Chapter 11

While she ate, Ayla kept wondering what this dinner was about. She came prepared to serve but instead, she was sitting at the same table as the King, next to him, eating from the food he put on the plate for her.

And the Paladins. They were something else. She hadn't had a chance to properly meet them before. Ayla thought they hated her, but they smiled and joked with her. The only one that seemed not to like her was Godefray. His green eyes seemed filled with poison each time he looked at her.

Even the King seemed different with her. He wasn't exactly happy with her being in his home, but he was less angry. Maybe she could survive Nordmar. If only she knew what the King's plans for her were.

"Wine?" the King asked her.

"Yes?"

"You don't seem too sure you want wine," King Rhobart said while reaching for her goblet with his right hand. Ayla's eyes tracked his hand, and to her shock, she saw that his hand was wrapped in a bandage. Without thinking, she grabbed his hand, wanting to see it better.

"You are wounded!"

"Just a scratch. Now, if I could get my hand back."

Ayla snatched her fingers away from the King's hand so fast it seemed a snake bit her. Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

She knew she should keep her mouth shut, but if Ayla had a weakness, that would be curiosity.

The words came out of her mouth before she even realized she was talking, "What happened?"

"Nothing. An accident," the King said.

Hudde snorted and said, "Wyvern."

"You should have seen how the wyvern looked once Rhobart was done with him," Droyn said.

"A wyvern did this to you?" Ayla asked.

The King shrugged, "It was standing between me and my … prey."

"It could have killed you!" Ayla said while her heart missed a beat when she thought of him dying.

Rhobart laughed, "I doubt it."

"Was your hunt so important? You ended up being hurt."

Rhobart looked at her and said with a tone that left no room for doubt, "The most important hunt of my life."

Ayla's heart hammered in her chest. She had to know what was the creature for which Rhobart faced a wyvern. She looked straight into his eyes and asked, her voice barely a whisper, "What were you hunting?"

His left hand moved towards her. His fingers touched her hair. Almost. He pulled his hand away from her, grabbed her goblet, and filled it with wine.

"Doesn't matter anymore."

"It was a weed!" Eude said.

"It was a snapper!" Hudde's voice came next.

"A weed-smoking snapper!" both of them said at the same time.

"Both of you are stupid! It was a dragon," Tizgar said.

"You mean it was a weed-smoking dragon-snapper?" Hudde asked.

"Can you be serious for one second?" Gorn asked.

"You wound me, maitze," Eude replied and put both hands over his heart in a dramatic gesture. " I am always serious."

"Who was the fool that promoted you two to Paladins?" King Rhobart asked the twins.

When the brothers replied, "You were," laughter erupted around the table.

Ayla didn't understand anything from what the others were saying. But she also realized that the King wouldn't tell her what he was hunting, so she stopped asking.

For a few minutes, everyone ate in silence. Ayla's thoughts kept turning to King's Rhobart wound. It was true she didn't know to knit or cook, or hunt. But she did know something – herbs.

"I can take a look at it for you. I know a little about medicinal plants," Ayla said to the King.

" Leave it be," his reply came.

"But…"

"It's just a motherfucking scratch! Forget about it!" the King bellowed.

Ayla tried not to flinch but failed. She hated when someone yelled because it reminded her of the many times her father and brother raised their voices at her.

"E'zz i'zar ez eggin, Rhobart!" Milton said in that language that Ayla didn't understand.

"Mind your business," the King replied.

After that, Ayla stopped engaging in conversations and only answered yes or no when asked something. She lost her appetite and picked her food absently.

Once the dinner ended, one by one, the Paladins left. Even Milton retreated to his tower, claiming he had potions to make. And so, Ayla found herself escorted back to her room by Kerra and the King.

"You barely ate," he said once they were in front of Ayla's room.

"I wasn't very hungry."

The King frowned and then, in a serious tone, said, "You should eat more. You just got better, and it would be a shame if you would get sick again."

Ayla nodded. Was he worried for her health? She wanted to ask but bit her tongue.

For a few moments, no one said anything, and Ayla looked at her boots. Was it now when she asked about his plans for her? Or should she wait for him to say something?

The King was a strange man. At times he seemed kind and considerate, but then she would do or say something that would make him mad. She had no idea how to act or talk around him.

"…. royal library," she heard King Rhobart say.

Ayla's head snapped, and she looked at him.

"Could you repeat that?"

The King sighed, "I was telling you about the royal library. I would like to show it to you tomorrow."

Her whole face illuminated, and a huge smile appeared on her face, " I would love that."

King Rhobart's eyes shined like two infinite pools of darkness. His fingers brushed the little pink satchel, "Then I will see you tomorrow morning."

Ayla nodded and opened the door to her room, and Kerra entered and went straight to the bed.

"Tomorrow morning. Good night."

"Good night," the King said.

Ayla was about to close the door, but at the last moment, she asked, "What are you going to do with me?"

"I haven't decided."