327 Queen Anemona And The Pride Dungeon 2

Based on my previous design, the first floor of the dungeon was comparable to a paradise, or at least it had the makings of one. But right now, what was in front of me could only be described as a hidden world, it was beautiful.

The first thing I noticed was a central tower, a tower that was carved from the roots of a tree, it was the world tree's root. And it had stretched down to the dungeon, where the root had been carved into to make a sort administrative building. But after that everything else was wild with nature.

A tranquil lake with floating pavilions, platforms and numerous kinds of aquatic life within it. A cascading waterfall who's water source came from the ceiling itself, creating pillars of water that were spread allover the first floor. Avians of all shapes and sizes flew in the air, and on land all forms and species of animals capable of coexisting with civilization could be see frolicking about.

There were a few caretakers around to take care of some of the animals, but ultimately everything here was just living it's own life. Thick patches of tall green grass, palm trees, various fruit trees and berry bushes doted the landscape. Isolated patches of wide meadows and plains stretched across the entire floor as thick groves of trees served as boundaries, along with massive rocky outcroppings that looked like the horns of giant beasts, poking out of the earth. Calling this place paradise was most definitely not an understatement.

I turned to look at elven queen, and true to me expectations, her eyes glistened with excitement, awe and wonder and what she was seeing. And just like me her retinue of followers had their eyes on her, and the soft smile on her face seemed to bring tears to their eyes. Now the look on her face matched the image of her I had in my mind, matched the person I knew she was supposed to be; just a young girl in love with the universe and the wonders within it.

"So queen Anemona, what do you think of the first floor of the dungeon?" I asked as we went down the stairs that led down into the valley that is the first floor.

"I have to admit your Majesty, that it is absolutely breathtaking and awe inspiring. I've never seen a sight more beautiful or a place more full of life. With how technologically advanced the city above is, no one would think that a paradise of nature such as this existed right under your own palace; a hidden world underneath a golden palace."

I felt flattered by her words, but I couldn't take credit for everything, the was mainly the handwork ofNefisat, and for the fact that I found Siren here too, also Soren. They both did their best, and out did themselves in the process.

"But I still don't understand why you have brought me here King Kael, I do not believe seeing this dungeon has any relevance to what we have to talk about." Anemona said to me with her bright voice rapidly going back to the same bland tone she had used in addressing me before I decided to bring her here.

"You're right in the fact that there's no relevance to it, but looking at this wonder in front of you, and seeing the level of life and display in front of you, I'm sure you would really want to be a part of it. But that's just me assuming something for you, the reason I brought you here, is the same reason more than half your members had tears in their eyes the moment they saw you smile." I said to her.

"And what reason might that be your Majesty?" She asked me with an almost sarcastic tone, but with her almost emotionless voice, it was hard to tell.

"I just wanted to give you a chance, a chance to just be a teenager who's fascinated by the world. To once again have light in your eyes, and not see darkness in everything and everyone you come across. You've done well Anemona, you dragged your people across galaxies millions of light years away from this place, you've kept them safe and fed as much as you can. And for someone who's had similar responsibilities at an even younger age than you, I understand what that's like, the kind of pressure and expectations that had been foisted upon you by faith.

So I brought you here to reward you, so you have to pick a pet. It can be of any kind, I'm sure there are a lot of young monsters around, and then a floor would be made specially for your people. I'm under the impression that the dark elves, especially your people, are a subterranean species, and much like the vampires you don't really like the sun or bright lights of any kind.

A floor would be made for all of you, as a temporary home. And once we've made our move to a place where our enemies can't touch us,we can discuss a more permanent solution and also prepare for revenge against the Toroth." I said to her with a smile, but she was not smiling back.

"War against the Toroth? Are you so eager for conflict and war, are you really true to your nature as vampires and thrive more under conflict and discord. So much so that you would underestimate the Toroth and speak of war like it was as simple as taking a shit! My people are tired your Majesty, and we are in need of a new home, and as it stands a new leader. However if you're taking us in just to throw us back to the front lines, then you and your pet can shove...."

*Bang!*

"Watch what you say to my husband child!"

I couldn't breath, the scope of power that I was currently feeling right now was so intense that it was taking all of my willpower to remain on my knees. Everyone else was already on the ground except for the cause of this suddenly very tense situation; Asha.

There was a silver glow around her body, and her hair floater upwards as little traces of star light began to flicker around her. I've never felt power like this from Asha, but based on the feeling I was getting from it, I could confirm a few things. One of those was the fact that Asha was no longer an elder, she was not even a Dracula anymore. This scope of power was something I've only ever felt from three people, and that was the demigod Grimgar, the depowered demon goddess Kali, and the god of vampires Dracula.

Asha had told me she has been assimilating her divine essence, but since it contained so much power that doing it all at once would be akin to setting of a magical nuclear bomb in the middle of the city, she decided to only absorb trace amounts of it.I knew the size of the orb Jason not even shrunk to half it's size since it's only been two days, but this amount of power was ridiculous, how much more powerful would she be when she's fully regained her powers.

I had found out the hard way that absorbing her divine essence was like having a period. Although it wasn't painful, she was still having this really weird mood swings that could even be some times violent. It was almost as if she was filled with so much emotions than any wrong word or move would either trigger great anger or sadness. She spent the whole day yesterday crying with our kids.

"Asha it's okay, I'm fine. Now pull back the godly aura and let's just have a simple conversation. This is all just one big misunderstanding."

It was like someone turned off a switch and the pressure that had appeared disappeared. Anemona looked like she had seen a ghost, and every one else had varying degrees of fear on their faces. To be honest this went south real fast, and I had to say something to salvage it. Because while we can survive without the dark elves, they can't survive without us, and I rather not loose out on technology that would cut down years of research due to moral compass of a sixteen year old girl leading a people almost on the verge of extinction.

"First of all Anemona, for your own safety and the safety of your people. Please avoid using words that would trigger the people around me, my wife excluded you wouldn't leave this city alive if word got out that you insulted me. I don't mean to brag but, I'm pretty much loved around here." I said to her with a light tone to lighten the mood and ease up on the tension.

But Anemona was perceptive, she noticed right away that I had dropped the queen part and was just calling her Anemona. It's a test, but also after this tiny altercation the dark side of me seemed stirred to act. I treated her like an equal, which is definitely something she's not, and then she insulted me…..well almost insulted me. If Asha bad reacted when she did, which I'm beginning to suspect was an intentional ploy to not make me lose my temper and send the young queen and her people packing.

"My apologies your Majesty, I stepped out of bounds. Please forgive me for this mistake, it wouldn't happen again. However my stance won't change, my people won't be used as a tool for war, much less a reason to start one." She said to me, and she was looking me right in the eye as she did so.

I brought this girl here to pick a pet, to frolic around and sing and jump while daydreaming about a prince charming or something of the sort. However the bloody chick has fostered a stubbornness so intense it could not be breached by either soft or hard methods. But I understood her fears, her worries, and without a doubt this were the traits of a good, no a great leader. Coupled with her stubbornness, she would make a formidable ally for Ethernalia Leonis, no matter what she needed to stay.

"The Toroth are an arrogant and ruthless warmongering race with a love certain delicacies, hunting, weird fetishes and gladiatorial arenas. And every race that has been defeated by them, has had to face such a fate, but for the past 8 thousand years they've invested heavily in breeding vampires and Nephilims. I don't care what your stance on war with the Toroth is, but those are my people, my kin. And even if they're weren't this race of bird are plague on the universe, but none of the people who think power seem ready to stop them, and all for the fact that the Toroth has made a lot of people rich with their slave and gene trades overseas the years. The Toroth and all of it's subsidiary races are feared and respected not because of how good at war they are, or the sheer amount of war slaves they have. They're feared because they're the only race capable of reverse engineering the genetic makeup of any biological creature, fostering evolution or devolution based on their preference. They could make anybody a perfect version of themselves, a body as strong and as fast as a vampires and you're a goblin. The wings of a Nephilim on the body of a mermaid. We have a vendetta against them, and so does nature for their part in upsetting the natural order of things.

So we're going to put an end to them by sending them packing to the fringes of the universe. It would be harder without your help, but it is something we would do none the less. I'm not using the dark elves as an excuse to start a war, but should you choose to join the collective races of Ethernalia Leonis, your people are no longer your people. You and them, become my people, and as arrogant as it sounds, anybody who knows me, knows that I never let anything happen to my people, and for those that hurt them, the only option available for them is death.

You have strong faith in your beliefs Anemona, and a stubbornness that Ethernalia Leonis desperately need, not to mention your ability in creating a space gate. We need you, but you also need us. This is the only place in the universe apart from your home planet that you people might be able to call home, yes there will be conflicts, and as citizens of Ethernalia Leonis you're all required to help in anyway you can, but fighting is a choice, I won't force that on you or the dark elves.But don't let your pride and stubbornness deny your people a home, put them first."

Anemona was silent for over five minutes as she contemplated what I've just said. I don't lie to my people, and since I wanted her to be one of them, I didn't lie to her either and just told he the truth of what the future was going to hold. Now the ball was in her court.

"Joining you means I can'tqueen anymore, I would literally be handing myself and my people over to you, with our lives being at your messy." She said to me with a narrowed gaze.

"that's the basic gist of it." I replied.

"To be honest your Majesty being queen is really hard, half the time I have no idea what I'm doing, and at other times I have to do so many things that I'm left with a headache. I never wanted to be queen, but now I almost can't imagine a life where I'm not queen. But that's okay, life forces us to try new things, and I guess this wouldn't be a bad trade off. However as my last official duty as Queen Mother to the dark elves of Valdemar, I hold you to an oath King Kael of Ethernalia Leonis! Do you swear to always protect and serve my people in all duties and responsibilities as expected of a king?"

"I swear it!"

*Boooom!*

*Do you swear to be benevolent, honest, caring and above all else to love my people like they're your own family?"

"I swear it!"

*Boooom!*

"Then as you've sworn this oath, so to shall I and my people make a pact with you. From this day forth, we hand over our lives and loyalty to the house of Cor and all it's descendants now and until the end of time. We shall serve with dignity, we shall serve with honor and we shall serve with faith. I rise to your command King Kael of house Cor, Dark Father of the dark elves of Ethernalia Leonis."

And then she stood up, her aura of nobility completely gone, as she looked up at me with eyes sparkling with gratitude and relief. I have no idea how she could change so much in just a few short moments.

"Now about those pets, can I have them now?"

Pets? I thought I only offered one, why do I have a bad feeling about this.