CHAPTER 20: TURNING THE TABLES
Maya’s POV
I froze. Aghast. Shocked.
The world around me tilted.
A rictus of horror twisted across the faces surrounding me.
He stood still. Unmoving. Like a statue in shock. Eyes wide, mouth agape, heart caught mid-beat.
“GUARDS! ARREST THE EVIL WOMAN! SHE POISONED THE KING,” Hannah shrieked, voice slicing through the air like broken glass.
“KILL HER! KILL HER! KILL HER!” The hysteric mob chanted, in blind hysteria.
Athena kicked me to the ground on my knees while chains bound me from all sides. Pain flared. My palms scraped stone. My dignity shattered.
My triplets cried in Carl’s arms as if sensing my distress. The crowd went into a frenzy while warriors in armors surrounded me with spears pointed at me, their gleaming tips just inches from my throat.
“DIE, EVIL WOMAN! DIE!” Athena bellowed as she raised her whip, its end coiling like a snake ready to strike me.
My chest tightened. Breath grew shallow. I felt my heart lurch. I was about to lose everything for the second time. Everything was over. My life. My babies. My sacrifices. All in vain.
Just when I almost saw death crashing down my head, four words changed our lives. Time buckled. All movement froze mid-motion, whip still raised, mouths mid-chant, breath collectively held.
Athena’s smirk melted into disbelief.
Out of the blue, the Lycan King quietly said, “Yum! This is divine.” And completely undisturbed, helped himself to a big scoop from the bowl. Just four words turned the tables. A smile of relief broke out on my face while evil smiles turned into scowls. Masks of triumph twisted into raw outrage.
Blissfully unaware of his surroundings, King Sebastian Longstorm took another generous bite, then another and then another of the conical ice-cream (Kulfi). His eyes slipped close as if relishing the gooey goodness utterly enthralled.
A moan slipped out inadvertently when he brought the chilled Falooda noodles along with the milky saffron-kissed syrup to his lips. It was a sound of pure indulgence that lowly escaped him.
His eyes snapped open in surprise at his own reaction, mildly flustered by the involuntary moan. The embarrassment of the moan shook him out of his dazed stupor.
He glanced around, blinking as if awakening from a dream. The tension still hung heavy, unspent, every face around him carrying shades of astonishment and surprise.
When his gaze fell on my chained, bruised and kneeling figure, a grim jaw replaced the smile on his peaceful, content face.
“What happened?” he asked, genuinely confused.
His lycan, Titan, responded before anyone else. A guttural growl tore from within, thunderous and commanding. The warriors surrounding me jerked back instinctively, scrambling to unfasten the chains with trembling hands.
“What happened to YOU, Your Majesty?” Hannah shot back, eyes wild.
“I don’t know. I was enjoying the dessert. You should try some too. It is absolutely out of this world. Let me try the starters and main dish as well,” he eagerly said, eyeing the King of snacks, Raj Kachori, smoked Paneer Tikka Masala and butter-glazed Garlic Naan.
Then, as if none of the chaos had occurred, he casually seated himself before the banquet table. With eager hands, he reached for the Raj Kachori, its crisp shell crackling under his grip and a myriad of sauces flooded at the center, much to the king and crowd’s delight. Then came the smoked Paneer Tikka Masala, its aroma rich and intoxicating, followed by warm, butter-laced Garlic Naan, still steaming from the fire.
He divided the food in four proportions and took the largest share for himself. He gave the rest to Princess Hannah, Beta Zane and the royal chef. I brought out four more Kulfi-Falooda desserts from the cooling tray and served them which were heartily consumed within seconds.
Even Princess Hannah, in all her poised elegance, couldn’t resist from decimating the Kulfi cone in no time. She sank her teeth into the frozen treat, eyes widening in reluctant pleasure as she crushed the cone between her teeth. The saffron syrup flooded her mouth with every bite.
Lycan appetites were certainly hearty and legendary.
However, the mob was not satisfied. They mistook the royals’ expressions as feral.
“Tsk, Maya,” Leo clicked his tongue. “Your cooking seems to be as terrible as your character! Look at Beta Zane. He is crying as he eats.”
“Yes, yes. Alpha Leo is right. Look at Beta Zane! He is weeping while his lycan howls.”
“Princess Hannah looks like she is in a daze. What a pity, seems like they will never recover from this horrible experience.”
“No wonder the King also went into shock and had to test the other dishes before disqualifying the lowly omega.”
“This is what happens when you are characterless and skill-less. Boycott the lowly omega.”
“We don’t need a talentless, mute omega as our Queen. We deserve better. The Lycan King deserves better!”
“Look at the Head Chef. He is tearing into the bread with his claws. Couldn’t even use his fingers. Did she make hard rocks for bread,” everyone laughed before an unperturbed sound cut through their jabs.
“Mmmmh! By the Moon!” the royal chef moaned, licking his fingers with unabashed delight. “Each bite is a festival on my tongue—a glorious parade of spice, sweetness, and silken textures! I swear, it’s as if the heavens themselves kissed this meal! My taste buds are weeping with joy! This… this is not food. This is a divine revelation!”
Athena couldn’t take digest the praise. She seemed to be the one having stomach problems. Poisoned minds, poisoned stomachs.
She gestured towards Zane and lashed out, “Beta Zane is crying! How horrible must it be?”
“I am sensitive to spicy food but I can’t seem to stop,” Zane wept. “This Raj Kachori is food for my soul. Dr. Maya, can you please make some more for me later? I am addicted,” he explained, much to everyone’s surprise.
Murmurs broke around the crowd. They couldn’t understand what was happening. While chaos and confusion ensued, the lycan best friends couldn’t stop fighting like toddlers for friends through their mindlink.
‘You will get fat, Zane,’ Titan deadpanned.
‘So will you. Stop inhaling the Paneer Tikka Masala in one go. Leave some for us!’
‘No!’
‘Yes!’
‘No!’
‘Yes!’
‘There! Look! Another bowl of Raj Kachori,’ Titan pointed and the poor beta fell for the trick for the hundredth time.
‘Where? Nooooooo!’ Zane screamed as Titan popped the remnants of Zane’s snack into his mouth. ‘I will kill youuuuuu,’ he roared.
“Look at Beta Zane. He gave up his meal to the Lycan King. He didn’t like but couldn’t say so publicly,” Rose whispered to her twin, Quinn. “Surely, they hated the food. We should demand that the public try Maya’s food as well as ours and then vote for the winner. I am sure the public will be fair in their judgement. The royals will never disrespect the food on their plates.”
The crowd behind her heard their “whispers”, which were loud enough even for everyone’s sister and brother to hear as well.
“Yes, yes. We demand a fair and open voting process by the public. We should judge the foods.”
“We agree!”
“Open the panel of judgement to the public!”
“We demand justice … ”
“BURRRPPPP,” the royal princess let out a huge, undignified burp. A soft smile graced her lips as her eyes stayed close. She had a fulfilling meal after so many years. She could not remember when she felt so satisfied after a meal. This was a plate of motherly love and hugs.
“Princess Hannah?! Are you alright? Did the food cause stomach problems to you? Are you ill?” Princess Athena asked, worriedly. “Doctors! Please check on her quickly!”
Princess Hannah let out an embarrassed chuckle.
“No, I am fine. Just ate a lot. I agree that the competition should be thrown open to the public. The food is different and our stomachs are full. Other contestants might lose out. We can give Ms. Maya Veneto more time to prepare the same dish for the public.”
“Is that justified?” Valerie called out. “How will she prepare again for so many .... ”
I softly grabbed Nurse Valerie’s hand and quietly shook my head.
“I will cook.”
“Are you sure?” She worriedly asked. “You don’t have a lot of time. How will you plate so many items at once? Are you ready for this challenge?”
I nodded my head with a wide smile on my face. I had a plan.
Nurse Valerie searched my eyes. Convinced by the fierce determination in them, she sighed and turned towards Princess Hannah, “The challenge is accepted.”
“Alright. You have 60 minutes while everyone tastes the others’ dishes. We will get to you at the end,” she replied.
“Buh – buh – but, Your Majesty! We can not … ” Princess Athena was cut off with a strong decisive voice.
“Your Highness,” Beta Zane’s voice boomed as he knelt on one knee and bowed to his King. “There was no poison in the food. We were duped into thinking that a contestant of the Luna Trials was trying to harm you. However, we are all fine. How would you like to pass the judgement on Princess Athena’s allegations before we proceed?” He asked.
The King waved his hand and the Minister of Justice stepped forward.
“We will proceed as decided earlier. We will demote Princess Athena’s wolf’s rank and look into Omega Maya’s … ” Cue an aggressive growl from Beta Zane. “I mean – Doctor Maya’s request to probe into the princess’ birth rank. As for the princess’ candidature, it will not be cancelled as she did not break any rules of the Luna Trials.”
“WHAT? NOOOOO!” Princess Athena shouted and staggered, her hand clutching over her heart as if her wolf’s powers were squeezed out. With a howl, her wolf’s rank demoted one level as her powers were snatched and imbibed by the Lycan King.
“Now let the contest begin! Before that we will award bonus points to Dr. Maya … ” the royal chef learnt from the Minister of Justice’s experience with Beta Zane’s vocal anger. “ … as the royals were pleased and delighted with the unique experience and for righting the wrong of Princess Athena’s accusations,” he announced.
The crowd fell quiet. However, it was a mere act of obedience. Anger simmered amongst them. They were going to make the omega pay dearly in this round.