Terran followed his friend up to the second floor of the building. On this floor, elves could be heard grunting while they sparred in the various training rooms. Terran enjoyed the sound of metal clanging on metal—sounds that always felt like music in his ears. In some ways, he wished he didn’t enjoy fighting so much, he knew it was wrong to love the adrenaline of battle and the besting of his opponents, but he simply couldn’t help himself at times. It gave him a boost of energy that nothing else could supply him with.
Finally, Terran and his friend mounted the final flight of stairs. These rooms were reserved for those who had permanent residences in the building—mostly teachers, but some students as well. Yoon led him to the third door down the hallway, and Terran knocked on it, wondering what the queen could possibly want from him.
“Alright, well, I guess I’ll get out of your hair. I’ll see you later, Terran.” Yoon said, patting his shoulder.
Terran nodded in response. The door opened and, upon setting his eyes on the queen, Terran immediately fell to his knees in reverence. The woman was gorgeous; an absolutely beautiful and bewitching sight to behold, and he felt like he wasn’t worthy of looking upon her. He lowered his eyes, but savored the image of her that was burned into his retinas.
The queen smiled and then said, “Rise, Terran. I have heard of many of your exploits. Is it true that you bested one of your teachers when you were fourteen-years-old?”
Terran rose, but kept his eyes glued to the red carpet. “It’s true.”
“Is it true that you joined my Royal Guard when patrolling the kingdom’s perimeter, and aided them in removing human intruders?” The queen asked.
“It’s true.” Terran replied.
“Is it true that you have not yet been knighted?” The queen continued.
Terran met the queen’s eyes finally, and was enthralled by the sweet, honey-brown color of them. “I’m too young and inexperienced to be knighted.”
The queen looked at him sternly, shaking her head. “There’s no need for false modesty, Terran. Your worth is plainly seen as a result of your actions. I will knight you.”
Terran was beaming in excitement, ready for his queen to bestow him the title. The whole day had felt like some kind of fairytale so far; the queen had personally come down to the academy just to give him a knighthood. The world suddenly looked so much brighter than it actually was; it seemed to have an unnatural glow to it.
But suddenly, a cloud was invited to rain upon the sunny moment. The queen, whose face was previously bright and holy due to standing next to the torch on the wall, now strode closer to Terran, and her face became enshrouded in darkness.
“Is it true that you have no woman you are courting?” The queen asked, her voice lowered and tinged with dripping, sickening desire.
Terran didn’t know how to answer that question, and he didn’t think it was any of her business. Nonetheless, she was the queen and he felt compelled to answer, “No, there’s no one.”
The queen’s voice turned icy. “You have not loved men in secret?”
Terran shook his head. “No.”
“Then why haven’t you loved women?” The queen went on, making him increasingly uncomfortable.
“I… the women I’ve met…” Terran’s words fumbled clumsily out of his mouth. “I don’t… they sleep around.”
The queen wore an expression of confusion laced with disgust on her face. “Sleep around? What is this word you have produced that is meant to insult our society?”
Terran recognized his was treading on thin ice and wanted nothing more than to get out of the cramped room. “It’s a word that comes only from me.” Terran lied, leaving out the fact that his mother and father had taught it to him.
There was an absence of sound, then, that was horrifying for Terran. He wondered if the queen was going to kick him out of the academy, or if she was simply going to leave without knighting him. Either way, he doubted he would look back on this moment fondly.
The queen finally said, “I suppose it doesn’t matter. I will knight you, as you deserve. Because you have pleased me so much, I will also offer you a night in my bed.”
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