All Hail The Queen Of Hell

36) Arriving in Sun palace

     When the carriage stopped moving, I peeked out through the windows, and the air got caught up in my pipes.
A majestic building stood there proudly, with its roof dancing with some clouds.

   It was made of some strange materials, that looked like ice and sapphire combined. My small brain wasn't able to comprehend its worth or beauty, but it was something never seen in the human world.

It was grander than any palace to ever exist on earth, leaving me dumbstruck at the existence of such a building.

     My shock was reabsorbed when the door was opened from the inside.

"We have arrived, Supreme ruler." The coachman announced.

   Laziem's eyes blinked open and immediately fell on me. Without uttering a word, he rose in one swift movement. The hem of his royal blue robe quickly covered his bare feet which I managed to see for a flash of a second.

    When he threw a questioning gaze down at me, I immediately shot off the seat.

  There was no speech between us, but I understood his eyes. And when he snaked a hand on my waist, my eyeballs almost pooped out. This was too much physical touch between two strangers.

     But before I could complain, he jumped off the carriage in one light hop. My senses tingled as the wind brushed past my cheeks for the three seconds I was in the air.
And when we landed on the ground, the thrill faded, leaving behind a tinge of disappointment.

Laziem released me and walked ahead to the large porch awaiting us.

   I was hesitant.
Observant.
And a bit scared.

   "Don't drag behind." The male reminded angling his head to the side for a moment.

Just go with the flow. If he intends to harm you, you can signal for help. I comforted myself as I made my first step towards this palace straight out of a fairytale.

   As we walked through the double glassy blue doors, a tiny glowing golden bird came flying from behind us and landed on Laziem's palm. It dissipated, leaving a letter in its place, which he read as he continued walking.

  I couldn't see its content due to Laziem's height and the fact that I was slightly behind him. But I understood his emotion when he clenched his fist hard, burning the piece of paper to golden ash.

          "Aimon?"  Laziem called out as he suddenly halted. I almost bumped into him. Thank my quick reflexes for aiding me in jumping a step back.

  A long bright-lit hallway stretched before us, with doors to the right, and a glass wall to the left. The sunlight pouring from outside was enough to illuminate the darkest hole on earth, and yet, it didn't affect me at all.

       "Your Majesty." A male greeted from Laziem's front.

  Curious, I slipped to the side and peeped.
He stood there, in a butler's uniform.
He was wearing a monocle on his right eye. As strange as everything and everyone else,  Aimon's eyes were different colors. The right was carmine, while the left was a comforting ultramarine, just like his long hair.

    "This is Melanie. I'll leave her in your care."

  Aimon's gaze could now examine me.

It was intense, and I could feel him checking almost every part of me like an X-ray machine.
   My insides curled up, trying so hard to keep it together.

   "She needs a bath," Aimon stated, his eyes shifting back to Laziem.

Laziem in turn spun around and faced me.
      With a flat expression, he reached out and took a few strands of my whitening hair. "Listen to him." That was all the Supreme god said.

  At this point, I was as confused as a dying cockroach. Why was Laziem being nice to me when I had hurt Aurora?

    "Go."

I stared at him for a moment, before walking past him and to Aimon.

  "This way please." He directed to the hallway, before leading the way.

Six steps forward, and the temptation to look back overwhelmed me. I halted and glanced back, but Laziem was gone.
 
   "Don't get lost." Aimon's voice called out.

I sighed and hurried ahead to catch up with him.

   We reached the end of the hallway, and he opened a door. A thick golden membrane blocked the entrance like a second door, something that creeped the soul out of me.

    Aimon must have noticed my hesitation.
"This, you may think of it as an elevator."

   Of course Melanie, you didn't think that they actually use elevators like in the human realm, did you?

When he walked right through it, some courage slipped into me, pushing me to go through the gods' 'elevator'.
     Dear lawd! It'd take years before I could get accustomed to all the wonders awaiting me.

    When we got to the second floor, my eyes widened to their limit when they saw the large pool. It was almost covering the entire space, making it the widest inbuilt pool I may ever see.

   Instead of holding water, it seemed to be filled with milk, hot milk-from the steam rising in the air.

There were four females kneeling around its edges, busy sprinkling flower petals in the liquid. The petals were nothing I had seen before. Each petal had at least three different colors, giving beauty to the liquid.

        "Girls?" Aimon called out, capturing their attention in a snap.

They quickly got up and rushed over.
    Doing a little curtsy, they greeted Aimon. "Marquis."

"We have a guest. She'll use the bath prepared for His Majesty."

We all gasped, taken aback.
      "Yes. We'll prepare her." One of them replied after ridding of her shock.

This felt illegal for some reason.

   Using the same bath Laziem used?

I faced Aimon, feeling a little flushed. "Is it, appropriate?"

   With a straight expression, Aimon answered, "This is to cleanse all the impurities on you."

   "Oh!" I murmured lowering my eyes.

So be it.

--------------------------------

     From the servants, I learned that the liquid was indeed milk. But not from a cow. It was from a divine beast they called pire. It might have been considered the ancestor of mortal cows.

They were rare and very precious, especially to the deities. For their milk kept their appearances flawless.

   This explained why they seemed to glow with beauty and grace. So it was all thanks to the cow ancestor.

I noticed how the females looked so much like humans, from the color of their eyes to the hair. There wasn't anything new about them. Which was somehow comforting.