7. Don't even come near her

The king managed to catch his fiancée before she could suffer a hard blow by falling to the ground.

"Silly girl, you shouldn't have let your guard down. Now, who will take care of you?" he muttered, forgetting about the maids in the room.

"I will call one of the guards to take Lady Selene to her room," one of them dared to say, earning a serious look from the King.

"It's not necessary. I will take care of Lady Selene," he said. "Call the doctor and you, bring some hot soup," he ordered.

The maids rushed to fulfill the King's orders, while Frederick walked with Selene in his arms. It felt strange to have her like this, but he preferred to be the one carrying her and not another man. It was not right for another man to lay hands on the woman who would be his wife.

The young girl was as light as a feather, he would dare to say. Her clothes seemed to weigh more than her flesh. It didn't make sense. Lord Russell was not impoverished, so why didn't he feed the King's fiancée properly?

Frederick asked himself questions he shouldn't have asked. What Selene Russell ate or didn't eat was not his problem. However, her weight made him think more than he should.

"Open," he ordered one of the guards stationed at Selene's door. The man obeyed and entered with the young girl in his arms.

Frederick placed her on the bed, arranging the strand of hair on her face. Her hair was disheveled, and he couldn't imagine the terrible night she had spent watching over her mother's health from a hard and uncomfortable chair, while he sought justice in the kingdom's forests.

He looked at her intently, unsure of what it was, but he was certain it wasn't an attraction. His heart already belonged to someone else and it wasn't his fiancée. However, their destinies had been traced years ago and, no matter how much his heart broke, he couldn't break a pact made by the former King. He wouldn't dishonor his grandfather or his father.

He would honor them, even if it meant forever giving up on love.

"I just hope you're worth the sacrifice, Selene," he murmured.

One of the maids arrived at that moment and interrupted him. Frederick stood up as four of them entered the room with the requested items. There was hot soup, towels, water, and a small glass of brandy, along with a small bottle.

"Liquor?" he asked suspiciously. He hadn't requested it.

"The cook said she would help you warm up, she stayed up all night on watch," said the young woman, ready to remove the brandy glass.

"Very well, you may leave," ordered.

"But, Your Majesty, we have to feed her," one of them dared to say.

"I will take care of her," he replied, making a silent gesture, indicating to them to leave.

The maids were surprised by the king's attitude, but they had no say, so they had no choice but to obey.

"I will take care of you, Lady Selene, and there will be no debts between us. One night of vigilance taking care of my mother, for a day by your side," he whispered.

Frederick sat beside the bed, placing Selene between his legs as if she were a baby, and cradled her in his arms. It was an intimate closeness that should not be, but was necessary. So, forgetting all etiquettes and without curious looks on him, he proceeded to feed her, first giving her a sip of brandy that made Selene react.

"What are you doing, Your Majesty?!" she half asked, half shouted, scandalized by the position she found herself in.

"For God's sake, don't move," Frederick pleaded, feeling his manhood come to life under his fiancée's buttocks.

Selene's cheeks turned crimson red and without thinking, she took the brandy glass and drank it in one gulp. She was not accustomed to drinking at all, in fact, nothing had prepared her for the burning sensation in her throat, which made her grimace and start to cough, moving in the king's arms.

Frederick growled and looked at Selene, she returned the gaze and smiled shyly, as the warmth of the liquor took over her body.

"I asked you to stay still," Frederick said hoarsely, and all Selene did was bury herself in his arms.

"Your Majesty, you can let go of me, there is no need for you to hold me like this," she suggested, but Frederick ignored her, or so it seemed.

"They have brought some food," he informed, and she nodded, eyeing the tray of food, making her mouth water and her stomach growl, begging for the bites she had denied since yesterday.

"I can do it on my own," Selene insisted, but all she received in response was another growl from Frederick.

"Fetch me the tray and straighten up a bit," he requested, but immediately regretted it as Selene seemed unable to move her arms and upper body alone, but also moved her hips. Frederick clenched his teeth and when Selene handed him what he had requested, he immediately took it and held a cup of hot soup in his hands, inserted the spoon and loaded it with food, then brought it to Selene's mouth, who blushed deeply at being fed like a baby. Selene felt so strange and inhibited that she reached for the brandy bottle, poured herself another glass, and didn't give the king a chance to take it away from her hands, as the fiery liquid was already going down her throat.

"Lady Selene, what are you doing?" he asked, confused.

"I'm feeling a bit chilly," she answered, disguising her discomfort. Frederick unconsciously held onto the young woman's body even more tightly, as if trying to warm her up with his words, but quickly moved away when he felt her let out a soft whimper like a defenseless puppy. Selene took the spoon from Frederick's hand and only hoped that her action wouldn't be perceived as rudeness. She began to eat the soup in complete silence, under Frederick's attentive and amused gaze. She finished the soup, and before feeling satisfied, a pain in the pit of her stomach made her complain and alerted Frederick, who moved his face to look directly at Selene. 

"What's wrong?" he asked, puzzled, finding her pout too endearing, but quickly pushed that thought away.

"It hurts here," she responded, pointing to the upper part of her abdomen. Selene, even though she was already an adult, still had childish behaviors, as she had always been a young woman of her house, under the care of her parents and with very little interaction with others. Even her education had been at home, with a private governess and high social recognition.

"That's because you drank brandy as if it were water," Frederick scolded her, and she bit her lip nervously, causing his eyes to divert to that spot. "You must be careful when you drink," he warned her, still looking at the place where her pink lip turned whitish.

"I don't think I'll do it again… It doesn't taste good at all," she complained, and the king looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"You had never drunk before?" he asked, and she shook her head slightly. "Why did you drink? Twice!" he inquired, confused, and she didn't want to expose herself, as both times had been due to the nerves caused by her fiancé.

"It won't happen again," she solemnly responded, and a yawn took hold of her body. "May I rest?" she asked, as if asking the king for permission, as she felt the need to do so, as it was her house and she was a newcomer.

"Of course," Frederick muttered, and grasped Selene's waist to help her stand up from her legs. That narrow waist made him think again about the young woman's thinness and his curiosity about the Baron grew.

Selene stood still, waiting to have some privacy, to change into more comfortable clothes and sleep better, but it seemed that Frederick didn't plan on leaving her alone for a second, so she resigned herself and took soft steps to the other side of the bed, lifted the covers, and lay down with her back to the king.

It took her longer than expected to fall asleep, but finally, fatigue overcame her and she fell into a deep sleep, oblivious to everything happening in the palace. The king stayed by her side, just as she had done with the queen, except he settled into the largest and most comfortable armchair in the room, grabbed one of the books from the small bookshelf in the room, and read until sleep also embraced him, as his night had been exhausting and vigilant from start to finish, although his rest lasted only until he heard the galloping of a horse near the palace. Henry returned to the palace after his horse ride, he had heard about the attack on the queen and that she was injured, but he didn't know if he should visit her.

"Maybe I should," he murmured.

"I can't appear indifferent in the eyes of the kingdom, for better or worse, it was she who finished raising me," he thought as he left the stable.

"You won't believe what happened there, in the queen's room!" exclaimed a maid in a hushed tone, but with admiration.

"What? Tell me what happened!" requested the other girl eagerly.

"Lady Selene fainted in the king's arms," the young girl cried out with excitement.

"The king is so handsome, she must have felt intimidated," another said.

Henry clenched his fists, but couldn't bring himself to move, wanting to continue hearing what had happened in his absence.

"It's not exactly that, or maybe a bit of both. Lady Selene fainted after spending the whole night taking care of the queen, poor thing must have been exhausted," the first maid explained.

"And what better way to fall in the arms of the king?"

"That's not all," she exclaimed. "King Frederick personally carried her to his chambers, not allowing any guard to touch her. He even fed her with his own hands."

Henry's heart raced within his chest, his fists clenched, and his nails left a faint mark on his skin from the pressure.

"Before we know it, we will have little princes running around the palace."

Henry couldn't bear it any longer and decisively made his way to the wing of the Palace where he rarely ever set foot. He was assigned to the south wing as the second in line to the throne, the people of Astor's second opinion.

"Prince," one of the guards attempted to stop him, but he wasn't intimidated and brushed past him. After all, he was a prince, and people owed him respect.

Henry ascended the stairs two at a time, ventured through the corridors, and hastened to Selene's room.

"Where do you think you're going?" Frederick's voice reached him before he could reach Selene's door.

Henry looked at him and contemplated the idea of lying, but he wasn't going to miss the pleasure of annoying him.

"Selene and I are friends, just so you know," he stated deeply. "I heard she was unwell. I'm going to say hello."

"My fiancée has fallen asleep after enjoying an interesting moment together," he sneered with spite and a challenging gaze.

Henry gritted his teeth.

"I'm going to see her!"

"Don't even think about it, Henry. Don't you dare go near her!" he commanded.