My Little Kingdom

Poison

Something smelled. Something flowery. Blair buzzed the intercom. "Princess?" the crackly voice on the other side said.
"Something's up in my room. Could you send someone please?" Blair asked. The intercom went silent. It took a minute or so to find someone to send, and during that time the smell got stronger. It was sickly sweet and made Blair feel a bit sick. In fact, a lot sick. She felt like she was about to faint when someone burst in through the door.

"Princess!" the cook screamed. What was going on? "Come with me now!" Blair followed her, the sickly, sickly smell filling her head. The last thing she could remember was the smell being too strong and her being too weak and toppling, toppling into cook's arms and blackness, blackness.

* * *

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
What was that? Blair tried to open her eyes to see where the incessant noise was coming from but her lids were too heavy, weighing down on her face. She tried to speak, but again her lips were too heavy and bounced her words back down her throat as soon as bubbled up.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE E E E E E P BE EP B E E P.
Aww man, why? The beeping was going all crazy fast and long and weird. It hurt her head. She heard footsteps, and finally the stupid noise was gone.
"She's up! She's up!" Blair heard a stern voice shout.
"Blair! OhmygodareyouokaywhathappenedareyoudeadBlair!" someone shrieked. Her sister. But she didn't have a sister, did she? Oh yeah. She did but she died. Did she? No, her sister was very much alive, and shrieking into her ear at the pace of a madman.

The voice made her eyes finally open, and she saw Brianna hugging her chest until she couldn't breathe.
"Bri-an-na," Blair coughed out. Brianna stopped immediately.
"Sorry, Blair," she said sheepishly.
"What happened?" Blair asked, finally regaining her breath.
The stern voice she heard answered, "Someone managed to set off a pace bomb - a bomb which lets out only clear, odourless poison in your room. The smell went through the vents to the cook, who knew what was up, pulled the alarm and ran to get you. Halfway through evacuating, you fainted and she carried you the rest of the way."

"Wow," was all Blair could say. Cook saved her?
"You would be dead if it wasn't for her," the stern voice added, reading her thoughts.
"Thanks, cook," said Blair to the middle-aged woman standing by the foot of her bed.
"Just doing my job," Cook said shrugging.