Like every morning in Dioria, the suns rays shone through the window, casting pure white light over Cassia's slender body and warming her up. Her head was rolled back over the bed, staring out the window. Her eye was fixed on a point just above the rising sun, so the effect was much like staring directly into the sun. However, she didn't blink. She continued staring straight at that point, until the strain on her eyes was too much and she had to close them for a moment. She then became more aware of the rest of her senses, and realized that she was uncomfortably hot. She didn't particularly care. She sank further into the bedding and began a high-pitched whine that must have lasted at least one minute. All was silent for a moment...until a familiar clack rang out from the next room. A tinny crackling noise followed by what was obviously massive expulsions of gas came from behind the door. Liviya moaned loudly.
"aaaAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Cassia screamed at the top of her lungs, startling all the little critters outside and waking up not a few farmers in the distance. Again, a moment of silence, and then a fart from next door. *FrrRT!* Cassia threw herself over and buried her face in her pillow for the umpteenth time in the past who-knows-how-many hours. For a few brief seconds, there was nothing but the sound of birds beginning to cautiously chirp in the distance and the awful, squelching noises of Liviya having a case of the shits yet again. Then, completely unannounced, two guards burst through the door and scoured the room, flipping Cassia over and shaking her violently. "What is it?! What's going on?!" They screamed. Cassia stared wide-eyed before regaining her senses. "...Oh...I'm sorry. You may go back to your post. It's nothing." The guard looked at her a moment longer and dropped her back on the bed, signalling the other to leave the room. He peered around at the furniture, under the bed, out the window, and eventually into Liviya's quarters (he slammed the door shut even more rapidly than he opened it) before edging out of the room, not looking very reassured.
The stool lid clanked back down and the sound of a bed being disturbed was heard. Cassia sighed and picked herself up, dragging her feet across the floor and over to Liviya's room. She poked her head in, trying not to breathe through her nose. "Liviya?" Silence. "Liviya?" "Mmnngrghuhgh." Cassia persisted. "Are you keeping hydrated?" Quietly, Liviya managed to groan out "Trying." Cassia made to close the door, but rethought it and swung it open again. "Oh, I'll bring you some breakfast and some water. Something easy to keep down. Alright?" "Mmmn." Cassia gently slid the door back in place and tip-toed out of her room.
Still dressed in her nightgown, she padded to the royal kitchen to see what was going on. Astoundingly, the guards let her pass without a word. (They rather liked Cassia, and for the most part trusted her judgement and independence) She entered the kitchen to see at least a dozen cooks all working to get breakfast ready for the whole castle. The scent of eggs and frying meats wafted over to Cassia, and after suffering the smell eminating from Liviya's room, she fervently savored the wonderful aroma. She snuck in through the doorway and behind a counter, and for a few minutes, no one noticed her. She just sat and watched the masters at work, sculpting their edible art. After a while though, a few eyes glanced back and noticed royalty in the back of the room, so that they turned their heads around and stared. All the others soon followed. Cassia shifted in the rickety old chair she sat on, embarassed. "Uhm...good morning." A few of the cooks mumbled "good morning" back to her, not sure of what to do. "Can..can I just...oh you can get back to work, I just..." A few cooks frantically began working again, worried they were doing something wrong. A few still paid attention to the stray queen in back. "I was just wondering if I may use your facilities here? To cook breakfast?" The cooks stood flabbergasted, utterly confused. "You..want to cook?" They pondered this a bit, and then they all smiled at once, as if they'd rehearsed it. "Please, be our guest...or, rather, we'll be yours I suppose." She giggled and began to prepare something good for Liviya, as well as her own breakfast.
The cooks turned out to be good fun, once they acclimated to having royalty in their midst. They joked and laughed as they showed her how to prepare the food (she'd never actually cooked before, being first a princess and then a queen), and she seemed to be having just as much fun as them. With several plates piled with eggs and bacon and oatmeal and toast and various sweet things and greasy things and hot things and cold things (and drinks, of course) she attempted to wave back at them as she was leaving, but couldn't even tell where she was facing with the stacks of food so high. Instead she shouted "Thanks!" and set off for her room. Upon arrival she dumped off her portion on the nearest flat surface and took a plate of food, a small bowl of oatmeal and a cup of water into Liviya's room. She left it by her bedside table, patted her on the head and left without saying a word. As she was leaving, however, she thought she heard Liviya mutter "Thank you."
An hour later, Cassia was rethinking the entire plan. With still several bites of food left, Cassia wasn't entirely sure where should would put it even if she DID have the courage to put it in her mouth, chew and swallow. Her stomach was now showing a slight bulge, and on top of that she felt a dull ache in the area. She felt bloated, gluttonous and generally awful. She took a few deep breaths and laid down. "On the plus side, I haven't heard a peep from Liviya." She thought. Actually, she had heard silverware clanging, and if she strained she heard what might have been muffled chewing and drinking, but other than that, nothing. Anyway, by now the ache was subsiding, and she felt relaxed enough to slip into a coma...
But her servants had other plans. It was now the middle of the morning, and her servants appeared to groom her, dress her and send her on her way. Gabriel appeared shortly behind them and deliberately kept his expression blank. He was easy to read though; he wasn't happy. Although, he never really was. "I was informed of your little adventure this morning." Cassia said nothing and just looked straight ahead, seemingly ignoring Gabriel. Inwardly, however, she was grinning ear to metaphorical ear. "I don't want this to happen again, do you understand?" Again, she said nothing. He sighed and decided to just change the subject. "Are you prepared to visit Coldmarsh today?" "I suppose." She wasn't sounding eager, but she knew it had to be done anyway. Gabriel paced around the room. "I've arranged a replacement for Liviya. Her name i-" Cassia stopped him short. "It's alright, I don't require assistance. Just bring me a stool and something to wash myself." He gave her a funny look. "You're certain? ...And wait, where is your stool?" She feigned ignorance, but it was no use; he was too stubborn and too clever to just let it go. She told him she lent it to Liviya, and for a moment, he seemed angry. He glared and it looked like his face might start turning red, and perhaps he would storm out of the room or scold Cassia or something to that effect. Instead, after a moment of reflection, he began pacing again and wore a completely calm expression. "As you wish." Cassia decided to let it drop there and finish being dressed, but she was more than a little troubled at the display.
For the second time in two days, they piled into the carriage, a spare stool in Gabriel's arms, an armed escort and the driver among the group. They set off down the rocky road to Coldmarsh. On the way, Cassia's tummy began to ache again. This time, the pain was a little lower down her torso...
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