A few minutes later, they reached the kitchen, and the servant waiting there approached Queen Elaine immediately and placed a tray filled with food in front of her. Edward followed closely behind, watching curiously as the woman bowed slightly and excused herself.

Apparently, he would be joining them for dinner tonight, he mused, eyeing the food suspiciously. He had hoped that his mother would decide to prepare some sort of dessert or soup, since it had been weeks since they'd eaten a proper meal, but he didn't doubt that she was prepared something that could fill him up with energy.

Nevertheless, he refused to admit that he was hungry, and...