Chapter 18

Thankfully, when I came down for dinner, there were few nobles joining us this time--unlike at the wedding celebration. I heard them all talking before I entered the -they were laughing cheerfully. When I entered, however, they were all silent.

I strolled ineffectually to Paris' side, letting him kiss one of my hands--which caused me to flinch—before I sat down next to him. He did not comment on my lovely dress, my jewelry, or how painstakingly I had made up my fur just to look pretty. He said coldly, “my Queen, it is not right for you to sleep in until nearly sundown. You have duties.”

“I.. I’m sorry. I’ve been exhausted. You see, I was held captive for…” I began.

“I have no time for your excuses.” Paris cut me off. “Here I am, hard at work rebuilding your kingdom and trying to make alliances with other kingdoms to bolster our defenses, and here you are, nowhere to be found. Don’t you wish to…”

I reached out and touched his forehead with one of my hands when I noticed something. “You’re bleeding…”

Paris stared at me blankly for a moment—there was blackness in his eyes previously, but it left to reveal a color—blue--for a moment, and then he hastily took my hand from his forehead. “I fell off my horse earlier… I am not a fair rider.”

“You should be more careful. Terry is a very good rider and he can help you…” I replied.

The nobles in the dining room snickered and whispered to one another.

“How can a poor knight make a great king?”

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“He can only make Nui worse—not better—even this lowly beast realizes it!”

Paris was not listening to them—although he should have been—he was looking at me searchingly.

He said not a word to me for the rest of dinner, however.

What an incompetent king this was. He did not even realize he was bleeding and did not even bother to clean up before dinner. A moth king would never be so careless!

He kindly told me I could go back to bed after dinner, and I took him up on that offer. I slept well and dreamed sweet dreams. Dreams were the only place where I was happy now.

I dreaded that Paris would come in in the night and make me sleep with him. I dreaded hearing the door click open and hearing him pad in, but luckily, no such thing happened. And so I slept, and I slept and I slept... I slept until sundown everyday for a week until Paris called in a physician to look at me because Terry pestered him enough to.

The physician was a human woman who examined me thoroughly in our bedroom after telling me to strip. Paris did his best not to look at me—repulsed as he was by my beastliness.

“Any pain, My Lady?” Asked the woman.

I shook my head.

The woman shrugged and turned to Paris. “She is fine; perhaps evil spirits are clinging to her. I suggest she prays threes times a day--and get her up early, regardless of whether she wants to.”

Paris nodded and the woman went on her way.

Paris looked at me with a dark expression. “Why are you sleeping all day, Mimi?”

“I am tired.” I said without inflection.

“People are… People are beginning to suspect that I did not consummate the marriage because you spend so much time away from me… If you wish to be spared my touch, I suggest you grow up and start to act like a proper queen. You are beyond lucky to have a station such as this when you are a moth. You should be on your knees and thanking me.” He told me darkly.

I said nothing. I found it hard to think of anything but how tired I felt.

Paris sighed. “Make sure you smile. I don’t want anyone to know of your sad-sickness.”

He left me alone, then, and I curled up under the covers again and accidentally fell asleep when I promised him I would get up.

I pray things will look up, my diary. But I am too tired to continue write.