Angel Monarch

While waiting for their food, everyone ordered drinks for themselves. Vicky asked for a non-alcoholic cocktail while Henry got a glass of water. Sera and Bran each ordered glasses of red wine.

They didn't specify what kind of wine, so of course, the waiter brought the most expensive one.

The young girl they assigned to their table was a nervous mess. Her hands trembled as she poured water from the pitcher, and she had to return to retake their order, because her handwriting was unreadable from the shaking.

Bran tried making a few jokes to lighten the girl's stress, but she only managed an awkward laugh before scurrying away.

Several tables watched them, yet they remained unfazed. They were all significant political figures, so getting attention just by existing wasn't new to them.

Vicky was the only one feeling uncomfortable. She was a shy girl who stayed far away from the center of attention. She liked to stay hidden, so being watched always felt strange.

Luckily, Henry's presence was the perfect distraction. Being close to him made all her crowd-related stress disappear, yet she started overthinking every slight movement and gesture he made.

Each time Henry reached for his glass, Vicky perked up and moved her hand closer to his side of the table. Henry ignored it; either from being unaware, or perhaps fearing he'd seem creepy.

They remained quiet for a long time. Sera pondered, while Vicky and Henry tried ignoring their closeness. They were obviously very confused, since they were both young and uneducated about relationships and feelings.

Sera knew they will have to broach this topic in private. Vicky's education remained incomplete. She never went to school, and Sera was always too busy leading some group, city, or nation to pay attention to her daughter's education.

This issue required future correction. The list of her problems just kept growing the more she thought, so Sera made a bold move. She grabbed her glass of wine, leaned back, took a sip, and closed her eyes.

All her tense muscles eased at once, and she sighed. A sound, born of deep-seated anxieties and accumulated pains, emerged from her. All the stress from the past two years left her body at once, and finally, after all this time, she relaxed.

Everyone around the table stared at her with confused expressions, but for the next few minutes, she ignored all of them.

Eventually, though, she took another sip of wine, opened her golden-green eyes and turned towards Henry.

"Prince Henry, how old are you?"

The boy didn't flinch or make any expression about the question, he just answered immediately. "I will turn thirteen in a few months, Lady Seraphine. Also, you don't need to use titles. Just call me Henry!"

Sera nodded and opened her mouth to ask something else when her daughter spoke in a shy voice. "Can I call you Henry too?"

He stared at her, clearly confused by the question. "Well, of course! Why couldn't you Princess Victoria?"

A deep blush colored Vicky's cheeks as she turned away, yet her bright smile betrayed her feelings. "I'm not a princess," she said. "Neither of my mothers are queens or even royalty."

"Oh, I beg to differ, Princess Victoria. One of your mother bears the title Angel Monarch, while the other has the Queen of Nature. Both sound like royalty to me!" Said Henry with a small smile, his hand inching closer to Vicky's.@@novelbin@@

With oblivion, Vicky stared at Henry, a small confused frown growing on her face. "But nobody calls either of them queen, which means they aren't. And if they are not queens, then I'm not a princess…"

"That's only true for the cities under the Angelic Order, since all of them refer to Lady Seraphine as their god. The rest of the city-states often call her queen or empress. She took no title, so everyone uses whatever describes her social rank the best!"

Vicky's eyes lit up as she listened, but she still didn't seem too convinced. She even pouted and crossed her arms as she said, "But none of my friends call her a queen, and even she never refers to herself as such, so she isn't a queen and I'm not a princess!"

Henry was about to say something, but a sudden embarrassed blush stopped him. He thought about it for a few moments before leaning over, whispering into Vicky's ear.

No normal person could've heard what he said, but neither Sera nor Bran were normal. They were both Evolved with enhanced hearing. It made every whispered word similar to shouts.

"Since I am a prince, and everyone refers to me as such, if we marry, then you will receive my title, and everyone will call you princess!"

Bran choked on his wine and had to spit it back into the glass, while Sera just furiously started giggling at her daughter's cute expression.

Her white eyes turned wide, and she quickly turned away with a heavy blush and a wide grin. Henry just shook his head in disbelief, seemingly confused why he said those words.

The atmosphere turned awkward after that, but luckily the food soon arrived and they all began eating.

Vicky ordered some kind of pasta dish with some red meaty sauce. Henry got a steak with boiled potatoes while Bran ordered some kind of circular flatbread with tomato sauce and cheese.

Sera was quite special with her order, since she practically ordered everything from their menu.

The young waiter girl nearly passed out when she asked what Sera would like, and the only answer she received was. "I would like every dish."

The kitchen staff worked tirelessly, and each minute, they brought a new dish. But somehow, every time they arrived, an empty plate waited for them.

Sera devoured everything like she had never eaten before, which wasn't entirely wrong. As an Ascended, she often forgets to eat, especially when she stressed.

The separation from Bea, the events happening all over Europe, the forming alliance, all caused a separate headache in Sera's brain. In the past weeks, she only ate when Bran brought her food and continued bothering her until she relented.

The people at other tables watched her eat everything with horror. Even Henry seemed disturbed by how fast she ate. Vicky and Bran didn't find this strange at all, since they witnessed her eating habits many times.

It took all four of them to finish their meal in half an hour, and the first one to finish was, of course, Sera. She even had to wait for the three of them.

After the meal, they decided to walk along the Thames, while watching the sunset. The city had a large walkway built next to the river, which was full of people at that time of day.

Vicky and Henry walked in the front. The two children constantly talked and giggled with each other, each one having the time of their lives. Behind them, a few meters away, walked Sera and Bran hand-in-hand.

The sun touched the horizon, turning the sky and the river's reflective surface bright red. Gusts of wind played with the branches of the leafless trees planted alongside the walkway.

At the height of winter up north, the environment differed a lot from New Athens. The temperature went below zero during the night, and often snow covered the entire city. Even the Thames's top layer would freeze at times, albeit that hadn't happened for years.

The atmosphere was truly peaceful, and Sera let herself take a deep breath from the fresh, cold air. A smile spread on her face, and next to her, Bran chuckled.

The sound of small running feet shattered the surrounding peacefulness. When Sera opened her eyes, Vicky stood in front of her with an excited expression.

"Mom! Henry has video games at his home, and he invited me to a sleepover! Can I go? Please!"

Sera smiled brightly at her daughter, then looked to his right, silently asking for Bran's opinion. He turned towards Henry, who stood a few meters away awkwardly.

"Only the two of you will be at this sleepover?" he asked in a firm, fatherly tone. Henry shook his head, "Uh, no sir! A few of my classmates will be there as well!"

"Then my lovely girl can attend too!" said Sera, then bent down and kissed Vicky's forehead. In return she jumped up, and tightly hugged her mother, while repeatedly saying 'thank you'.

After a few seconds of hugging, they continued to walk. Vicky stayed next to Sera, holding her other hand. She had a small frown on her face and seemed to be deep in thought.

A few minutes later, Sera became curious and asked, "What is it, darling?" Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

Vicky flinched a bit from surprise, then looked at her mother with confusion. "Mommy, why have you stopped calling me Little Angel…"

Her daughter might've said something else, but Sera's might already shut down by that point. The small buzzing, which disappeared during the evening, suddenly turned into a violent scream inside her head.

Sera's fight or flight kicked in by those words. She took a step away from a confused Vicky and a worried Bran.

In her palm, a golden glaive appeared, while on her back four wings spread wide. Within the next second, her intricate golden armor covered her body.

She immediately began scanning the terrified crowd for signs of Harold. Her breathing turned heavy, while her heart pumped as fast as it could.

It took Sera a few endless seconds to realize what had happened. Slowly, her armor and weapon disappeared, but she was too embarrassed to look at her daughter.

With teary eyes, Sera flew into the sky, leaving the Bran, Vicky, and Henry on the walkway alone.