Sleeping in a new environment may not be the most relaxing, especially for the first time, and Sania had the same experience. She woke up several times at night and was surprised by how Taffi slept on his side of the bed without laying a hand on her.
She ended up going back to sleep each time and wished for the next day to delay a little further. She wasn't ready to meet the counsel for any reason, but no one could control the rising of the sun.
Sania opened her eyes to the reflection of the sun from the curtain that Taffi had just opened. With hazy eyes, she watched as he neatly slid the curtain in half, and arranged it to the side with the throwback ropes.
While he was at it, a knock was heard on the door, and Taffi instructed whoever it was to come in, and two servants walked into the room with trays in her hand.
They both took a bow before Taffi and greeted him accordingly before placing the tray on the table. On top of the golden tray, was Taffi's herbal tea, and a nice warm ginger tea for Sania.
Once they left the room, Taffi stole a glance at Sania and discovered that she was awake.
"Good morning," he greeted her with a warm smile.
"Good morning," Sania responded, she stretched and yawned, but didn't get up from the bed.
"Tea?" He offered her his cup of herbal tea. Seeing how her mother and Tehila treated her the previous day, Taffi would not let Sania take any food prepared for her unless he supervised it. He believed that she might get poisoned.
"No, thank you, I'm good," Sania declined politely, she yawned and covered her mouth with her palm. But Taffi sat next to her in bed, and stirred the cup of steaming hot tea.
"Try it," he said,
"It's very nice, a little bitter because of the herbs though, but it's not all that bad," he tried to persuade her. If she was going to get comfortable with him around then he had to start somewhere.
He took some in a spoon, and blew some cold air on it, before offering it to Sania who rejected it again.
"Alright." Taffi sighed and got down from the bed.
"I'll send a handmaid to take care of your needs. I'm leaving the castle this morning and won't be back until noon, then you'll meet the counsel," said Taffi as he took a sip from the cup and savored its bitter taste.
"Okay," Sania replied.
"Please, do not leave this room. If you need anything, just ask for it okay? I'll send two handmaids just in case one is not enough. I'm worried that if you leave, you'll hurt yourself." Taffi couldn't tell Sania that the true reason he wanted her inside was because he feared what his family might do to her in his absence, but Sania guess it.
Once again, she nodded and said,
"Okay."
"One more thing, don't eat anything from the castle, at least for now. I'll instruct two of the chefs in the castle to bring food to you whenever you need it."
"Oh, why?" Sania asked. She also didn't want to eat anything from the castle with the way she was treated but was curious to know his reason.
"Nothing much, just do as I tell you and you'll be fine okay?" Taffi said and took another sip of his tea.
Afterward, Taffi took a bath and changed into a clean robe, he put on his royal ring but kept the crown aside, since the task did not require any formalities. Once he was ready to leave, he realized that Sania hadn't left the bed yet.
"Is she so tired?" He wondered.
"I'm leaving now, please remember my instructions." His tone was quite soft when he spoke to her, and Sania couldn't resist the urge to reply each time he said a word even when she didn't want to.
"I will, thank you," Sania said and forced a smile on her face. She sat up and leaned her back against the bedframe.
Taffi examined himself one last time in the mirror to ensure that nothing was out of place. For a king, he needed to look perfect at all times, with or without a crown.
Before he left, he walked towards Sania and tried to kiss her cheek, but Sania moved her head away.
Taffi sighed heavily, never had he met such an indecisive young lady. One minute she acted like she wanted him to embrace her, and the next minute she rejected a kiss on the cheek.
"Goodbye then," he touched her cheek and went out the door. As soon as he did, two guards that stood in front of the door greeted him simultaneously with a bow.
"Make sure that she doesn't get out of this room, and if I hear by accident, that anyone aside from the handmaids that I assigned got into this room while I'm away, consider yourselves dead," Taffi instructed them. His tone was harsh, and respect-demanding, his facial expression alone could send a person to their early grave.
"We swear, my King," both guards replied in unison before Taffi walked away from there. He made one last stop in the throne room where he sent for two chefs that were to cook specially for Sania. He also threatened to end their lives if Sania experienced as much as a stomach ache after eating their foods.
Meanwhile, Sania got down from the bed after she thought that he was gone, and walked towards the window.
She looked down on the courtyard and saw Tehila sitting on a bench alone outside. She wondered what the lady was doing or thinking about, but immediately neglected those thoughts, she intended not to waste her time thinking about a person who hated her.
While she was yet to leave the window side, Taffi barged into the room as if he was being chased by a wild beast. Sania was startled and wanted to ask if there was a problem, but as soon as Taffi smiled, she choked on her words.
"Does he think it's cute to scare me like that?" She thought.
"Sorry, I forgot to take this away since you said you didn't want tea," he said and picked up the tray of tea that was meant for Sania, and walked out of the room without giving her a chance to ask questions.
"Hmm," Sania sighed and proceeded to freshen up for the morning.