Sania froze, she turned to face him, and replied,
"Yes, I … was…
"I don't want to know," Taffi said and closed the distance between them. He already knew that anyone would be tempted to stay back after what happened.
"Oh," Sania mumbled, it was quite a surprise.
"Why don't we go back to the rooftop and finish breakfast?" He asked and drew close to her until Sania could feel his hot breath on her face.
"What sort of King is this?" She wondered,
"Doesn't he have political matters to attend to urgently?"
"The food must have gotten cold, and I don't want to eat anymore," Sania said, in an attempt to excuse herself.
Knowing what she was trying to do, Taffi said,
"We can get another food, except you've lost your appetite because I have."
"Same," Sania replied, she just wanted to go to the room and read her book.
"Well staying up there together will not hurt, the weather is beautiful today, and…I'd love to hear your ideas."
Sania sighed, she knew that the man in front of her would stop at nothing to make sure that she agreed, and having mentioned listening to her suggestions, Sania gave in.
"Sure," she said with a smile.
Taffi smiled back, his head screaming 'victory' while they changed direction and headed back to the rooftop.
Once they got there, the plates had been taken away, and the sofa and blankets arranged as it was when Sania first got there.
Sania sat down first, and Taffi followed suit. He wished he could sit first while Sania sat and rested back on his chest, but it's something he'd allow to happen naturally.
"Uhm… sorry about the embarrassment, I should have listened to you and just stayed silent." Sania began with an apologetic tone, but Taffi lifted her chin and said.
"Look at me, my love, do I look upset?" He waited for her response.
"Huh?" He asked again and Sania shook her head from side to side.
"Exactly," he continued,
"You didn't know, so don't dwell on it, as long as you don't do it again, we are good."
Sania was tempted to ask why, and who came up with such rules, but instead, she went straight to the point so that she could get back to her storybook soon.
"Okay," she said.
"What I wanted to say is, we can negotiate with Belta, and this agreement should include a guarantee for mutual protection and support from Azeera."
"And at the same time," she continued,
"You could try to ally with other neighboring kingdoms to create a united front against the kingdom of Belta while trying to increase your military strength, and be prepared for any conflict that might arise."
Taffi was quite surprised, he already thought about the second part of her suggestion, but he was too offended to think of the first even because it was one of the few non-violent solutions they had.
"It's just a suggestion, my lord, but Lord Caesar wants conflict it seems. You can withdraw your people from Belta as well … but the plague… I don't know what that is about. "
"Oh," Taffi interjected,
"There's a disease that kills animals, we haven't gotten a cure yet, so we don't have rare animals in Azeera."
"That's sad," Sania sighed.
"Listen here, my love." Taffi drew close to her and placed his arm over her shoulder, for some reason he couldn't bear their distance apart.
"Lord Caesar is known for his greed, he has claimed the lands from fighting wars with vague arguments. I believe this is one of them, and if it's the war he wants, then he'll get it."
Sania's heart skipped a beat for a moment, she suddenly remembered Damien and how she had lost him in a battle. Her mood changed instantly and she wondered why she was cursed with war.
"You'll have nothing to worry about," Taffi continued,
"I'll get you a personal bodyguard, you'll be safe throughout the war… are you afraid?" He asked her and Sania remained silent.
Her mind was already occupied with someone else, and as much as she tried to hold back these tears, her facial expression gave away her true feelings.
"Sania, are you okay?' Taffi asked her, and Sania wished that he hadn't asked because it felt like he created a crack in the dam that held her tear back in place.
She stood up instantly and ran out through the door, downstairs, and back into the hallway. Sania held back those tears, she fought hard but they couldn't just go back in.
She increased her pace, running as fast as her legs could carry her through the hallway. She just wanted to get to the bedroom before anyone saw her.
When she finally got in there, she found Melissa cleaning up the room and didn't stop to say a word. Sania ran into the bathrooms and locked the door, leaving Melissa confused.
"Are you alright, my lady?" She leaned on the door and asked.
"I'm fine," Sania answered, but with her voice breaking from the tears she shed, Melissa wasn't convinced. But before she could do anything else, Taffi walked into the room.
"Where is she?" He asked Melissa and the handmaid answered briskly.
"In there, my lord," she took a bow and walked out of the room immediately. She assumed that Taffi must have done something to her which was why she locked herself up, but what? She wondered.
"Sania?" He walked up to the door and knocked,
"My love, what's going on? Did I say something to upset you?"
Taffi waited for her to respond but got none, he couldn't recall anything offensive in what he said to her.
"Is this about the war?" Taffi asked again with a sigh, he wondered why she wouldn't communicate,
"How does she expect me to know? " He wondered, but his thoughts were disrupted by the unlocking of the bathroom door.
"Sania?" He mumbled as soon as Sania opened the door, the sadness in her eyes could not be described with words, and Taffi wasn't sure what else to do.
If he tried to hug her, she might run away, and if he went any closer, Sania might lock herself up in the bathroom again.
"Did I say something?"
Taffi was yet to complete his statement when Sania took him by surprise by going in for a hug. Even though he was confused, Taffi hugged back, he could ask questions later when Sania had recovered from whatever happened to her.