The trumpets sounded, and soon.... Alec and his 3 wives walked in majestically, while being surrounded by more guards.
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Immediately, everyone kowtowed to their king.
"May you live long your majesty!!" They said.
And soon, Alec raised his hands and told them to be seated.
And from there, the festivities began.
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But first, it was time for the gift offering ceremony... A.K.A, the 'curry favor' ceremony.
One by one, they all gave their precious gifts to their king.
Of course, those at the lowest level of nobility, had their groups bundled together.... as the middle and upper class ones felt like those below them couldn't possibly offer anything special.
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So those at the bottom just placed their 'wretched' gifts on a large table at a lone corner.
As for the middle class, those who didn't have anything impressive to give.... also had to place their gifts in that line table.
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But if one from the middle or lower class ranks felt like their gifts could really blow the mind of the king..... then he could come up and announce his gift.
And ending it all..... ALL the upper class nobles were obligated to come up one by one and present their gifts.
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The room became chatty, and everyone soon felt like they were amidst a fierce battle..... as the gift offering ceremony would usually make one's enemy gain an upper advantage towards them, by winning the king's favor.
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One by one, the top tier nobles all came forward to present their gifts..... and soon, it was the turn of Duke Winchester.
As he walked forward... several other nobles looked at the tiny chest in his hands in disgust.
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One should know that they had allowed thri slaves to carry in massive gifts that could fill up 2 or 3 carriages.
But this Duke dared to bring in such a tiny chest?
Wasn't he just asking for his title to be stripped off from him?
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As Duke advanced, his enemies all smiled arrogantly, as he felt like his doom was truly near.
"Pui!!
Duke, why does your gift seem so small?"
"What an utter disgrace!!
Are you insulting our king by offering such a tiny handheld gift?"
"_"
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The more people complained the more angry Alec was.
Today was his birthday, and someone dared to play a silly prank on him.
Alec had decided to be patient, as he was now inquisitive about what was in the chest.
If it was worth it, then he would pardon Winchester... but if not, then it's definitely 'Off With His Title' at once.
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Winchester smiled, as he could easily make it what everyone was thinking.
"Your servant humbles himself before you, your majesty." Winchester said, while genuflecting respectively towards Alec.
"Duke Winchester!
Do you know the meaning of what you've just done?" Alec said, in a spine-chilling tone.
"Yes, your majesty!!"
"Very good!
If you're so confident, then I will not pardon you if your gift falls short."
"I understand your majesty."
"__"
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At this point, everyone in the room was curious about what was inside the chest.
Was it something rare, precious or unique?
Is that why the Duke seemed confident that his plan would not fail?
Winchester smiled and opened the chest for Alec to see.
"Your Majesty.... this particular item is called a watch!
And it can tell the time!!"
"_"
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Soon, several gasps were let out, as everyone looked at the item in shock.
How can that tiny metal bracelet tell the time?
Wasn't time normally told by reading shadows, and using the moon's view to estimate it?
So how could metal think and perform calculations like a proper human being?
Or was it them that didn't hear it correctly?
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Alec took the golden plated watch and looked at its craftsmanship in awe.
Who designed it?
The circular interior of the watch had a white background, and several stationary markings around the watch.
Apparently, these markings were the actual time coordinates..... like 3 A.M, 12 ,6 and so on.
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Alec looked at the moving clock hands, and almost jumped up from his seat.
It was moving!!!
It was actually moving on it's own, as if someone was pushing it from within.
This... this.... How could this be?
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Very quickly, Alec brought the device towards his ears, as if wanting to confirm if little beings were inside the watch.
'Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick!'
His ears could hear the constant but steady breathings of the watch.
His eyes lit up, and he quickly wore the watch just like he Winchester had instructed.
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This entire time, Winchester had been explaining everything he knew about the watch's functionality..... like how to read the time and so on.
And when he was done, the entire room also looked at the watch in their king's right wrist in reverence.
Even his enemies had to admit that his gift was rare and unique.
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Of course, it wasn't just them that admired the watch.
In fact, all the Princes were at the edge of their seats.
And even Cary and all 3 queens queens, were all stunned by the watch.
They stretched their necks, and hoped to have one themselves as well.
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But when they individually thought about their plans for tonight.... they had planned to take the watch from Alec's body after the deed was done.
After all, it would be a shame for such a rare item to be left there just like that.
Hence it was only right for them to take it.
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"Your majesty, this is the most expensive watch in existence so far.
And from what I gathered, it was something called a 'Limited Edition'... with only one of it's kind out there.
So your majesty would definitely be the only one wearing it."
Alec nodded proudly, as he continuously twisted his wrists just like how Winchester had said.
Apparently, when reading the time... one had to turn their wrists elegantly, so as to efficiently read the right direction which the clock hands were aiming at.
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Alec flipped his wrists multiple times, and pretended to read the time..... so as to look cool.
He wanted to show everyone that he had grasped the Watches concept just like that.
After all, he was a king.... hence he had to show that he was better than everyone else.
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The more Alec looked at the item on his wrist, the more pleased he was with it..... As it had a classy feel to it.
"Duke Winchester!!
This is an Excellent gift.
But where exactly did you get it from?
And who was its creator?"
"_"