BACK IN THE PALACE
"Is the food not to your liking, my love? You barely touched your food", Galen worriedly asked, as he continue eating his plateful of steak meat and marble potatoes. "Hmm mm! The kitchen finally did something good. Wine!", he called as the servant by his side pour his glass.
"What a nauseating sight"
Helena pretended to be already asleep when the servants entered her chambers in the middle of night. They eagerly arranged a dinner table at the receiving room. Soonafter, Galen arrived in a fur neckline velvet mantle over his ruffled silk tunic paired with a gold fitted trousers, and a thin gold crown rests on his well swept hair. He strongly smelled of nutmeg and cardamom, almost itchy to the nose.
Despite late, Galen still insisted to spend the night and share dinner with his fiancè as what he promised. It was a long day of meetings, preparations, and planning for the wedding after all… and seeing Helena's face at the end of his tiring is his reward.
Helena didn't bothered to say anything. She continued to let a green pea roll on her plate with her fork. Earlier, she had a meal with the servants thinking that seeing Galen would make her lose her appetite, not to mention that the food might also be laced with poison. So when she heard that Galen is on his way to her chambers, she thought she made the right decision feasting a good meal earlier on.
Seeing Galen now across the table makes her puke. He spoke of every little bit of what he did today. How perfectly he made sure that all things will be set on their wedding day. Like a puppy yearning for a pat on the head, he endlessly bragged on his diligence obeying all Helena's personal wedding preferences. Yet, Helena remained uninterested. She never replied, not even gave him a single glance. Despite all that, he just went on.
The pregnant silence was heavy.
Galen continued to consume his meal, this time aggresively. He held the knife and resolutely sliced his steak until its rare meat squeeze a bit of red juice on the plate. With his eyes gradually getting bigger staring blankly, he carried on grubbing his bite size provisions too quickly. His chest kept drumming so loud, that he could barely breathe. A new feeling that he couldn't fathom. It wasn't anger, that's supposed to be easier to release when he explode, nor sadness that can be shed with a tear. It was a completely different feeling, unknown to him.
Helena faintly discerned how strikingly odd Galen have turned as he bask in his own world of indifference. She grasped tightly on the dinner knife and hid it on her lap under the table. "The food is great, I just don't have the appetite as I feel… suffocated here", Helena uttered.
"Wha..", dropping the silverwares, Galen woke up to his senses seeing that his plate have already split in half. As if waking up from a short dream, he looked at Helena with his mouth open, who's already had her piercing stares focused on him.
"Our marriage shouldn't feel like a prison… The longer you shackle me here, the harder I yearn for freedom", Helena refused to have more dramatic evening, that she dropped everything on the table and left Galen alone on the table.
Galen's head went completely blank. He was instantly shaken as he watch Helena turn her back and walk away. The sounds of her footsteps brought a numbing feeling to his cheeks, sending down cold sweats up to his forehead. He then felt his entire body stiffen. Palms cold and sweaty. "No… I..l..", Galen jolted from his seat and caught up to Helena. "I am sorry my love!", he dropped to his knees, locking her in his trembling arms. "I just want you to look at me.. only me!! And.. and see how I.. how I genuinely and wholeheartedly love every bit of you that I want to keep you all to myself.", he clutched on her waist even more as Helena stood like a stone.
The servants held their breaths as the hear the pleas of the King. It was a sight way ahead to their imagination that in their lifetime, they'd witness how vulnerable Galen is in front of a soul traveler much more plead on his knees with ugly tears.
"I.. I can't help but crave for your attention. Just tell me you love me, tell me I'm yours… keep my heart close you!! ", he implored desperately for her affection. He wailed as he bury his face on Helena's back, who remained unfazed.
She felt nothing for him despite begging for her love.
Facing Galen, Helena held his hair and pulled it back seeing a full view of the young King's tearful eyes. "Your life is mine as soon as I see you on the altar. If ever you die, you'll die in my hands", she whispered to his ear, pushing him down the floor before heading to the bedroom.
Galen sunk on the carpet with his hands on the floor. It was clear to him that Helena is taking her time to love him back. Given that Helena cannot harm anyone, most especially shed another person's blood, he understood how she went out on a limb. He chuckled lowly as his tears flow down his cheeks. Standing back on his feet, he cackled excessively with a wide grin. He chortled heavily until he is out of his breath. Then, he wiped all the traces of his emotions with the palm of his hands, and in a single sweep, his face turned like a stone. Then, Galen headed out, fixing the crown on his head.
"Where are the courtesans??", he called as soon as he stepped out of Helena's chambers.
"They left earlier my King, as you ordered", the royal butler answered eagerly.
Galen grunted with frustration. "Get them back.", he uttered as he walk in long strides to his room. "I like the one with the gray eyes", his eyes darkened, closing the doors of his bedchambers.