SMITTEN

"I have never been so angry in my entire Gaean life," Aisha blurted out.

Her nostrils were flaring as she heaved out a lungful of air.

She felt like her lungs would burst if she didn't say that.

Fortunately, King Leandro and Lady Marina didn't see her. She went straight to her Chamber without even looking left or right.

Lady Marina has just belittled her and her new acquaintances. And now she was flirting with the King!

And it seemed like the King liked it! He didn't even back off from her slithering hands. 

"What happened, my lady? Did Lady Marina talk with you again? I was really uneasy leaving you behind. But my assistant was sick.. I have to supervise the others," Rosalia asked in a worried tone as she walked forward to where Aisha was. 

Then she nodded to the other servants as a signal that they should leave AIsha's Chamber, to which they immediately obliged. 

"No, she didn't. Don't worry about it," Aisha lifted her hand and waved it as she tried to calm Rosalia's anxious state.

She told her about what she saw.

It was already evening and the lamps were already flickering, revealing Aisha's reddened face.

"That was indeed very cunning of her," Rosalia answered. But she immediately bit her lips and glanced from left to right, making sure that no one's around to hear her.

She was still a part of the Tribal Council and the leader of all the creatures under the sea.

"Yeah, right. And besides, why did the King and Lady Marina separate in the first place if they're going to flirt like that still? They should have been together. They should have been husband and wife," Aisha babbled on. 

Her eyes rolled as she folded her arms over her chest.

With that, Rosalia couldn't help but gaze at Aisha as she slowly responded, "Did that scenario hurt your feelings, my lady?"

"Of course!" Aisha abruptly answered as she panted for air.

She stood up and went to the table to pour herself a cup of water. 

A corner of Rosalia's lips curled as she replied, "I knew it. You are jealous right now because you have already fallen for the King!" She smiled from ear to ear.

With a startled response, Aisha waved her hand vigorously, "Not at all!" 

"I'm - I'm just hurt because Lady Marina has insulted me and it seemed like the King has taken her side. That's all," her body twisted and walked back to her couch, away from Rosalia. She didn't want Rosalia to continue to tease her.

But it made her think about her feelings for the King. 

"I think it's all right to acknowledge your feelings, my lady. You will be his wife soon," Rosalia encouraged her to open up to the King.

But she replied in a resolved manner, "That will all be just papers. My heart will not be involved with it."

Aisha didn't know if she would be relieved or nervous that another servant spoke from behind the door, disturbing their conversation.

"The King wishes for your presence in the dining hall, my lady," the messenger announced.

At the mention of the name of the King, Aisha's heart started pumping wildly in her chest. 

"Is he going to talk to me about the Tea Party?" Aisha bit her lips. 

"I don't want to see him," She quickly responded after recalling his actions with Lady Marina. "And besides, Lady Marina might be there."

She was still furious with what Lady Marina did a while ago. And she knew that she had also offended her pride. She also didn't want to see the King siding with her. 

"That would be very uncomfortable for the three of us," Aisha continued to think out loud. 

"But my lady, there is a corresponding punishment for those who disobey a King's order," Rosalia said in a worried tone. 

Aisha could sense Rosalia's concern for her so she added, "I will just meet him tomorrow instead. Lady Marina could have been gone by tomorrow." 

She was resolved not to see the two tonight.

Aisha stepped forward, giving Rosalia the cue to open the door. 

"Please tell the King that I am exhausted from today's party and I desire to rest. But I will see him at the earliest in the morning," Aisha told the messenger.

Her chin was lifted as her shoulders straightened. 

The messenger quickly bowed down and left her Chamber to give her response to the King.

Then she faced Rosalia and said, "That was true, by the way. I really feel drained by today's events. I will just take a nap. You may go and rest now."

Aisha smiled at her, making Rosalia bow down in gratitude. 

"Good luck to the both of them," Aisha smirked as she went back to her Chamber, washed herself and changed her clothes. 

She was indeed so tired, physically and emotionally that she went to bed and tried to rest.

She has rested for a few hours. But she was awoken by her growling stomach.

"What time is it?" Aisha scratched her head after yawning.

She stood up from bed and went to the table. To her delight, there was some bread from the tea party.

"How thoughtful of Rosalia," Aisha smiled with her eyes as she sat herself and grabbed a bite. 

As she ate, she recalled what Rosalia said about her feelings. "That cannot be. I've just known the King for a short time. How could I be in love with him?"

After she finished the bread, she still wasn't satisfied. Her stomach was still grumbling.

"Is it because you have tasted rice again, you naughty tummy," Aisha scolded her stomach.

It seemed to agree with her as it gurgled back.

"Hmm, I think we have leftover rice from the party a while ago," Aisha said.

She stood up and sneaked into the royal kitchen. 

It was already in the middle of the night so she wasn't expecting anyone to be awake at that time. 

"I wonder where they put it. There you are!" Aisha's eyes brightened up as she saw the white plain rice in one of the cauldrons.

It was only half full. But it was enough for her.

She caressed her abdomen as she uttered, "You deserve to be happy after what you went through."

She then sat herself and ate her dinner. Because of her enthusiasm, she started choking up. 

*cough* 

She felt like the food in her throat was preventing her lungs from sucking in the nighttime air.

Her frantic eyes darted everywhere for a cup of water.

Seeing a jar, she immediately opened it and got herself a cup full.

"Whoa, that was good!" Aisha exclaimed as she finished it.

It tasted like fresh fruit juice.

She took another cup and went on eating. Then she took another one and another one afterwards.

Eating was always one of her ways to distract herself from thinking too much. She ate to her heart's content while drinking the juice from the jar. 

After a while, her vision started to get blurred.

"Wait, I think I'm now getting sleepy," Aisha mumbled to herself as she slowly felt that her world was spinning.

The cup in the table seemed to be swirling as well as the plate.

She tried to stay awake by trying to open her eyes as she didn't want to sleep in the royal kitchen. 

But to her surprise, she felt like she was transported back to her former world.

Her bewildered eyes gazed around her. Instead of the royal kitchen, she was seeing a bar that she used to go to. 

There were people dancing while having drinks with their friends.

"Is this for real?" Aisha narrowed her eyes as everything was blurred. But they never changed. 

A girl even asked her to stand up and dance with them.

Aisha chuckled, but she stood up. 

Her world was still spinning, and her body suddenly felt very heavy. But she danced like she used to do. 

"Yeah! Let's have fun!"  swayed along to the beat of the music that she was hearing. 

She closed her eyes and thought, "Maybe everything was just a dream after all. What a terrible terrible dream!"

Like she used to do, she danced and exhausted herself so that when she gets home, she will just sleep the night away. 

However, her body felt like it wanted to find a soft cushioned bed already at that moment. 

She decided to go home, thinking that she was back to her former world.

"Bye, guys! I had fun!" She grinned from ear to ear and waved her hand at them. 

But her actions were sluggish as they felt really heavy at that time. 

She started walking as she tried to find her way through the streets that she was seeing. 

There were no cars, so she's free to crisscross the streets when she feels like it.

Seeing a familiar looking house, her finger shot up and pointed at it, "There's my house! Oh, how I miss you! My room, my bed, even the boring paintings on the wall!"

Her heart felt elated to see the house where she grew up in front of her.

"Wait, I need to creep in. Or Mrs. Lee will surely get angry at me," she sheepishly told herself.

She tried to open the gates with her spare key like she used to do. But it won't open.

*****************

There is no place like home.