Imdalia

Io held the bottle of merlot gingerly in the palm of her hand, knocking lightly on the doorframe to the balcony with her free hand. She was nervous, and for good reason. She'd not gotten off on a very good footing with her fiance, King Anrinar. It was an arranged marriage, a political one. A union between humans and the Imdalians, a race of aliens that had invaded and taken over sixteen years ago. The marriage was meant to be a show of peace.

As a former soldier in the war, Io was crass and stubborn. And it had shown during her first day with him, there had been a good deal of arguing and snark thrown from both sides. Neither of them made a very good first impression on the other, however, Anrinar was the king. Of the entire planet. There were far more stakes for her to get this right than him. So that is exactly what this private dinner was meant to be, a do-over. A first date of sorts. She'd gone to visit her best friend in the city, to buy a wine from her winery as a gift. A peace offering, to share the bottle and enjoy a glass together. Smooth over the tensions, if you will.

Io was broken from her train of thought by a deep voice asking her to join at the table. She stepped out onto the balcony, placing the bottle on the table before sitting right across from Anrinar. "You said merlot was your favorite, so that was what I bought when I visited Lucinna for lunch," she smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Io. I appreciate it, I'm sure it will be lovely. You talked a big game for your friends local winery, said it was the best around, yes?" he replied smoothly, a hint of amusement evident in his voice. A sort of playfulness that wasn't present earlier in the day.

"I did," she chuckled, nodding, and opening the bottle. She poured two glasses, a slightly larger one for herself. Today had been very stressful, and she felt she could use the drink. Take the edge off.

Anrinar raised his glass, and Io gently touched hers to his own. Wasting almost no time, she took a very long sip of the merlot. Almost immediately, she noticed that something was... off. It took her a moment to figure out what it was, and when she did, she was nearly too late. Her betrothed had placed the rim of glass up against his lip, and was about to take a sip himself.

"Your majesty don't drink that!" Io shouted, arm outstretched, standing up, wine glass frozen and shattered from cold before he could finish his action. Now he would know about her abilties, the ones she had tried so hard to hide. But that was the least of her concern.

His eyes lifted to her, wide and unguarded, surprise clear on his face, in his swirling blue eyes as he processed what she had said, what she had done, what he had heard as her heavy dining chair fell back and slammed into the carpet. He wasn't sure what to ask first. Why, how... He expected servants to flood the balcony any second now. His brows furrowed as he settled on a question. "What?"

Her hands were now clenched onto the table, gripping hard. She kind of had to in order to stay upright. "Don't... Don't drink it," she mumbled. "It's been poisoned," she said, her voice just slightly strained. She wasn't going to die, she didn't drink enough for that, but she was going to be very miserable for the next several hours. Deep muscles aches, a throbbing headache, dizziness, difficulty breathing, and a touch of nausea. But mostly the pain and dizziness. Anrinar would've fared so much worse. Anrinar would've been killed.

He set the glass down, prying his fingers off of the frosty glass and wincing as he nearly pulled the skin off. "Poisoned?" he growled, turning furious eyes on her now. "Why is it poisoned? Why are..." He took a deep breath, attempting to keep his anger in check. He stood, feeling unbalanced by her standing while he remained seated, "How did you know? Will you be alright? We should get you to the infirmary," Anrinar said, his expression stony and stern.

Io gingerly helped herself to the floor, because she wasn't picking the chair back up. She'd probably fall over herself trying. She coughed into her elbow, sounding quite hoarse as she did. She didn't know how effectively she could talk when breathing hurt. But he'd asked questions, and even though she didn't look or feel well, she was going to answer them. "I'll be fine. As for... As for why it's poisoned..." she started to say, having to pause a couple times just to catch her breath, "You'd have to ask Lucinna. The friend I went to see. I bought... the wine from her. I only knew it... was because I could... taste it," she finished, after a few more pauses.

"You've been poisoned, I highly doubt you'll be alright. You should really see a doctor, Io," Anrinar frowned. He found himself going around the table, sighing as he crouched down, trying to lift her back up. He could tell she wasn't well, but he wasn't sure how affected she would be. He called for servants, who rushed in quickly. "Get a medic," he ordered while gently guiding her into his own chair, as hers was still on the floor. "Have them bring... Oh, damn it all," he cursed before sliding one arm underneath her knees.

He'd already had an arm around her as he was trying to guide her into his seat, so it was a simple matter to knock the back of her knees and cause them to buckle, dropping her full weight into his arms. He supported her against his body, cradling her gently while striding quickly out of the room. A servant held the door aloft, and as soon as he was in the hallway he began making his way towards the infirmary, quickly breaking out in a jog. She said she would be alright, but he had no way of knowing for sure without her being looked over by the palace medical staff. What a first date, eh? A single glass of merlot halted it in it's tracks. But he had the best doctors around employed, so she would be well taken care of. His future queen would not die tonight.