20

I sat on my bed, trying not to think so hard about my fast-approaching wedding. No one has come to ask me what I want or how I want it. It has all been decided for me. Well, I guess that was a good thing because I didn't even know what I wanted for myself. I didn't know how to feel about the whole marriage charade. Half of me regrets my decision while the other half doesn't.

Marriage hadn't even started and I was already being locked up in my room, with the guards guarding the door as though I was a prisoner. What is it going to be in the marriage? The only visitors I have been allowed to entertain are the physician, Zack, the Queen, and Ella.

The old physician, Zack made it his life mission to nurse me back to life as though his life depended on it. Well, looking at the circumstances, it probably does depend on it when you have a blasted demanding Crown prince breathing down on your neck. 

The second visitor was my sister, Ella. She came around from time to time to make sure I was still alive and hadn't jumped down the window after out of anger, I told her how I wanted to back out from the marriage or kill myself. Of course, I was bluffing, but the sweet girl took it to heart and had made it her mission to protect her sister from such an abominable act—which is why she was quietly sitting on the sofa, reading another of her many adventurous novels. 

The third visitor is the queen. At first, when I saw her in my room, I thought the queen had lost her way into the fairly big castle, but it happened that she was in the right place. Being the wonderful and caring aunt that she was, she had come to make me see reasons why I shouldn't marry Prince Gerald. She went on about how I do not possess the right qualities to become a queen and how stressful it would be for me to become the Queen since I wasn't trained in that path like her daughter, Fiona. 

Although she did make a lot of sense to me, I never admitted it openly. Indeed, I know I do not possess the qualities expected of a Queen. I gave my governess a hard time by skipping most of the basic classes of what a proper lady or princess should and should not do. The only class I enjoyed was the painting class which has put me in this position. We are not staying there for long remember? Oh, yes, we are not, but what if the plan changes? Would I be able to prove Uncle Zaius and his family wrong or make a mess of myself? Well, the thought of embarrassing Prince Gerald did sound tempting, but not when I am the source. For all I know, I need to stay close to the man until my mission is accomplished, Who knows, he might not be that bad in the marriage. Who am I kidding? I am sure it is going to be worse. He might as well be abusive like Olivia's husband. 

A knock at the door distracted me. Before I could get out of bed, Ella was already at the door as it was just the two of us in the room. "Do not worry yourself," She called out to me with a smile that wiped off when she saw who walked in. It was the physician and the devil himself. "Your Highness," Colour rushed to her cheeks as she curtsied gracefully. I won't blame her. Though I hate to admit it, the man is agreeably fine. He responded to her greeting with a stiff nod. 

"Look who we have here," Came his cool and deep voice "How is my lovely queen doing today?" Those words were supposed to be sweet and romantic but they sounded cold and dry

The physician trembled as he greeted me, "Good evening, Your Highness,"

"Humphrey! Nice to see you again. I hope you had a nice day today." I smiled at the old man, deliberately ignoring the tall brute taking up space.

Humphrey smiled, even though it looked strained, "Yes, I had a lovely day, Your Highness, thanks for asking. Eh, What about you, your Highness?" Without wasting time, he got down to business by unwrapping the cloth around my injury to administer treatment.

"What can I say, Humphrey? Locked up in this room like a thief, I had a boring day."

"Um, I am sure your days will get better once you are back on your feet." I could see sweat forming on the old man's forehead. 

"Were you able to find the scar-removal herbs you were looking for?"

"Yes, Your Highness." He paused and threw a side glance at the brute standing idly in the middle of the room, with his eyes locked on us like a wolf ready to attack, "I was able to find it with the help of His Majesty." I didn't need a genius to tell me who he was talking about. Well, that's a surprise, and if he thinks I am going to thank him or feel indebted to him, then he needs a hard knock on the head. 

"I see. How long will this take again?"

"Some days? Some weeks?

"That's the same thing." My fiancee cut in, "Days make up weeks in case you haven't noticed."

The old man's hands trembled as he applied some ointment to my wound, "Well done genius. But in case you haven't noticed, that was his way of saying 'I am not sure how long it will take for the scar to go away,' 

His jaws ticked, but he didn't look at me, "How long have you been a physician?"

"I have been doing this for over fifty-five years now."

"Fifty-five years and you still don't know how long it will take for a scar to heal?"

"Your Majesty, injuries vary. Skins vary. Some people heal faster than others."

"Do you know what happens to people who do not know their job?"

Humphrey's eyes flew to me as if saying 'You are his fiancee, do something!' "How about we all wait and see?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan." Ella chimed as her eyes darted between us. 

Humphrey cleared his throat as he began packing his things, "I am done for today."

"Your services are no longer needed." My wonderful fiancee announced. 

"What? why? Is it because he doesn't know how long it will take for a scar to heal?"

"No. Leave us." Ella and Humphrey were fast to obey his command like they had been waiting for it.

"Then what? Because last time I checked, I was not fully healed. You can't just dismiss him like that. You do not have a reason to do that."

"I do. I can dismiss him like that because I have a reason."

"What is the reason?"

"We are leaving."