Much later that day, after returning to the palace, Max was ordered by the doctors and nurse back to bed.
Carolyn eventually came to join him after enduring hours of people offering their condolences and speaking about anything and everything. Even had several tried to use it as a political opportunity or discuss country affairs. This made her angry and as Queen, she was required to maintain posture and be devoid of true emotion, while gracefully attending to everyone with a small smile.
As soon as she could, Carolyn departed and rushed up to her suite, where she broke down and cried on Max, expelling all her bottled up emotions while he softly comforted her.
Knowing full well he was not able to be with her during the long daunting walk, it also made her very angry too. She released all her pain, sorrows and stress upon him, soaking his shirt in the process.
Knowing he was her other half, and knowing God had given him to her, she knew deep down through all this pain and suffering, Max was shining a light at the end of the dark tunnel, and she just had to get there to see it.
Soon, she passes off to sleep and Max continues to hold her while praying silently - for her, for him, for everyone.
Later, Selene creeps into the room and sees her Queen asleep. She saw Max with his eyes closed, tears leaking from them, but his lips speaking wordlessly, and she knew he was praying.
Regretting it deeply, she had to speak to him at least.
So, she lightly touched his arm. Max's eyes shot open, to find it was Selene. He whispered: "Unless the country is at war, let her rest, please."
Selene agreed and nodded. She then whispered back. "Sir, it's about your supper. You both will need some food, especially if you have to take your medication?"
Max agrees and asks Selene to get the nurse to come to assist him. He intended to leave Carolyn sleeping on the bed, while he moved off the bed to use the bathroom and then eat.
Quickly she departs and returns with the nurse wheeling the chair into the room. With Selene's help, they first tried to manoeuvre Carolyn off Max, to allow him to slip off the bed.
But she awakes at the first touch.
"What! What is wrong? What is happening now?" she panics for a moment.
Max and Selene quickly hush her, calming her down. Then he explained. "Baby. I need to go to the bathroom and then eat some food before I can take my medication. I promise to come back, then we all can go to sleep for the night."
Selene also suggested Carolyn eats too. Carolyn, sees her long-time trusted friend, and now chief personal assistant, look at her with caring begging eyes. Carolyn relents.
After Max finished doing his needs in the bathroom. Carolyn slips in there to take a quick shower.
The nurse took this opportunity to inspect and clean Max's wounds, where needed, while he was in the wheelchair. Then she assisted Max to dress into his nightclothes. Once done, she wheeled him out to the dining table in the suite.
A palace maid was on hand to serve supper and refreshments. After reviewing the small buffet on offer, personally provided by the palace chef, Max chose to have a nice simple meal and a cup of coffee.
While digging in the food, Carolyn comes in her nightclothes and dressing gown to join him.
Curtsying, the maid afters, in Danish, a choice from the buffet and something to drink.
Carolyn replies and the maid swiftly makes up a plate of food and a cup of coffee which she then serves to her Queen and hastily departs, leaving them alone.
Max and Carolyn silently munch on their food, nourishing their empty bellies, they sat there not staying a word, at first.
While sipping his coffee, Max, who had finished eating before her, sat back in the wheelchair, watching her, waiting, and knowing she needed time. Soon, Carolyn looks up and sees he is staring at her.
"What!" she asked grumpily.
Smiling, Max kept quiet. He continued to stare with a slight grin, hiding it with his coffee cup.
She glares back and says: "You do want to go to the dungeon, don't you!" then sat back with a huff, drinking her coffee.
But Max continues. His grin turns into a full smile, from eye to eye, while the cup was still at his lips, and his eye twinkling, then he winked at her.
"Oh, buzz off. I am not in the mood for your weird games. Can you bloody just talk to me or leave me alone!" fumed Carolyn at him.
And still, Max continues to provoke her.
Pissed off, she picks up a left-over muffin and shoots it straight at him.
Bull's eye! – literally, bull's EYE. It ended its flight directly into his right eye.
Max shrieks at the sudden impact, he quickly covers his injured eye, while laughing with a bit of pain.
Shocked at her actions, Carolyn jumps up and runs around to him.
"Honey! I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, or even hit your eye!" she wails, trying to see the damage while trying to hold him.
Hearing a commotion, the palace guard and maid rushed into the dining room of the suite, only to see their Queen was safe and there was a situation with the Duke.
"Your Majesty" the guard questions. "Is everything all right, Ma'am."
The maid runs over to them and quickly cleans up, including the left-over muffin, utterly destroyed, on the floor.
Now laughing too, Carolyn ignores the guard, continues to wipe the crumbs off Max and pepper him with kisses.
"Honey, I am sorry. Really, I am! I promised never to do that again. Forgive me please?" she begs and poses with puppy-eyes.
Seeing there was nothing serious, the guard departs, with a faint smile. He steps out of the door- in and bumps into Selene, who was running to the door in panic. Surveying the situation, she relaxes and after a bit of listening, starts to laugh too.
Carolyn picks up the largest piece she could find on his lap, turns to her friend, and lobs it at Selene, laughing.
Selene sees the inbound object, ducks for cover, grabs a cushion and pleads. "Your Majesty, please have pity on me," while still laughing into the cushion.
The maid, at first was in shock at all this, but too soon starts to laugh, only to try her best to hide it and be invisible, as it was not right for a maid like her to join in on the fun. It could cost her her job.
Turning away, she starts packing up the buffet onto the trolley with the dishes and swiftly navigates out of the suite.
Only, as she reaches the door, does a piece of a muffin hit the wall just next to the door, causing her to shriek in alarm.
Spinning around, she saw all three of them were struggling to hold back on their laughter as it was clear it was the Duke who had lobbed this.
Embarrassed, as she was not used to this type of behavior of the Royals unto their staff, he swung around and raced out of the door.
Selene realizing they had gone a bit too far, she comments this, knowing she was one of the very few who could speak her mind without consequences.
"Ma'am, Sir. I think that shouldn't have happened. It is not proper for Royalty to interact with the staff like that. I will speak to her later and sort it out."
Feeling bad, Carolyn nods her agreement, while confused Max asks. "Sorry, ex poor common bread beggar here. What was wrong with interacting with the staff? Not like we were inappropriate with her."
"Sir, forgive me for being frank. But there is a lot you need to learn about being a Royal now. And one of them is that the Royals, and the senior staff members like me, do not interact with the lower staff like the maid, cleaners, etc like chums. It is improper and not on. Has been for many, many years."
"Selene, firstly, I am Max to you. Please, call me Max. I know in public you have to use my title. But in private, I beg you to call me Max or 'Hey you!" he grins and Carolyn stifles a chuckle while rolling her eyes.
"And secondly, to me, you are more senior than me in royalty expertise than I. Therefore I need someone to teach me all this, and I trust you explicitly, besides my wife."
Carolyn nods in agreement while hugging Max.
"And thirdly," he continues, "seriously, what age are we in? Surely we can interact with the staff. I understand we are higher ranked than them. But to treat them like garbage, slaves, or a dirty servant is not right"
He then looks at Selene and Carolyn questioningly.
"Honey. While I agree with you, change like this cannot happen instantly. And many would disagree with such change. If we tried to implement it, it could cause some serious issues. I suppose with our personal staff, we can try to slowly implement it. But the rest we will have to leave what has been in play for hundreds of years."
Relenting, Max agrees.