[Music Recommendation: Icarus ~ Phildel]
"Why did you eat it?" Rowan asked, walking casually beside Adricas if everything was okay but in truth it wasn’t. Adric’s body had turned very cold.
Adric coughed, covering his mouth. When he brought his hand down, he saw blood. "She begged me with her eyes," he said, closing his eyes briefly as he felt lightheaded.
"Your highness," some of the servants stopped to greet him with a bow.
Adric nodded in acknowledgment of their greeting. He had to continue walking, knowing that most of the servants were working against him. He didn’t show any weakness until Rowan pushed the door to his room open, and he heard the light click confirming it was locked.
Adric fell, but Rowan was there to help him up and to the bed. Rowan went to the fireplace and added more wood to keep the room warm because Adric was now very cold, and his lips were pale. Rowan went straight to the small box on Adric’s table, took out a vial, and poured all the contents into a cup. He brought it close to Adric, ready to feed it to him, when someone knocked on the door.
Rowan snuffed the candles, closed the small curtain that demarcated the room from the other area, then placed the drink close to Adric’s bed before going to open the door.
Jasmine stood in front of the door. When she saw Rowan, she smiled, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Rowan, where is Brother Adric?" she asked, trying to crane her neck to look inside the room.
Rowan closed the door and stepped outside. "He stepped out just a while ago. Is there something I can do for you?" he asked, looking at the princess with a bored look on his face.
Jasmine hit his shoulder. "If he is not here, that means you’re free. You can spare me some time then; I feel like I haven’t been getting enough of you lately. Rowan, you see, I’m so lonely, and you’re the only one who understands me. When you hold me and touch me..." Her voice trailed, as she thought about the good times she spent with the guard.
Rowan smiled and reached for the princess’s face, tracing his finger on her lips. "Your lips are so pretty, but I don’t want you to get in trouble because of them. Also, I want to know if you had a hand in what happened today?"
Jasmine blinked, and when she understood what he meant, she opened her mouth, shaped in a big O. "The food Brother Adric doesn’t like? Adelaide changed the list last night. That wasn’t what the princess was supposed to cook. And also, do you know what other things they’ve planned? Mother said..." she continued like a chatterbox.
Rowan looked back at the room. He needed to help Adric first, but he knew Jasmine wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. He sighed, no longer listening to what the princess had to say. When he saw Oriana walking towards her room, he bowed.
"Princess Oriana," Rowan greeted, and this made Jasmine clear her throat and take a step back away from the guard, raising her shoulder.
"You lowly guard, I want you to come help me out now!" Jasmine pointed at Rowan’s face.
Oriana returned the bow with a slight nod. She looked at Adric’s guard, who was also looking at her.
"I would love to help you, but there is a cup on the crown prince’s table. I have to empty it," Rowan raised his voice; it was so loud that everyone on the passage heard it.
Jasmine raised her brows. "Why are you shouting? It’s just a mere cup. I’m trying to get you out of here before that princess suspects us," she said in a whispered tone.
"I know, but the cup needs to be emptied!" Rowan shouted again; his eyes were still on Oriana. He prayed for her to understand the signal.
Oriana stopped walking and raised her eyebrows. Adric’s guard had always been very calm and reserved. Seeing him shout was so out of character. She tried to think about it for a moment, then raised her eyes to look at him, nodding her head gently. "I will go inside and empty the cup!" Oriana shouted from where she stood.
"What was that?" Jasmine, startled by the sudden shout, held her chest. "Why are you both shouting?" she eyed them.
Oriana walked closer to stand near them with a smile on her face. She said, "Go ahead with your duties. I will keep Prince Adric’s room clean of...cups."
"Clean of cups? What are you even saying?" Jasmine asked, her eyes moving from Rowan to Oriana. She was lost.
Rowan bowed. He was really grateful for how smart and fast the princess was in understanding her surroundings. It was a contrast to the slow princess with red hair standing in front of him. "Let’s go, Princess Jasmine, to help you."
Jasmine nodded, looking at Oriana suspiciously. She followed Rowan, saying in a low voice, "Do you think she suspects us now?"
Rowan chuckled. "You were so smart, Princess. Nobody will ever catch us." His tone was laced with sarcasm that was lost on Jasmine, who raised her shoulders high at the false compliment.
Oriana quickly entered the room and locked the door. It was so dark that she couldn’t see anything. She walked aimlessly with her hands moving in the dark until she got to the small curtain. She pushed it aside first and then pushed the bigger curtain, which now let light into the room.
Oriana gasped when she found Adric on the bed. She ran to his bed to touch him. "His body is so cold," she muttered under her breath, her own hands now shaking. She knew it must have been her food that had Adric in this condition.
Without wasting more time, Oriana lit the candles, closed the curtains, knelt by the fireplace, and added more wood until the room was warm. Then she went back to his bed. There she found the cup close to Adric’s bed, remembering Rowan’s words.
"A cup to empty," Oriana took the cup and held Adric’s head up gently, feeding him the drink until the cup was empty. Then she made his head rest on her chest.
"Why did you eat it? Do you want to get yourself killed?" Oriana said under her breath. She didn’t know his allergy was so bad, and yet he still proceeded to eat everything on the plate. Oriana was so scared; if anything should happen to Adric, she would blame herself forever for being so careless and dumb. She touched his body again, and it was still very cold.
"Body heat," she said to herself. Removing Adric’s shirt and pushing her own gown down, Oriana entered inside the bed cover and held Adric closely to her chest, keeping him warm with her own body heat. They were both lying bare on the bed, but she didn’t mind. All Oriana could think of at that moment was how to save him.
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