A Paradise Lost

Blooming Romance

Anita filled the bath tub with goat’s milk. Queen Raya submerged herself into the bath tub filled with goat’s milk. This was the advise that Queen Reyna from Egypt gave her to have a milky white skin. She filled her face with milk cream and put cucumber slice on her eyes. She tried to relax herself from all the stress on her queenly duties. She wondered what would be the future of her kingdom if she would no longer be the queen. She wondered whether she would have a chance of getting married and have children. Who would inherit her kingdom if she will not have an heir? She fell asleep while her body was still submerged on goat’s milk.

Queen Raya woke up at dusk. She rose up from the bath tub. She looked at her arms and she noticed that her dark skin became a little bit lighter than before. She was thinking that if she would submerge herself everyday on goat’s milk, her skin would become lighter and lighter until she would have a totally different look and  the islanders would no longer recognize her. She put on her red gown and went down to the dining room.

“Good evening, my queen. I’m glad that you’re already awake. We just finished preparing your supper.”

“Good evening, Anita.”

“I’ll just go to the kitchen to get your food.”

“Yes, please because I’m already starving. Thank you.”

“This slave Felipe is very handsome.” Inday, the assistant of the chef said.

“He is the most handsome man I have ever seen. Bayani is not even half as handsome as him.” Maanyag, the second assistant of the chef said.

“It was a blessing in disguise that Bayani rejected Queen Raya’s proposal. Just look at what she found. She found a more handsome man and a greater fighter.”

“Felipe is so hot with his signature ponytail hair, six-pack abs, and white skin. He is so tall and lanky making the warriors of our island look like a midget. I cannot blame our beloved queen if she will fall in love with a slave after Bayani broke her heart. Almost all women in this country were already attracted with Felipe. His dreamy voice and killer smile will make any woman melt.”

Anita overheard the conversation of the two assistant chefs. She cleared her throat to interrupt their conversation.

“Can you please bring the food now to the dining room? The queen is already starving.”

“Of course, we will bring the food right away.” Manang, the head chef said.

“Thank you!”

The assistant chefs brought the food and drinks to the dining room. They setup the food and drinks on the dining table.
Felipe and Ahmed went inside the dining room and approached Queen Raya.

“Good evening, my queen. We apologize if we disturb your supper.”

“It’s okay. I haven’t started eating yet. How’s your training? Are the warriors still rebellious to you? Don’t hesitate to punish them if they will disobey you.”

“Miraculously, they became obedient after you left us.”

“Great!”

“We started our training by teaching them the basics of martial arts. I am glad that Ahmad was already a black belter since he was really a big help in training the warriors.”

Ahmad and Anita looked and smiled at each other. Queen Raya noticed their blooming romance. She was genuinely happy for them. Ahmad was tall and very handsome. She was pretty sure that they would have beautiful children if they would marry each other in the future through God’s will.

“Thank you for your patience in teaching my warriors. I’m sorry I was not able to join you in the training. I was so tired and exhausted, I fell asleep.”

“It’s okay, my queen. You need to rest since your hands are wounded.”

“Have you taken your supper already?”

“Not yet.”

“Why don’t you join me? I am just eating alone. I will appreciate it if you will join me.”

“Actually, we are ashamed to join you in your supper because your people might think that you favored us over them.”

“Don’t mind them. Just think of yourselves as my special guests. I want you Anita to join us as well.”

“Thank you for the invitation my queen. We are honored to be invited to dine with you.”

Felipe sat on the left of Queen Raya with Ahmad sitting next to him. Anita sat on the right of Queen Raya.

“Enjoy your meal. If you still need more food, just don’t hesitate to tell me so that I can ask our chefs to add more food for us.”

“Thank you, my queen.”

Felipe touched Queen Raya’s hand under the table while they were eating. She responded by intertwining her hand with his. Ahmed and Anita kept stealing glances at each other. They smiled at each other every now and then. Felipe also noticed their blooming romance. Like Queen Raya, he was also genuinely happy for them. They are perfect for each other. Ahmed was handsome and Anita was also beautiful with her dark chocolate skin.

Shiloh was observing them eating. He hid under a thick curtain so that he would not be seen. He was not pleased with what he saw. It seemed to him that Felipe had poisoned his sister’s mind. Her sister would never dine with her slaves but she was sharing her meal with them. After they finished their meal, Shiloh left from the back of the curtain immediately and approached Captain Igor.

“Captain, how did you acquire Felipe?”

“Felipe was the champion among gladiators and he was given to Queen Raya as a gift from the queen of Rome.”

“Did the queen of Rome tell you where they bought him?”

“No.”

“This is what I have noticed. We do not buy a Maharlikan and make him as our slave. We always buy slaves in another country. I guess, same with the Romans. They will not buy their own people to become their slaves not unless that person has a big debt that he needs to pay and finds no means in paying it except selling himself as a slave. Felipe must not be a Roman. He must came from another country and that’s something we need to find out. I have also noticed that his manners are so refined. With his handsome face, refined manners, and superb skills in fighting, I don’t think that he came from a poor family. It seemed like he has royal blood. Either he was kidnapped and then sold to slavery or he was sent to spy on us.”

“What do you want us to do with Felipe? It seemed like our queen was already enchanted with him.”

“I want you to send people in Rome to check about his origin. I don’t care how much your investigation will cost. I need you to find out about him as soon as possible before my sister will fall into his trap.”
“We will send people in Rome tomorrow to investigate about Felipe.”

“Godspeed! For the meantime, I will keep an eye on him.”