Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1677 - 119 : Land of Sweets

*Briella*

The colors were everywhere.

They were all my favorite colors, from rich greens to vibrant blues. There were some purple and reds mixed in as well, all in gorgeous, pleasing shades. They seemed to dance and swirl among one another like enchanted paint.

I reached out with my hands but found that they didn’t exist. I couldn’t feel them. Maybe I didn’t exist currently either. Maybe I was a color as well, just a swirling mass meant to float along with all the others.

I could go along with that. If I was just meant to simply exist, then that’s what I was going to do. I was just coming to terms with that idea when the colors slowly started to disappear one by one. As soon as I focused on one, it vanished.

Before I knew it, all the colors had left, and there was only darkness behind...

Cold darkness. I couldn’t suppress a shiver that threatened to overcome me.

I gasped as my eyes opened. I blinked into the dim lighting of my bedroom for a couple of moments before pushing myself up so that I could sit on the edge of the bed. I glanced behind me at Kryzen, who was still sound asleep.

I wiped some perspiration off my forehead, concentrating on my breathing as I sat on the bed.

I had been having strange dreams for a few weeks now. They weren’t really bad dreams. They were just odd and usually extremely sensory-heavy. I asked one of the healers about them, and she told me that some women experienced odd dreams while pregnant and that it was likely nothing to worry about. My body was changing, and it wasn’t strange that my mind would be affected.

Still, these dreams had another layer to them that made me wonder if it was just from my pregnancy. There was a sense of longing in them like I was supposed to be doing something.

I stood up from the bed, looking down at the front of my loose-fitting nightgown as the fabric shifted over the defined bump between my hips.

I stroked the small bump lovingly as I crossed the room to stand in front of the window overlooking the palace garden.

The moon was a gorgeous crescent shape, but it still glowed brightly even though it wasn’t full. Seeing its soft, gentle light illuminating the bed of flowers in our garden caused my heart rate to slowly decrease.

I mentally scolded myself for feeling this anxious over some strange dreams. They weren’t even frightening. They were maybe a little bit unsettling but not scary. It was probably a waste of time to try and interpret them when there hadn’t even been any distinctive shapes, but there were definitely clear emotions associated with the dreams.

I needed to be doing something. That much was clear. Something was waiting for me. I had no idea what, but there was definitely something calling to me in the dreams. I wasn’t sure how I knew that exactly. There hadn’t been any voice or anything audibly calling, but I felt something.

What could it be? Was it truly just my body getting me ready to have a baby? Was it simply telling me that soon, there was going to be someone in my life who depended on me?

I supposed it was possible.

“Briella?”

I turned at the sound of my husband’s sleepy voice. Kryzen was sitting up in bed, squinting at me through the dim light of the room. Even in this state, I could see the concern on his face.

“Sorry for waking you,” I murmured. “I’m okay. I just wanted to sit up for a little bit. Go back to sleep. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Kryzen stared at me for another couple of seconds before wiping a hand over his face and standing up from the bed. Guilt immediately ate at me. He’s been so busy lately with all of his various kingly duties. He needed his sleep.

“I’m fine, Kryzen,” I repeated. “Please go back to sleep. You have an early meeting in the morning.”

“I’ll be alright,” he said as he crossed the room to stand next to me. He looked out the window as if trying to figure out what I was looking at. He then looked down at me, his eyes clear and much more awake. “Is something wrong?”

I shook my head, but I could feel the uncertainty on my face as I did so. At the look of disbelief he gave me, I shrugged. “It was just a strange dream.”

He nodded and then sat in the nearby armchair I liked to use for reading. He reached for me, tugging on my arm and guiding me so that I was sitting in his lap. He stroked his hand over my little baby bump, almost absentmindedly. “Do you want to talk about the dream? Sometimes, that can help.” He lowered his voice. “Was it Tian again?”

I leaned my head against his neck, inhaling his comforting scent. “It wasn’t really a bad dream,” I said slowly, “just unsettling. There were a bunch of colors swirling around, and then the colors started to disappear. Before I knew it, I was just floating around in darkness.”

Kryzen was quiet as he digested this. He wrapped one arm around my waist, pulling me against him. His other hand rubbed soothing circles on my back. I nearly moaned it felt so good. “That sounds a little scary,” he said, tightening his hold on me. “Either way, you’re safe now. It was just a dream.”

I nodded against Kryzen’s neck, feeling much more comforted now that he was holding me. He continued to rub my back and kiss my neck and my hair, all the while murmuring soothingly to me. I was asleep within minutes.

I didn’t even wake up when he carried me back to bed just a few moments later.

When I woke up the next morning, the sun had risen. The space next to me on the bed was empty. I sat up and saw a note on Kryzen’s pillow. I picked it up, easily recognizing Kryzen’s neat script.

“I would have woken you up so that I could kiss you goodbye, but you were sleeping so deeply that I didn’t want to disturb you,” it read. “I’m going into the kingdom today to check on some of the businesses in town, so I won’t be able to have lunch with you. I hope your lessons go well today. I’ll be counting the minutes until I can wrap my arms around you again. Love, Kryzen.”

I smiled softly at the note and carefully folded it up so I could put it in the box where I kept the other letters he’d written to me. It had become a sweet form of communication between the two of us since we’d been so busy.

A soft knock sounded on the door before one of our maids, Millicent, poked her head in, her bright blue eyes warming when she saw I was awake. “Good morning, Your Majesty. I’ve set your breakfast on your nightstand unless you would like to eat in the dining hall this morning.”

I debated that for a moment. Kryzen probably would have preferred that I eat my breakfast in bed and take the day off to rest, but he wasn’t there and that wasn’t what I wanted.

I smiled at Millicent. “Thank you, Millicent. I’ll eat in the dining hall.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” she said, taking the tray and bowing before leaving the room.

I got dressed quickly, wanting to be done by the time one of the maids returned. They would insist on helping me dress, and I still wasn’t used to being waited on so thoroughly. It felt unnecessary to have someone help me when I was perfectly capable of doing it myself.

I wondered if I would ever get used to being royalty.

I slipped into one of the many extravagant house dresses that was in my massive walk-in closet. They were called house dresses but were made of a soft, expensive-feeling fabric and had intricate embroidery of flowers on the hem.

As I descended the stairs, I felt a sudden heaviness come onto me. I was still exhausted from the lack of sleep. Maybe I could ask for some tea to perk me up before my lessons for the day.

Lately, the mornings were dedicated to my lessons, where I learned all sorts of things a queen should know, such as history, politics, economics and trade, and leadership. In the afternoons, I would either join Kryzen on his rounds or make public appearances in the kingdom, aiding the people in anything they needed.

It was strange. Kryzen and I were already king and queen, but we still needed to be guided in so many different areas. I was grateful we had so many mentors willing to help but wondered if we should have waited to be crowned.

I started to get to the bottom of the stairs when my head suddenly whirled.

“Your Majesty!”

A couple of the maids were at the bottom of the stairs and were able to rush up and catch me before I fell.

“Are you alright?” they fretted.

I gave them a reassuring smile, straightening. “I’m fine,” I said but my voice came out weak.

“Maybe you should return to your quarters,” Millicent suggested nervously. “I’ll bring up more breakfast for you.”

I frowned. “But my lessons–”

She actually cut me off. “With all due respect, you shouldn’t push yourself in your condition, Your Majesty,” she said. “Resting would be putting your child’s needs before your own.”

I winced but couldn’t argue with that. I allowed the maids to lead me back up the stairs, each one holding onto one of my arms, even though I no longer felt lightheaded.

After a light breakfast in bed, Millicent shot me a concerned look before wordlessly drawing the curtains. I sighed before leaning back into the pillows. I shut my eyes and was asleep within minutes.

“Briella!”

I giggled and chased after Kryzen, who was running through a field of bright pink flowers. When our hands touched, the world melted away and became bright. My eyes widened, and I whirled around. The whole field had been turned into a wondrous land made out of candy.

“How is this possible?” I asked Kryzen, who was picking a flower that looked to be made out of some kind of gummy.

He just smiled at me and leaned in to kiss me. “Anything is possible when we’re together,” he told me sweetly.

I was willing to accept that logic and took his hand again as we started to run through the field together. He squeezed my hand and smiled widely at me.

It seemed like everything was perfect, which was when the sky started to darken.

Kryzen seemed oblivious to the change and just kept pulling me along behind him. I heard some vicious growling sounds behind me and looked over my shoulder, causing a scream to burst from my lips.

The gummy flowers had turned demonic, sprouting blood-red eyes and sharp teeth. They had no limbs but were somehow barreling toward us.

My eyes shot open, and I sat up quickly in bed, breathing hard as I looked around.

I concentrated on my breathing for several moments until it slowed. I rose from the bed and wandered to the window, pushing the drapes open to reveal the early afternoon sun.

My shoulders sagged. I wasn’t going to sleep any more that day.