Meanwhile, in the grandest building of the Darkwell Trading Union, Mevron was in a frustrated mood while sitting on his ostentatious chair in the hall.
Ara's face was ashen as she sat in the chair adjacent to his, not daring to utter a word. In fact, even if there was nothing wrong with their relationship, this was a very bad time for anybody to piss off Mevron. There were many servants going in and out of the hall since they had to clean up after the guests had left.
Orgaz, his personal advisor, had a grave expression as he stood before Mevron with a lowered head.
"This is all your fault! You incompetent old fool! If only you had managed to restrain those two before they could escape, then my father wouldn't be on his way here!" Mevron's rageful shouts shook the hall, making even some servants have their ears bleed. Still, they didn't dare to stop doing their work.
Orgaz wanted to say that it was because Mevron asked his father to put up the realm barrier that the Winter Dragon King noticed. Still, he didn't say anything since it would only piss him off even more.
"I was so damn close. Just a few more days, and Her Majesty would have seen me in a new light. She would have seen my true potential. Our race would have reached new heights. But I just don't understand...why...why would someone as fearless and powerful be so wary of some myth made up by old men's tales. It just doesn't make sense. I am sure she will order me to return the fruit to the Fairy Queen, and there is nothing I can do about it. Ha...what a joke. All my efforts over the years down the drain..." Mevron mumbled with a dark expression, but even then, he never expressed any anger towards the Winter Dragon King since he can't even if he wanted to...not to a goddess like her whose very grace makes him feel alive.
Orgaz finally spoke up, "I am sure Her Majesty gave such an order for the sake of not just the safety of our realm but yours as well. She would never make any decision detrimental to the benefit of our race or realm. Besides, even without the fruit, I am sure Your Majesty will reach new heights due to your exemplary talent and potential. Even Her Majesty had acknowledged that," Orgaz purposefully mentioned the Winter Dragon King here and there to make sure Mevron does the right thing.
Mevron's expression became contemplative, but then he narrowed his eyes as he shook his head, "No...that is not enough to prove myself to her. I want her to see me as something more than just family. For that...I guess I will have to eat the fruit now even if it means I might not receive the full benefits," Mevron said as his eyes shone with a sly light as he got up from his chair while Ara inwardly shook her head, thinking that her deranged husband was too obsessed with his own king.
Orgaz's expression became frantic as he said, "President, please reconsider. Doing something like that will only further anger Her Majesty. This is not the way."
Mevron scoffed as he glared at Orgaz, "And who the hell do you think you are to say to me that it is not the right way? Don't forget your place, Or--" Mevron suddenly froze his words as he noticed something weird behind Orgaz.
All the servants suddenly stopped moving as if they were frozen. Even their expressions, their limbs, and even the ends of their hair were frozen in the air.
"President?" Orgaz also noticed this weird phenomenon, especially when he saw that even Ara was affected, though only he and Mevron seemed to be alright.
Even the tiny insects on the plants near the garden and the swaying of the leaves froze in time.
And as if things couldn't get even more strange, the temperature of the air around the two was gradually dropping. Even if Winter Dragons like them couldn't be bothered by the temperature lowering, the two of them didn't know why they were feeling a strange chillness in their blood ironically.
*Trrrrrr*
Mevron looked behind and saw that the glass of wine he was drinking before was shaking on its own, and the chandeliers up top were beginning to sway.
With widened eyes, Mevron and Orgaz noticed that it was not just the objects shaking, but even the floor they were standing on was shaking as if a subtle earthquake was happening.
The vibrations that were passing from the earth below and towards their bodies were making their hair stand on its ends.
"What the hell is happening? What is wrong with everyone? Are we getting attacked??!" Mevron couldn't help but lose his cool since he had never seen anything like this, and there was nobody confronting them as well. But what made him feel so unsettled was the eerie way in which everyone and everything seemed to have frozen in time.
He even shook Ara, who was in a frozen state but all he did was make her body lean back as if he pushed a piece of log. There was absolutely no response or any change in her expression. Even her eyes were still wide open, looking in the same direction.
*Rumble*
Suddenly the subtle rumbling of thunder up in the skies echoed around Mevron and Orgaz. Orgaz spread his senses to check what was going on outside, only to have his eyes quiver in shock, "Oh no...we are doomed!"
"What the hell are you talking about? I am going to go out and see which bastard dares to play tricks in my territory!" Mevron said in an enraged tone as he flew towards the entrance to walk out.
Orgaz came back to his senses as he saw Mevron fly off, "President, no! You have to run! This is not someone you should face!" Orgaz immediately flew after Mevron to convince him to escape before he gets himself in trouble he can never get out of."
Mevron came outside with a murderous look, ready to draw the blood of one who dared to offend him. But his expression froze when he saw a sight that shook his very soul.
