“It’s your room, you can do anything you want to it.” Luke shrugged. “Except maybe raising livestock in it. ”Encouraging her to pursue her passion, especially something as harmless as arts, was something he thought would work out to his advantage in the long run. Just like every magic spell in every fairy tale that was read to him when he was a child, the enchantment of the engagement between a prince and a farmer would eventually wear off. When that time came, there would be less and less public appearances. He would go about doing his own business and she would most likely do the same. The promises they made to each other during their first dance as a couple would probably be in effect, and it would help Rhiane do well on her part of the bargain if she had something to pour her energy into. “But you’re right. I do not plan to pose for a drawing or a painting. Sitting still and doing nothing for too long is annoying.”

Rhiane seemed like a different person. Well, it could be that this was the real Rhiane and the woman that she was whenever she was with him was the guarded, careful version of herself. He took the empty seat beside her bed and took away the glass cover guarding their dinner. As soon as it was lifted, what was left of the hospital scent was engulfed by the mouthwatering smell of sweets. It almost enticed him to steal a piece or two.

“Nobody will believe me if even if I swore on my father’s name that you just escaped death tonight.” Looking at her, he hardly believed it himself. And what was he doing wasting his time sitting beside her when his guilt brought about by him being responsible for her was all that brought him to that room? Without touching the filet mignon on his plate, he watched in wonder how someone who nearly died of food poisoning could look so content while eating. She ought to have some sort of trauma after everything that happened, but as the doctor said, Rhiane could not remember most of what happened. The good thing was that he wouldn’t need to coax her into eating solid food, but the bad side of it was that she was probably as careless with what she put in her mouth as she was that afternoon. “You should at least slowdown eating. And I suggest that you sample every plate rather than attacking one dessert after the other, so that by the time you are full, you have already tasted everything.”

His dinner looked pathetic compared to the amount of hers, but at least it was healthier. Before he started eating, though, Luke touched a panel on the wall behind him. It functioned as both the control for the monitors used to track the patient’s vital signs, as a communication device to call the doctors or nurses in case of emergency, and more importantly as a remote control to the forty-inch monitor that hang on the wall Rhiane was facing. He was not frequently in these rooms, but he knew how technology worked inside his home. “There is a similar panel at the side of the bed,” he explained to Rhiane. At the side railings, which was placed to protect the occupant from falling over, was a three-by-five-inch monitor that would light up once activated by the patient’s touch. It was placed there strategically to address the issue of lost remote controls and to give the patient quick access to the television. 

The monitor turned on to a screen showing program options. Luke navigated it for her until he found a movie he thought she would enjoy. “Titanic,” he announced just as the introduction of the studios that made the movie started to show. “It was the highest grossing film in the world for over a decade. It tells the story of a rich woman and a poor but lucky man meeting on the --” He cut himself. Luke had the tendency to talk and continue talking as if every word he said was interesting to the audience. The audience often indulged their future king, though, which encouraged him to talk further. Talking about movie was different. “I should just let you watch it. Women likes love stories, so I thought you might like this one.” His smile seemed to have a secret meaning when his blue eyes sought her face and he added, “By the end of the three-hour movie, you will know what I meant by ‘paint me like one of your French guys’”

He sat back and stretched his legs before him, remembering to check his messages. The tray of food was between them and the movie was playing as he scrolled through the names until he found several unread messages from Sophia. He needed not to explain himself, he thought. She wanted nothing to do with him and then wanted him back within the same day.