SMITTEN

Leandro rubbed the middle of his forehead with his eyes closed. 

He was weary the whole day, but he couldn't sleep.

He couldn't help but think about what Lady Aisha told her. They were just talking about Riso. Then she started talking about love and opening his heart to himself.

His aquiline nose wrinkled unconsciously. 

"Is there a difference between opening my heart to the people and opening my heart to myself? If the Gaeans were satisfied, I would be at peace. I am also loving myself," Leandro grunted.

He turned to his side while trying again to sleep. 

Still, his eyes were wide awake. He couldn't forget her expression when she asked him if he has experienced loving someone. 

Thinking about that, made him heave out a deep sigh. 

"Is that what she meant by opening my heart to myself?" Leandro thought as he gazed at the empty cup of chamomile on the table. 

As he stared at it and recalled Lady Aisha's kindness to him, the more he was confused with his emotions. 

He was certain that he was very attracted to her. Physically. Also, he was happy whenever he was with her. There were even times that he was looking for her just to be with her. 

Aside from that, he felt very protective of her whenever she was in danger. 

"But it probably isn't love. She's just cheerful and fun to be with. That's why I like her. But that's it,"  He reassured himself. Or he hoped to be. 

Loving someone means giving her the power to hurt him and make him weak. And he doesn't want that to happen. Again.

He tried lifting a vase with his amaranthine eyes and put it over in front of the cup, so he couldn't see it anymore. As he did so, his eyes started to fall down, and he was fast asleep. 

The next morning, Leandro woke up early, so he could order some men to go to the Southeastern Lands and look for vacant land where they could plant more Riso. 

He would also like to go to the royal kitchen and see for himself if the Riso is indeed edible. 

As he thought about his goals for the day while staring at the window, he noticed that there were two love birds sweetly pecking at each other while they were sitting on its sill. 

His eyebrows furrowed at them. He had already forgotten about Lady Aisha's statement last night, but now he was being reminded again.

"Can you please open the window?" Leandro ordered his servant, hoping that he would disturb the two, to which he immediately complied.

"It looks like it will be a lovely day today, Your Majesty," his servant commented with a bright smile as he pointed to the clouds.

Leandro's forehead scrunched up. But he went beside his servant to look at what he was pointing at. The clouds were in a heart shape. 

"It's not a heart. It looks like two carrots together," Leandro's face frowned as he focused on his garments in an attempt to ignore it. 

But it made him think. "Does the Great Theos agree with this? Maybe I would consider that after the Riso has been recognized as food. If it is possible. This is more important," Leandro resolved to himself as he finished his last pair of garments. 

He went out of the Chamber and, as always, Lord Emilio was already waiting for him. 

"What are my duties for the day? I need to talk to some men who could scout the Southeastern Lands for open fields," he asked as he strode along the hallways in an authoritative manner, making the servants whom they passed by bow down to him in respect. 

"You have finished what you need to accomplish today yesterday, Your Majesty. The only thing left is the fitting of the royal gown for the wedding, which was only four days away," Lord Emilio said to him. 

Leandro froze on his feet for a fraction of a second before continuing.

"I almost forgot about that. I wonder how Lady Aisha was preparing. She must not fail the exam, so she could be the next royal wife," he thought out loud. 

He turned around and went immediately to Lady Aisha's chamber. 

To his surprise, she was not there. Her female servants told him that she rose up early and went to the kitchen. 

The royal kitchen was bustling as always, with the servants preparing the breakfast skillfully. But there was one area that smelt like burnt food and smoke. 

"It shouldn't be this way," Aisha's shoulders slouched with her mouth downturned at the result of what she was cooking. 

His mouth fell open in surprise. He wasn't expecting her to try to cook. But if she will, he didn't expect that it would be this bad. Her face was even covered in soot.

"She must have not experienced cooking in her former life," Leandro muttered under his breath as he watched her struggle. 

"Your Majesty, some of our trusted guards would be on patrol at this time. We need to hurry if they need to see the location as soon as possible," Lord Emilio pointed the way out of the royal kitchen. 

But he scowled secretly as his head tilted back. He tried to control his loud breaths. But he couldn't.

It was early morning and everyone in the kitchen was occupied with something to do. Pantry doors continued to squeak open and close while the servants were coming to and fro. 

Leandro nodded his head. The Centauri Clan has already informed the Tribal Council that they are already running out of Speltas. They were hoping that their neighboring Clans would help them, but they were bleeding dry too. 

If Riso could be an alternative, it needs to be planted as soon as possible. 

It will take 110 to 120 days before it can be harvested. There's also the drying, milling, and storing process. 

"If only there's Wi-Fi signals here. Mr. Google could teach me how," Aisha thought out loud, disturbing Leandro's thought process and making him glance her way. 

She was slumped on a chair with her head bowed down, as if the whole earth was at her back. 

With her reaction, she became noticeable by the other kitchen servants. Some of them went to her side and tried to check on her cooking failure as well.

"We apologize, my lady. We also don't know how to cook Riso," the other servants sympathized with her. "We haven't even tried cooking them before." 

Their furry ears were folded as they looked at each other for help. 

Leandro's head shook slowly in a disbelieving manner. 

With his distance, he had no idea that Lady Aisha was trying to cook the Riso. 

His eyes glowed as he was glad to know that Aisha was already doing what he had in mind.

Most ladies in Gaea just do what the men tell them to do. 

An amused smile curved Leandro's lips. She has the potential of being a Queen. 

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to spend a little time helping her out. You can assign other royal guards to patrol in the meantime. Tell them that I need to speak to them," Leandro instructed Lord Emilio and walked forward to where Aisha and the other servants were. 

Emilio shook his head. He wanted to impel the King to leave. But by now, he knew that there was no stopping him, especially when it comes to Lady Aisha. 

"Your majesty!" the servants, who finally noticed Leandro, stuttered as they scuffled backward and bowed their heads as low as possible.

Their tails folded behind them in fright. They were not accustomed to the King being present in the kitchen. 

All the servants did the same as they saw him. Aisha was also taken aback and bowed with them. 

Oh my gosh, forgive me, Your Majesty. Does the smoke reach your room? I promise I will pay you," Aisha stuttered. But she paused as she realized something. 

"Wait, I don't have my ATM. And Rosalia has no more money either," Aisha uttered in a long, low sigh.

"You can always pay back in another way," Leandro reassured her, his eyes unconsciously fixating themselves on her pink, moist lips. 

The other servants didn't mind what he said. But Lady Aisha seemed to understand what he was saying.

Her cheeks burned like the cherries that were beside her. "No, I will pay you with cash, your Majesty. If I have to work as a slave, I will," she uttered in a low-pitched voice with her lifted chin. 

Leandro also noticed that her fists were pressed tightly as she said that, making him scratch his head.

"Did I say anything wrong to her last night?" He felt like she was mad at him with her fiery bronze eyes. But she was not saying anything. 

He didn't like the feeling of having hurt her in any way. 

He unconsciously blurted out, "Let me just help you cook, then," making the other servants look at each other in bewilderment.

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Love works in miracles every day: such as weakening the strong, and stretching the weak; making fools of the wise, and wise men of fools; favouring the passions, destroying reason, and in a word, turning everything topsy-turvy.