Alyssa was returning to her room for a fresh change of dry clothes. Two bugs were pestering behind her.
"Did you see the look in their faces? It's like they were seeing you for the first time." Kiva skidded behind Alyssa.
Ziloh's hands was in his pockets, following silently.
Alyssa's gown was plastered on the floor as she walked, leaving a trail of precious water in the hallway.
"I can't believe Queen Kathy prepared a surprise party for you without me knowing!" Kiva twirled around. "Sadly, I was so busy with your dress that I did not even noticed! But I'll make sure I'll be part of the planning team on your birthday."
Alyssa stood to a halt as they reached her door. She turned around to face the two bugs. Her eyes hovered from one then the other.
"Both of you, stop following me." Alyssa pointed at them.
"But I'm supposed to check what you're going to wear." Kiva tipped her toe.
Alyssa exhaled; Kiva's reason was valid enough. "Okay, you can go in."
"Yey!" Kiva skidded to Alyssa's side and gave a devilish simile to her brother.
"But you!" Alyssa pointed to Ziloh. "You have no business here, this…" Alyssa pointed in between them. "is over. You don't need to carry that dagger all day, you don't need to protect me anymore."
Ziloh ignored Alyssa and walked straight into the door as an attempt to enter. But Alyssa blocked him and stood on her ground.
Alyssa pressed a palm on his chest. "No. I don't need you anymore. I'm safe now."
Ziloh blankly gazed at Alyssa for a second then turned around and walked out of his way.
"It's you and me as always. Come, let me see your closet." Kiva squeezed Alyssa's hand tight.
Alyssa stripped out of her damp dress and wrapped a towel around her while Kiva went straight to the closet and rummaged through the clothes.
Alyssa's room was a mess. She left her bed unmade, there were piles of clothes on the corner, and her vanity table was cluttered with makeups and nail polishes. All of these would be organized had Barn been here, he would have taken care of everything for her.
"Found it!" Kiva showed to Alyssa the dress that she dug from a pile of clothes. It was a cream chiffon dress that Alyssa forgot she had. "What do you think?" She twirled around with it.
"Yeh, let's go with that." Alyssa was not concerned with what she was going to wear anyway, any dress would do.
"Great!" Kiva proceeded to help Alyssa dry her hair using the blow dryer in her compartment. "This is so convenient, wished things like this could be produced again."
Alyssa sighted. "Right? Maybe someday."
Kiva's eye widened. "Speaking of, my cassette player!"
Kiva looked at Kiva trough a mirror. "Let's sneak outside when things subside."
Kiva brushed Alyssa's hair. "Yeah, considering people's attention on you now, they will notice if you're gone for a day. Yeh, let's look for a battery some other time."
Kiva reapplied light makeup to Alyssa and added a hint of nude eyeshadow on her eyelids to make her eyes pop a little.
"Sometimes I just want to keep you for myself, am I turning into a psychopath?"
"No, it's okay. I'm all yours Kiv."
"But my stupid brother will take you from me." Kiva mumbled.
***
As promised by Alyssa's mother, the party was simple--- based on the Queen's standard anyway.
White and blue balloons adorned the corners of the room. The standing tables were covered with baby blue silks, a bouquet of blue hydrangea was on each table. A huge five tier fountain was sitting in the middle of the room, and the ceiling was adorned with white crystals. It was pretty obvious what the theme was--- water.
A cellist was playing a lively melody on the side. Various artists were on stand-by, waiting for their turn.
Everybody was welcome to come--- royals, and off-duty attendants and guards. But the royals did not mingle outside their group, the separation was so distinct that it looked like two parties instead of one.
The perishables on one side, and the cured on the other.
Alyssa's current circumstance made it ambiguous where group she should belong, but she knew where she wanted to be--- beside the royals.
The crowd looked her way as Alyssa and Kiva entered the scene. Everybody congratulated her as she passed by, she smiled back in return. The crowd parted as Queen Kathy sauntered towards her, beaming.
"So, do you like it?" Queen Kathy studied her daughter's reaction.
"Of course, mother. It's beautiful." Alyssa preferred smaller gathering than big ones such as these, but she was in such a good mood that she genuinely found the room beautiful.
Alyssa left her mother and Cliff in a conversation while Kiva and Alyssa proceeded to the food table.
"Woah!" Kiva's eyes sparkled.
The table was full of delicacies. There was a big plate in the middle that carried a whole pig with an apple on its mouth. Roasted chickens, turkeys, and of course roasted brains adorned the table---chicken, pig, beef brains, and even the rare crocodile's brain are served.
"Better eat!" Kiva announced. Kiva went straight to the brain platters and made sure to get every kind so she could have a taste. Kiva was preoccupied with the sudden emptiness in the pit of her stomach that she had forgotten everything else around her. All she could see was tasty brain and nothing in between--- even Alyssa was forgotten.
The brains were the first ones that were emptied, but they were readily served again. The kitchens might have been working double time.
Queen Kathy was a great planner and all, but one tiny detail was overlooked.
Alyssa stared at the table again full of--- meat. She might have drunk the water of the gods, but she still had no appetite with such fleshy foods.
Ziloh was beside her, looking at the table the same.
Alyssa exhaled. Ziloh turned away from the table without getting anything.
A group of female attendants ran into Ziloh, all of them laughing with their high-pitched voice.
Ziloh encouraged the attention, he grabbed two females on their waist as they batted their eyelashes to him.
The royals looked at the scene with disdain, a royal should not mingle with such beings that way—especially in a public gathering such as this.
Alyssa was looking at the scene too, but not with contempt but with bitterness. Ziloh had been sticking to her for the past few days that she forgot what kind of man he was. Of course, Ziloh is Ziloh. Alyssa should not have expected something good from him. Did she?
A loud ting of glass reverberated the room.
"Excuse me," King Greg lifted the glass, as if to make it louder. "If I could just have your attention for a moment," Seeing that all the attention was on him, King Greg grabbed a piece of paper from his breast pocket. "I prepared a little surprise for my Queen."
There were murmurs in the room.
Alyssa could read her mother's expression, and her mother was not happy with the attention.
"I wrote a poem for my Queen, and I hope she likes it," King Greg cleared his throat. "here it goes."
King Greg managed to make his voice deeper as he declaimed.
"Enthralled with her golden hue,
I really liked the view,
I stared so much, fell down the stairs,
A push and pull affair.
Let's sleep under the moon,
I'll give you warmth and spoon,
Tonight, set fire our desires,
Until our bodies tire. "
King Greg looked up to his audience as he expected for a reaction. Noticing the clue, the crowd clapped for his performance.
"Let me thank Princess Alyssa for giving me such a great idea to honor the Queen!" King Greg pointed at Alyssa and the crowd obliged and clapped.
A love letter, or a poem dedicated to someone is something intimate for Alyssa. And if ever someone wrote her one, she would prefer to read it privately. King Greg might have misinterpreted some of Alyssa's love advise. But it was obvious that he took an effort to write it, so Alyssa hoped that the Queen noticed his effort too.
But the Queen was not satisfied, she will not be until she would cut the King's throat. He even dragged her daughter's name, the nerve. The Queen believed that the King knew that he had already been found out, and as compensation, the King had been trying to get closer to Alyssa. The Queen has been scheming for the past few days, but it had to be perfect. The Queen was patient in bidding her time.
The crowd had gone their ways and a slow melody was playing through the duet of violin and piano.
The crowd made way for the dance floor as couples danced passionately.
Alyssa hid on the corner, what she hated the most about parties were the dancing. She was not very good at dancing and she refused to be ridiculed in front of this many people.
But Ziloh was the opposite, he danced with his lady friends one by one. Female attendants lined up on the side to have an opportunity to dance with him.
Who would have thought that Ziloh was a graceful dancer, he led his partner into each steps as they glided on the dance floor. Ziloh whispered something to his partner and the woman blushed.
Alyssa saw everything, and she had to admit that the woman he was dancing with was beautiful and more voluptuous than her. Anger flared up within her, she hated Ziloh after all. Why do women always fall for him, she don't understand--- at least for now.
Alyssa surveyed the crowd to look for someone to talk with.
She saw King Greg on the bar stool ordering a drink. Alyssa decided to go and sit with him.
"Hey…" Alyssa sat on the stool next to the King.
"I did my best," King Greg drank from his glass. "she did not like it."
"It's okay, why don't you write her a love letter this time, one that she could only read."
"Did that," King Greg ordered another glass of whiskey. "no reply."
"Oh," Maybe mother is getting tired of King Greg after all, Alyssa thought. "it's okay, just give her time, that's all."
King Greg shot his whiskey and ordered another one. "You think so?" King Greg side glanced at Alyssa.
"Yes," Alyssa lied.
"Want some?" King Greg raised his glass.
Alyssa looked at the King ridiculously. "Are you kidding? Do you want us to get killed by my mother?"
"Not a bad idea. At least I got her attention," King Greg studied his glass. "This will not make you drunk though."
"Well, it will to me." King Greg might need a bottle or two for him to get drunk because he's cured. But for someone like Alyssa, a glass would do the trick.
"Oh, right." King Greg just remembered Alyssa's circumstance. "But don't you want a taste? It's your party after all." King Greg winked.
"Well, okay." Alyssa considered. "Maybe a glass won't hurt." She never tasted alcohol before, she was curious.
King Greg ordered a glass for Alyssa.
Alyssa took a sip; it burned her throat. "Why this type of drink is popular, it tastes bad."
"Oh, trust me. Just give it time," King Greg drank his fifth glass." You'll miss this once you're cured, they're never the same anymore." King Greg looked at the distance, reminiscing the old days.
Alyssa took a sip again, then drank the whole glass. She was trying to understand the allure of alcohol. She drank with King Greg and matched how much he was drinking.
How much time had passed? Alyssa was not quite sure, nor does she care. She don't know why but she felt elated.
"Ali!" Kiva ran to her from the dance floor. "Let's dance!"
The sober Alyssa would not have agreed but this Alyssa thought it was not a bad idea to dance. "Oookaaaay."
Alyssa waved the King goodbye. Alyssa stood from the stool and she tripped on her own feet. "Whaz dat an ertkwake?"
Kiva eyed her wearily." You sound funny." Kiva sniffed. "You smell funny." Kiva guided Alyssa to the dance floor.
"Da flooooor izzzz aliveee!" Alyssa announced.
In Alyssa's eyes, the floor was wobbly.
"Are you okay?" Kiva eyed her best friend worriedly. "You look… Oh, my, god… are you drunk?"
"Shhhhhh!" Alyssa's eyes were slit. "I downt tink sow"
Kiva proceeded to embrace her best friend as they circled the dance floor.
"Dizzzzy." Alyssa informed Kiva. "I downt wrike it." Alyssa swayed and traveled to look for another partner.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"We danzze… "Alyssa pointed to the innocent guard who was dancing without a partner.
Alyssa lunged at the guard, but a familiar arm caught her instead.
Zioh smirked and grabbed Alyssa into embrace.
"No, nut yu." Alyssa swayed her hand on his face. "I down wrike you."
"I thought you liked me?" Ziloh swayed them on a rhythm.
There was a woman singing in the background, a love song.
"Nooooo…I nwever shaid twat." Alyssa kept on stepping on Ziloh's feet. "I down wirke yu"
Ziloh rested his hand on her hips and held her close.
"You," Alyssa dug a finger into his chest. "dansed wi sow meny woeeemen. "
Ziloh laughed, his boyish laugh. "Is that why you're angry?" Ziloh guided Alyssa which step to take next.
Alyssa did not answer but she pouted her lips.
But Alyssa was not good at following instructions, she stomped on Ziloh's feet again and again.
"You seriously need dancing lessons." Ziloh pointed out.
"Why iz tha ceeling swerwling too?" Alyssa stared at the moving ceiling.
"What?"
"I downt feel guud."
"Wait."
"I fweel baddd."
"Wait!"
Alyssa vomited straight on Ziloh's chest.
Ziloh did not dance with other women after that.