Chapter 55
Only a few days after the festival, a winter storm swept through Royal City. Orion and Tanya had made themselves comfortable in Orion’s room, laying on the floor under a warm blanket and in front of a large fire. Star, too was curled up with them, her sleek black wings fully grown in, but would spring up and bristle her fur every time the wind howled. Orion stroked Star’s fur, trying to reassure her. He still couldn’t believe how big she got. She was now over three feet tall, and still not fully grown. She settled down and curled up between Orion and Tanya. A loud knock on the door made Star bristle, hiss, and run into Orion’s bedroom.
“Come in!” Orion called without getting up.
“Your Majesties, a servant bowed as he stepped through the doors, “Preparations for your wedding are underway. You both need to be measured so that we can have your new clothes ready for the ceremony.” He pulled a measuring tape out of his bag.
“Oh, of course,” Orion said as he got up. Tanya followed suit. The servant began by measuring Orion’s waist, shoulders, arm length, full height, half height, neck, and everywhere else, jotting the measurements down as he went. Next, he turned towards Tanya, measuring her the same way, and recording her measurements as well. It took hours and both Orion and Tanya were late for dinner by the time the servant was done and bowed himself out.
The storm lasted for several weeks, keeping everyone inside. Orion often took walks through the palace with Tanya at his side and Alex a few strides behind. Orion watched as the palace was transformed with the decorations for his wedding. The great hall was hardly recognizable. The large painting of Orion, his father, and Patricia had been taken down at Orion’s request, and moved into King Frederic’s rooms. Another painting, just as large, adorned the wall. This one showed both of Orion’s parents, himself, and both of his brothers.
Orion had requested that fresh white roses be placed in the vases in the halls everyday, and after the wedding, other flowers would fill the vases. He’d never let those vases sit empty the way his father did. Orion was surprised when his father didn’t raise any objection to the new decor. He had also been surprised to learn that his parents were spending a lot of time together. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, but he didn’t have time to worry about his parents. He had a lot of other things to worry about with the wedding coming up in only three more months.
Aside from his daily studies, personal training with Alex, and his training class for his warriors, his parents had decided to add new classes of their own to Orion’s already busy schedule. King Frederic would take Orion around to all the hundreds of offices in the palace, explaining what each position did. If that wasn’t bad enough, Orion’s mother would immediately tell Orion about the equivalent office on Lunspae. Orion’s head was swimming by the end of each day. He didn’t have much free time to spend with Tanya anymore, let alone his other friends. His father assured him that, once he became king, he’d have even less free time, if any.