Chapter 33: Feed Me!
Arielle pushed the trolley cart to bring breakfast for King Ronan. With the help of Tania and Michael, she successfully made a sandwich with ham filling. It was one of her favorite breakfast menus when she was still in Nieverdell.
Tania always made it by stealing a ration of ham for Prince Alexis when Arielle wanted to eat one.
Lucas led Arielle to the king's study, where the man always spent his time working from the morning. Lucas knocked on the door and got permission from the owner of the room to enter.
"Thanks for accompanying me, Lucas."
"With pleasure, Your Highness," Lucas replied, then excused himself to resign.
Arielle opened the door in front of her and pushed the trolley in. Ronan was preoccupied with some papers but then raised his eyebrows when he saw Arielle bring his breakfast.
Arielle turned towards the man sitting on his chair. She curtseyed and bowed her head a little.
"Good morning, Your Majesty. I have brought breakfast for you," Arielle said very politely.
Ronan then put the paper in his hand and waited for what Arielle would do again. Although many questions filled his head, when he saw Arielle move and act, it really made Ronan amazed.
"Breakfast this morning is a Nieverdell grilled ham sandwich."
"Nieverdell? The head of the kitchen makes southern food?" asked Ronan.
Arielle didn't answer and just smiled. She opened the tray cover then placed her homemade food on the guest table. Ronan could smell the mouthwatering aroma of good food wafted in the air after the tray lid was lifted.
He immediately rose from his seat and left his job. The king went over and sat on the sofa. He looked at the sandwich in front of him.
Next, Arielle put the fork and knife next to the plate. She also poured a glass of warm milk which made Ronan's eyebrows raise sharply.
"Milk?" asked Ronan a little disbelievingly.
Arielle nodded.
"You want me to drink a glass of warm milk?"
"Milk is very good for the body. It has many ingredients that are very beneficial for the body. Tania often forces me to drink it."
Ronan chuckled softly. William always poured him a cup of strong coffee in the morning. He had stopped drinking milk more than twenty years ago. And now he was given another glass of milk? Ronan hoped it wasn't as bad as he remembered it from his childhood.
"Enjoy your breakfast, Your Majesty."
Ronan quickly grabbed Arielle's hand and pulled the girl to sit down beside him.
"Lucas already told you about your assignment, right?"
"That's right, this morning Lucas delivered my assignment."
"Then, where are you going? And where's your breakfast?"
"Ah… I already ate in the kitchen earlier. And I think Your Majesty made a mistake when writing down my assignment list. You mean my job is to prepare your food, right? Not to eat together with you?"
Ronan raised his hand. "Wait, so you were in the kitchen this morning? Isn't this breakfast made by Head of Kitchen Michael?"
"I made it myself, Your Majesty. Because I thought you meant my job is to prepare your food."
"Arielle, I have assigned you the task to accompany me, not prepare food for me. I have made your assignment list very clear."
"But how can accompanying you for breakfast and tea time be called work?"
"Of course, it can be considered as work. It is because I'm a king, and I'm free to put you in any job I want."
Ronan smoothed Arielle's loose hair which seemed to have gotten a bit disheveled when she worked in the kitchen. The man shifted his body to pull the plate in front of him closer and then glanced at the princess beside him.
The young woman stood still and didn't pay attention to him. Arielle didn't like this feeling nor did she like the king's answer. She still felt she owed Ronan.
Ronan saw those sad eyes and heard her let out a long sigh. He instantly knew that Arielle was still bothered. He pushed his plate in front of Arielle.
"Okay, you want to work, don't you?" he asked her seriously.
"Yes," Arielle replied. Her expression turned brighter. FINALLY... she would do real work!
Ronan pointed at the plate. "Then, feed me."
"Huh?" Arielle looked at the man in front of her in confusion.
Ronan immediately grabbed the fork and knife and gave them to Arielle. She looked at the red irises behind the mask and saw that he was serious with his order. She finally nodded in understanding. Those eyes gave off a solemn aura, and Arielle wouldn't be able to argue with a king's wish.
"Very well, Your Majesty."
Arielle didn't cut the sandwich right away. Instead, she put the fork and knife Ronan had given her back on the table which left the man confused. His body stiffened as Arielle grabbed his face.
The girl touched his mask with one hand while the other unhooked the string behind the king's head. Ronan, who was not used to it and was surprised, held Arielle's hand tightly.
However, he immediately remembered the conversation the two had last night about being friends. Ronan closed his eyes, worried that Arielle would regret seeing his face in the morning light that was brighter than the night.
"Why did Your Majesty close your eyes?" asked a confused Arielle.
Ronan slowly opened his eyes and saw Arielle smiling at him.
She loved the sight of his red eyes. The red glow seemed to shine even more because it was no longer blocked by the shadow of the mask that was now in Arielle's hands. The princess smiled gently.
"Your eyes look very beautiful," said Arielle in a sincere tone which made Ronan feel dazed.
This was the first time in his life someone really praised his eyes.
He inherited these red eyes from his father and was the only person with red eyes in his family. His distant cousins did not have red eyes despite being from the same lineage.
They said the red eyes were a sign of a curse that was only received by the heir that would bear the curse until it reached the next bloodline.
They said his red eyes meant only one thing, that he was a monster. Ronan did not deny that fact. However, during all his life, his eyes were always feared by his family. Thus, this was Ronan's first time receiving such praise.
Ronan didn't know how to respond to Arielle's compliment.
.
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From the author:
Sorry for not publishing a chapter yesterday. My editor/mentor, Missrealitybites just found out her whole family got covid19 and she was so busy taking care of them.
I am not confident yet to publish the chapters without having her go through them. So, I hope you can be patient with the erratic chapter updates for the next several days, until she could sort out her problems at home.
By the way, you can see videos/visuals for this book on my Instagram account: @gisellerahman or my mentor @missrealitybites. I will try to post more pictures for Ronan and Arielle there. xx
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