章節 73: I won’t tell...
"I'm curious…" Dr. Natalie tugged her white coat. "Why waste a thread if she's stuck down there forever? Would you set her free once you're the queen?"
Alyssa could hear the teasing behind the doctor's words. Dr. Natalie was sure that Alyssa would never be a queen, the ruler of this kingdom. To Dr. Natalie, Alyssa was just a kid, playing house, pretending to be a royal.
"She still has the right for proper food and medications, her punishment is not whether she should exist or not, her punishment is to exist without reason to live… she needed to be healthy to experience that." Alyssa reasoned out, not wanting to sound she cared about Zenalda's well-being.
Alyssa had to remind herself that she was not the one asking for a favor—it was Zenalda. She was simply the messenger; she would owe Dr. Natalie nothing.
"I see…" Dr. Natalie did not sound convinced.
"Will you do it?" Alyssa was at the wards, inside Dr. Natalie's office, she was standing in front of the table though the doctor offered a sit. She did not accept the offer, feeling she would lose the upper hand if she did. "Attaching the arm."
"We could try." Dr. Natalie clasped her hands together, resting her chin on her hand, her elbow perched on the table filled with loose documents. "But there's no guarantee it would work."
"I don't think there's anything to lose. "Alyssa crossed her arms on her chest. "Think of it as an opportunity to further your vocation. "
"Oh, I don't need more experience, "Dr. Natalie snickered. "I have plenty, but I do need an assistant…" she glanced behind Alyssa, towards Eli who was standing near the door. "My attendant did not come back after the infection scare. I'm assuming she's dead." she looked up at Alyssa. "Let me borrow your boy here and I'll fix Zenalda's arms immediately…"
"I was not informed this was a negotiation." Alyssa clasped her hands behind her back, suppressing her anger.
"I see, very protective of your boy here." Dr. Natalie nodded. "Don't worry I won't touch your boy, I just need an assistant…" she scanned the papers on her desk. "maybe for a week. No," she looked back up to the princess. "Three days."
"Ask Zenalda for a trade, not me."
"Oh, but I thought you would want me to keep my mouth shut…" Dr. Natalie smiled smugly. "I thought you wound not want Queen Kathy…or Ison Vis to know about this."
Of course, Dr. Natalie knew that Ison Vis was in constant search for something to torture Alyssa with--- anything that she could be punished with.
It was no doubt in Alyssa's mind that Ison Vis wanted to remove her of her title--- her becoming a mere perishable. But Dr. Natalie was no different, she's not a friend either.
Alyssa did not even look behind her to ask for her attendant's opinion. No, that would be a sign of weakness. "Okay, for three days you can have Eli, nothing more."
The two royals were talking as if Eli could not hear them--- he became an object that can be borrowed.
Dr. Natalie beamed and stood up from her seat. "It's a deal then princess. Make the boy come to me this weekend." she offered a hand towards Alyssa. "You can trust me, not a soul would know about this."
Alyssa shook the doctor's hand. It was the worst lie Alyssa ever heard.
Alyssa left the doctor's office feeling defeated. After a few yards away from the wards, Alyssa exhaled deeply. "Eli?"
"Princess." Eli took one big step to walk beside Alyssa.
"She's dumber, messier and…uglier." Alyssa said matter-of-factly. "But bear with her for just three days, and holy mother brainer…" she fisted a hand on her side. "I'll be sure to take you back again."
An airy laughter escaped on Eli's mouth that turned into a series of coughs.
"What? What is it?"
Eli just looked at her suppressing his laughter.
"Do I need to command you to say to me what is funny?"
Eli cleared his throat. "I'll come back."
"What?"
"I'm Princess Alyssa's attendant. I'll come back even if you don't fetch me."
"Good thing you know," Alyssa was more relaxed now. "I won't have to put a tag on you after all."
***
There was a case of beer in front of Maya, she blatantly asked for them from Chef Will. The Chef gladly gave it to her, did not really ask what she would do with them.
Maybe the Chef assumed she would throw a small party in her dorm room--- Maya wished that were really the case.
She began uncapping five bottles of beer and clogged it down onto an empty pitcher, she looked sideways making sure the Chef was not around and dug into her pocket for a sachet filled of white powder. She was pretending to be pounding garlics earlier when in fact she emptied the whole bottle of laxatives into a bowl and pounded it into fine powder until her arms ached.
Maya emptied the fine powder on the pitcher and mixed it vigorously with a spatula. The beer became ashy and had lost its golden color, but no one would really notice it unless they would inspect it closely.
Maya regarded the remaining bottles in front of her. "Ohh, the hell with it!" She grabbed a bottle and uncapped it, gulping it down in one sitting. "Better." she was satisfied, feeling refreshed.
She got all her props ready, all she had to do was to proceed with the plan.
The hallway towards the dungeon was as usual, empty. No one would usually have a business in this part of the palace and so does Maya.
It was a stupid plan. First, she this was the opposite direction of the kitchen. Maya carrying a tray of beer was way out of the blue, even a zombie would know something was wrong. Second, striking up a conversation with a guard on duty and offering him a beer was so wrong in all levels.
Maya took at a stop hiding in the corner, wishing all the odds are with her right now. She took a deep breath, wore her best smile, and took a step towards the hallway.
Her smile faltered a little the moment she saw the guard who was on duty.
'No, not Peter.' Her steps became smaller. 'It's not too late to turn around, he did not notice you.'
"Oh, Maya!" Peter called out to her.
Maya looked straight up ahead, pretending not to hear him.
"Maya!" Peter skidded and waved a hand in front of her.
"Oh, hey Peter!" Maya smiled like it was taped in place. "I did not see you there." She repeated the guard's name under her breath. "Peter, peter." She did not really like talking to him, just because for a fact that she could see how he looks at her. Peter was having a little crush…on her.
She had no time for this.
'I swear to god he just blushed.' Maya controlled herself not to roll her eyes.
Peter was not supposed to be the guard on duty in here. 'What bad luck.'
"Not expecting to see you here." Maya jabbed despite knowing she was actually the odd one in here.
"Ah, yes…" Peter lowered his head "shifts changed, lack of man-power…" he was tapping a foot on the floor. "But I prefer being assigned inside the palace." He glanced back up but upon locking eyes with Maya for a second, he lowered his head once more.
'Okay, Maya, let's just get this over with. Give him the drink.'
"Want to know a secret? Just between you and me?" Maya regretted that the moment it escaped her mouth, it sounded like she was flirting, maybe it was the beer that was talking--- she actually had more than one bottle earlier.
Peter smiled like a kid being offered a candy. "What is it?"
Maya gestured for Peter to come closer so she could whisper into his ear. "I snuck this out of the kitchen." Peter's eyes widened. "It's my favorite drink."
"Won't you be in trouble for that?"
"Hah! No, no. The chef basically gave it to me." Maya waved a hand in the air. "What I mean is, I snuck it out in broad daylight." She opened the pitcher and offered it whole to Peter. "Want to have some?"
"But…" Peter was looking back and forth on his post and on Maya.
"Come on, I won't tell anybody." Maya encouraged. "Just between the two of us, I was on my way to share this with Eli…"
Peter took the pitcher from Maya and took a sip. "Erh," bitterness hit him.
Okay, Maya regarded Peter. He was obviously too young to drink, she just basically encouraged—forced--- a kid to drink. She made her feel better by reminding herself that there was no such a thing as a kid from where she came from. But her guilt got the better of her as she tugged the pitcher away from Peter and chugged down half of it. "You're still a kid, forget about it, let me drink all of it."
Peter's brows furrowed, offended for being called a kid. "I'm not a kid." He grabbed the pitcher and with his face scrunched up, he chugged it down to the brim. "See." He poured the empty pitcher above his head to prove his point. "I'm. not. a. kid." He hiccupped after every word.
Maya regarded Peter. 'Yep, still a kid.'
"I guess, uh, there's no need to go to Eli now."
Peter smiled as he staggered his way towards his post.
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