Morph

Chapter Nine Bridget Dinner

The dinner table was lit with candles and the silverware sparkled in the light of the dining room. I looked at Carson who was laughing at something Skyler must have said. I looked at the Queen who was signing papers that the butler had brought in. I sat in silence. After a moment, the Queen looked up at me.

"Bridget what, on Earth, are you wearing?" The Queen asked raising her eyebrow. I looked down at my clothes. They were the same clothes from early that morning.

"I am wearing clothes..." I said slowly meeting the Queens gaze.

"Yes, I can see that. But aren't those the same filthy clothes you wore this morning to the Outlying town?" She said pointing her pen at me.

"Yes, your highness." I said slowly.

"Well I expect that tomorrow you dress up more like Carson. He looks decent for once. Do you understand?" The Queen said turning her attention back to her paperwork.

"Yes, your highness." I repeated.

I looked at Carson who was making a face at me. I stuck my tongue back at him. To which he responded by squishing his face together. I let out a small giggle. Skyler stifled a laugh. Carson began to make faces at everyone. Suddenly he stopped and nodded towards the door.

I looked up to see the Head of the Guard. Fredric Paine. Fredric was tall and slender. He was very buff and toned towards his arms and legs but his middle section was as thin as a twig. Fredric had big brown eyes and deep brown hair that was always slicked back. However, Fredric had a huge scar across his face. It made him almost unrecognizable. You could tell that there were eyes and hair and lips but the rest of his face was one giant scar. Fredric cleared his throat.

The Queen looked up and smiled, "Ah! Agent Paine. I am so glad you could join us."

The Queen bared her shiny white teeth. Agent Paine just nodded and sat down next to me. I held my breath. Fredric Paine was the stuff of legend, and for some reason that intimidated me.

The Queen smiled again, and then said, "Now, who is hungry?"

I looked at Skyler. His face looked pale in the dinner light. He almost looked starved.

"I am starving your majesty." Carson said giving the Queen a smile that showed all of his teeth.

The Queen laughed then she clapped her hands. Suddenly servants came out with huge platters of food. The food didn't really matter to me. What interested me was Skyler's reaction. His face lit up when he saw the food, but then it turned to confusion. Skyler looked up and raised his hand. Wait. Did he really just raise his hand? What is this school? That's so odd.

The Queen looked at Skyler, "Yes?" She said as she took a bite of her soup.

"You said that there wasn't enough food to go around for everyone... both Morphings and Purebloods..." Skyler said putting his hand down.

I shot a glance at Carson who was taking a piece of bread of his plate and shoving it into his mouth but he gave a slight shake of his head and his eyes said 'Stay quiet.' Agent Paine looked at Skyler, there was obvious rage in his eyes but he remained silent. The Queen looked at Skyler and tilted her head.

I cleared my throat; "The people here have gardens in their houses and on top of the tall buildings. We give your people all of the shelf stable food so you can keep it or save it. While here we have to use up our resources as quickly as possible..." I shot a glance at the Queen who was nodding.

"Yeah, this food was going bad..." Carson said giving me the "shut up right now" look.

I nodded. Agent Paine sat in silence for a few seconds then he said, "We try to give you as much food as possible. But this is the Queen's house. I would suggest not bringing up the topic again."