Rouen's eyelid twitched uncontrollably when he heard the girl's reply. "Why that impotent little wretch. I don't care if you were the scullery maid or some primp nobleman's daughter. I ought to have you whipped at the stocks. How dare you speak like that to someone on the King's table," he thought. A part of his mind urged him that he was overreacting and that he was at fault, but Rouen was too flustered to care.
While he fumed an attractive girl brought him a jug of water. Rouen took one look at her and felt a small fire rise up in him which he immediately beat down. At another time he would have enjoyed her company but at the moment he was too self-conscious of his current situation. His eyes zeroed in on the pitcher. His hand sprung out and immediately swiped it out of her hands. "Thank you," he said quietly. He poured the water into his goblet and immediately drank it. When the goblet was empty he filled it up and drank it again.
The numbing sensation was rapidly spreading through his body. He could no longer smell the faint musk of the room. The spicy aftertaste of the wine gave way to blandness as his sense of taste disappeared. He couldn't even feel the beads of sweat running down his face. Rouen went into a panicked state. "I can't stay here any longer, I'm not going to make a fool of myself in front of court. I need to get out of here," he thought and then stood up.
That single action nearly caused him to collapse onto the stairs. However, he caught the edge of the table with one hand. The other didn't move. He looked at it and tried to move it again but it hung limp and motionless against his side. "Stormfather curse this day," Rouen muttered to himself. With jerky steps he walked away from the King's table and into the crowd. He pushed people aside with his good hand. Each step took a massive amount of will. Each second he could feel the poison seep into the muscles of his body, making it harder and harder to move.
As he pushed the last man blocking the entrance to the chamber and came face to face with one of the last individuals he wanted to see at the moment. There was a tense expression on his face.
"Ah Princess Viola! How unexpected," he said.
