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“And lunch? At least we can have that. I am hungry, and I know you are too.”

And hopefully, she would get his blood and save herself.

Zavian pursed his lips in thought, and when his smile returned, Neera wasn’t so sure why.

“One of the families has requested to host me before, but I declined,” Zavian said. “It was an old woman whose only relative went missing. We could keep her company over lunch today.”

Neera reared her head back. “We?”

“Sure, you are dressed just fine, I will have the men bring your horse around,” Zavian said. He planted a kiss on her cheek and left the room before Neera could find the words to protest.

She wanted to scream out loud, and when she caught her reflection in the vanity mirror, half expecting to find Lydia’s face coming to warn her, she let out a steady exhale.

She really hoped the old woman would have some vision problems –she hoped she would be fully blind, or half-blind, missing an eye, whatever, so if Zavian ever looked away from the meal, she would be able to slip in that drug.

.....

….

Turned out the old woman wasn’t blind; both fully and halfway.

She was as agile as a youth, and although she had given a warm reception to the King and new Queen into her humble abode, which Neera found quite shaggy, there was the tinge of sadness to the calm of her voice, the grief clinging to her like a shadow.

She put out bowls of rice and roasted fish and a watery liquid of what appeared to be sauce to go with it.

“That’s all I have, your Majesty,” the old woman looked ashamed, her wrinkly smile coming out all nervous.

“And we are honored ,” Zavian said to her.

Neera turned sharp eyes to him at those words. “What?”

The old lady looked uneasily between the two of them. Zavian clamped Neera’s hand in his and gave it a light squeeze.

“I said we are honoured with the food. Where did that mind of yours go again?” Zavian said as a joke to cover up Neera’s words. The old woman smiled then, two of her front teeth gone already.

Neera was about to argue, and Zavian lifted a warm spoon of rice dipped in that watery poison. Neera opened her mouth to refuse, but he stuffed it in her mouth.

She cursed at him, but the words were muffled by the rice. She was about to spit it on him, but the tangy flavours caught her off guard. Surprised, and now interested, she chewed the meal slowly.

“Do you like it, your Majesty?” The old woman aimed to please to no end. Zavian smiled at the lady and attempted to put one spoon into his mouth. However, Neera was fast to grab it from him, like a feral cat would rush prey.

“That’s mine.” She said to Zavian. She shifted all the plates of food closer to herself and began to take large spoons of the food, eating it all like she hadn’t eaten in ages. The old lady’s eyes widened, and a smile crinkled at her eyes.

“We are still on the lookout for the missing people,” Zavian told the old lady as a way of comforting her. “Like I said before, this is just as baffling to the demons as well.”

The old lady nodded. “I know, but I am learning to live with the fact that she might never return. Even if death finds me, I know I have neighbours and friends who love me dearly.”

“And I can have one of the maids sent over to keep you company,” Zavian said.

The old lady smiled. “I have all the company I need around me, your Majesty.”

Neera took the bowl of water and downed it. Zavian and the old woman continued to talk, asking more questions about her welfare and her supplying him. She was in the middle of telling him a story about her granddaughter when Neera slammed the plate down with a force.

“Give me more of that soup to take back with me to the castle at once,” Neera ordered.

“Neera. No ma’am..,” Zavian stopped the old lady as she was about to rise to the kitchen. “You shouldn’t bother yourself with that. The Queen is just having a hard day.”

Neera frowned. “No, I’m not.”

“It is fine, your Majesty,” the old lady said with a kind smile. “I really do have a lot stored in the kitchen, and it is quite easy to prepare. I would make several pots of it if the Queen requests of it.”

“Okay, how about ten…”

“What you have will do just fine,” Zavian cut Neera off. “And I insist on repaying you with food in kind.”

The old woman bowed and stepped into the house. Neera sighed and waited, her eyes going around the house with a frown.

“You don’t order people around like that, Neera,” Zavian corrected in a gentle tone that wouldn’t carry all the way to the old woman.

“I am the Queen, and they are my people. They are to obey me. If I tell them to jump, they only have to ask how high.”

“It’s not done that way, and soon, you would come to see. Give it time, watch how I speak to them, and try to emulate me.”

“Emulate you?” Neera gave him a once-over. “You didn’t let me have that young man beheaded like I wanted to.”

“You cannot go around beheading people, especially if they aren’t your standard of what a good-looking man should be,” Zavian recalled the memory of his guard reporting the unruly justice of the Queen over an innocent man.

“I was doing the world a favour.” Neera said.

“I think leaving the castle more often would do you some good,” Zavian said. “Like now, you wouldn’t have known that you would come to love this old lady’s meal.”

“I don’t love it,” Neera refuted. “I just find it cleansing on my palate from all that castle food.”

Zavian held back a laugh. “Sure, and I really would love to know what is so cleansing about the meal. I should take some from what she brings us.”

Neera’s head whipped to him at that. At that moment, the old lady appeared with a covered bowl. Neera darted to her immediately and snatched the bowl out of her hands.

The old woman was startled, and Zavian, out of explanation for Neera’s behaviour, could only invite the old woman to sit back down.

“So you were telling me about your granddaughter,” Zavian reminded her where they left off while keeping an eye on Neera as she hugged the bowl as if it were gold.

He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.