Luke got to his feet and turned his back as soon as she stirred. The glass of water and the pain killers were still sitting quietly on his desk, patiently waiting to be picked-up and be useful. An hour or so of rest might have helped ease fatigue, but it was not enough to heal the damage done to her ankle. It was accurate to say that the pain would only get worse as she would definitely continue to put strain on the foot because he would be dragging her along with him somewhere where a wheelchair would be more of a liability than help. Besides, Luke was not planning to carry her for the rest of the day. Therefore, if he had to, the crown prince would force Rhiane to take the medication with any means possible.

The once cold glass of water had acclimatized with the room temperature leaving droplets of precipitate to form a ring on the smooth surface of the desk. He dispensed a pill from its container on one hand and held the glass of water on his other hand before facing the princess elect. 

She was sitting on the bed still looking a bit sleepy. Perhaps if he did not wake her up, she would sleep until it was time for her to prepare for her interview. Her last question confirmed as much that the princess did not expect to be roused from sleep until it was time for her to face the press. Luke just shook his head. If he was at all remorseful of his decision to cut her rest time short, it did not show on his face. Maybe he didn’t even realize that, didn’t even consider that she could use more time to heal and be refreshed, because while they were linked together, her time and his were one and the same. Where he goes, she needed to be. And he needed that afternoon, for the sake of his sanity, to be away from the pressure of fulfilling expectations and public scrutiny.

So after she asked if it was time for her interview, he shook his head frowning. “It’s none of your business,” he articulated referring to the work that she was supposedly keeping him from. “And no, it’s too early in the afternoon for your interview, but it’s time for you to take your medicine, because you’re coming with me someplace nice and relaxing.” Or more appropriately, he cannot possibly leave the floor without her. He could attempt to call his mother and request to suspend the link for a few hours, but the queen would certainly not allow her son to fly into an island, though reportedly unmanned, away from the safety of the capital, and without his security detail. There was just one way to do it, and it was to bring Rhiane along with him. 

Luke placed the water on the bedside table, then grabbed her hand, opened her fingers and deposited the pill into her palm. “Do yourself a favor, Rhiane, and be a good girl. This is meant to help you, not harm you.” He patted her cheek before turning to the direction of the walk-in closet, consciously using her first name as per her request. But he noted that the way she phrased her request to call her by her given name was self-derogatory and against his advice during lunch that she should stop belittling herself. Luke just couldn’t resist. He held on his tongue long enough to pick a black pea coat. When he emerged from the closet, the coat was slung over one shoulder. His stare was quietly inquiring about the pain meds.

“Oh and by the way,” the prince started. “You may continue to call me ‘your royal highness’ because a lowly peasant such as yourself doesn’t deserve to address your future king with less. That is just inappropriate, wouldn’t you think?” He cocked his head to the side. “Now, did you take the pill? Because we need to get going if we want to be back before the interview.”