Chapter 23 - Chapter 22

-Snow's pov-

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. On a grand bed made for a-

'A king' A voice completed my sentence.

I close my eyes again.

'What happened?' I ask in my mind.

'You were possessed by a demon' Replied whom I guessed was Silver.

'Where am I?' I ask again.

'King Lennon's bedroom' Replied Bonnie.

'You should open your eyes, princess, your father is waiting' Said a serene voice.

'Lumiere, how long have I been out?'

'You'll have to wake up and find out for yourself, princess' He said calmly.

Then everything went silent.

I open my eyes again and get up slowly so the blood wouldn't rush to my head.

The moment I got up a pretty woman with short bright green hair, tied up neatly with a hair chopstick and bright yellow eyes barged in.

"Um... Hello," I waved.

She strode towards me. She had nice long legs so she reached me fairly quickly.

She stopped in front of me and held up my head.

She was wearing a beautiful modern green qipao for Chinese or cheongsam in Cantonese. It really depends on which part of china you are from.

Nevertheless, it was beautifully made from quality green satin and golden floral embroidery.

"I'm Saran. I'm your aunty" She smiled.

'Saran? That name doesn't seem to ring any bells'

"Hey! She's awake!" She shouted over her shoulder.

Just then many people rushed into the room.

"Snow!" My father shouted as he jumped on me.

"Love!" Then my mother also jumped on me.

"U-uh..."

"Princess!" Just then king Lennon tried to jump on me too but was deflected by my father.

"Not a chance, Lennon," My father stood between me and king Lennon.

"Aw, but I let her use my bed! Don't I at least get a hug?" King Lennon sulked.

"That's right! Why can't Lenny get a hug from the princess?" Claudia defended.

King Lennon put a hand on his forehead and cried dramatically.

I sigh, get off the bed and make my way to king Lennon.

"I applaud your performance, Lenny, so I shall humor you," I clear my throat.

"Thank you for letting me stay in your room, Lenny!~" I say as I hug him.

I literally heard my father's heartbreak.

"My, you really are the cutest thing in the whole beastdom, aren't you?" He said hugging me back.

"Okay! Enough of that!" My father said pulling me away.

"Aw, I was enjoying that," King Lennon said sadly.

"Other than that we need a talk," I said in a serious voice.

The whole room suddenly fell silent.

"Princess, I really don't think that's a good-"

"No," I said firmly.

"We will talk about this here and now," I said looking my father straight in the eyes.

"Let's be honest for a second, you guys have been recklessly ignoring this problem for a while now. Haven't you?" The room became tense.

"Should a princess really be talking like that? And what does a child know?" Saran butted in.

All eyes were on Saran.

I glare at her. She flinched and didn't dare attempt to interrupt again.

"I need an answer," I raised my voice a little louder, and everyone in the room flinched.

"We... Wouldn't say we did it recklessly..." Father started.

"We thought... That maybe..." King Lennon trailed off.

"We thought they wouldn't bother us after the treaty was signed," My mother continued.

"How naive, it wasn't likely, yet you still depended on that," I snapped.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest.

"Ugh, What is this?" I said clutching my chest.

"You had a demon's seed planted in you while you were possessed. Your anger is making it grow bigger," Explained Saran.

"A... Demon's seed?" My eyes grow wide.

"I wasn't able to remove the seed completely, but I was able to stunt its growth," She explained, now treating me like one of her peers.

"... What about Leo-- I mean the prince? He was also under the control of a demon," She shook her head.

"Fortunately, the prince, being a lion beast has the highest affinity for light, so his body rejected the seed," She explained.

"I see, is there a way to remove the seed?" I ask Saran.

"No one else can remove the seed except you, princess," She said coming closer.

She took off her bracelet and took a bit of gold powder from a secret compartment inside the bracelet.

She sniffed the gold powder, then her eyes began to glow.

Then two black twisting horns sprouted on her head and a long thin tail with a black tuft at the end.

"You're an antelope," I said in wonder.

"It seems that you do have a childish side to you, princess" She laughed.

When she cautiously put a finger on my chest she was sent flying backward hitting the wall with immense force.

"Argh!" She gripped her arm, which was surrounded by red lightning.

"Not even with Xandarian cedar powder, no one will be able to reach the seed except for the princess herself," Saran explained.

My father looked somber.

"What is its nature?" I ask.

"It's different for everyone, but for you, it manifested as a lotus bud,"

'A flower' I ponder.

"What will happen to me if it blooms?" I ask uncertainly.

Saran took a while to answer me.

"You...... Forgive me for being blunt but... If that flower blooms... You die," There was a sudden movement from my father.

He destroyed a vase halfway across the room using air pressure alone.

"Nonsense. Complete and utter nonsense..." My father said as he clenched his fists.

"Then... How do I get the seed out?" I asked wearily.

"You can't right now. You have to have a higher light affinity. And then... you need to let the flower bloom and face it head-on. The flower will bloom on your 18th birthday,"

I hear a gasp from Claudia, and see the silent pain of my mother.

"There must be some other way," Lennon said concerned.

Saran shakes her head sadly.

"I'm afraid not. It would be a different story if the princess had a higher light affinity, like prince Leonard. But that's not the case. If I hadn't stunted it, it would have bloomed right away in the rush of the moment. She's lucky," Saran looked at me sympathetically.

"And I thank you for that, aunty Saran," I smile at her but she looked away.

"Snow needs training," My father said plainly.

"But for now, she will be resting in this room," He looked at me straight in the eyes and held me by my shoulders.

"Snow, I'm serious, do not. leave. this. room. Do you understand me, Snow?" His grip on me tightened.

"I don't have anything planned today anyway," I answered.

He looked really mad but most of all he looked afraid.

"Just answer me yes or no, Snow, please," He pleaded.

You could hear his voice crack and the tears building up in his ey es.

I hug him tightly.

"Yes, Daddy," I pat his back, and as soon as I know it my own back was drenched with his tears.

He was trembling.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°and cut!°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°