Strange man

She turned to face him, his eyes were also fixed on the portrait; he had a serious look on his face. She shook her head and turned to face the portrait. "So why are you always smiling?"

"Frowning would just give me wrinkles and I am still too young for that," he joked.

She could hear the smile in his voice, she rolled her eyes and stifled the smile forming on her face.

"Honestly, I don't know, but I'm sure of one thing, it sure beats squeezing my face all day long. You should try it. "

He moved away from her, "As you've already deciphered, this is my bedroom."

Levina moved towards the door. "Leaving so soon?" Lucien chuckled.

"I would love to hang around and chitchat with a cup of tea and some cookies, but we still have like a million more rooms to see, or don't we?" she replied sarcastically with a smile.

"You have an even prettier smile, you know that?" he said following behind her.

The next room was a few feet away. Lucien paused in front of the door and knocked.

"Come in!" a female voice replied softly.

Lucien held the door open for Levina before shutting it behind them.

Cleopatra looked lovely in her lacy, ankle-length, white dress and her hair packed neatly in a bun. She put the book she was reading down and smiled brightly when she saw Lucien.

"You look ravishing this morning," Lucien placed a kiss on the back of her palm.

"That's my brother, always a delight." Her eyes drifted to Levina, who stood at the corner, clutching the sides of her dress uncomfortably. "Have we met before?" She asked, squinting her eyes.

"My bad," Lucien started. "This is Levina, my nurse. She will be taking care of me," he winked at Levina.

Levina bowed her head, "My lady."

"You work for Augustus, right?"

Levina nodded in response.

"That has to be it then." "Lucien is precious cargo and our future king, so take extra care of him," she tugged Lucien's cheek playfully.

There was another knock on the door. They all followed the knock with their eyes. A skinny maid wearing a white apron stepped inside. She bobbed a curtsy at them, "It's time for breakfast. The queen is waiting at the dining area."

"We will join them shortly," Lucien replied.

"Madam Seilah requested that I bring Levina to meet the rest of the staff," she continued, all the while staring at the floor.

"It was nice meeting you, my lady," she bowed her head slightly at Cleopatra, then she turned to Lucien, "I will be in the kitchen if you need me."

Levina followed quickly behind the maid, grateful that she rescued her from her captors. It was awkward having to stand amongst the siblings and watch them silently. She had seen Cleopatra a few times at the infirmary and she had been mean to a lot of the nurses, including herself. The first time she met Cleopatra, she had mistakenly bumped into her with a tray filled with liquid medicine in sealed containers. One of the medicine bottles had turned over and spilled on Cleopatra's dress. Levina could remember Cleopatra slapping her across the face while spewing the worst things one could think of. Thankfully, her father had come to her rescue, who knows what Cleopatra could have done.

The maid walked a bit too fast for someone with short legs, Levina struggled to keep up behind her. The maid made a right turn down a hallway, and without checking, Levina followed. She bumped into a man and then stumbled backward, he caught her by the arm just before she hit the ground. Levina felt goosebumps flood her body, she quickly straightened up and yanked her hand free. Something was eerily off about him; he had this aurora of foreboding about him and all she wanted to do was run.

He stared at her for a while, like he knew her; like he could sense that she was different. Quickly, Levina stepped away from his path, rubbing her arms. Who was the weird man? She wondered. She could feel the man's gaze bore holes into the back of her head as she walked away with the maid.

"Who was that?" she asked the maid when they were safely away from the strange man. Levina's voice was still shaky from the encounter.

"That is Reggie, the queen's personal adviser. He's a strange man," the maid replied casually.

___________

The atmosphere in the dining area was dense but quiet, the only noise that could be heard was the clinking sound of cutlery kissing the ceramic plates. After a while King Magnus cleared his throat, to get the attention of his family.

"Lucien how are you feeling?" he asked.

Lucien swallowed the food in his mouth, "Still in recovery," he replied coldly. He still hadn't forgiven his father for the incident that occurred at the council meeting.

Magnus nodded. "You rest every once in the while, so you don't disturb the muscles that are recovering."

"I tell him that all the time Father, but you know Lucien, he's as stubborn as a mule," Cleopatra giggled.

"I can't stay in bed all day long, I might die from boredom," Lucien lifted his cup to his lips.

"So father," Zarek finally spoke up. Cleopatra eyed him suspiciously.

"Have you selected a new chief commander?" he had a smug look on his face.

Lucien glared at him, even though he already expected his brother to vex him.

"Is that really necessary Zarek?" Cleopatra asked annoyed.

"He is right though. A new chief commander should have been appointed by now to lead the army in the ongoing war. The royal army without their commander is like sheep without a shepherd," Lucretia said with her gaze fixed on her plate.

"The deputy commander is in charge for now. A new commander will not be instated until Ansell is found and a thorough investigation carried out," Magnus chided. He did not want to talk politics at the dinner table, he had something else he wanted to talk about.

"What does it matter?" Lucretia asked, visibly annoyed.

"If Lucien is proven to not be incompetent, he will regain his position as the commander."