Winter's Dead Bride

Chapter Eleven

"So what do you think about my offer?" sighed the Emperor, shaking his head in disapproval of his sons.

I swallowed as everyone's eyes turned to face me again.

"Well... your offer is indeed straightforward to agree to, Your Majesty. With nothing left to lose... it makes that decision fairly easy now. And as I am one to keep my promises... I accept to move to Autumn for as long as you require me to stay," I smiled, drawing in a deep breath.

The Emperor stood up, a warm smile on his face.

"Then so be it. Stay here for the night and your home will be prepared in Autumn," he announced, raising his glass of wine.

Stay here for the night?!

"Can I really stay?" I gasped, nearly fainting as I said the words with my own lips.

The Emperor replied with a nod, and I sat back down properly in my seat.

"Well...we ought to introduce ourselves too then," began a man who was seated on the left of the Emperor.

"Oh yes, we are still strangers to Miss Chióni," agreed another man.

They were right...but still, so many people.

They all stood up in one go, bowing their heads.

(A/N feel free to skip, the list's so long... I'll give you a heads up🥱)

"My name is Porrum Acanté. Leader of the Independent Sector of Rights," started the man who had suggested that they introduced themselves.

"Octivus Rades. Member of the Golden Leaves Society," said the next man as Mr Porrum Acanté sat back down.

"Orbisa Thainī. Baroness of the Oak and Maple Sector," introduced the beautiful lady.

"Ceres Alis. Countess of the Rowan Region," smiled another woman dressed to kill.

"Ardor Hesper. CEO of the Fallen Tree Photography Group," winked a middle-aged man with a smile of gold.

"Kharif Ar. Eldest son of the First Minister of Winter," acknowledged the tall man who I recognised.

"Dhahab Gölid. The owner of Autumn's five-star Cano Restaurant," grinned the young and dazzling man.

"Iri Cebèl. I am a member of Autumn's Final Government ," announced a leading-class lady with beautiful green eyes.

"Sero Rinè. I am the owner of the Pyrus Buildings in the East of Autumn," declared the next woman, looking gorgeous in her formal suit.

"Oester Sèr. A lawyer and a writer for the Loyal Season magazine which you may have read," informed the intelligent man.

"Roh Kwaity. I am an orchestra conductor for the Emperor," droned a very handsome man who only looked in his early 20s.

"Dan Loehr. Vice-president of the Independent Sector of Rights," said a rather serious man, sliding his glasses up.

"Gemi Irvine. I am also a member of Autumn's Final Government," chirped a lively girl who was closer to my age.

"Kira Snovín. The Emperor's advisor," sighed a chestnut-haired man with soft amber eyes.

"Alcin Burnley. I might as well be the Emperor's best friend, considering how long I've known him," smiled a man with shiny blonde hair and smiling, green eyes.

"I am Prince Aurum, eldest son of Emperor and Empress Xiàjì of Eternal Summer," bowed the Prince who had honey-coloured hair and silver eyes.

"My name is Asda Xiàjì. The second son," mumbled Prince Aurum's brother.

"I'm Cosmo. The third son of the Xiàjì family," waved Cosmo, showing off his amazing smile.

"Sedum. Pleased to meet you," said Sedum, seemingly shy.

"Zinnia Xiàjì. The only daughter of Emperor and Empress of Eternal Summer," informed Zinnia, her beauty intimidating me.

"Emperor Remón Xiàjì. Nice to meet you, Miss Chióni," said the Emperor of Summer and I managed to bow my head.

"Empress Decrah Xiàjì. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Chióni, I hope the best for you," chuckled the Empress, her gold crown sparkling on her head.

"Peony Vancanta. The oldest daughter of Emperor Vancanta of Spring and good luck with Prince Teí there," giggled the beautiful Princess, causing me to go completely red.

"Princess Orchid Vancanta. It's great meeting you for the first time," she blushed, not realising how sweet she looked.

"Ecer Vancanta. I look forwards to knowing you a lot better, Miss Chióni," smiled Emperor Vancanta's only son.

"Poppy Vancanta. It's my honour to be here with you today," she beamed, looking gorgeous!

"The name's Blossom Vancanta. I'm the baby of the family and so I hope you may become my best friend," she wished, also sitting down.

"Emperor Loūi Vancanta. Welcome to our world, Miss Chióni," winked the Emperor of Spring.

"And I am Empress Hiķo Vancanta. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask me," she assured, giving me a unique smile.

(A/N start here if you skipped)

I nodded, glad that they introduced themselves after all.

"I'll try my best to remember all your names and I hope we can get along," I bowed.

"Isn't she just amazing?" cooed the Empress of Eternal Summer.

The others agreed with her and then Emperor Vancanta raised his glass, silencing everyone.

"To our own Miss Chióni. May her journey be made easy and we hope for one of our sons to ask her hand in marriage," toasted Emperor Vancanta.

I flamed red as everyone else also raised their glass. Teí drew closer to me, whispering into my ear softly.

"It'll be getting very interesting from this point on, taking into account that you can hardly remember any of their names," he stated, making a shiver run down my spine.

"I-interesting?" I repeated, suddenly terrified as he stated out the obvious.

"Of course. A full out war will probably break out just so you may choose one of them. But you can always come to me if you need to escape and we can play around with herbs. Just you and me," he reassured, his voice gentle in my ear.

I blushed even more.

"Perhaps this time we can make a real and stronger love potion and share the same indirect kiss as before...," he teased, his breath grazing against my skin.

"You're teasing me, aren't you?" I mumbled, thinking back to our indirect kiss when we shared the love potion back at my house.

I trembled with the memory as he moved away again, smirking.

"It'll be easier to work with you now that you're moving to Autumn. We can also figure out the antidote for the virus together if you ever get the time," he sighed, watching my blushing face.

I nodded quickly, now noticing the number of people that were watching us.

"Yes," I smiled in reply. "We can...

You and I can do anything."