

A servant came in and curtsied, the long skirt of her black gown swaying. “My lady, the ceremony is about to start.”

Maia nodded with an excited smile. “Let’s go.”

**************************

Rogan looked at himself in the tall silver vase across the hall, studying his reflection as he waited for Maia.

Behind the doors, he could hear the laughter and murmurs of the guests, waiting for the appearance of their new King and Queen.

He sighed, shifting on his feet. Who were they, in the first place? It sounded packed in there and Rogan knew he didn’t have that many friends!

Ah, damn. Couldn’t they have had a smaller ceremony where he didn’t have to tolerate the presence of so many people for so long? Damn Blaire overdoing it with the invitations, Rogan would make him study ten thousand spells as punishment.

Muttering a curse, he brushed his fingers over his styled hair. They’d gone and combed it back and now he looked like some pompous English duke. He’d make his butlers pay for this too!

“You look like you’re plotting against someone.”

Blinking, Rogan looked towards the voice.

Maia stood there, laughter shining in her eyes as she watched him.

Rogan straightened, his shoulders squaring as he took in the full appearance of her. “Maia…”

Still smiling, she carried on walking towards him, the train of her black gown trailing on the red carpet behind her. “What’s wrong? Did someone piss you off?”

It took a moment for him to respond to her question, his mind preoccupied with how simply stunning she looked. “No, I… You look so beautiful…”

With a delighted laugh, she posed for him, hands on the slim waist of her gown. “Don’t I?”

He was still gaping at her when she sighed happily and walked over to him. “And you look wonderful yourself, Rogan.” She studied the aesthetically pleasing dark colors and style of his clothing, finding herself struck with awe. “Wow… you look even more like a Sorcerer King now.” She placed a hand on his chest. “Your chest looks… you look so good.”

Rogan grinned. “You like it?”

She nodded. “Yeah!”

Her smile faltered for a moment and Maia pressed her lips together. “Hmm… lean over.”

He lowered his head and she reached up with both hands. A few gentle touches later, Rogan felt locks of his hair brush his forehead as he was used to.

“There!” she said with a satisfied smile. “Your usual hairstyle looks even better with the outfit.”

He straightened and took her hand, kissing it gently. “Are you ready, my lady?”

Maia felt a sudden swarm of butterflies declare war in her stomach, making her heart pound. She’d been perfectly calm until he’d so gently called her ‘My lady.’ in that deep voice of his and now she could barely draw breath!

Gripping his hand, she shook her head. “Wait…”

Rogan looked concerned. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head again. “Nothing, just… I needed to take a breath.”

He smiled, his entire face lighting up from it. “God, you look gorgeous.”

“Really?” she asked with a mischievous grin. “Are you having a hard time keeping your hands off me right now? Because you have such a big crush on me?”

Rogan scoffed out a laugh. Suddenly his grin turned devilish and he tugged her against him to murmur in her ear. “Let’s see if you’re that cocky later when I make you beg me.”

She was biting her lip when he pulled away and took her hand, that smile still on his face. “Shall we?”

Maia nodded. “Yes.”

***********************

The centre of the ballroom had couples twirling about to the sound of music, everyone joyous and carefree for the night.

Maia giggled, watching the Hostel girls get twirled about in a dance with Cassius men who were beyond smitten with them.

Cassie alone sat at the table munching on some spicy meat bites as she listened to the man at her side who had been trying to explain to her for the past hour why she absolutely had to dance with him that night.

“They’re having so much fun,’” said Maia. “It’s a beautiful night.”

Rogan looked at her where she sat on her throne and frowned. Reaching over, he gripped the arm of her throne and dragged it over until it was right against his.

“There. Much better.”

Maia rested her elbow on the arm of her throne, leaning towards him with raised brows. “How did you do that? These thrones are heavier than mountains!”

"They're not *that* heavy," he told her.

"Yes, they are," she countered, glancing around the room. "Rogan, Aiden didn't come. And... your brother."

"Aiden will visit us later. As for Viktor, I don't know." Sighing contentedly, Rogan took her hand. “I love this ring on your finger.”

Looking at her hand, Maia smiled. She took his hand and set it beside hers so she could watch how the purple and green magic within the many diamond jewels of their rings swirled beautifully. “I like that we both have one.”

Rogan nodded, fighting a smile as he rolled his eyes. “Yes, people who are to be together for life often both do.”

Leaning her chin on her hand, Maia looked up at him with a twinkle in her eyes. His crown made him look so majestic, it was the most attractive thing she had ever seen. The jewels looked amazing against the dark color of the gold metal. She loved it. “Your crown is beautiful. Is it heavy?”

Rogan raised a brow as he glanced up. “Well… no, it isn’t.”

She ran delicate fingers over the diamonds in her own crown as she studied his. “It looks heavy. If it starts to give you a headache, take it off, alright?”

Rogan shook his head. “It isn’t heavy, little love. Don’t worry.”

She smiled with a nod and he tilted his head at her. “Would you like to know a fun fact?”

Maia brightened. “Yes!”

Laughing at her cuteness, he interlocked their fingers. “Here in Cassius, a mass of metals, stones and jewels are prepared for the King’s crown. The Queen’s crown comes out of that mass.” He looked at her. “If a King has no Queen, the entire mass is used for his crown and he *must* bear it. It is always the same mass. If he has a Queen, the mass is lessened as her crown is made too. So, without a Queen, the King bears a heavy mass on his head. Some have died of it, others have given it up.”

Maia listened attentively as he spoke.

“If he has a Queen,” continued Rogan, falling deeper in love with her with each word he spoke. “Her crown makes the weight of his own crown much more bearable. That’s why mine isn’t heavy, Maia. You make the weight I must bear much easier to carry.”

Red sprung into her cheeks as a slow smile curved her lips. “I do? Well... I think I really, *really* like that.”

“Yeah?” Rogan nodded. “Well, so do I.”