The Queen opened her eyes. The sun was starting to rise. She hadn't been able to sleep all night. She got out of bed and walked to the middle of the room. As if in a trance, she brought a chair to the window. She climbed onto it and opened the window. She shed a tear and jumped. As she fell, she let out a scream. The wind whipped her face and carried her tears far above her.
BANG! A loud thunderclap echoed through the castle. The Queen lay before Frejo, Ater, and the Prince. "Oh, it looks like you're finally ready to talk," the Prince addressed the Queen cheerfully. Queen Theresa let out a desperate scream, pounding her fists on the floor. Her cry was unsteady, punctuated by sobs. The Prince watched her with disgust.
"You owe your gratitude once again to Frejo, who saves your skin for the second time," the Prince said sternly.
"W-why?" the Queen stammered through her tears, addressing the Prince's advisor, Frejo. Frejo didn't bother to answer. He glanced at his master. The Prince gave a brief nod. Frejo left the room.
"Doctor, leave me alone with her..."
"No," Ater interrupted the Prince.
The Prince shrugged. He grabbed the Queen's right wrist and roughly pulled her to her feet. She trembled like an addict without a fix.
Ater brought a chair and placed it behind the Queen. When she didn't react, Ater gently nudged her with his index finger to sit. The Queen continued to cry, clutching the edge of her nightgown as she sat.
The Prince gave her a piercing look. The Queen turned her head aside, breaking eye contact. "You never were good with girls, Teacher," Ater said jokingly.
"Ah, I guess you're right... I'll leave this to you then," said the Prince. He turned and exited the room through the same door Frejo had left through, tapping his hand against the wall as he went.
Ater Arbor dragged another chair and sat opposite the Queen. He crossed his legs and arms and critically observed her for a few minutes until the Queen stopped crying. "Are you calm now? Can we talk?" Ater asked irritably.
The Queen nodded hastily.
"I want to tell you that you will be perfectly safe as long as you listen to what we say. You have our protection, which is worth more than thirty battalions of guards. Not a hair on your head will be harmed while we're here," Ater spoke slowly and calmly, with a warm smile on his face. The Queen couldn't believe she was talking to the same man who had caused such a bloodbath the previous night. Whether she liked it or not, Ater's deep and methodical voice was calming her.
"I believe we got off on the wrong foot," Ater said, extending his hand to the Queen. "Let's start over. I am Ater Arbor, the Prince's Doctor, First Protector of the Black Tree, and the acting Master of Blood."
The Queen took his hand, mustering all the royalty she had left. "Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. Daughter of Emperor Charles VI; Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Duchess of Parma and Piacenza, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, and your Qu..." She stopped. She was not the queen of these people.
Ater smiled at her awkward grimace. "We're not here to cause trouble, really. Nor are we here to topple your empire or harm you and your loved ones. We're just here to lay the groundwork for future friendly cooperation with Mundia," Ater said, still in a happy tone.
"YOU CALL THAT FRIENDLY?" the Queen shouted, pointing in the general direction of the meeting room.
"You crossed the line first," Ater said darkly. "You have only yourselves to blame for what happened. Our orders are clear: to win over all potential enemies of Mundia, by any means necessary."
The Queen shuddered. It sounded like Mundia was planning... an invasion! Also, Ater's promises were full of holes that didn't escape the frightened Queen.
"You guarantee safety for me and my loved ones, but what about the rest of the state leadership?" the Queen asked. All of this still seemed... unreal to her. For heaven's sake, a coup had taken place! But it seemed like no one cared... or no one knew... The Queen pondered. If she could somehow contact her generals... These individuals might be strong, but no one is stronger than the army of the Holy Roman Empire! This gave her hope. 'Maybe it would be smartest to listen to the demands of these lunatics until I get a chance to notify the army. After all, the castle is full of servants. There's no way the Mundians will notice if someone goes missing, I can send a message through the servants...' the Queen thought.
For the first time today, the Queen smiled. She had a plan. It might not be good, but it was better than drowning in her own tears all the time. She clenched her fist. "What do you want from me?" she asked defiantly. Her voice still trembled slightly.
"You will knight the Prince and Frejo," Ater stated, "and give them titles. They are now your personal entourage, you will not attend any important meetings, make any decisions, or talk to anyone outside of their presence."
The Queen started to say something but stopped... A knight? They want to become knights of the Holy Roman Empire? The Queen knew she had no choice and nodded in agreement to Ater.
"I… I'm hungry," the Queen said.
"Oh… Yes, of course. Let's go to the garden, I'll serve you breakfast there." Ater stood up from his chair and extended his hand to the Queen. With a nervous smile, she accepted it. She hadn't even changed; she was still in her nightgown! These barbarians obviously had never heard of manners! Still, she didn't want to risk Ater being with her while she changed. Who knows what might come to this psychopath's mind.
The castle was surprisingly quiet as Ater and the Queen moved toward the garden. At this time of the morning, servants usually buzzed everywhere, preparing for breakfast. They would hear the clattering of dishes, butlers shouting at maids… The Queen looked down. Ater was still holding her hand. She almost wanted to laugh… If the situation were different, this would be almost romantic. However, there was no romance in Ater's grip. He held her with an iron clasp. The Queen had seen what this man was capable of; she knew running was not an option.
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The palace garden was enormous. Large living walls separated it from the rest of the villa. A flower clock surrounded a blue-and-white canopy that stood at the center of it all. Under the canopy, at a small round table, sat the Prince and Frejo. They were eating and talking. The Queen heard the Prince's loud laughter all the way from the garden entrance. She tightened her grip on Ater's hand.
"Are you afraid of our Prince?" Ater asked. The Queen nodded.
"You're not the only one," Ater frowned.
Halfway to the canopy, Frejo noticed Ater's tall, dark figure. He nudged the Prince with his elbow and pointed toward them. The Prince turned to greet them, waving with a broad smile on his face. The Queen was genuinely creeped out by this guy.
"Your Highness! What a pleasant surprise! I'm so glad you decided to join us for breakfast! Please, have a seat!" the Prince said cheerfully. The Queen sat next to Frejo, opposite Prince Veteres. Ater stood beside his master with his hands crossed behind his back. He didn't seem to have any intention of sitting or eating.
"I apologize in advance if our cuisine seems… primitive to you. We've been eating only fish on that ship for too long! I could hardly wait to get my hands on some real food!" the Prince said, pointing to his plate. The Queen eyed him critically. The plate was full of fruit. 'Hardly real food,' she thought. Frejo was eating the same thing as the Prince.
Ater approached the Queen and filled her plate with fruit. The Queen gazed mournfully at a pear before finally taking a bite. As expected, she had no appetite, especially not for fruit.
"Oh, not a fan of fruit, Madam? Then you can have breakfast with Ater! His dishes might be... more to your liking," the Prince laughed.
The Queen quickly nodded and stood up. Anything to get away from this man. She took Ater's hand once more. He led her out of the garden toward the kitchen. "This is a bit early for breakfast," Ater said somewhat gruffly, opening the door for the Queen to enter the kitchen.
"I… Thank you," she said, stepping into the large room filled with countertops, ovens, barrels, and boxes all around.
"My court has 34 cooks! They should be here at this time of day! Where are they? Where is everyone!?" the Queen lamented in the empty room. Ater sighed and opened a window overlooking the back of the garden, silently pointing at something outside. The Queen approached the window.
Outside, three Munda warriors were carrying bodies over their shoulders. One of the bodies had a distinct long, white cook's robe. One Munda carried two maids. The third Munda carried two more cooks. The Queen, with a steely expression, watched as her dead servants were transported to a storage area in the garden. They had packed dozens of bodies. One of the Munda shouted something to the other two. The three began to bring leaves and branches to surround the storage. One of the Munda turned his palm toward the storage and muttered something under his breath. The next moment, the storage was engulfed in flames. Another Munda stood behind the first and raised both hands into the air. A wall of ice, about half a meter high, surrounded the burning storage. 'That must be to ensure the fire doesn't spread,' the Queen thought.
Ater leaned against the counter: "You look rather indifferent, considering you just watched us burn all your servants..."
"Their families will weep for them," Theresa said coldly.
"So!" Ater shouted, clapping his hands trying to change the subject. The sound startled the Queen, who turned her gaze away from the burning storage. Ater closed the window. "What would you like to eat?"
The Queen thought for a moment: "Mmmmm… Maybe… quails and larks, together with a jelly, sweet curd, and egg fritters."
Ater blinked three times. "Milk, meat, and bread it is!" he said cheerfully. The Queen rolled her eyes.
Ater Arbor got to cooking. He pulled two steaks out of one of the boxes, examining them for a moment. The meat was fresh. He rummaged through the boxes, pulling some onto the counter, pushing others deeper into the pile. He looked quite pleased with what he found. He took two pieces of meat and a long knife. He removed his gloves and placed them on the counter behind him. "Oh, good… At least you're going to cut those..."
Ater stabbed his own hand with the knife. The Queen screamed. Arbor jumped at her scream, turning to her and nervously chuckling as he pulled the knife out of his hand.
The Queen was calmed by Ater's composure.
Ater's blood flowed down his hand. He muttered something under his breath, and the blood changed direction, covering his entire hand and fingers, creating a red glove. Ater whispered something else, and the glove's texture changed.
"Come, touch it," Ater said playfully.
The Queen cautiously approached and touched the red glove made of blood. It was warm and... hard? She knocked on it. The sound was similar to knocking on solid wood. Ater laughed again. He turned to the steaks and began pounding them with his new glove.
BAP! BAP BAP! The Physician's blows echoed.
"Why do you eat breakfast separately from the Prince?" the Queen asked when Ater finished his pounding.
"Oh… Mundi don't eat meat," Ater said, adding spices to the steaks.
"And… what are you doing right now?"
"I'll explain later. For now…," Ater placed both steaks on a wooden tray, "...take this to those three while I prepare the rest."
The Queen crossed her arms. "I'm not your servant, you know." Her stomach betrayed her by growling. Ater laughed. "The sooner you take it, the sooner we eat."
The Queen lifted the tray and turned away from Ater with defiance. 'Who does he think he is? I can't believe I'm doing this… What happened to my pride? What's happening to me?' The Queen asked herself similar questions on the way to the three Munda, who were now sitting a little off to the side, watching the storage burn. The pungent smell of burning and roasting meat filled her nostrils. She shuddered and approached the trio. One of them stood up and walked toward the Queen.
"Ater's having breakfast?" he said, looking at the steak with disgust. The Queen nodded. "Ah… Alright…," the Munda raised his hand. "IGNIS"
"AH! OW!" the Queen screamed, dropping the tray and the steaks onto the grass at their feet. The tray had become incredibly hot for a moment.
"Oops, looks like I overdid it," the Munda said disinterestedly and sat back down with his companions. They continued their conversation as if nothing had happened.
'NOT EVEN AN APOLOGY?' the Queen screamed internally. No one respected her here… The Prince was only pretending to be nice, that kid Frejo hated her, and these three could comfortably treat her like a maid… The Physician's feelings were still a mystery to her, though. She is letting her guard down too much around him.
The Queen picked up the two pieces of meat from the floor and placed them back on the tray. The meat was cooked. She returned to the kitchen.
Ater had warmed some bread in the oven. He poured milk into two mugs and set the table for two. He smiled to himself. This was the first time he was dining alone with a lady. The Queen opened the kitchen door with her foot and entered. She smiled at the sight of Ater, who was bent over the table, neatly arranging cutlery on the carefully folded napkins.
Arbor turned at the sound of her laughter. "Ah, I see Antonus helped you."
"pfm!" Theresa mumbled and placed the tray in the center of the table. Ater's sharp eye caught a burn on her hand. Ater Arbor jumped up from his chair, spilling the milk in the process, and grabbed the Queen by the wrist.
"That's a burn!" he said to the Queen. "And I thought it was a rabbit," she rolled her eyes. "Did Antonus do this to you?"
"No… I mean, yes, but it was an accident," Her Majesty replied awkwardly.
Ater practically dragged her to the counter, where he began emptying small bottles and packets from his coat until he finally found what he was looking for. It was a small wooden box. Inside the box was some sort of ointment? Balm? It was grayish, odorless… The Queen didn't know what it was.
Ater dipped his two long fingers into the peculiar substance and carefully began applying it to the Queen's hands. The balm was cool to the touch, and it felt very soothing.
"You won't have a scar, don't worry… By the day after tomorrow, everything will be back to normal." The Queen blushed. They continued with their meal.