She Belongs To The Devil

Adeline's heart skipped a beat when she felt the crown lightly touching her head. She parted her lips slightly and let out the breath that she had been holding in before the crown was placed on her head.

The moment the crown touched her head, a beautiful and short celebratory tune of music filled that quiet hall.

And Adeline's heart was filled with a sense of empowerment.

The corner of her lips curved up to form a soft smile and she thought to herself, "Whoa! I never thought that my confidence level would shoot up just by putting on a symbolic crown. I guess it does make a difference in the wearer's self-esteem."

She didn't hear what the Priest said to those who were present in the hall. Her mind was focused on the ticklish feeling that she was getting on the top of her head. The crown didn't feel like a burden unlike what she had thought.

The High Priest then turned towards the newly crowned Queen and asked, "Shall we bring the crown for His Royal Highness?"

"Yes, please." Adeline nodded confidently.

She glanced at Theodore and got up on her feet. Theodore also followed her and stood beside Adeline.

Another Priest came bearing a tray with a crown that looked similar to Dragomir's crown. It was made out of pure gold and looked heavy.

Adeline picked up the crown as though it was a delicate little baby. And the husband and wife stood while facing each other.

Adeline then declared in a loud voice so that everyone in the hall could listen to her, "In the name of the holy Deity, I bestow this crown to Prince Consort Theodore and with it the authority to exercise the power of a ruler in my absence."

Adeline surprised everyone present in the hall with that bold statement of her. No one was to exercise the power of the ruler except the ruler themselves.

However, no one dared to protest that statement of their Queen. Most of those present in the room already knew how capable Theodore was and how he had also taken some small decisions on Adeline's behalf in the past month already.

Theodore was never a man to feel threatened by the power of his wife or to feel inferior to her. But this gesture from Adeline made him happy nonetheless. He was happy that his wife trusted him a lot. And he would do anything to keep on maintaining that trust. He was going to be anything that she needed him to be.

Theodore leaned a little so that Adeline could place the crown on his head.

Once again, the room was filled with congratulatory music.

Theodore took Adeline's hand and kissed her on her knuckles as a way of showing his love and gratitude.

They held each other's hands and turned to face everyone in the hall.

"All hail the Queen. All hail the Prince." The hall echoed with everyone's voice.

They all bowed to their new rulers.

The Royal Guards then escorted the rulers towards the balcony. Queen Vultrada and Queen Claricia walked ahead of them so that they could greet the crowd before the new rulers.

All four of them stood in front of the balcony gate.

Adeline intertwined her fingers with Theodore's because her heartbeat was starting to escalate. She had faced crowds before, but today was different. Every small decision that she would take was going to affect each and every single person out there. And she had to make a good impression on them.

The guards who were standing on either side of the balcony door glanced at Adeline and waited for her command.

And after Adeline gave a nod to them, they pushed open that huge door.

The moment the door flung open, the loud cheering from the crowds outside came gushing in like music to Adeline's ears.

Queen Vultrada and Claricia went out on the balcony and waved their hands to the crowd.

After a few seconds, Laurence, who was now standing by the door, gestured to Adeline and Theodore to go out to the balcony.

Adeline glanced at Theodore and Theodore brought her hand close to his lips and kissed her saying, "You will do great. I know it."

Adeline took a deep breath in and nodded her head nervously. She kept on holding Theodore's hand as they headed outside.

They stood in the middle of the two Queens. They raised their hands and waved at the crowd below with a wide smile on their faces.

The cheering got even louder than before and continued for quite a while. The couple had quite an impact on the crowd just by standing with their heads held high.

Laurence also appeared on the balcony and gestured to the crowd to halt the noise. And he addressed the crowd, "First of all, I would like to thank all of you for joining the Palace on this joyous occasion. Now our Queen would like to say a few words."

That mass of people was still quiet, waiting for Adeline to speak.

Adeline looked at the people that had gathered to see her and Theodore and began, "Greetings to everyone present here. I find myself very lucky to have people who constantly provide support to me and give me strength. And I am luckier to have all of you who are willing to put your faith in me into running this Kingdom."

"As a monarch of this Kingdom, I solemnly swear to protect all of you from any adversities that might come our way. I will put my life on the line if that is what it takes to maintain our sovereignty." Adeline changed the script of her speech that never talked about any adversities in order to remind herself what she needed to do for her people.

"And I also expect the same from all my fellow brothers and sisters of this Kingdom. I hope we can work together and maintain the peace and prosperity that our late King left for us. Long live Wyverndale!" Adeline ended the speech with a confident smile and a positive outlook towards the future.

When she finished giving her first speech as the Queen, the crowd in front of her erupted in cheers and praises.

"All hail the Queen! Long live the Queen." The crowd chanted in unison.

The cheering of her people strummed the chords of Adeline's heartstring. Her eyes watered and her smile deepened. Adeline didn't know that such a simple gesture from her people could affect her this greatly.

Theodore leaned a little and said to his wife, "It's amazing, isn't it? The feeling when you have people believing in you and willing to follow you."

"Yes, indeed. They are making me believe that I can do and achieve anything if it is for them." Adeline turned towards her husband and beamed.

Theodore happily watched the smile on his wife's face. It was refreshing to see her this driven and confident.

Adeline focused her eyes so that she could clearly see the genuine smiles on her people's faces. They were looking at her, cheering for her, and most importantly, putting their faith in her.

She took a deep breath in and promised silently, "I will do everything in my power to defeat the Vampires. I will protect all of your smiles at all cost."