Queen's Obsession

Chapter 14

*Suzanna's P.O.V*

I had decided that I was not a person who liked to rest. Sure I liked to lay about but being forced to rest for nearly a week was not my idea of a good time. However it's not like I could just disobey Queen Seraphina's orders. She had ordered me to rest until the doctor said that I was fully recovered.

Once she found that dehydration had played a big part in my heat stroke, she had also ordered me to have a glass of water with every meal. That was one order that I did try to disobey at first. However after Queen Seraphina came and sat with me until I did drink my water, I decided it just wasn't worth fussing over. It had nothing to do with the disappointed look she gave me, nothing at all.

Queen Seraphina had also insisted that I take naps in the middle of the day. That was something that was easy for me to get around as I was quite used to faking being asleep. Mainly cause my anxiety convinced me that someone was going to break into my room and murder me but only if they thought I was awake.

The only slightly challenging part of faking being asleep was that Queen Seraphina sat next to my bed when I napped. She didn't seem to be focusing on me but I didn't want to risk getting caught. She mainly took the time to work on paperwork and reply to letters.

My attention was drawn from the book that was sitting in my lap by the sound of my door opening. It was a boring book, one about long extinct royal families. I turned my attention to Queen Seraphina who had sat rather gracefully in the chair next to my bed. She set the little lap table, one that she always brought with her, on her lap.

"When am I going to be allowed to go back to work?" I asked. There was a small whine in my voice but I didn't care. I was just so bored of being stuck in bed.

"When the doctor allows you to leave the bed then you may," Queen Seraphina said simply. I huffed under my breath as I looked down at my lap.

"I just want to get back to my job," I complained as I rested my head on the pillow behind me. Queen Seraphina sighed softly as rubbed the bridge of her nose through her veil in exasperation. She moved the lap table in her lap to the floor. Her dark green dress barely brushed across the ground with her movements.

"Come here cherub," Queen Seraphina said gently. I scooted to the edge of the bed, throwing my legs off the side of the bed. My soft cream nightgown swished around my feet as I stood, the fabric brushing across my legs as I walked over to her. My bare feet padded softly on the stone floor, the stone warm from the sunlight that was filtering through the curtains.

I stood in front of her, curious as to why she wanted me to be near her. My question was answered quite quickly when she abruptly pulled me onto her lap. The noise that escaped was closer to a squeak then any of the words that came to my mind. I didn't want her to know just how embarrassed I was and tried to avoid looking at Queen Seraphina.

My body was pressed flush against hers. The scent of her lavender perfume was a soothing smell especially with how it clung to the air. I turned to face her, watching as she removed her veil from out of her face.

"You can't just pull me onto your lap," I objected as I tried to remove her arms from around my waist. I was too afraid to really try and free myself for fear of hurting Queen Seraphina.

"Angel, you're fine," Queen Seraphina said as one of her hands moved to cup my face. She turned me to face her, her thumb stroking my cheek gently. My mind shut down at that moment as I felt my cheeks heat up from the close contact.

"It's not appropriate," I managed to stammer out. Despite my words I made no attempt to remove myself from her lap. I was still trying to make up my mind about moving off her lap when her thumb stopped running across my cheek. I wasn't proud of the fact that a whine escaped me from the loss of contact but I was willing to admit that a whine did indeed escape me.

"Who makes the rules on what is or is not appropriate?" Queen Seraphina asked. I couldn't see her face but  I could tell that she was smiling just by the sound of her voice. The question stumped me as I thought over it. Who made the rules on what was or was not appropriate?

My musings were again interrupted by the sound of the door opening. By pure instinct I tried to move off her lap, only to have Queen Seraphina tighten her grip and pull me back into place.

"Be still my dear," Queen Seraphina's voice was right next to my ear and I froze at her slightly stern tone.

"Am I interrupting you two?" Pandora's voice said from the doorway.

"Yes," Queen Seraphina spoke as I shook my head. Pandora seemed to study the both of us for a moment before she noticed my wide eyed look.

"Let the girl up 'phina," Pandora said. Queen Seraphina froze for a moment as she hugged me closer before letting me up. I scrambled to get up, hurrying back to my bed.

"What do you want?" Queen Seraphina sounded more annoyed than ever.

"Ah yes, I came to deliver a letter to you," Pandora said as she crossed the room, holding out a sealed letter.

"I received my mail earlier today, what are you hiding 'dora?" Queen Seraphina sounded suspicious as she took the letter. She turned it over before pausing, her body going rigid.

"What's wrong?" I asked confused, looking between the two.

"A letter from our lovely mother," Pandora answered when Queen Seraphina showed no sign of answering. Queen Seraphina stood up abruptly and left the room, the letter still her hand.