Chp.41: Her

"Why am I bothering myself with these things. He is nothing more than a working colleague for me. Afterall, all this, this palace, these people, this husband, they aren't mine. This isn't mine. So why?" Regina was asking herself inside her heart but she was furious she couldn't stop at all. And Duncan's stand on all this made her even more engrossed in this petty anger.

"This is none of my business. I should just report everything that happened her to the count and my job ends." She tried convincing herself.

"Tell me your majesty. Why take this matter so lightly? Shouldn't we imprison the person who tried to poison your queen?" She kept asking questions. Louder and louder her voice got as paler Duncan's face became.

"Why bother with these stuff. Stop, Regina. Just stop." She wanted to calm herself down.

"Regina." She yelled at herself inside her heart.

"Rachel." Duncan said in a loud voice.

There was a sudden silence in the entire room. The rain sound remained constant.

"Stop. Lady Rachel, please stop." He said looking in her eyes. His gaze sharp and the frown on his forhead deep.

"Give me sometime. Sometime before I'll tell you everything. This is my promise as the king." He said with an assuring tone. He looked in Regina's eyes.

Regina calmed down.

There was a moment of silence yet again.

She looked at him. She looked in his eyes, looked at his expressions. "I am sorry your majesty. I apologize." She said, a little frown on her forhead was a clear sign that she was utterly confused over her own behaviour.

"Why are you apologizing? I can understand your anger." Duncan said. His voice was breaking, his lies were too heavy for him to carry, but he had his hands tied.

"I.. I ... this is my ..." Regina felt sorry but she could explain the reason behind her anger.

"It's fine now my queen. I'll be patient and I hope you wait for me too. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer, I will definitely tell you everything there is to tell you." Duncan said yet again in an assuring tone.

"There is a reason why you are the king. You definitely are a politician."Regina thought as a smirk appeared on her face.

"Definitely your majesty. It's an my honor that you didn't punish me after such an outrageous act. I will wait, I will wait for you." She said to him with a smile as she closed her eyes.

She slumped down on the bed. "I hope when you wake up you forget everything." Duncan said with a guilty smile.

His pulled a blanket at covered Regina. She was quiet. Anyone who would see her, mistake it for a calm sleep. But it was the poison taking it's effect.

"Just some more time. When you'll get up you'll forget everything just like you should." Duncan mumbled to himself.

He looked at Regina as she was breathing thinking that she is the noble lady Rachel D'Azure. He didn't want things to take turn in this direction, his eyes filled with desperate regret and mouth shut tight as if it had been tapped a long time ago.

"I think this is for the best." Duncan said as he took a deep breath. He got up from the bed and walked towards his table. Took his coat from the chair and walked towards the door.

"I wish you a very happy life Lady Rachel D'Azure, atleast for as much time as you are here with me." He said to himself as he looked back once more before going out of the room.

Sometime had ready passed.

Regina got up with a shocking jerk. "Uh... aah." She started panting heavily as soon she got up.

"Uh... I can't breath. Uh... it's suffocating." She started to yell as soon as she got up.

"He...help me...someone. I need to thr... throw up." She screamed or atleast tried to scream.

"Yes my lady." A maid dashed inside the room with two other maids. The maid had a basin in her hand while the others carried a water jar and towels.

"I am here to help my lady. We are here." That maid hurriedly walked towards Regina.

"Please... quick..." Regina couldn't take another breath. It was agonizing. It was painful.

"Here..." the maid placed a basin on Regina's laps and started stroking her back. "Everything will be fine. It will all ok." The maid kept talking to Regina as she tried to vomit.

It went on for a few minutes until Regina finally vomited.

"There you go your majesty." The maid said as Regina finally stopped vomiting. The other maids swiftly handed over the glass of the water and the towels.

The maid helped Regina with her mouth cleaning and Regina slumped back down. The maids swiftly cleaned up everything as Regina watched them work around.

"Szarni. Szarni it was. I have trained taking it once or twice, but this was definitely extreme." Regina thought to herself as all the energy inside her was already finished. Maybe it was close to midnight already. Or maybe even past that.

"We are done your majesty, shall we take our leave?" The maid asked politely.

"Sure. I am grateful foe your help." Regina said as she barely tried to keep her consciousness togther.

"It's our honor your majesty." The maid made a polite bow and was about to leave when Regina stopped her.

"Wait a moment." She called out for the maid.

"Why were you so prepared? Were you instructed?" Regina interrogated.

"Yes. Yes your majesty, his majesty instructed us to stay on stand by and wait for any sign to rush inside and help you." The maid clarified.

"Oh...oh is that so? Fine. You may leave." Regina said. The maids left the room and once again she was there in that room.

Only difference was - this time she was all alone.

"So you want me to forget everything huh?" Regina thought to herself as she managed to climb down from the bed and walk towards the balcony window.

She opened the curtains and she could clearly listen to the sound of rain. Sound of heavy rain. She could feel the rain even though it didn't touch her, the sound of the drops crashing against the balcony floor outside was enough.

"You are not in luck your majesty. You aren't at all. Since I am not Rachel D'Azure. I am Regina." She said as she looked up at the grey and dark sky.

The room dimly lit and she was there in the king's chamber. "What can be a better opportunity than this?" Regina smirked and shrugged her shoulders knowing very well who her exact enemies were now.

"Duncan and Desmond? Noted." She mumbled.