Page 137 of Kingdom of Death and Hope

Several days have passed since I got released from the dungeon and my body is taking its sweet time healing. Mother has confined me to either laying on my bed or sitting at the table, not to do much at all. Though I can’t argue too much since I don’t really want to do anything right now. With every single movement I make, my whole body aches with pain.

“Your face is looking a lot better. Did you put the salve on it this morning?” Mother asks as she walks into the kitchen, holding the baby.

“Yes, I did. I’m hoping I can go out soon and walk around to slowly get my body used to movement again,” I say.

“Why don’t you do that here where you’re safe?” Mother suggests. “I would hate for you to go out there and people whisper and come up with rumors about what happened to you.”

“I already told someone that I was mugged on my way back from Hellhollow,” I sigh. “I told the prince that I would come up with some believable excuse so that he wasn’t dragged into it.”

“Why would you do that?” Mother asks as she starts feeding the baby.

“Because it was the only way that I could come home without him… the only way I was able to come home at all. He wanted me to stay in the palace until I was fully healed, but I didn’t want to be there when Avira was there. She could come to me at any moment and hurt me.”

She could still come to me now with her powers and do anything she wanted. No one is safe from her.

“I guess coming up with a believable lie is better than getting stuck in the palace. He probably wouldn’t have let you go after you had stayed there for a while,” Mother points out.

I hum in agreement. “I was worried about that. I also didn’t know if they would do anything to prolong my healing so I was there longer. I knew if I came home that I would heal the best.”

I would also be at peace and not worry about what I say or do in the palace. I shudder at the thought of living there with the prince, never having a moment of peace and always having to be on guard. There is no way I would survive there.

With how Prince Archie is always acting around me, I wouldn’t put it past him to do something with my healing and have someone follow me around to spy on me. He’s paranoid, and not in a good way.

“We won’t let that happen.” Mother gently pats my hand. “You aren’t going to live there.”

Not with Prince Archie. But if Kieran and the Fae can break the curse then maybe some day I will live there, with him. But would he want to live there after everything that has happened?

“Do you think I would be able to go out and walk around today?” I ask.

I’m itching to go out into the forest and see Kieran. It’s been forever since I last saw him and the longer I go without it, the more I’m on edge.

Mother looks at my face for several seconds. “If you cover your face, then yes. I don’t have anything to cover up the bruises, though.”

I close my eyes and lean my head back, taking a deep breath. I don’t have anything either since I used it up the last time something like this happened.

“What if I put a scarf around my neck and keep my head tilted down?” I suggest after a couple of seconds.

“And look suspicious so people draw their attention to you?” Mother chuckles. “You would be better off just walking out there with nothing at all.”

“Then I will,” I declare.

Mother shakes her head. “Do you want the prince to know that you’re doing better?” she asks. “Do you want him to know that the wedding can still proceed like usual?”

“He told me that they are going to push the wedding back since he wants my scars to fully heal and the whole situation not be the talk of the town. The wedding dress is going to be super heavy and I won’t be able to wear it and walk down the aisle like he wants me to,” I explain. “My whole body is weak and I can’t do much right now.”

Prince Archie didn’t actually say they were going to push the wedding back, but he told me not to worry about it. Next time I see him I’m going to have to explain that it should be pushed back so people don’t get the wrong idea.

“Really?” Mother arches an eyebrow.

I nod. “It would only take one small rumor to turn the tide. The wedding will be too close to what happened to me and people might get the wrong idea about the prince. He wouldn’t want that.”

Mother shakes her head and starts burping the baby. “You have everything figured out.”

I shrug. “Not everything. There wasn’t much I could do when I was laying in my bed.”

But even if I didn’t spread the small rumor, I bet someone else in town would have the same idea as me. Some of them already suspect that it’s the Prince and not the story I came up with. If any of them were paying attention to what direction I was coming from, they would know that what I said was a lie.

I hadn’t thought of that small detail until it was too late. But there was no way for me to go around town and come from the direction of Hellhollow without being spotted by someone.