NOVEL WEB Chapter 6 – Mighty king…?
Olivia keeps guiding the pair through the hallways until reaching the entrance of the throne room, standing in front of the closed double doors and resting her palms against them. "We have arrived! Behind these doors awaits His Majesty, King Edward the Great." She contently speaks, looking back at the ambassador and his assistant over her shoulder with a smile before pushing the doors open and entering the room...
...ZZZZZ...
A red long carpet leads to a pair of big, fancy wooden thrones, one next to the other. The one by the left lays empty, and the one by the right is currently ocuppied by a corpulent snoring man wearing expensive clothes and sporting a golden crown that carelessly rests on the middle of his head. Despite not being actually that old, King Edward's neglected appareance makes him look at least ten years older than he is. Long shaggy ginger hair and an unkempt beard with crumbs of food still on it, huge bags under his eyes, wrinkles all over the visible parts of his face, and a round inflated belly that evidences an excess of both booze and unhealthy meals.
Olivia isn't able to contain her disappointed expression at the deplorable state of her king in front of the guests, letting out a fatigued sigh yet quickly hiding her true feelings and returning to her small refined smile and calmness. She softly clears her throat in an attempt to awaken the king.
...ZZZZZ...
"Your Majesty, our guests have arrived."
Nova and Orok slowly look at eachother with raised eyebrows.
...ZZZZZ...
Olivia deeply sighs again, rapidly clapping her hands together one single time, the sharp sound echoing across the room and finally awakening the man.
"U-uh? Huh? Uh?" The startled king babbles, firmly gripping the armrests of his seat as he looks towards the direction of the noise that forcefully made him abandon his slumber. "Oh... Hey, Olivia, what hour is it?" He speaks in a hoarse, lazy tone of voice.
"Our guests have arrived, Your Majesty." The royal advisor ignores the king's question, keeping her hands clasped on her front and gesturing towards the orc and the elf with a little nod of her head. "Orok and Nova from the lands of Garro... Remember? The ambassador...?"
"Oh, yeah... Garro..." He yawns, wiping the crust off his green eyes. "Garro... that's a funny name." King Edward mumbles to himself, patting across his body as he searches for something.
"...on your belt..." Olivia discretely whispers.
"Right." The king quickly grabs a little piece of paper lodged between his belt and his belly. Holding it in front of his face and shamelessly starting to read it. "Ambassador insert name here, I humbly welcome you to Malena, our dear home. I sincerely hope for the relationship of our allied countries to prosper even further and bring well-being and security to our people. I have reserved you a luxurious suite on my castle and, of course, you can stay here as long as negotiations require it. If you have any kind of question or request, don't be afraid to seek my advisor, Olivia." He sighs as he finishes the long text.
"U-uh... Thank you, King Edward..." Nova confusedly says.
Orok laughs. "Gaha, yeah! Thanks! That 'luxurious suite' part sounds great."
The king ignores the pair, eyes moving towards the advisor. "Olivia, where is my daughter?"
"I believe the princess is in her room, Your Majesty." Olivia says. "I'll guide our guests to their suite and then go ask her to come see you, alright?"
"Yeah... yeah, do that." He speaks, expression getting gloomy. "She can't spend all day locked up in her room, that's not healthy..."
