651 The Queen's Tender Moment
It was as if she had lost all her strength, and suddenly, Queen Selene collapsed to the ground on her knees.
Orion arrived beside her and lowered himself to his knees. He remained silent, watching as the Queen poured out her emotions for an entire hour before gradually regaining her composure.
"Orion, I think I'm okay now. Let's return to the city. It will soon be midnight," Queen Selene said, gazing at Orion with a weary smile.
Her current expression was indistinguishable from her usual composed demeanour.
Orion nodded, rising from the ground. He extended his hand, grasping Queen Selene's hand and aiding her to her feet. Then, he turned around, leaning forward with his back to Queen Selene, "If we walk back at this hour, we won't make it in time. You can enter; I'll carry you back home." Orion said, carefully observing Queen Selene's reaction.
Queen Selene was momentarily stunned. Although she had been open about her emotions with Orion since the day she opened up to him, especially when they were alone, she was surprised that Orion would make such an offer, especially in a situation like this.
"Come on, what are you waiting for? The Vylkr vines are already headed our way," Orion said, pointing at the Vylkr vines slowly approaching from the distance.
Queen Selene was immediately startled and snapped out of her thoughts. Without hesitation, she arranged her long, silky crimson gown and climbed onto Orion's back.
She wrapped her arms around him, clinging to his waist with her legs.
"Hold on tight," Orion said, gripping Queen Selene firmly.
He turned around, facing the direction of the approaching Vylkr vines instead of the opposite side.
"Orion, what are you doing?" Queen Selene asked, her eyes widening as she saw where Orion was facing.
"I don't think you've ever had the chance to look around the outside world since you arrived at the Village. And no, when we crossed the dead forest and arrived, it doesn't count as one," Orion explained as he crouched down.
Before Queen Selene could disagree, he added, "Just don't tell Crystalia about this, or else she might become jealous... well, don't let go."
Booom!
Orion launched into the sky, leaving a small web of cracks on the ground. As they ascended, Queen Selene's mouth immediately sealed shut as she took in the world from the sky for the first time.
With each succeeding lift-off and landing, Orion's lightning-
covered legs repelled any Vylkr vines in contact.
After a few repetitions, Queen Selene began to feel drowsy, resting her head on Orion's shoulders. For a moment, the burdens of being the Queen and the ongoing issues concerning her circumstances and the Prismerions were lifted from her shoulders.
Several scenes flashed before her eyes, attempting to remind her of her problems, but she shut her eyes, ignoring them all.
At this moment, she wasn't the Queen of the Prismerions but a woman in need of help, and strangely, the shoulder before her felt warm and sturdy, capable of providing just that.
So, even if it was just for a moment, Selene wanted to relish it thoroughly.
Orion sensed Queen Selene's current behaviour and exhaled in relief. After a few more jumps, he turned back and retraced his steps toward the city.
…....
Four months later.
"WAAHHHHH!"
Orion held the two weeping babies in both of his arms, rocking them gently in an attempt to put them to sleep, with Grace following beside him.
Startled, Grace felt her body lifted from the ground but immediately calmed down when she saw that it was one of her mothers.
"Why don't you go back home and take care of where they'll be staying so they can leave immediately after I am done?" Greta said, playing with Grace while observing Orion.
Since Elysia, Maya, Merida, and Seraphina had just given birth, they would no longer stay in the royal residence. Instead, they would move into the family manor with the rest of the group. Even though they could leave everything her sisters to handle, they understood that they needed to let Orion finalise the decision to ensure everyone was satisfied and without complaints.
After all, despite being sisters and recognising each other as such, with so many people living together, disagreements were bound to arise if things weren't handled delicately.
Orion nodded thoughtfully at Greta's words, "Okay, take care of all of them. I'll be back soon," he responded.
Despite having prepared everything for Elysia and the others' arrival a week ago, checking and finalising everything a few hours before they arrived was still a good idea.
Greta flicked her finger on Orion's forehead, "Don't worry, it's my job," Greta said with a chuckle as she walked over to meet Anara, who was withMaya and Merida.
Orion smiled before walking toward Seraphina and handing the baby with a blue skin complexion over to her before passing the other child to Elysia. He kissed all his wives and newborn children on their foreheads before turning around and leaving the room.
The building was the same one where his wives had previously given birth, a healthcare structure that he, Fifi, and Greta had planned and built together from the ground up.
Also, due to the arrival of the Prismerions and his relationship with them, Orion built several more branches around Orion's cities and even in both Strongholds.
As he exited the room and walked down the stairs, Orion could see many healers taking a break or walking to attend to their patients.
He had managed to build three cities—the first border city, which was around the Village for it to expand outward, as they no longer needed to suppress their population; the second border city acting as a bridge for Villagers and Prismerions to meet and interact; and the third border city constructed around all to accommodate more than two million Prismerions, ensuring they wouldn't worry about space in the future—they currently had enough to last for a few more years.
The second border city was constructed to facilitate communication between those interested. Orion and the key figures had already expected the Villagers and Prismerions to be unable to fully integrate, given the cultural differences perceived as equally strange by both sides.
