“Thank you,” she told it.
The lights on its front screen intensified for a moment, as if it liked being thanked.
“It is my pleasure to serve,” it said, then rolled off into the darkness.
Taking a deep breath, she headed back to the corridor, expecting to go upstairs to the Ruler’s rooms.
But as she passed, she realized there was a light on in the study.
Shifting the tray into one arm, she tapped on the door.
“Enter,” the familiar dark voice intoned.
She opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind her on instinct.
Ruler Kreed sat at an enormous desk flanked by bookshelves. The undoubtedly gorgeous view was blocked out by dark curtains, giving the study a crypt-like feel in spite of its size.
“I brought your dinner,” she said softly, carrying it up to the desk.
“I see you won’t be satisfied until you turn every inch of this place into a dining room,” Kreed muttered.
“I apologize,” she said curtly. “I’ll take it back to the kitchen droids.”
“Wait,” he said.
And as if his voice had a direct line to her feet, she stopped mid-turn.
“Thank you,” he said. “That was very thoughtful of you. I’ll eat.”
She bit back the sarcastic response forming on her lips. He was a grown man, not a little boy. But hunger and stress made it hard to be polite, especially to one so much lower on the food chain, as she was compared to him.
His thanks meant something, and deserved acknowledgement.
“It is my pleasure,” she told him. “I am sorry I caused you unhappiness by taking the children to the fountain tonight. Maybe another staff member can help me understand if there are other specific high-value pieces on the property I need to be aware of?”
“Don’t trouble yourself,” he said, waving her apology away. “Please, sit.”
“I wouldn’t want to disturb you,” she said.
“I could use the company,” he replied, indicating the chair across from his desk.
She pulled it out and sat hastily, sitting up straight, since the world leader no doubt expected his employees to have good posture.
“I hope the comms tonight were nothing you couldn’t resolve,” she said, for lack of anything else to say.
It immediately hit her that he probably wasn’t allowed to tell her anyway.
“I guess we’ll see,” he said, chuckling bitterly and shaking his head.
“Something tricky?” she guessed.
“Do you follow Ulfgardian politics?” he asked.
She shook her head, feeling embarrassed, though why she should feel she had to keep tabs on another planet’s doings she had no idea.
“Good,” he told her. “That will make things simpler. I’m new to the office, and to politics in general. Ulfgard is a pretty good place to live already.”
“A paradise,” she said, nodding.