The Royal Alpha's Destined Bride

Chapter 13

Iris volunteered to take the medication to my room last night because she wanted to take the opportunity to boast to me that Ven was secretly spending time with Fleur. This morning, I was glad when she didn't appear as she had no further reason to. It was a little last 8 A.M when a maid came knocking on my door to bring me the medicine the doctor gave her for me to take before breakfast. He wanted the medicine's effect to start immediately right after breakfast because I had a long day ahead of me and couldn't wait until after I had breakfast for them to work.

Iris was the one who specifically asked that my medication be given to me before breakfast as she wanted to invite me and Mari to be with her that morning. I didn't know this at the time and would find out after I had woken up. I was asleep when the door opened and two maids stepped into the room. One of them was there to help me take my medication and the other walked over to the curtains to open them. She was caught by surprise when she saw that they had never been closed the previous night.

"She must be very ill if she couldn't close the curtains," the maid whispered as she walked over to the wardrobe to prepare my outfit for the day. I had insisted many times before that I didn't need anyone to pick out any clothes for me but Iris insisted that a maid with 'a fashion sense' be the one to assist me with getting dressed. I was an average human before I came to the kingdom and had no idea how queen or a future one was supposed to be dressed.

"I'm surprised that she was able to endure the cold for so long. I've heard that humans can't survive in temperatures this low," and the maid who was closest to me replied, arousing me from my deep slumber. I didn't open my eyes and decided to listen to their conversation instead. They were talking about me and while I didn't want to be reminded of how weak I was, hearing how concerned they were about my health made me see the servants in the palace in a different lighting.

I thought that every werewolf had a dislike towards humans because of how weak they were. I could have been wrong and it could have been that the servants were only concerned about me because I was soon to be queen, but having someone other than Ven or Ira concerned about me made me feel refreshed.

"You would think that the Prince would be more concerned for her than that seductress who arrived yesterday," one of the maids said next and I suddenly became uneasy. I had completely forgotten that I cried myself to sleep last night over Ven secretly seeing Fleur instead of going down to banquet hall. The maids reminding me of that made my chest tighten again as it did last night.

"He went to see her first thing this morning," the maid continued, and that feeling of betrayal from before returned. It was one thing that Ven went to see Fleur last night before ending his day but to see her first thing in the morning was another. I couldn't just sit back and let my emotions be tormented. I opened my eyes and sat up on the bed. One of the maids rushed over to my side and assisted me with sitting upright.

"Morning, Princess. I must have woken you up. I apologize for that," the maid said. I did not have an official title on my head and they couldn't refer to me by my first name, so the servants had to settle to calling me 'princess' until I would be married.

"No, it's time I woke up anyway. I overslept," I said, looking over at the curtains as the bright light swam through the windows. The light was bright enough to hurt my eyes but the feeling disappeared in a few minutes.

"You shouldn't get up. The queen advised that you rest until breakfast-"

"I want to see Ven. Where is he?" I asked, using the little strength I had to stand up. The maid stood up and took a hold of my arm to keep me from moving.

"I don't think that's a good idea. He'll be moving about this morning to visit the guests. That wouldn't be good for your health," she said, and I stopped moving. Apart from visiting Fleur, Ven had other duties to attend to that I couldn't interfere with. I would have to wait until later to see him.

"Then I'll go and have breakfast-"

"The queen wishes that you have breakfast with her in about an hour. You're to rest until then," she interrupted me and gently pulled my arm down so that I could sit on the bed. The other maid brought a glass of water and they both helped me to take the medication. It was the same as the one Iris brought last night with a few additions to give me energy for that morning. I couldn't why I suddenly felt ill. I felt ill and my head was burning. It was almost as though Iris had predicted that I would fall ill soon.

My body had managed to hold on through the cold for an entire month but it seemed that it couldn't tolerate the cold any longer. The werewolves were used to the cold temperature so in order to keep me warm, more blankets and heating would have to be brought in to my room soon. They would be brought in before the end of the day.

The maids helped me with my medication, getting dressed, changing the bandage on my right arm and cleaned about the room first before they left me alone. It was a good thirty minutes before I would have breakfast with Iris and I couldn't help but wonder why she had invited me to sit with her. There were days when we sat down together for meals but that was only when Ven was free enough to join us. For her to invite me without Ven was strange and I wondered what she could have been up to.

When it was time for breakfast, the medicine had already started to take effect and I had regained some of my energy. I was able to walk on my own without any support but my head still felt hurt and I had a slight headache. One would think that I caught something terrible the previous day because I found it hard to believe that being outside in the snow for a few minutes could cause my health to deteriorate that much. Then again, I had gone outside in a simple dress and opened shoes. I may have underestimated the weather conditions in Ruslan.

Breakfast was to be held in the tea room at a round table that had four armchairs waiting to be occupied. When I entered the room, I was surprised to find that Mari had already arrived and she was fussy about the quality of the tea that was served to her as she waited for the queen to arrive. The maid was certain that she had made the tea the same way she did everyday but Mari insisted that there was more sugar in her cup than there used to be before.

"I want you to make it again and use less sugar this time! You've been doing this for over five years yet you made such a simple mistake as this? I've been too lenient with you as of late," she placed the cup of tea down on the saucer with such force that it almost broke. She then pushed the saucer aside and the maid managed to catch it before it could fall off the table. The maid bowed and left the room just as I sat down on in the armchair opposite hers.

"Good morning," I said to her and she scoffed as a response. She was in an awful mood that morning and I couldn't imagine what could have happened to make her so upset. She had woken up only a while ago and I doubted much could have happened between then and now.

"So, she invited you as well? She really knows how to take things too far," Mari commented. She placed her right hand down on the surface of the table and used the long, green fingernail of her index finger to tap on it repeatedly. I looked across the room at the two maids who standing in each corner. They were so quiet and unobtrusive that I didn't notice them when I walked in.

"What do you mean?" I asked her but the maid from before returned to the room at that moment and Mari pretended as though she didn't hear my question. The saucer was placed down before her and she quickly picked up the cup to take a sip of the hot liquid. She waited a moment to savor the flavor and took another sip. Feeling satisfied, she nodded at the maid, her cue to leave, and the maid walked out of the room.

I came to learn on that day that Mari wanted her tea made in different ways to reflect her mood. Normally she wanted a lot of sugar in her tea but now that she was in a bad mood, she wanted less sugar. She failed to acknowledge that it was her own fault that the tea tasted different and opted to insulting the maid instead even though she had made the tea the same way she would on any other day.

The atmosphere grew awkward. I was seated in my chair and Mari happily drank away at her tea. I was anxious as I had been since that morning for more than one reason. For one, I couldn't get Ven out of my head and I wanted to see him to talk with him about what I had heard from those maids earlier.

"Have you seen Ven today?" I asked Mari and what followed next was a glare with her icy, blue eyes that made a shiver run up my spine. She glared straight at me as though she were trying to read my soul then averted her eyes to the side as though something had dawned in her.

"Ven, huh? It seems you and I both have the same problem today," she said next, turning to look at the door as Iris walked in with the brightest smile I had ever seen on her face. I wondered what Mari meant but the question I wanted to ask her soon flew out of my head when Ira walked into the tea room behind Iris. I was caught by surprise and was filled with curiosity as Iris wished Mari and I a good morning. She walked over to the armchair to my right and sat down in it while Ira sat down to my left. I didn't understand what was happening but I knew for a fact that it wasn't anything good considering the scowl that had appeared on Mari's otherwise pretty face.