After Her Offer

A new morning arrived.

He slept with her the previous night, and she woke up hearing him having breakfast there, the drawns around the four-poster bed were down.

"You have a meeting with the Top 5 business owners in the kingdom at 1 P.M. A meeting with our representative at the UN at 5 P.M. And finally with the Minister of Justice at 8 P.M."

"My cousin will come later for an appointment with the queen. Move my appointment with our UN representative to 7 P.M."

"Noted, Your Majesty."

Gwen heard the whole conversation and got up. She's still in her lingerie and dressing robe.

Why didn't she change last night? She felt really embarrassed letting the guards see her in that particular nightgown because it was what she wore when she and Rainier had sex the previous night.

Still, she had to get up. After she sat, she took a deep breath, then tied her hair into a bun on top of her head then, barefoot, she walked to his breakfast table. It hurt a little to walk, but she pushed herself to not show anything different.

She saw all the male guards automatically stare to the floor when she appeared.

"Good morning," Gwen greeted.

"Good morning."

She looked around for Sally. "Can I have some tea, please?"

As she waited for her tea, Rainier's eyes roamed her skin. She's really fair, like the ladies in ancient Chinese paintings. The windows were all opened, and she sat with her back to the sunshine. She looked too beautiful, too perfect, she almost felt unreal, as if she was a part of the sun.

"I have to go to Piercedge tomorrow," he informed her.

"What for?" she asked, as she started to eat the mashed potatoes and sausages.

"A charity event."

"Oh."

"Would you like to go with me?"

She lifted her eyes and looked at him in surprise.

"Aren't you afraid I'll run away?"

"I'll bring lots of guards."

She resumed eating for a while, before saying, "Piercedge looks great in winter, right?"

"It's nice. It's colder but nice."

"Will you lock me in your North Palace when you go to the meetings?"

"Yes," he confirmed shamelessly.

She chuckled bitterly.

"I'll go sightseeing with you in my free time. I'll schedule it."

She ate silently again for a while.

"Well, a change of atmosphere will be nice."

Rainier was at a loss for words for a while. He thought she would be happy to have him away for a week.

"I'll arrange it."

She nodded.

He had finished his breakfast and got up to wear his suit over his shirt.

"Doctor Yelena will check your health before and after your consultation with Sam. She said she wanted to check on your status that way. Doctor Yelena is my aunt."

What, did he think she would pass out because of the psychiatric consultation?

"Alright."

Would you hate me even more after consulting with Sam later?

"And I've already chosen your own Captain of The Guards."

"You mean like your Jake?"

"Yes. You need your own."

"Why?"

"Because in the future, you will have your own schedule and activities. My guards can't always follow you. So I'm giving you your own team of guards and captain. Her name is Ingrid. Top of her class at the Royal Guards Academy. And a female Captain should make you feel more comfortable."

"Jeremy is enough."

He chuckled.

"No, he's not. You're a queen, there might be threats to your safety if I'm not careful enough."

"You haven't explained about the separatists to me," she said in an accusing tone.

"I have no time now to take your side of the bargain."

Because his eyes made her heart beat faster, she looked away.

Without saying another word, Rainier left the room.

Gwen looked up and stared at the door after he left.

*************************

Duchess Dr. Yelena Hansen, the best ob-gyn in the country, checked her blood pressure, heart rate, and general condition before the consultation with Dr. Samantha.

Gwen thought assigning an ob-gyn to check on her condition was too much since she was not pregnant. But Yelena was really gentle and calming. She always felt soothed after the consultation.

After that, Dr. Samantha entered Gwen's sitting room.

As she remembered, Dr. Samantha looked brilliant and gorgeous. Good looks must be genetic in the Hansen family because Dr. Yelena was a beautiful woman as well.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, My Queen," Samantha greeted, bowing at her.

Gwen asked Samantha to sit down. She had wanted to talk to the doctor for weeks by then, but when she was finally there, Gwen didn't know what to say.

Samantha was someone who always depended on logic, but as she sat there in the beautifully decorated sitting room, she had a bad feeling, like a bad premonition.

"His Highness told me you wanted a clinical consultation."

"That's correct. But now that you're here, I don't know what to say."

"May I ask some routine questions?"

"Please."

Samantha took out a notebook from her bag and turned on the recorder on her phone.

"Do you eat regularly in the past two weeks, Ma'am?"

"Yes."

"Do you have trouble sleeping?"

"No. I sleep more than before I came here."

"Can you tell me how many hours?"

"Eight. Often ten. Or twelve."

"It's still normal. Everyone's need for sleep is different. Some people might need more than others."

Gwen nodded.

"Do you feel refreshed when you wake up?"

"....no."

"Please answer the following questions with "rarely", "sometimes" or "often."

"Yes."

"How often do you feel restless in the past two weeks?"

"Often."

"How often do you feel anxious?"

"....very often."

"How often do you feel depressed?"

"Actually, Doctor Hansen, I'm not really sure what depression means."

"Depression is when you feel down, sad, hopeless, and unworthy. Constantly and for too long"

"Oh..... Then.... It's often."

Samantha didn't expect that. She naively believed the new queen was happy, like in all those fairy tales she read.

Gwen was wearing a simple one-piece dress that day. It was black, with a set of sapphire jewels. She looked much younger than her real age. Samantha would even believe it if she said she's not even 20 yet.

Samantha was a scientific and logical woman. She didn't really believe that people could read eyes and knew what someone was feeling. That could only be attained by a serious conversation, and even then, one might not entirely know.

However, if she put her logic aside, Gwen, The new Queen of Galsbourg, seemed to hide pain and anxiety behind her eyes.

What horror would she discover from the queen's story, Samantha wondered, terrified.