Everyone is concerned since the prince has not arrived at the palace as of midnight. The prince is nowhere to be found, no matter where the royal guards search. As I waited outside the palace, anticipating the arrival of the prince, "Gemma!" Walden took up a position next to me. "Why haven't you gone to bed yet?"
"I'm not yet in the mood to go to sleep," I responded.
"You need to take a rest. Your wound might not heal if you worry too much."
"I should have stopped him instead of letting him leave. Now that we are unaware of his whereabouts, what if Maxx gets back to him? What if..."
"Don't think negatively, nothing horrible can happen to Prince Augustus." He got to his feet. "I'll carry you to your room if you still don't get up."
While shaking my head, I smiled. "There is no need to do that." I got up from my seat on the grass, having been escorted back inside the room
When I switched on the light, I was startled to see Prince Augustus standing at my window, and I sprang back in horror. "P- Prince Augustus?" Slowly but steadily, I placed my feet closer to him, the blood on his face and his shirt becoming more visible to my sight.
"I told you I had to deal with something," he said. Then, all of a sudden, Prince Augustus tumbled to the ground, and I was too late to grab him.
"Prince!" I let out a yell. My attempts to lean him against my bed were futile since he was just too heavy. "I'm gonna ask for help," I said worriedly.
"NO!" A split second later, he grabbed my hand and tried to stop me from calling someone for help. "Don't... I am capable of coping with this pain; I only need rest."
"But, Prince, you must be sent to the hospital."
"P-please!" He pleaded, which took me completely by surprise. I wasn't expecting to hear the word "please" from him, but he did.
"Wait for me right here," I murmured as I released my grip on his clasp. "I swear I won't tell anybody; I'll get some first aid at the clinic."
I went to the clinic to get the first aid kit and returned shortly afterward. I'm at a loss as to where to begin healing his wounds. Because of my anxiousness, my sweat started dripping one by one. Concerned because the blood from his wound had not stopped.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. Prince, you must be sent to the hospital immediately. T- the blood from your wound has not stopped. What... what if you lose a lot of blood quickly? What am I supposed to do?" I stumbled over my words.
"They claim that bad grass is hard to kill, so I guess I won't die easily." He stated it with a wry smile.
Despite the injuries he has received, he is still able to crack jokes.
"I'm afraid I have to..."
"Do as I say."
Fortunately, he is well-versed in the medical field. I carefully followed his instructions, which helped to stem the bleeding from his wound, but it wasn't enough; he needed to be brought to the hospital immediately. I sat on the floor with my two knees folded and my head resting on my crossed palms, watching him sleep blissfully after the grueling treatment.
I had no idea I was dozing off. When I awoke, Walden had already entered the room. I sprang to my feet in disbelief. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here, " I asked in a state of surprise.
"He's right here." He uttered with a stunned expression on his face.
"No, if you believe I hid him, you're mistaken. When I walked in, he was already in my room, simply standing there with his whole body covered in blood." I explained.
"How come you did not inform the King?" Walden queried.
"It's because he doesn't want to," I replied.
"But, the king must be informed of what occurred." He said.
"No!" I gripped his wrist. "Please don't tell King Lucien about this, Walden."
"Gemma, if we leave him like this, the prince's health may deteriorate worse." He explained.
"As for telling the king, I wanted to tell him. I really did. I even thought about taking him to the hospital. But... I swore to him I wouldn't tell anybody." I slid my gaze to the ground. "So, please... please I don't want him to be upset with me once again."
"Is there a reason why are you doing this?" He asked.
"It's because I'm his personal maid," I replied.
"Aside from that, Gemma, what other reason do you have for being worried about him?"
"That's all Walden. What's on your mind?"
"Because you're behaving as though..."
"Acting like what?" I queried. "You know, Walden, if you don't want to help me with him, that's okay; just don't tell the king about it."
"Argh!" Prince Augustus suddenly awoke from his slumber, "Could you two just be quiet?"
We both shifted our attention to Prince Augustus.
"I see you're awake." Walden walked up to the prince. "Are you able to get up?"
"Of course, I can. I'm just injured, not paralyzed." Prince Augustus said, referring to his wound.
"Good, because you have to get back to your room before they can even notice you are here," Walden said.
I shifted my attention back to Walden. "So, you're helping?"
"I don't have a choice," Walden responded, seeming as though he had been coerced into doing so by the situation. "Assist the Prince in his room, and I'll figure out a way to keep them from finding out."
"Okay." I nodded in agreement.
Before leaving, Walden and I double-checked that no one was outside, and then I placed Prince Augustus' hand on my shoulder as we hurriedly made our way to his room.
"You should change your shirt before King Lucien comes here,"
"I can't since my arms are still hurting."
"But, the king cannot see your bloodstained clothes."
"Since you're here, why don't you lend a hand and help me take my top off?"
"Huh?" His words made me look at him twice in shock.
"I can't lift my hand, so help me change my shirt."
"M-me?" I aimed my finger at myself.
"Does anybody else happen to be here beside you?" He said with a furrowed eyebrow.
I took a few steps back and gazed around his peaceful room. Is the prince for real? He asked me to help him change his shirt. I inhaled deeply first, before entering the dressing room. I haven't had time to choose any shirt, so I took what I saw initially.
I showed him the shirt I had chosen. When I glared at him, his demeanor changed abruptly. "Did you intend to take that?" He posed the question with a serious expression on his face.
"Huh?" I took a look at the dress I'd gotten and realized it was just a regular shirt; I had no idea why he was so upset, not until I turned the shirt over. Raeanna's complete name is written on the back of the shirt. RAEANNA CSILLA FERREL. "My apologies for not checking before I took it from your closet. That was not what I intended..."
"Never mind, just give it to me since whenever I'm in a bad mood, I wear it." He said.
I slyly smile to myself. "It's clear that you're head over heels in love with her."
I took a deep breath. I took each button off his uniform one at a time while keeping my gaze set on the ceiling.
"Hey! Pay close attention to what you're doing. If you keep your gaze fixed on the ceiling, how will this end?" He grumbled.
Why am I doing this in the first place? I can feel the heat coming from this room. I find it difficult to look at him, particularly while I am taking his shirt off. I took my time putting the shirt on him, and when I was done, I was able to take a deep breath normally. I was drenched in sweat all over my body, more so than while I was treating him.
But I thought we'd reached the end of our uncomfortable moment. I was taken aback when he abruptly grabbed me on the hips and then pushed me closer to him. "Does it... does it hurt?" he queried as he carefully caressed the bandage on my arm.
At the same instant, when Prince Augustus touched my wound, I felt something tickling throughout my body as if something was within me. "N... no," I answered, my voice trembling. I snatched his hand off my arm and stepped back. "T- they're most likely here, so you have to lay down."