Eating cake at the Palace

[Noor bint Daniyal]

The sea is blissfully calm today, Noor thought for herself. She stood in her palace in Goldshire Hamlet by one of the windows directly overlooking the sea. For as long she could remember, she had always found peace and refuge by the sea. How ironic it was when she, as a married woman, discussed the sea with Nathaniel. Her husband was terrified of it, he hated the sea. It was to be expected, Noor had mused. After all, Nathaniel had been dumped at sea by her own father, left for dead. Then, by the miraculous dealings of some divine power, Nathaniel had been saved by the Jingdaoese, only to lose his eyes and be tortured more.

While she was glad she was no longer married to Nathaniel, he was a good man. She really respected him. Now, she was married to a “boy”. Although there was some excitement whenever she bedded that young man, she never found the deep intellectual stimulation from him as she did from Nathaniel. But of course, the young man gave her much of other kinds of stimulation. And he was a lot more handsome, too. The bulging muscles that she could touch, the smooth skin… the young vigour! Every woman should have her own toyboy.

The young man had also given her a gift she was very unsure about. She hadn’t dared see the doctor to confirm it, but deep down, she suspected, or even, she knew, that there was something growing inside her belly. In her monologues with herself, Noor always called it “my parasite”.

She hadn’t told Noah anything of it, of course. She had only hinted at it. No one would know until she was absolutely certain. But she didn’t dare see the doctor. What if it was a positive response? How would she deal with that? What if it was a negative one? How to deal with that? No, nature would have its course. What would happen would happen.

But what if, she thought, what if in a few years time she’d have a fifth little child running around her palaces. Already she had four beautiful ones, but… she couldn’t bare to love them. Love had always seemed to be something that was lacking in her family. She didn’t have the capacity of love, but at least she wasn’t as bad as her two sisters in that respect, or her father for that matter.

What if a fourth child could teach her to love? It would after all be a child conceived from pleasure, joy and adventure, unlike the three others which were conceived in a test tube. It would be a child one-quarter Storish… and the Storish always went on and on about love. When they ruled Elwynn (in distant past) they even named a province “Ancient Lands of Love”. They’re obsessed with love. Surely then would love rub off on her.

Noor looked at the sea a little more, petted her belly a little. “Now now, little man… don’t make yourself known yet…”.

There was a knock on the door. A servant entered. Noor had made sure that all her closest servants would be bodyguards too. So only men from the Leonid Guard served her. Only they could be trusted.

“Your Majesty…” the guard/servant began. Noor smiled. At least the guard saw her as a queen in her own right. Hopefully the new constitution would pass, and she would be Queen over all of Goldshire too. “A packet has arrived.”

Noor looked at the “packet” (which in fact was more of a wooden box with a card on). She read the card. It said “My dear… a gift for the child within”.

Oh it was Noah who sent it! She and Noah had always joked that they’d bring out childish behaviour in one another. Once, they had leaped out of the palace in Eliria, dressed as UDF soldiers, and started arrested people in the courtyard for fashion offences. That was a fun day.

“You can go, soldier”, said she. She saw how the guard protested. He was supposed to open it, check it for dangerous elements, and so on. Noor noticed this. “It’s from my husband, I’d like the privacy myself”.

It was imperative that the guard left. What if it was a sex toy Noah had sent?

Once the guard left, she opened the wooden box. Inside it there were simply two things: An Ardashirian desert-berry cake and a beautiful orchid. The desert-berry cake was her childhood favourite dessert! How had Noah known that? What a delightful surprise. The orchid was made out of some sort of glass, all painted black (except the leaves, which were green). She marvelled at the glass-maker’s technique for making the leaves and crown look so realistic. She couldn’t help herself from gently touching it, feeling the flower in her hand. She saw engraved on one of the leaves, “Dark Orchid Society”. That must have been the glassmaking company. She would really need to thank Noah for this beautiful gift.

But the cake! By Elwynn and Lest, that cake… How had he known? She hadn’t had one of those cakes since a small girl. Never had she told him about how much she had loved that cake. No, she made ever chance possible to tell Noah that she didn’t eat sugary stuff. Her body was her temple, and as she was growing older (especially after carrying quadruplets in her belly and giving birth to them), she needed to stay fit. But her belly was bloated now, no matter how much she exercised. She might as well just eat that cake. What if there were a fetus inside, then she’d be eating for two anyway!

She took a bite. It tasted wonderfully. Those Alalehzamini desert-berries, they only grow about once every 12 years when there’s a particular rainy summer. It’s hard to get a good harvest of them. So a desert-berry cake is quite the expensive treat.

She took bite after bite, savouring every second of eating the delicious cake. She hadn’t eaten anything better for years. Noor was in pure heaven.

Once she finished her cake, she sat down by her desk, and started penning a thank-you note to her husband. What could she send back as a gift? She thought of many different things, but she couldn’t think of a good one. It had to be as perfect as this gift. What could Noah want?

Her thoughts were unfortunately interrupted by a horrible pain “downunder”. It was similar to giving birth, she thought, and at that second, the horror caught her. She was having a miscarriage. She removed her clothes, and saw in her underwear a small little red figure, about the size of her thumb. That was her parasite, her child… who had died.


A few hours later, when she had sought medical help, and some tests had been taken, she was informed that the miscarriage was due to the ingestion of abortion-inducing drugs. Had she knowingly taken any?

“No, doctor…” answered Noor, and she immediately knew what had happened. The cake had included the drugs… But who did it? It couldn’t have been Noah. He adored her and he longed for a child of his own. The Dark Orchid Society?

But how had they known about her childhood desserts? Or that she was expecting?

[Fjorleif]

This what we call a teachable moment!

Always employ the services of a taster, Sweet Sister in Law.

Take care!

And remember: if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger.

[Noor bint Daniyal]

Thank you for the sympathy hehe

[King Noah]

Oh darling, I'm so sorry for our loss and share your pain.

The both of us are, however, young so one day our house will be full of the sound of little feet.

[Noor bint Daniyal]

Find the evil people who did this, Noah... they killed our child. Show no mercy! Kill first their children infront of their eyes, then throw them in prison where they will be haunted by that sight for the rest of their lives.

[King Noah]

Darling,

Justice for our murdered unborn child will be served in accordance with Elwynnese Law.

[Fjorleif]

Justice for our murdered unborn child will be served in accordance with Elwynnese Law.

Very prudent, Sweet Little Brother of Mine!

I'm also looking into the matter of ordering the Mango Rangers to launch an investigation into this tragic incident.

[Ryker]

Suthergold's Defender's League is keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious.

[Continuator]

Very distressing. I've updated the wiki accordingly.

[King Noah]

Very distressing. I've updated the wiki accordingly.

A very good read indeed!