Royal Disaster

the disastrous hide-out

a.n. AHHH SO I HAVE JUST HIT 200 FOLLOWERS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALL FOUR ACCOUNTS I'VE EVER HAD ON THIS SITE IN THE LAST SIX YEARS AND I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR THAT AND FOR SHOWING YOUR SUPPORT THROUGH YOUR VOTES, READS, AND COMMENTS. I LITERALLY COULDNT HAVE DONE ANY OF THIS WITHOUT YOU AND I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL OF YOU. 

I couldn't sleep for the next three days. No one could, not really. The most a person got was thirty minutes before someone was calling them out to inspect something or track a ping or do whatever. We still hadn't gotten anywhere near where Lee was keeping my parents. The wharf they had sent the men to investigate was, in fact, a decoy and they only found remains of the broken chair, but no other useful clues were left behind.

A knock at the door had both me and Aiko jolting from our conversation. We'd been talking about how crazy everything was. How messed up and how movie worthy this could possibly be. We were still in a little disbelief.

Arthur looked from me to Aiko, slowly stepping into the room with a tray in his arms. "North and I made lunch for both of you." He set the tray on the trunk at the end of the guest bed, before taking a seat at the end of the bed.

Glancing quickly in Aiko's direction, I scooted closer to look at what lay on the tray. There were two plates, both filled with mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and some salmon. Aiko leaned over, her nose crinkling as she commented, "That's such a typical rich, white person meal to make."

I nudged her in the side.

She winced, sending me a pout as she reached over my lap for one of the plates. "I'm not saying I don't like it. I'm gonna eat it because cole slaw, mashed potatoes, and salmon are great tasting food."

Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes as I reached for the other plate. Arthur let out a small chuckle and I lifted my gaze in his direction. "Have you eaten already?"

He shook his head, his eyes focused on the doorway.

I frowned, offering, "Do you want some of mine? I won't finish it all."

"No, that's- that's all yours. We made it specifically for the both of you," he turned my offer away, a corner of his lips lifting briefly as he waited for me to take my first bite.

That wasn't reassuring. At all. In that moment, I took the time to assess Arthur. He hadn't slept a wink in the last 72 hours. Everyone always needed him for something or he was always worrying about something not being checked. At times, he would come check in on Aiko and me, but I never saw him sleep. That was pretty evident in the way he slouched. His eye bags were heavy and his eyes droopy.

Worried, I cut a piece of salmon with the fork, speared it, then held it to his mouth. "Open."

"Kaia—"

"Open," I cut him off forcefully. He pressed his lips together, obviously unhappy, but he wasn't going to eat unless someone forced him to. He couldn't pass out. Too many people in this house relied on him. The men downstairs. My parents. Me. "I mean it, Arthur."

His gaze flickered in Aiko's direction and I knew that my friend was probably watching us curiously. Aiko loved drama, and she wasn't ashamed of gaping all out when she was in its vicinity. I ignored her.

Sighing, Arthur leaned toward the fork, mouth open and I carefully held the fork as he bit the salmon off. He chewed, flashing me a smile. "Thank you."

I let out a hum, scooping up some mashed potato and plopping it into my mouth.

"So if this is specifically made for us, does that mean all those people downstairs got mush?" Aiko asked curiously.