Patty Liu - Silent Reflections
Eight"Prince, can you pass the pork chops down to me?" Wolf's voice boomed between bites of a lamb leg. King Wendell rolled his eyes and passed the plate of chops down to Wolf. Wolf grabbed the plate and began shoving pork chops into his mouth, practically eating the bones with them.
"I can never ever get over how much that man can eat, Virginia," he muttered to Virginia, who was seated next to him.
"Trust me, Your Majesty. You never will. I still haven't. I'm just thankful he hasn't eaten us out of house and home back in Manhattan." Virginia laughed and took a bite out of her chicken.
"I trust everything is doing well with you and Wolf back in Manhattan?" the king asked, trying not to pay attention to Wolf's ravenous appetite.
"We're doing quite well, actually. Wolf has been doing very nicely at his job with the narrating program and my job at the health center is teaching me a lot too. I'm currently taking classes so I can get my degree in sociology," Virginia explained. She bounced baby Peter in her lap and fed him some mashed carrots she had in her plate.
"I am glad you are doing well, Virginia. I am glad the death of the wicked queen did not affect you as badly as I thought it would," Wendell said, quickly catching himself. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
Wolf looked up from his eating and looked at Virginia. Virginia just smiled back and silently gave him a look to let him know everything was all right.
"It's all right, Your Majesty. I have completely come to terms with my killing of the queen. It was something that I just couldn't avoid. And I realized that I was brought here to the kingdoms the first time to accomplish that deed. It was my destiny," she explained softly. The death of her mother still hurt her but she understood that it wasn't her fault anymore. Her mother was sick and she would've harmed so many people if she hadn't been stopped.
Wendell sighed and gave Virginia's hand a reassuring squeeze. "You are a strong woman, my dear."
A guard came rushing in to the dining hall shouting for the king's attention.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something has gone amiss!" he shouted, out of breath. "The men, the men you sent out to greet Sir Antony and the Princess Wendy midway have found Sir Antony's horse just a few miles from here. The horse was found with no rider! There was no sign of the princess or her guards or their horses!"
King Wendell jumped out his chair, knocking it over behind him. Virginia also stood up and gave Wolf a worried look. Wolf stopped eating and came around the table to Virginia.
"I'm sure everything is all right, my love," he whispered in her ear. But his face showed that he was also very concerned. Tony was a very good friend of his and also his father-in-law. He hoped nothing bad had happened.
