"Ewww, ewwww no, because please tell me what the heck I just drank" said Maddie as she gagged as she, Annie, Maddie and Curtis followed after Steven as he and Ollie spoke.
"I seriously, don't know, I sounded so normal, and then in the end it wasn't" said Annie as her own face scrunched up, she could not believe it either, the idea of drinking yak poop was not inviting at all, she felt like throwing up right there and then, but she could not, it would be disrespectful.
"Of all the things why yak droppings??" asked Matt as he felt like he was going to have to brush his teeth after this, he could still taste the bitter, disgusting after taste of the horrible tea he had just drank.
"Please ask me, because I have no idea" said Maddie as she was regretting her life choices right now.
"If I had known, I would have just not drank anything at all" said Maddie as she shivered at the mere thought of her innocent self, cluelessly drinking that tea.
"Curtis, tell me did you know that, that sorry excuse of tea was make out of yak poop?" asked Maddie as she looked at Curtis who was casually walking with that same serious and yet cold look on his face.
"Yes I did" replied Curtis plainly, as if there was nothing to it at all.
"Then why didn't you tell us??" asked Maddie as she snapped at Curtis.
"Well because you never asked" replied Curtis simply, and Maddie scoffed, the sheer nerve this guy had to let them walk straight into a pit without even telling them, was just horrible.
"Are you serious right now Curtis??" asked Maddie as she could not believe what she was hearing right now from Curtis.
"You just sat there, and let us all ingest something that is not supposed to be ingested" said Maddie as she shouted.
"No harm will come to you, hibiscus tea does not have any negative side effects" replied Curtis plainly as he knew that Maddie was up for an argument today, and quiet frankly, he was not in the mood to argue, he had many other things on his mind.
"You all don't look so good" said Ollie as he smiled and he stopped talking to Steven as he interrupted the unspoken conversation going on between the others, as he slowed down so that Annie, Maddie, Matt and Curtis would catch up to him.
"Of course, how can we be fine when we drank that tea that is supposed to be banned" said Maddie as she replied immediately, she needed to vent, she seriously felt like this was so unreasonable.
"I have to agree with Maddie here" said Matt as he chipped in.
"I thought it was hibiscus tea, and not yak droppings tea" said Matt as he shivered, he could still taste it.
"I agree there, I knew it tasted funny, but that was on another level entirely" said Annie as she shook her head.
"Well it is hibiscus tea" replied Ollie.
"But I believe that you did hear my mother say that it was a special type of blend" said Ollie.
"Yes, yes, sure, when she said special blend, I thought it would be mixed with roses or hawthorn or something, and not Yak poop" said Maddie as she was still horrified, of all the things she had ever drank in this world, this had to be the most disgusting of them all.
"You thought wrong, the Yaks in our realm have a special healing power of regeneration, which can only be salvaged from their droppings" said Ollie as he could not help but laugh, Maddie was really disgusted by this and he found this funny, but he had to agree with her, the tea was disgusting, and the taste was not really worth the effects, or maybe that was only his opinion.
"When the yak droppings are mixed with any other ingredients, the healing powers are activated, only in a small degree though, but when drank in tea, it allows for a more youthful effect and radiant skin" said Ollie as he composed himself.
"Now that explains a lot" said Maddie as now she knew why Queen Christina's skin was so soft and smooth, but this was just too much.
"It is my mother's favourite blend of tea" said Ollie.
"Just a word of advice, when my mother asks you to drink tea with her next time, just ask for Chamomile, that is much more bearable than the hibiscus blend" said Ollie as he laughed.
"Noted" said Matt as he really could not stand that tea.
"Hopefully there won't be a next time" said Maddie out loud as they all turned to look at her.
"What?? Gosh, why are you all looking at me like I have spoken some sort of taboo?" asked Maddie as she looked at Annie who was shaking her head, was it not the truth, they were only going to stay here for a few days and that was it.
"Just be careful with your words Maddie, we are not in the Palace right now" said Curtis in Maddie's mind as Annie and Matt nodded and agreed, their mind link was still not broken.
"Alright fineee" said Maddie as she sighed, well now she was going to have to filter her words, that did not sound fun at all.
"We have arrived in the guests quarters" said Steven as he stopped walking and he turned to face them.
"You may all choose the rooms that you deem fit, if there are any problems, please do not hesitate to inform me" said Steven.
"That is alright Steven you may go" said Ollie as he smiled.
"Thank you my Prince" said Steven as he bowed and he walked away.
"You guys choose your rooms" said Ollie as he smiled and he turned to look at them.
"I and Matt will stay in one room, and Annie and Maddie will stay in another" said Curtis as he had already made the decision and there was no room for argument, which left, Annie, Maddie and Matt surprised.
"Well alright then, as you wish" said Ollie as he smiled.
"Hey Curtis, how come you chose for us?" asked Maddie as he voice popped into Curtis' head.
"Yes, that was quick" said Matt.
"Maddie is right Curtis, you were… way to fast" said Annie.
"The closer we stay together the better" replied Curtis as he stated his reason.
"You mean, you don't think that we are safe?" asked Maddie.
"Not necessarily, but the closer we are together the better" replied Curtis, as much as he seemed to have everything under control, he did not, safety was his uttermost concern right now, and with he and Annie no longer linked with magic, he had to make sure to be by her side at all times.
"But then if that is true, how come you left my mom and Dad alone?" asked Annie.
"Well because nothing is wrong there" said Curtis, the truth was that he had left John and Lisa there alone, if the King and Queen were to ask them questions, their answers would be limited, they did not know much, and the less they knew, the better for them.
"They will be fine" said Curtis.
"Alright, if you say so Curtis" said Annie.
"Your bags will be in your rooms shortly" said Ollie as he smiled and everyone turned to look at him, he knew that they were communicating silently, but he did not care, they were all very close after all.
"Thank you Prince Oliver" said Annie as she smiled.
"Ollie" said Ollie as he corrected her yet again.
"Anyway, I need to go now, I will see you at Dinner" said Ollie as he smiled and he walked way without wasting a second.
"He is so annoying, he comes and goes like the wind" said Maddie in annoyance as she scoffed he had a habit of leaving quickly, not like she wanted him to stay any longer.
"Everyone go and get settled, we will have dinner with the King and Queen soon" said Curtis.
"Okay Curtis" said Maddie and Annie.
"Alright" said Matt as he walked to choose the room he and Curtis would share together.
…
It was already dinner time, and Steven had come to escort them to the dining room, the atmosphere in the dining room was heavy to say the least, there was unspoken tension, and everyone ate in silence.
Maddie could not even admire the nice ambiance of the classy dining room, she was feeling uneasy, the mere presence of the King and Queen was weighty, they were not frowning and neither were they smiling, they were just so serious.
Ollie could feel the tension in the room, it was even worse than when he did something wrong and he still had to endure the agonizing minutes of dinner before he could be excused, what a way to treat our guests he thought to himself, it was more like they were chasing them away than inviting them, he could see that the others also felt uneasy, he could not blame them, he was used to this atmosphere when there was something serious to be dealt with, or when his father was in a bad mood, but they, they were new to this, he had to find a way to lighten the mood fast.
"*Ahem*" said Ollie as he cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him almost instantly.
"I hope that our guests are satisfied with their rooms" said Ollie as he smiled as he looked at his father in particular.
"Oh yes, how rude of me, I did not even ask, are you all satisfied with your rooms?" asked Christina as she smiled and she looked at them, while Alfred just remained indifferent as Ollie looked at his father.