I cut the second drumstick and placed it on my wife's plate. Theodora widened her eyes, and I could swear there was a trace of goodwill in her expression.

Mhm, I shouldn't have eaten the other drumstick.

«This is the best part,» I explained.

I was trying to lure her to the table by pressing her. She wouldn't have settled if her favourite part wasn't included, so eating one of the drumsticks stole her some time to think.

However, it was better not to let her realise how much of a calculative manipulator I was.

There was time for revealing my true self. At that moment, it was better if Thea thought I was kind and without ill intentions.

While she ate with the slowest moves I'd ever seen her make, I realised that she was holding back.

She would have devoured that piece of chicken in a moment if she was home. In the end, she couldn't feel safe at my side just yet. It was going to be a long process.

Luckily, I was patient enough to handle it.

Her hand reached to the cup filled with wine, and she sipped. She closed her eyes, feeling those new aromas.

She poured a second cup, and I realised that she was getting drunk at that pace. When her eyes became shiny, it was too late to stop her.

She looked at me the same way she had done in Polis when she celebrated the end of the war with her subjects.

They had called her Dora.

Well, Dora was a part of my Queen that I liked, but she was a bit too brave for her own good. She was getting drunk without even realising it.

Her shoulders relaxed, and she leaned back on the chair.

She returned my gaze with my same curiosity, so much that I felt the urge to talk.

«Drink some water,» I said before getting up. I brought a glass and the carafe to the table.

Just in time, for she choked the moment I sat down. I resisted the urge to get up and help her, and she reached the glass with fresh water and sipped calmly.

Her movements weren't all trembling anymore, and her eyes were shining even brighter. Oh, her alcohol tolerance was so low that it was annoying.

She wouldn't have been able to survive any banquet at the court if she didn't adapt to drinking, not even our wedding.

«It's better if you get used to the wine. You should drink some every day until it doesn't affect you so much.»

She raised her eyebrows, looking at me surprised and somehow lost.

«Will my life last enough to get used to it?» she asked, pouting slightly.

Well, she indeed started at an extremely low level. It would have been tough to see her like that every day. Yet, she was immune to some kind of poisons and resistant to others. Why should alcohol be any different?

«We'll see, but I haven't met anyone that failed. It may take months, but everybody eventually builds some tolerance to alcohol,» I heartened her.

She curled her lips downwards, getting lost in her wild thoughts anew.

«Why would one want to feel like this?»

«There are a few reasons. For example, you've stopped trembling like a newly-born kitten.»

She moved her eyes away from me and focused on her fingers.

«Then,» I continued, «most people like the taste and the fact that everything feels different after a couple of glasses.»

She observed the cup with wine, and I envisioned her drinking another one and losing her last bit of rationality. My wife was wise and rational, but sometimes she could be impulsive.

«The secret is not to drink too much. If you find the right quantity, it will help you talk in public or make difficult decisions. If you drink too much, you'll forget how to talk and walk at all.»

She considered my words with some lag, probably due to the wine. Then, she giggled. Dora seemed to have resurfaced.

«A magic potion against fear,» she said.

«Or a truth serum,» I sighed.

She wasn't fearing me anymore, at least. Yet, it was a pity that her behaviour change was due to alcohol and not my attentive actions. The following morning, she would be back to her wary self.

I got up and removed the jacket that was starting to make me feel suffocating. I spotted my wife's stare and turned my back to her, not to see her reaction. Her eyes were so magnetic, at that moment, that I couldn't risk losing control. I had to protect her, not claim anything from her.

When I was wearing only my shirt and trousers, I could turn back to her. She was still staring; her cheeks were red, and her eyes wide.

I smiled and offered my hand to her. She accepted, moving her eyes down the moment before our fingers made contact. I showed her the bedroom while the servants turned off the lights. Only a small lantern was left burning in a corner so that it wouldn't disturb her sleep too much. I had made the servants bring some carpets a few days before; Thea shouldn't feel too cold like that.

The covers were heavy, so she was going to sleep warm.

«I have to do some work now. I will come back later,» I said. «You don't need to wait for me.»

I walked out and looked for Pericle. I had to organise the following day so that Thea wouldn't have time to feel confused or afraid. My presence was more a threat, to her, at the moment.

«Tomorrow, come into the room to wake me up at eight sharp,» I instructed him.

«Yes, my Lord.»

«Also, make it look like it's a normal occurrence.»

Pericle's dumbfounded expression was so hilarious.

«I need to travel for a few days tomorrow, but I don't want my wife to think it's related to her.»

I would also have taken the chance to offer her to stay in my room for the following days if she felt like it.

When I returned, though, she wasn't sleeping at all. She was sitting on the edge, looking at an undefined point on the floor.

«What are you doing?» I asked.

It was cold, especially for her southern constitution. She must have been freezing while I plotted how to leave without making her think who knows what.

«Waiting for you, your highness,» she answered, turning to me with her wary eyes.

«It's not your highness,» I pointed out, a bit too annoyed for my own good. I couldn't bear Thea keeping so much distance, but what could I expect?