Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 231: Missing Vegetables II

Chapter 231: Missing Vegetables II

"You’re awfully glowy," Sirona commented. "Is there anything you would like to share?"

At first, Daphne hadn’t wanted to have breakfast served directly into her room, embarrassed to let Maisie see the mess. Yet, her stomach was growling and Daphne had no choice but to look for some sustenance herself.

She had just entered the kitchen in search of breakfast when she was met with Sirona’s toothy grin. The healer had a cup of tea in front of her and a plate of pastries, happily digging into the sweet treats. When she spoke, they weren’t left forgotten. Sirona heartily moved a forkful of food into her mouth while maintaining eye contact, a sparkle in her eyes.

"N-Nothing..." Daphne trailed off. She scurried towards the fruits, picking up a random apple from the basket before biting directly into it. "I just decided to sleep in, that’s all. You should too, with how hard you work. A little rest is good for the soul."

"Sex is good for the soul," Sirona answered without missing a beat.

Hearing that, Daphne began to choke on the mouthful of apple, barely hacking it out as Sirona watched with a sly grin. The healer began to dig around in her pockets before finally finding what she had been searching for. She tossed it over.

"Here, have this. It might come in handy."

Daphne fumbled a little, dropping the apple onto the countertop before she caught whatever it was that Sirona had thrown her way. She stared wide-eyed and eyebrows raised at the small bag of pills inside. They were small, round, and dark, but otherwise had no distinguishing smell.

"What is this?" Daphne asked, pulling out a pill to examine a little closer.

"Just some pills," Sirona flippantly answered.

Daphne wrinkled her nose. "What are they for?"

That caused the healer to grin. "They are made of briscusberries and crushed papaya seeds, along with a few other harmless ingredients." Sirona paused, her smirk deepening. "Such as aedrove vines," she added.

The list of familiar herbs caused Daphne to perk up. She had heard of these ingredients before but Daphne couldn’t place her finger on where exactly. Then, she perked up.

"Wait..." she said. "Briscusberries and aedrove vines..." She scowled. "Didn’t you say that these would make a very bitter combination?"

Sirona merely nodded, her smile not once fading.

"And..." Daphne continued, her eyes widening when bits and pieces of her memory started to slot themselves back into place. Her cheeks flushed red immediately. "And they... those herbs would create a very powerful aphrodisiac..."

Good heavens.

"Oh, lighten up," Sirona said, trying desperately to contain her laughter. "It wouldn’t be your first time experiencing the effects of those herbs."

Daphne thought back to the way Atticus and her body had been entangled with one another for the entirety of last night. His powerful — almost desperate — thrusts, the heated gazes, the sensual touches...

The last thing Atticus and her needed was an aphrodisiac. Her back and waist wouldn’t be able to handle it!

Sirona easily guessed what Daphne was thinking right now. Her queen was aggressively rubbing her sore waist, a grimace hanging over her face like a loom of dread. It was all too easy to read her mind, which had no doubt returned to her romp with Atticus last night.

"It’s not just an aphrodisiac," Sirona said, her tone light and merry. "The mixture of papaya seeds to this group of herbs would make it a very effective birth control. Take one before you two have your fun and it would be enough. Its effect will last for about a day."

She rested her chin on her palm, smiling.

"Unless you’re preparing to have wee devils run around the palace halls soon, I would recommend you take them. Otherwise, you two would produce enough children to guard Vramid’s borders soon enough."

It was the most entertaining thing to watch Daphne as her face turned from a peachy pink to beetroot red, borderline purple. Sirona bit into her pastry, hearing it crunch delectably as her queen turned into a stuttering mess.

If Sirona hadn’t known any better — which would never happen, because she always knew best — she would’ve thought that Daphne was an innocent maiden who had yet to explore the wonders of human touch.

Wrong.

Jonah’s eyebags and endless ranting earlier this morning were enough to tell Sirona how heavy-handed Atticus had been with his darling little wife last night. The whole castle would’ve known, at this point.

"W-Why are you carrying such a thing around in your pocket?!" Daphne asked, astounded.

"I was going to spend my off-day at the red light district," Sirona replied, batting the issue away. "We’re leaving for Reaweth first thing tomorrow morning. If I don’t have my fun now, I won’t be able to until we get back, and who knows when that might be."

Daphne’s eyes widened. "So soon?"

She had guessed that Sirona was a little more... adventurous, thus Daphne wasn’t all too surprised to learn that she frequented brothels to have her own fun. There were gigolos around Vramid and it wasn’t uncommon for them to be hired as well.

Poor Jonah, though. It always did seem like he was a little interested in Sirona. Either that or his affections for the healer were complete lies to hide the fact that he was in love with Atticus. Daphne was sure it was one of the two.

"So soon," Sirona affirmed. "You best start packing. I have no idea how your parents and siblings would react when you return home, so if you need anything special, you better bring it along with you." She winked. "Like those pills."

"Oh, don’t tease me!" Daphne fumed, pouting.

Sirona heartily chuckled, placing her empty dishes in the sink.

"You just make it too easy, Your Highness," was all Sirona said before she left the kitchen, whistling a merry tune under her breath.

Daphne returned to her room shortly after.

Zephyr was the first to greet her, excitedly peppering beaky kisses against her skin. The poor beast had been thrown out of the chambers last night as per Atticus’s orders and it was excited to see Daphne again.

The not-so-baby griffin had already learned how to steadily fly in the weeks under Daphne’s care. It was now getting big and Daphne was considering having a proper resting area built for Zephyr somewhere outside on the palace grounds. Soon enough, it wouldn’t fit in her bedchambers.

In the midst of fussing over Daphne, Zephyr suddenly paused. It sniffed the air the way a hunting hound would, squinting its eyes theatrically. Then, it scurried over to the window, its beak nearly slamming into the glass if it hadn’t stopped itself in time.

"What’s wrong?" Daphne asked, hurrying over as well.

The griffin merely squawked urgently, pecking lightly at the glass.

Daphne looked out, a small gasp escaping her lips. Outside her window was an assortment of vegetables and wildflowers. There were droplets of water that clung onto the greens as if they had just been washed.

Daphne carefully opened the window and picked them up, examining them one by one.

Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. They were very typical legumes that didn’t seem to have been charmed or laced with magic. Although, she had no idea why they would be placed right outside her bedroom window―

Wait. She did.

It was the exact same window Daphne had found a dead chicken a while back.

Sirona was right. It might be best to leave Vramid for Reaweth soon.