Chapter 263: A Light Green Butterfly

The wind blowing around them was stronger than the ones inside the palace grounds. As Seren carefully shielded her face with a hand, the next thing she noticed was the unfamiliar loud sounds which she could recognize after putting everything together. The sound of water splashing. Those were the sounds of the strong water currents hitting something solid.

They were standing on a wooden dock built at the coastline.

"The sea!" she exclaimed as if in disbelief.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the vast body of water in front of her. It was larger than any lake or river she had seen, and it stretched towards the horizon as if it had no end. Many huge ships could be seen sailing on the deep blue waters, and nearby, a number of boats and ships were anchored on harbors with people and cargo going in and out of them. 

Seagulls and other birds were flying everywhere while making noises that sounded like they were cheering on the people busy working within the port. The sound of water splashes, the strong salty wind, the noise of people working, and the loud bird calls, everything sounded so harmonious it brought a certain sense of calm to her mind. 

Drayce didn't disturb his queen as she tried to capture the beautiful experience of the seaside. He only stood back quietly to let Seren fulfill her wish to see the sea and ships up close. Once, when they were standing on her balcony, he caught Seren staring at the sea, expressing her wish to see it closely. There was no way Drayce would not fulfill such a simple wish. He would have brought her here earlier, but he decided to postpone it to let her adjust to the environment in the Royal Palace of Megaris first, intending to bring her here later. With the red crystal with her, he was sure she would be fine despite the biting cold and strong winds coming from the sea.

After looking around the structure of the harbors as well as the nearby lighthouse, Seren realized it was the view she used to see from the balcony of her palace, the very same place she always wished to visit. 

'If this is the view I see from my own balcony, then my bedchamber…'' 

She turned around in the direction of the royal palace. The Royal Palace of Megaris was built on a slope on the side of a small mountain, and she figured that even though she was standing at a much lower position on the other end of the City of Blackhelm, she would still find where her bedchamber must be as she was sure this was the view she could see straight from her balcony. 

But the moment she turned around and looked up, beyond the stone structures of the port, all she could see in the distance were the tall walls of the palace. She could barely see the top of the tallest buildings and towers, but since they were much farther than what she initially thought, she could not even begin to guess which one was her residence. 

From her actions, Drayce understood what she was thinking. He hid the grin forming on his lips. "My Queen, from here you won't be able to see your residence as the palace is quite at a distance from the shore. Those tall walls won't allow you to see your residence."

"Oh..." Seren did not expect much, but she found it a pity that it could not be seen from where she's standing. It did not affect her good mood as she looked back at the sea. Standing on the dock, the refreshing wind blowing against her skin, her eyes continued to take in everything that was happening around her. Despite the bustle and hustle of workers carrying cargo to various ships and sailors shouting orders to their companions, Seren found the sight of the sea peaceful.

However, she did not realize that some of her exposed skin and her ears had turned red. 

"My Queen, you seem to be cold. We should return," Drayce offered. 

"I am fine, Your Majesty," she immediately replied, covering her nose and forehead with her glove-covered hands, rubbing them to warm herself before resuming to look at the gigantic ships docked in the harbor. 

It was a feast for her eyes.  Before coming to Megaris, she had only seen the sea and ships in books. Never in her dreams had she expected to see in real life, and never had she thought she would see many all at once this close. 

"My Queen, would you like to get on a ship?" Drayce asked. 

Those words caused her to wear the brightest smile. Like an excited kid, she turned to look at Drayce and asked, "Can I?" Her eyes were full of hope. 

"Of course, my Queen," Drayce said as he walked to stand next to her and looked at the ships, "Which one would my Queen like to go on?"

Seren blinked a few times. For her, any ship was good as long as she could get on one, and now, she even got the option to choose which she could board. She immediately gazed at the dozens of ships docked on the port. Most of them were as big as two-story houses, probably able to house about tens of sailors, while the larger and more luxurious ships seemed capable of holding a hundred passengers. 

Not hesitating for a moment, she pointed towards the one that was the undisputed largest in size.  looked the biggest of all and was decorated nicely. One could not deny, among all the ships around, that one especially looked eye-catching. 

"That one, Your Majesty," she replied. 

Drayce smiled as his Queen chose what especially belonged to him, King Drayce. Drayce had already planned to take Seren on his ship but he had given her the option to choose like always and he was glad that she had chosen the expected one.

"Let's go then," Drayce said and offered her his hand but Seren looked at him instead of holding his hand. 

He gave her a questioning look and she replied, "I want to climb the ship like how everyone else does."

Her meaning was clear that she didn't want to go by teleporting with Drayce's powers. 

"Fine!" Drayce agreed and she held his hand. 

The two walked towards the part of the port where that ship was parked and the part of the port was extended towards the ship so one could climb the ship by using the wooden staircase set. Just as they reached the extended part of the port, the soldiers around lowered their heads to bow their King. 

Seren noticed this part of the port had no one other than the royal soldiers. Just as she noticed, she heard Drayce, "This part of the port is only for the King and his ship."

Seren was speechless and continued to walk with Drayce. The things which she always found so amazing and out of her reach, this king owned them all. Never ever had she expected that she would ever be able to get out of that tower in Abetha's palace and could see what she had always seen only in books. Reading books always made her want to see them but it was out of the question. This all was like a dream to her and she didn't wish to wake up.

Seren looked up at that huge ship which looked gigantic while standing closer and made her heart skip a bit as she felt a little scared to think about boarding it. In reflex, the grip of her hold on Drayce's hand tightened.

Drayce realized what she was feeling.  "My Queen, don't be scared. I am with you."

Seren gulped and nodded lightly. Just as they reached closer to the staircase, Seren noticed Slayer standing there to welcome them. She wondered when he had arrived there. 

'Wasn't he outside of His Majesty's study all the time? Does he have powers like His Majesty?'

Seren didn't know Drayce had already planned to take her there and the moment Slayer finished his job of escorting the Queen to his King, he had left to check the arrangements at the port.

"My Queen, be careful while climbing the stairs. Don't let go of my hand," Drayce instructed.

Seren was ready to step on the wooden staircase which was wide and looked safe to her to climb.

The moment she stepped on it, she immediately gripped Drayce's hand as she realized it was not that easy. The wooden staircase was not steady as it moved a little because its top part was attached to the giant ship which was floating over the water and made that staircase not so stable. 

"Don't worry. I will hold you, My Queen" Drayce assured gently and stepped on the staircase with her. With her long dress, it was not so easy for her to climb the unsteady stairs but she still wished to do it. 

Drayce held her hand carefully and supported her to climb the stairs being all patient with her. Drayce didn't remember if he had ever climbed these stairs but thanks to his Queen, he finally got to experience it which seems like going to take a lot of time to climb only a few stairs. He was not annoyed at all and continued helping Seren. Once they reached the top of the staircase, Drayce helped her get on the ship.

It was her first experience of standing on the floating and unstable gigantic transport means and found it difficult to hold her ground. In the end, she had to keep holding onto Drayce to take support which Drayce didn't mind at all. 

Drayce held her closer while surrounding his hand to her shoulder and said, "You will get used to standing here after some time. Just keep a little distance between your feet and don't resist in which direction the ship makes you move."

Seren understood and moved her one foot a little away from the other one so she could stand quite stable. Still holding onto Drayce, she looked around on the ship and couldn't stop taking note of everything. 

The ship had a huge deck that Seren felt like she couldn't capture the entire deck in her sight without moving her eyes everywhere. There was a huge wooden pole in the center of the ship and Seren moved her sight up from his base to its top. It looked like the pole was going to touch the sky. The huge curtains were hanging to it which were tied to multiple ropes and those ropes were fixed at the various places in the ship. 

At one far end of the ship, there was a huge circular wheel that was placed at the higher platform and one had to reach there by climbing the stairs. Ahead of it, Seren noticed a structure that looked like the back of the animal's head and she was sure it must be a dragon head as everything that belonged to the King had a dragon associated with it. She looked at the other opposite end of the ship which was a narrow tail-like end and had an elevated platform to climb on. 

"I want to stand there and look at the seawater," Seren said to drayce as she pointed towards the railing of the sheep deck which faced opposite to the port and towards the vast sea. 

Drayce nodded and took her there. At this moment it looked like she was not at all afraid or hesitant to Drayce and was doing what she wished to. Drayce noticed whenever he had brought her to show something that she had never seen, she would always turn so excited and look like a totally different person or more like a kid who was not afraid of anything. 

He wished to be with him like this always and wished for that day to show up soon when she would never be scared or hesitant in front of him. He wished to have a normal relationship of husband and wife with her where they shared everything with each other and hid nothing. He wished her to show all her emotions to him- happiness, sadness, anger, displeasure, and even disobedience. He didn't mind if she acted all spoiled and even dominated him with her arrogance. 

As they finally reached the outer wooden railing of the ship with the slow steps Drayce let go of her hand and she held onto the wooden railing which was tall up to the middle of her chest. Seren felt her heart beating faster before moving her head ahead and looking out of the ship where the water tides were colliding with the ship. The view was scary to her and she could not imagine what would happen to her if she fell into such dangerously moving water.

Though she was scared, she was equally excited and happy. She felt like a free bird who was finally out of its cage and couldn't help but smile widely under her veil. She stood straight and closed her eyes while feeling the cold breeze passing her face and felt like she was not cold at all. 

'What if I never get to come here again?' She just wished to imprint all of this in her mind never to forget it. 

Drayce could only stand to the side and look at his wife who was standing with her eyes closed while her long hair moved along the cold breeze. Such a heartwarming sight it was for him.

Just then Slayer climbed the deck which had no one but his King and Queen. The entire sheep had been kept empty as Seren was coming there. 

"Your Majesty!" Slayer bowed and stood at the staircase, not daring to go further ahead. Drayce went to him leaving Seren alone to let her enjoy a peaceful time but his attention was still fixed on her.

Slayer was there to inform Drayce about something important and handed him the scroll as he said, "Apology for disturbing you, Your Majesty. But this seems urgent."

Drayce said nothing and opened the scroll. After going through it, he frowned, "Let him for now. Grandmother won't like it if her one grandson beheads her another grandson."

Slayer wished to say something but he didn't. He trusted his King and his decision. Just then Drayce sensed something and the color of his red eyes changed to darker ones as he immediately turned to look at Seren. 

Slayer noticed it and looked at where Drayce was looking at- to where the Queen was standing. But she was not alone. She was playing with a light green color and a man's palm-size radiant butterfly that was flying in front of her. Seren put forward her hand so it could sit on her palm but before that Drayce pulled out a small dagger from his robe and threw it towards the butterfly. 

The butterfly turned into a light green color, shiny smoke which disappeared in thin air. It startled Seren and she looked at Drayce as her hand was still up which was waiting for the butterfly to sit on it. 

"Take care of her." Instructing Slayer, Drayce jumped out of the ship immediately.