Chapter 2: -2-
"Yes your majesty." The maid bowed and was about to leave but was stopped by Isabella, "Also ask the chef to make a steak for his majesty Serra." She said.
"Yes, your majesty I will inform him." The maid left.
The entire floor was cold and the sound of the rain outside the palace echoed through the entire premise.
Isabella stood there, her gown touching the floor and the shawl wrapping around her body.
She did wear her crown but sudden that mere peice of jewelry felt like a burden to her.
She leaned forward and kept her ear on the door of the room. She tried to listen to what was happening inside the room but she was welcomed with nothing but opaque emptiness.
"Sigh. If only these doors didn't make me a stranger so soon." She let go off the door and walked away from the door.
"I hope you become the Duncan I used to know soon." She mumbled to herself and walked away.
After an hour
"Your majesty, the soup is ready." The maid informed Isabella as she sat there by the window in her room.
The rain and the dark sky above made it all so difficult to look beyond a certain level. It was like she was trying to find a way to look beyond those blurred images created by the rain drop running down on the glass window.
Her sudden distraction session was interrupted by her maid. "Serra?" She turned around after she heard the message she had brought.
"Yes your majesty." She said keeping her eyes on the ground and doing a slight bow. "I want to know just one thing." Said Isabella as she got up from the chair she was sitting in and walked towards Serra.
"Hmm?" Serra looked forward to the question that the queen was going to ask, "What do you think was the reason?" She made a rather vague question all out of the blue.
Serra raised her head and looked in Isabella's eyes. He eyes showed clear confusion opposite to the clear reflection that shined in Isabella's eyes.
She wasn't sure what to answer but she decided that keeping the queen hanging is not a very good habit and thus she decided to say something, "I think your majesty..." She was about to say something but was interrupted.
"It's fine. It's not like I am unaware." Isabella said as a bitter smile appeared on her face.
"Your.. majesty?" Serra was unsure of what was going on with the queen.
"Let's leave and give the soup to his majesty." Said Isabella as she made the way to her door.
"But the crown?" Serra looked at the diamond crown left just like that on the table. She felt it was weird for the queen to remove her crown and just place it away.
It was after all her duty to wear it all the times when she was supposed to be visiting his majesty the king.
"Leave it be." Isabella said as she turned around and looked at the crown, her eyes slightly furrowed but the calm expression did not leave the place off from her face.
"It's not like he will notice." Said Isabella.
"Her eyes seem sad." Serra thought to herself.
She had no reason to deny what the queen was saying and lowered her head to walk behind the queen. She had also gathered two of other maids to accompany them to the king's bedroom chamber.
"You seem sad Isabella. What is it?" Serra wanted to say so desperately but she decided not to. She wanted to respect the line that she had in between them. She was very well aware of the boundary she had between both of them. They were worlds apart, by status and by positions they were currently in.
"But still, it feels like a lot of things are weighing down on your shoulder. Why?" Serra thought to herself.
"You are just Twenty five, and yet it feels like you have grown to be thousand years old. Is it because of maturity? Is it because of the loveless marriage you have?" There were so many questions that Serra wanted to ask, but that was not the time.
"Her majesty, queen Isabella is making her way." An announcement was made and the doors to the king's bedroom was opened.
A tray trolly was being carried by all the maids along side the head maid and behind the queen. The maids were trained to be quick with their feet and tight with their mouths thus all the did when they saw the queen was bow to her.
They never made an attempt to talk to Isabella and it was all a weird status play that they were now conditioned to play.
"Your majesty?" Serra called Isabella and Isabella turned around.
"You must stay here now, I will serve the soup to his majesty now. I will do it on my own." Isabella told it to the maids who accompanied her till there.
They agreed to the queen's command and the door closed on the queen's back and shut out all her maids, now it was only Isabella.
She pushed the trolly tray ahead and walked towards Duncan's bed.
His bed was a big structure right in the middle of the room with the white and blue colour nets rolling down from the frame rods from above.
It felt like a small tent in the name of the bed, but well she wasn't as used to his bedroom, let alone the familiarity with his bed.
She hesitated looking at the white and blue nets and needed to gather all her courage. She extended her hand and slowly pushed aside the layers of the soft net.
"Your majesty..?" She said softly as her hand made a way inside the layers of the net.
"I had brought Abalone soup for you..." she said, her voice still close to mumbling.
But suddenly her hand was held by another hand and she was pulled inside the nets and on the bed.
"Aah." She gave an instant reaction and lied down in surprise.
"Duncan?" She casually said it and then realised it immediately. "Hup. I apologize your majesty." She said as she kept her another hand on her mouth.
Her words didn't reach her eyes though as she continued staring at Duncan's face and then he said something,
"You are quite brave Isabella." Duncan said as a smirk was plastered on his face. Isabella didn't knew what to make of that smile. It was like she knew she was soon going to lose her directions of clarity and also her clean conscience.
"I will only dare when it is you." Said Isabella as she answered to Dunacan calmly.
There was an awkward silence for sometime and then Duncan leaned in. Her heartbeats grew faster and her eyes slowly started to show the anticipation in her eyes.
He kept leaning in towards her face, as his body hovered over Isabella's and his one hand holding Isabella's and pressing her down.
"He is so close. I can listen to his heartbeat. Are they same as mine?" She was lost as he stared at her with his eyes filled with passion.
His breath now fell on her eyes and a warm aura around her face felt like there were some hopes after all. It wasn't completely a barren desert, the hopes weren't completely lost.
But-
"Isabella.." He said as he continued to slowly lean in.
"Hmm?" Isabella said as though she was answering his question. "Isabella you know me right?" He asked, his eyes fixated on her.
"Yeah. So?" She answered.
"So you should know. Abalone is the one thing I hate the most. I don't like seafood." He said and suddenly pushed himself and sat back.
She got and up sat there was well. She looked in his eyes and his eyes had suddenly changed as well. Just a few moments ago he was staring down at her with affection and passion, but now they were cold again.
She was although, used to all this.
"I know your majesty, I know." Said Isabella as she took a deep breath. "But I knew if I made the soup that would intrest you, you would never show intrest in talking to me." Isabella said as though all he shame was stolen away from her.
"Hmm. Is that so?" Duncan asked her as if she had picked his intrest.
"Yes your majesty." She said and got down from his bed.
"I will go ahead and serve you now." She said as though she wanted to take her prank till the end. "Hey.." he reacted to her immediately and pulled her back.
"Your majesty..." She was pulled back by him and she landed in his arms. "You are quite brave today too as well..." she said and smirked at him.
"Of course I am. You are my woman now." He said and leaned in, but this time it was not slow.
He was not stable and neither was he playing. His breath was warmer than it was before and his eyes were furrowed as if something troubled him.
"I want to kiss you. Shall I?" He asked.
Isabella kept staring at him as if she was dumbfounded by his sudden question. "Umm your majesty ye.." She was about to show her consent when an announcement was made.
"Her majesty, Queen Regina is making her way." Said the announcer outside the king's door.
"What?" Isabella instantly reacted and got up from his arms.
"Reg... Regina?" Duncan was found in a dilemma as he heard the announcement.
"She came? She came truly?" He got down from his bed and looked at the door. His eyes couldn't believe what he was looking at.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
LunaArsyn
LunaArsyn Hello there dear reader,
Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, do help me with the creation with your gifts and stones.
Thank you so much :)
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