The King and Queen of Hearts were silent over breakfast, but it wasn't a typical silence. It was an awkward silence.
A very, very awkward silence.
Eli cleared his throat and looked up at one of the maids. "Could the Queen and I have a moment alone, please?"
With a nod, she and the other maids left the dining room and went out into the hallway.
"Okay," he said. "Can we address the elephant in the room?"
Judy dropped her fork. "I hated every minute of it," she blurted out before covering her face. "I'm sorry! I don't know if it was you or me or just it in general I just...I don't like it."
Eli blinked a second before bursting out into laughter. "It's okay Judy," he said. "In all honesty, I didn't like it either. Have you ever...?"
"No," she answered, going back to picking at her berry salad. "I just...never was interested."
He smiled and nodded. "I see what the problem is. Neither of us want it."
The Queen looked up at him and bit her lap. "Is...that a problem...?"
Eli smiled and shook his head. "It's not," he answered. "It's not a problem at all. You see, this just means our love for each other is stronger than we had hoped." He walked around the table and stood next to her, grabbing her hands. He kissed each of them in turn, and smiled at her.
Judy leaned over and kissed his cheeks. "I love you," she whispered. "I love you a lot."
"I love you too, my beautiful Queen."
