Queen's Obsession

Chapter 70

Oopsie, may have slipped some angst in this chapter

*Suzanna's P.O.V*

Following Pandora was a boring decision. She had to stop and talk to people a lot. I didn't like talking or watching people talk. Phoenix didn't seem to like it either, she kept biting at Pandora's dress to get her moving. Pandora threatened her when she nearly ripped her dress, saying she would give her to the cats as a toy. I had picked up Phoenix after that, after I made sure to kick the back of Pandora's ankles.

When she had turned to look at me, I had turned around to look in the other direction. She couldn't be mad at me if I wasn't even facing the same direction. When she had sighed and turned back around, I had wandered off. It was brilliant, she was busy and since she was escorting me, I didn't have any guards with me.

I shushed Phoenix who whined to get down, wrapping my arms tighter around her to hold the wiggling puppy. "Shh, you are going to give us away," I whispered as I kissed the top of her head. She whined as she wiggled to get down and I sat her down. She didn't like being carried which was weird. I loved being carried, it meant I didn't have to walk and I liked not having to walk.

Phoenix followed me as I went down the hall. We were on the top floor of the castle and I found a wooden door. I pushed it open, finding a bunch of steps that went up and down. There was also a gap between the steps that a puppy could fall down. There was a railing that went around the stairs but there were gaps that Phoenix could easily get through. I shut the door quickly before Phoenix could go on the steps.

"We won't explore there, for your safety," I informed Phoenix as I turned around. We passed a guard and he reached out to grab my arm. I felt a small prick which was probably from his armor catching my skin.

"Aren't you supposed to have an escort?" the guard asked me. I nodded my head after a moment, a small pout on my lips. He had dark eyes, almost black. "I do have to take you back to your escort or find your guards," he said.

"Can't you be my guard?" I asked with a pout. It would be easier than having to go back to Pandora or one of my guards.

"I don't have high enough clearance," he said after a moment. Guards had clearance levels and apparently they need a decently high enough one to guard me? This was all news to me.

"Fine, I'll go with you," I huffed. I followed after him as he led me down the hall and we met Pandora rather quickly.

"Why do you have to wander off so much?" Pandora asked. I shrugged as the guard left me with her. I didn't feel up to speaking at the moment, it was early. I rested my head on her shoulder and she sighed softly. "You're trouble," she said.

"Am not," I retorted as I stuck my tongue at her. How dare she say that I was trouble? I was clearly an angel. Seraphina even said so, she said I was her cherub. Despite Pandora's mean words, I still stayed with her and followed her around. Phoenix followed us around, barking at the guards whenever she saw them.

I was glad when it came time for breakfast. Apparently I had wandered for a bit without even noticing the time passing since the sun had risen. I was thankful for breakfast, sipping at my water since my mouth felt dry. It was hard to listen to the conversation going on. A woman I hadn't met before had helped serve breakfast, pouring me a cup of tea to go with my water. Her eyes were similar to the guard's from earlier.

I sipped my tea but quickly decided not to drink it since it felt heavy and bitter in my mouth. I drank some of the water yet it didn't seem to help with my dry mouth. Sometimes my mouth got like this, when I didn't drink any water for several days. I sat my cup down, feeling Phoenix paw at my leg with a whine. I looked down at her, my vision taking a moment to focus.

"I'm okay Phoenix," I reassured her as she pawed at me. I pulled her onto my lap and she licked my face before looking at my food. She didn't seem interested in it though and instead tried to claw her way over the table to get to Draya's food.

"Suzanna? You've been quiet," Seraphina's voice managed to catch my attention, just barely reaching my ears. I turned to look at her, feeling a sudden pain run through my chest. It caused me to gasp for breath.

"You don't look well sweetheart," Kamili said as she looked at me. I shook my head, I didn't feel well. Not at all.  A wave of nausea ran through me and I was thankful I hadn't eaten anything because I could tell that it would have come up.

"I'm going to fetch the doctor," Pandora said suddenly as she pushed away from the table. She was out of the room rather quickly and I felt Kamili's hand on my head. I hadn't even noticed that she had moved over to me.

"You don't have a fever," Kamili muttered with confusion. I couldn't respond, feeling another pain in my chest. It caught me off guard and I doubled over. Phoenix was whimpering, licking at my face.

Draya moved over, a frown on her face. She felt my head and suddenly she frowned after a moment. "Give me a plate Seraphina," she said. Seraphina pushed over an empty plate. She dumped my tea onto the plate, looking through the leaves.

"What is it?" Seraphina asked. She had clearly seen the way Draya's face had changed as she looked at me.

"Suzanna, I need you to throw up," Draya said. She didn't even need to ask because I could feel the vomit creeping up the back of my throat and I leaned my head over my chair and threw up. The liquid splattered on the ground, one small purple leaf in it.