Chapter 4: Betrothed (Part 2)
The servants moved like poisoned ants, scrubbing every inch of marble until it was shinier than the Patriarch’s ego. Kael’s betrothed was not just any guest: she was a Blossom, a family powerful enough for the Medici to tolerate... but never respect.
Outside the mansion, on the cobblestone streets, a colossal Snail Shell Elephant waited for the door to be opened.
On the back of the Snail-Shell Elephant was not a simple tamer’s chair, but a complete home: a rustic but elegant house, embedded in a gigantic snail shell.
This magical animal was being escorted by winged serpents and great treasure toads that croaked loudly.
They did not travel on horses or their derivatives, such as three-horned blue horses and steel-muscled horses. The environment was extremely hostile and dangerous, so most intelligent races lived in the mountains.
The guards guarding the entrance to the mansion opened the massive gates, allowing the Snail-Shell Elephant, the crawling Winged Serpents, and the Treasure Toads, which gave little hops, to enter.
...
In a large, luxurious room, Kael sat cross-legged and eyes closed, oblivious to all the commotion going on outside.
His expression showed no nervousness or emotion; it was one of total indifference, as if the meeting with his fiancée was of no importance.
"Young master, can I get you some wine?" asked Lydia, who stood behind him, trying to change the tense atmosphere there.
Kael opened his eyes without responding. He got up from the furniture, walked over to the window, and saw the snail-shelled elephant, the winged snakes, and the treasure toads. From there, he watched as his mother greeted the two members of the Blossom family, who had left the house on the elephant’s back.