Chapter 10

"Kill your lover"..... birds chirping….. "blinded by infatuation towards you"..... birds chirping….. "committed treason against the king"..... birds chirping.

The light of the morning sun almost blinded Sky as she slowly parted her eyes. Through her blurry vision she could she a small figure shuffling around the room. 

"Hey, who are you? What are you doing in my room?"

"My Queen, you are awake. Thank the seven lords. You scared me to death."

"Queen? What are you talking about?"

"Oh my God! Is your memory affected? Can you not remember who or where you are? You are Queen Antiope."

"Oh yes, Antiope. No, wait I am Sky. That is my name. It obviously is not Antiope. Who are you and why are you lying to me?"

"Milady, my name is Elijah, your personal maid. You are the Queen. Queen of Scarpetia. You must remember something. You attended the King's wedding yesterday. Then you fainted."

Sky's ears jerked up and her attention came into focus at the words, 'king's wedding'. 

Pieces seem to fall in their places. Golden gown, the crown, the new bride walking down, other Queens casting frightened glances her way, the exchange of vows, the headache, a young Dominic, orchids, Elijah's terrified face and then…. then nothing. Blank. That is where she must have fainted.

But if she never spoke to anybody in particular yesterday, then what were those words that she thought she heard just before waking up? Is it possible that she might have imagined those words? But the words were very specific, very particular, it felt as if someone spoke it, as if someone sat near her and said it to her.

"Elijah", called out Sky.

"Yes my Queen, you called?"

"Did the King visit me last night?"

"Not that I know of my Queen."

"Oh, alright. You are dismissed, you may leave now."

"No Milady, how can I? How can I leave you in such a fragile state? I need to take care of you. The King's commands."

"Hmm.. the King. He seems to care a lot about my well being. I uttered too many mean words to him and yet he cares so much. Why does it feel that he is speaking the truth? Why does it feel that the King truly loved Antiope but she never did so in return. Is it then true than Antiope cheated on her husband? That she took another lover and shared bed with him. Why does it feel that the King is correct? ", mused Sky lost deep in her thoughts. 

"My Queen, I have drawn you a bath. You must get freshened up."

"My Queen.", repeated Elijah on not getting a response. 

Sky's eyes came into focus on Elijah's light touch, "Oh yes, thank you.", mumbled Sky as she tried to get up from the bed. As soon as she stood up, the world started revolving around her and she dropped on the bed with a thud.

Elijah came rushing screaming, "Oh my God. I knew this would happen. You are too weak."

"When was the last time I had anything to eat?"

"Yesterday morning, right before the ceremony. It will almost be a day you went without food. If you go on at this rate, sooner more than later you will contract something more serious. Please Milady, eat something first and get freshened up later."

Sky realized that Elijah was speaking senses. If she had to know what is going on in the castle, she needed her strength. 

Elijah rushed to bring Sky her plate as she nodded her assent.

The platter was elaborately decorated with cut slices of different fruits, cheese slices, warm toasted freshly made bread, lightly made poached egg and milk. On seeing the plate Sky realized how hungry she had been. She dove into her plate without further thought and thus missed the fond smile that played on Elijah's lips. 

Once she cleared her plate of every bits of food, she slumped on the bed smacking her lips. 

"Elijah, remind me to thank that chef of mine. He is a star."

"Sure my Queen.", chuckled Elijah, "Now you need to bathe."

"Yes, yes I know.", heaved Sky as she struggled to get off the bed. "That meal was too heavy."

The sunlight softly touched the floor of the bathroom as it smelled of lavender and oranges. The tinted glass windows played a game of colours on everything the light touched upon.

Sky slowly removed her silken robes taking her time to ponder upon her jumbled up thoughts. The water was moderately warm and made Sky feel cozy as it engulfed her. 

"What if Antiope truly cheated on the King. Cheating on the King means committing treason against the crown and that entails punishment by death. What if the Queen brought on the result she got? What if it was the Queen who committed the crime but the King was wrongly painted in colours of a villain. God, this is all so confusing.", thought an exasperated Sky. 

"My Queen, you seem troubled. Is anything the matter? Is the water getting cold?"

Sky almost jumped out of the water at the voice. "God, Elijah, no. Don't ever scare me like that. And no the water is absolutely fine. Thank you for asking."

As Elijah bowed out to leave, Sky called her back, "Say Elijah, do I have any friends in this castle or any confidante?"

Elijah face softened into a sad smile, "No my Queen, no friends that I know of. Everyone in the castle is extremely scared of you and tries to stay away. And you prefer it that way."

"You mean I stay alone all day every day? No one to talk to? No one to share my thoughts with? How is that possible?"

"Like I said Milady, you have no friends in the castle that I know of. But outside, I am not sure. You do tend to leave the castle grounds at times and you always prefer to go alone. What you do on those expeditions, or who you meet, I have no idea. If you have made any friends outside of this castle then only you would know."

At this Sky fell into deep thought. "The Queen used to go out and if she did not have anyone to speak to within the castle then it must be someone from outside. And what about the child she was carrying? Did she really have a lover? And is it with him the Queen goes to meet?", thought Sky.

"I will need to get to the bottom of this. I will need to find who this lover is. I will solve the puzzle.", decided Sky as she stood from the tub.