/21/ You read?
Sania waited impatiently for the response, knowing how angry she might get if he lied to her again, and hoped that he wouldn't.
Taffi on the other hand was afraid to tell the truth or lie, he was stuck in a lose-and-lose situation because either way she might get upset, however knowing that she would, he chose one answer not minding how bad things might get.
"No, it wasn't," he said,
"But I did it because..." Sania placed her finger on his lip before he could finish.
"That's all I wanted to hear, now please go and take a bath," she said and turned around to face the mirror. She picked up the body lotion to apply on her, but Taffi continued to stare at her.
Her reaction left him speechless, seeing that he didn't expect it. He looked at her face in the mirror and saw no trace of anger or irritation,
"What sort of person is this?" He wondered and slowly backed away and began taking off his clothes for a bath.
Once he was in the bath, Sania sighed heavily, she couldn't understand why he was honest with her.
"He ought to have lied," she thought and shook her head,
"Why did he do it, for me? Just to make sure that I'm his Queen, does he like me that much? Or is he just a lair like Tehila said?"
"Oh shut up Sania," she finished up what she was doing and began to dry her hair.
"You shouldn't be listening to her, she just wants you to hate him more... Even though I don't like him at all... Oh goodness Sania, never mind."
When Taffi walked out of the bathroom, Sania was already dressed and was conversing with her handmaid who was at the door.
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
Melissa immediately averted her gaze to not look at the King without clothes on.
"No, not at all," Sania replied,
"Can I leave for a moment?" She requested and closed the door.
"Why?" Taffi asked,
"We are supposed to eat together...
"We are?" Sania interjected in shock.
"Yes."
"I'm not hungry, I told you already that I'll eat once I'm hungry," she added and hoped he wouldn't drag the conversation any longer. But knowing who Taffi was even if it was for barely three days, she knew it was nothing but a wish.
Taffi came closer to her, his body wasn't as wet as usual because he seemed to have already dried himself up in the bathroom, but Sania took a few steps backward, as he drew near.
"You have no choice, my love."
Sania raised a brow, and a frown appeared on her face, indeed she wanted to eat something, but her reason for leaving the room for a moment seemed more urgent to her.
"What if I promise to eat with you once I'm back?" He asked her, Sania knew that it was her only option to get what she wanted.
Walking away from her, and picking up a shirt from the wardrobe, he asked,
"You don't know your way around the castle, so where are you going so urgently? You know I don't want you going out often?"
Sania shook her head disdainfully, she had given it much thought and knew that keeping herself locked inside the bedroom all day with Taffi wasn't going to help her accomplish anything.
Besides, he was a King and wouldn't be with her all the time especially when he had kingdom matters to attend to. Sania believed she'd be bored to death with no one but Melissa to keep her company inside a castle where everyone was against her.
"The library, " she said,
"Melissa will take me there," she added. He behaved like a boss to her, which she was expecting all along, but what other way was there to get him to give in?
"You read?" He turned to her while fastening the buttons on his shirt.
"Yes?" Sania answered, even though she found his question somewhat offensive and unreasonable.
"Okay then... Just wait for me," he said and tried to hurry up.
"Wait for you?" She wanted to exclaim but held back, she understood that he was worried for her safety, but he wasn't always going to be there to protect her.
"I'll be back in no time, please just let me go," Sania said, she didn't believe how much her body was compelled to take the next action, but she did it anyway.
She walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder and gently massaged it. Surprised, Taffi turned around and was caught up staring into her hazel eyes, it was probably the first time he noticed the color of her eyes.
"Please?" She whispered and for some reason Taffi couldn't resist, at least she wasn't upset after what he told her, even though he knew the conversation may come later.
"Okay," he said,
"But how will I know if you are in trouble then?"
"Just give me time, depending on how long it takes me to find the book I'm looking for, if I don't come back soon, then you can look for me okay?" Her tone was soft, yet serious.
"Has she finally opened up?" He wondered,
"Alright," said to her, since she was standing in front of him, he tried to kiss her forehead, in an attempt to see how comfortable she had become.
"So can I go?" She asked, disrupting his actions by moving backward a little.
Frustrated and somewhat embarrassed, Taffi replied,
"Sure." Even without going out to give instructions, Taffi knew that the guard wouldn't see their Queen walking all on her own and look away.
"Thank you," Sania said with a smile and turned around to leave the room immediately. She just couldn't understand why she ran away from something her body wanted.
As soon as she closed the door behind her, Sania turned to Melissa,
"How do I get to the library?"
"This way, My Lady," Melissa took a slight bow and turned around immediately to lead the way, while Sania prayed that she wouldn't have any encounters with his family.