The next morning, Alia found herself waking up to a strange chirping sound. Curious, she opened her eyes to get out of bed and found herself back in the strange room. Thinking that this was her chance, she silently slipped out of bed, looking for an escape route. She opened a door and stepped out into an empty hall. After no more than three steps, she heard, "My Queen?" from behind her. Turning around, she saw three men staring at her. After seeing her face, they instantly kneeled down to the floor. "Please forgive us, your Highness, for daring to look upon your face. We are your lowly slaves, nothing more."
With that, they silently arose with their eyes fixed to the floor, and one of them spoke up, his hands trembling, "My Queen, how may we serve you?"
"I'm not a Queen. I just want to go home," Alia said, slowly backing away towards the stairs. As she continued to walk backwards, she felt herself bump into a hard wall. She turned around and found her face staring into a black moving wall. Moving her face up, she looked and saw none other than the man who had been with her the last two days.
"My love, you are home." He gently reminded her, as he moved his hand up to stroke her face. His other hand moved down to see her injured hand, which was now wrapped.
"Thirty lashes for each of you for not being at the door when she awoke. Severely punish the slave who was told to stay remaining at the Queen's side this morning." He called out to the trembling guards.
"Shall we go eat, my Queen?" Without waiting for a response, he grabbed her so that her left side was protected against his chest. With her in his arms, Luca made his way downstairs, chuckling as she protested that she could walk alone.
"I know you can, my love, but you have no need to."
Luca carried her into the dining hall and settled down with her on his lap. Stroking her hair and back with one hand and placing his other on her legs, he called out, "SLAVES!" Three people came running out and bowed. Alia frowned internally, she didn't like the way he called them. But she barely spoke enough to advocate for herself, she wasn't brave enough to stand up for anyone else.
"Your Queen is hungry. Serve her NOW!" They bowed and rushed off. Moments later, they brought back three trays. A woman began to open the domes, at Luca's motion, and the waft of waffles filled Alia's nose. She gave a light smile, which a very astute Luca noticed.
"You like waffles, my love?" She squeezed his hand, using their signs from yesterday to communicate her joy.
"What do you like on them?" She remained silent. Sighing, he grasped her hand. "Let's play our game. If you like it, squeeze my hand. If you don't, tap my hand." She squeezed his hand. Good, she likes this game, he thought to himself.
Looking to the toppings already present, "Syrup?" Tap. Huh, Luca thought to himself.
"Whipped cream?" Squeeze.
"Nutella?" Another squeeze.
"Mangoes?" Tap.
"Strawberries?" Another squeeze.
"Blueberries?" Tap.
"Is that it?" Tap. That means she liked something more, but Luca couldn't think of anything else good.
"My love, I've lost the game. Can you tell me?" She smiled when he said that he lost the game. That means she won?
"I win?" She whispered softly, almost sounding surprised.
He was quick to assure her, "You will always win, my love. You did so wonderful as always. Now, can you tell me what else?" Nuzzling her neck with his nose, Alia felt a wave of happiness and comfort pang in her heart.
"Um, honey, and caramelized apples."
"Slave!" He called out. Not nearly as loud this time, because they were so close, but his voice still made Alia and them freeze.
"Bring us honey and caramelized apples for the waffles." One of the men bowed and ran off. Moments later, he returned with the honey. "Apologizes, your Highness, it will take a few moments for the apples to be served."
"Is that okay, my love?" The King looked to the Queen to ask.
She nodded. "I like them separate anyways."
"How do you like them separated, my love?"
"Um. I like honey alone. I like whipped cream and honey. I like Nutella with strawberries. I like caramelized apples and honey."
"4 toppings for the 4 quadrants?" He smiled, looking at her innocence. She nods, a smile creeping on her face.
Luca piled waffles onto two plates, taking care to add the toppings exactly as she wished them on hers and leaving his plain. He despised waffles and preferred eggs and bacon, but he would eat them if that's what made her happy.
She frowned at his plain waffles. They look boring, she thought to herself, but stayed quiet. She didn't trust him enough to tell him. What if it made him mad?
Adjusting her to face him and grabbing her hand, he asked, "Okay, last game, dearest, what do you want to drink?"
"Water." Squeeze.
"Milk." Tap.
"Coffee." Tap.
"Tea." Squeeze.
"Indian tea?" She smiled and gave another squeeze. It's good that he had read that she was Punjabi yesterday. He had instructed the kitchen staff to learn how to make Indian foods, including tea.
"Slave, bring the Queen water and Indian tea, sugar on the side. Bring me a coffee and water." Luca felt a tap on his hand and looked down to see Alia with a frown on her face. What was she saying no to?
"Yes, my love?"
"Sugar doesn't go on the side, you make it with sugar in it. I can make it." She said softly, keeping her eyes trained on her fingers, that were now making circles on his hand.
"No, my Queen, you are to be served. You do not worry about such things. Slave, you heard her. Make it with the sugar in it." Luca dismissed her with his hand, and she bowed before turning into the kitchen.
"Let's eat, my love." He whispered. He began to feed her, alternating between taking a bite himself and feeding her a bite. In between her bites, he continued to encourage her, "You are doing so good, my love. My sweet, I love you." But today, Alia didn't feel the same humiliation as yesterday, she felt joy. She felt sweetness in his every bite and his words. Feeling comfort in his arms, she smiled as she made designs on his chest with her fingers, opening her mouth but keeping her eyes focused on his strong chest.
As they finished the end of their waffles, the woman returned with the Indian tea and coffee, having brought water before. Luca grabbed their beverages and placed his coffee on the table, grabbing her tea and blowing on it over and over to cool it down. As he brought it to her lips, she moved to grab the tea from him, the heat made her happy.
Sighing, Luca let go, ensuring that the mug was grasped by her firmly. She brought her cup to her face and blew on it for a while. She liked her tea pretty cold. After a few minutes, she tried the tea taking a quick sip. There was salt, instead of sugar, or something that made the tea taste terrible. Making a face, she moved to put the tea back on the table that was on her left side, but missed as her injured left hand seared in pain from the extra weight. The mug crashed on the floor, spattering hot tea all over her bare legs and Luca's pants, and their shoes.
"SHIT!" Luca cried out, as he jumped back, no doubt in pain. He steadied himself, wrapping one hand protectively around Alia and holding the coffee mug in his other hand.
Alia was mortified, she couldn't even hold a mug right. And now everything hurt again. Her legs from the hot tea splashes, her hand, her side from Luca's sudden movement. She couldn't help as she began sobbing again.
Seeing her tears, Luca began to panic. Was she hurt? She wasn't even wearing pants. He began to scan her body and seeing the patches of redness on her legs and the new bright red coming onto her bandaged left hand, he paled. "SLAVES! Call for the physician right away! Your Queen is hurt!"
"I'm sorry, sir! No, sorry, I mean Mr. Knight! No wait, Luca! I'm so so sorry Luca," Alia cried as she continued to sob into his shirt. She was such a mess, and his face fell with every apology. He had failed to make her feel like the Queen she was.
"Oh, no, my love! My Queen, you have nothing to apologize for! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have let you hold the tea. Love, angel, it's okay, it's okay, the doctor will be here soon." Luca rushed to cradle her in his arms, soothing her.
Comforted by his cradle and his soothing rocks, she began to breathe a bit more, slowly regaining her composure. Despite this, he continued to hold her tight, rubbing his hands down her arms and legs, knowing that his touch was providing the distraction they needed from the pain.
The doctor arrived and silently began her treatment after approval from Luca. Following the revelation yesterday, Luca hired a new female doctor to temporarily share the job of the old one. He wanted her to have adequate time with her newborn and he needed Alia to have a female doctor available 24/7.
Now that Alia had stopped crying, Luca needed to know. "Why did you go to put the mug back, my love? Was the tea not to your liking?"
Alia hesitated to answer. She wanted to tell him the truth but she feared he would kill the person who made the tea. So, she wisely tapped his hand, indicating the tea was good.
But Luca saw the hesitation, he knew that something was wrong.
"Who made this tea?" He turned to question the woman who had brought their tea and coffee.
"Your Highness, I did." She spoke, trembling. What she hadn't told the king was that the substance that Alia detected as salt was added by another because she herself didn't know.
Luca nodded, staying silent. "Is there any left?" He asked.
"No, my King, but I could make more." She replied, trembling.
"No need. You will drink it off the floor and tell me what's wrong with it." Luca felt Alia's hand ferociously tapping at his hand but paid no attention. He continued, "Clearly the Queen was not happy with your performance and given that there is none left in the kitchen for you to drink, you will drink it off the floor."
He then turned to Alia, who was tapping away, "Unless you would like to tell me what went wrong, love?"
Alia stared back at him. She would never forgive herself if that maid was forced to drink the tea off the floor, but she also didn't know how angry Luca would get at the woman if she told him the truth.
"Nothing was wrong with it," she whispered, shoving her face into his chest. Even though he was the scariest person in the room, his scent and his warmth comforted her and calmed her nerves.
Taking advantage of Alia's distraction and her buried face in his shirt, Luca knew that she would never tell him but she would never forgive herself for allowing her to drink the tea off the floor. But the slave needed to learn and Luca needed to know. He motioned towards the tea puddle on the floor, keeping one hand on Alia's head to keep it buried into his chest and the other, gently stroking her hair and back. He hoped that she would fall asleep and he could get to the bottom of this easily.
The woman silently kneeled and took a sip. Immediately, she spit it out but it didn't make sense. There was nothing she could have added to make the tea taste that bitter. Shaking her head, she turned to the king. "Your Highness, I don't know what's wrong with the tea. It tastes bitter but I don't know what I could have added to make it taste this bad."
Continuing to stroke Alia's hair, a stern faced Luca leaned down and whispered into Alia's ear, "My love, just nod your head if the tea tasted bitter." Alia, with her face still buried, slightly nodded.
Luca growled, bitter tasting tea could only mean one thing. Somehow his Queen was under attack and he would never allow it. Holding his anger inside, Luca lifted his Queen who had already began to fall back asleep and carried her bridal style gently into his room. While she had her own room, Luca wasn't going to let her out of his sight until the danger had resolved.
He motioned to the guards and slaves in his room to step out. He didn't want her to even be slightly woken up by this nonsense. But as soon as the soundproof doors were closed, Luca lost the last of the self-control he had maintained for the past 15 minutes.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE ALL OF YOU DOING???? FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LOVE'S TEA- NOW! IF YOU FAIL TO, I AM GOING TO SLOWLY TORTURE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND KILL YOU AT THE END!" They all stood trembling. Then one of the guards dropped down onto the floor and began bowing repeatedly, a red mark starting to show from his kowtowing. Moments later, the rest began kowtowing as well.
Feeling a little guilty for yelling at the slaves that did nothing, Luca dismissed them all. He needed to figure out what happened so he could protect his Queen.
No one could hurt you, My Love.
Watching Luca scream, a man stood there in the shadows. He had failed in his efforts to poison the new Queen. But it would not be long before he succeeded. He had to, for his master.