Elena Villani understood that Queen Camilla was more concerned about the use of her future daughter-in-law than she cared about her as a person, but she believed that the monarch vastly underestimated just how closely she come to the precipice of disaster. Not just anyone could have survived the dose of poison that the princess elect had ingested unwittingly. Who would have perished from the toxins was not just limited to commoners either; she was quite certain that a not insignificant number of the upper echelons of nobility would have succumbed to it as well. Perhaps the ruler believed there was nothing to gain from dwelling on what might have been. The specialist believed, however, that might be too emboldened by her success and not properly aware of possible repercussions if they pushed the patient too quickly and too hard. What they had was an amazing resilient woman. If she she was pressed to her brink on the tour, simply for the sake of appearances, they might end up in the very scenario they had just escaped.

While she was relieved that the heir to the throne chose to stay with fiancee, if only because then she wouldn't be solely responsible for her progress, Rhiane had more mixed emotions. The young beauty did not want to be alone but she could only imagine how horrid she looked. There was no universe in which her first meeting with Luke would have been so spectacular they would have immediately become the best of friends. She was acutely aware she was a roadblock to his future with Sofia in which they were publicly together, that they had disparate personalities, and that she was a confining chain to his ankle. Still, she was vulnerable in this moment, terrified of looking weak and pathetic, and anxious that he would think even less than her he already did.

"You wouldn't," she breathed a touch hoarsely as Luke threatened to eat her sweet-filled dinner. Even as she stared at him with abject horror on her features she knew he absolutely would. Rhiane suspected he didn't have as much of an appetite for sugar as she did but she had seen his defiance with his mother. He would wolf down every morsel just to prove a point. She bit the inside of her cheek lightly as she very briefly contemplated if seeing her once-in-a-lifetime chance at a wholly non-nutritious meal was worth sticking to her principals.

"Fine," she sighed grumpily. The pinpoint precision with which the crown prince attacked her weakness would be admirable if she wasn't annoyed at 'losing.' Her own brother and father had found it nigh impossible to reason with her when it came to anything related to medicine or physicians. That Luke had triumphed so quickly would have made them both shocked. Much as he might detest his future wife he was already beginning to see that she was not immune to certain manipulations- from him at least. She was much less trusting of other aristocrats, and therefore less prone to their machinations, as was evidenced with their reduced effectiveness in eliciting any genuine reactions from her during brief interactions.

"There's an oral medication," Elena offered gently so as to not put off her temporarily compliant patient, "but I don't want to risk that you won't be able to hold it down. We'll put one in your IV but it will take ten or fifteen minutes to take effect," she warned. One of the nurses picked up a small syringe, filled it with fluid from a light blue vial, and injected it into the tubing before the princess elect could change her mind. They could all see the faintly golden liquid swirl briefly in the clear before it flowed into the future royal's hand. Rhiane was clearly still unhappy but she didn't argue. There was a certain weariness lining her face that hadn't been there before the grapes. The day had taken a toll that no amount of chemical intervention could override completely.

"If you'll excuse me a moment," she said with a nod to them both before departing the room.

Once outside, and out of their earshot, Dr. Villani placed a call to the kitchens to prepare everything on the princess elect's order. Previously they had been instructed to only make a third of the choices and in small portions. Now that Queen Camilla was figuratively breathing down her neck, Rhiane was frustrated and discouraged, and everything felt like it was riding on how much dinner the brunette could fortify herself with, she'd rather have some gluttony than the alternative. It was possible that after the grape incident that her charge would be less enthusiastic about any of the treats. She had enough experience to know morale and disposition played a large role in the healing process. They had to make Rhiane excited to eat, eating as much as she could handle, and content enough that her rest was as rejuvenating as possible.

"Dr. Villani," one of the medical assistants said as he approached his senior. "We received a return call from Ms. Black's family. He gave his number and said he needed to speak to his highness directly, however."

"Interesting," she remarked as she took the small paper note. This wasn't what she expected but she had a duty to report it. "Did he identify himself? Was it Hubert Black or Gerald Black?"

"Neither, Dr. Villani. It was Gerald Black's partner," the man admitted. "He said he had information but would not reveal anything more."

"Thank you," she nodded and turned, striding back into the princess elect's room. Given the circumstances she doubted that anyone from a poisoning victim's family would know about the composition of the toxin administered, but there were aspects of this case that they might have insight on, and she could understand why they might use discretion with who they revealed such information to. Asking for the prince himself was bold but not irrational. The man who called could safely assume that it was not beneficial for the heir if his wife scandalously perished only two days into their engagement.

"Prince Luke," she said as she offered the small folded slip of paper. "We received a call but he only wanted to speak with you directly. I believe it's worth your while to return it," she suggested. "If you would like some privacy, I am happy to sit with Ms. Black while you do so."

During this time Rhiane hadn't let go of Luke's hand. The times before he had held she had flushed, or looked uneasy, or been a mixture of flustered and uncomfortable. What he didn't know was that when her mother and brother had been sick and dying she had held their hands, trying to soothe them one of the only ways she knew how, and thus didn't find it as off-putting now that she was ill. His hand felt warm and strong, It provided her reassurance, even if he didn't mean it to, that she could endure through this new trial. In that moment she had forgotten their disagreements and felt genuinely like they might be friends.