Sunlight filtered into the ornate royal chamber, accentuating the golden articles on the soft blue wall. The majestic chandelier reflected the sun rays on Ether's face, signalling it was past dawn.
The princess stirred a little before slightly opening her eyes, feeling as if she had been sleeping for eternity.
"Should I ask the maids to prepare a bath for you, your highness?" Asterion asked while bowing, making Ether literally jump out of her bed as the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight.
Soon he had his mischievous grin back, making Ether blush pink.
"Please stop teasing me, your highness. I feel embarrassed for.. uhmm.. not behaving like a princess." Ether said as her blush deepened to a bright shade of red.
Asterion took slow steps towards his wife, stopping near the edge of bed.
"Do you feel unwell?" Asterion said so seriously that the momentary grin felt unreal.
Ether was stunned at the sudden change of topic and instantly the memories from last evening came rushing back to her.
"How? The carriage… rock.. I-" Ether looks down at her own body, only to now notice those small cuts and bruises here and there.
"Shhh. Calm down Princess. You were rescued and you are safe now." Asterion said while trying to calm the rage that was burning him from inside for leaving her alone yesterday.
"Those men? Are they alright?" Ether asked slowly, knowing they had risked their lives and climbed on the carriage when they could have left her on her own.
"One of them is missing." Asterion says, letting Ether understand the remaining half.
"They.. they could have remained safe. It happened because they wanted to save me." Ether said, guilt eating her apart.
"Princess, get up. We have yet to conduct the funeral and paying him homage is the least we can do." Asterion placed a hand on her shoulders.
"Your highness, he-" Ether looked up at Asterion, her teary eyes meeting his strong-willed gaze.
She stopped mid sentence, braving her heart to get up and give him the respect he deserved in the last ritual of his life.
"There is one thing I want you to know, Ether. Nobody knows that you are here except the two maids who will be serving you, the royal physician who cured you and the captain of the team that accompanied you.
I will be announcing you missing for safety reasons and request your assistance for this task. I hope you will understand." Asterion's eyes watched Ether intently to see if in any way she was against the setup even if she didn't say so.
Ether breathed deeply, her mind finding it hard to accept all the news that Prince Asterion was relaying to her.
"Yes, your highness." She exhaled.
"I will ask the maids to prepare your bath. Knock on the door once you are ready. I will be waiting outside." Asterion said while walking out of the room, knowing he needed to give her some time and space to gather all her thoughts.
"Yes, your highness." Ether mumbled to herself, feeling empty from inside.
It was just yesterday when she had married Prince Asterion, a man who had made her feel comfortable and cared in such a short span of time.
But the events that followed made it seem like the marriage happened ages ago.
"Your highness, we have prepared the bath." Unknown to Ether, the maids had entered silently and prepared the bath, only announcing it when all the preparations were done.
"Thank you." Ether said while removing the outer robe covering her gown.
"Pardon, did you help me put on this gown last night?" Ether asked while entering the bath.
"Yes, your highness." One of the maids replied curtly.
"I sincerely appreciate your help, but you don't have to do everything for me." Ether said with a genuine smile.
"Your highness, you should smile more often. You look beautiful that way. And don't worry about us old bones. We are here to serve you. Just tell us whatever you need and it will be done." The maid who had called Chiron last night said.
Though both the maids were not that old, barely middle age, but the way this lady spoke expressed nothing but purely affection like that of a mother.
"Thank you." Was the only thing Ether managed to speak, her mind thinking if these maids were truly kind, or were doing this unwillingly with fake smiles as a part of their job.
Her scepticism didn't emerge suddenly. It was from years of her experience with countless servants that made her wary of people around her and take steps with proper measures.
Though her intuitions told her that the maid who spoke to her had said all of this from her heart.
She held some small talks with the maids, making sure she won't delay the prince while getting ready.
Once done, Ether went to the door, taking a deep breath, preparing herself for the new life before knocking on the door.
She waited for a while before the doors were opened.
"We will leave now." Asterion informed while gesturing to her to step out of the room.
Ether did as asked, walking to the Prince's side before they both walked away towards what she assumed must be the direction to the gates.
She noticed how embellished the palace looked, especially with those beautiful paintings, ornaments, antiques adorning the teal blue walls.
Though the absence of servants didn't go unnoticed by her.
'His highness must have asked them to leave the place to avoid complicating the situation.' Ether thought, knowing the Prince must have conveyed about her being missing by now.
"We will be taking the secret route." Asterion said, half answering her doubts.
"Does His Majesty and Lady Krystal know about my disappearance?" Ether asked after remaining quiet for sometime.
"This is our carriage." Asterion said before answering Ether.
"That's what I am afraid of." Asterion climbed the carriage and extended his hand to help Ether.
--------------------
I have decided to edit the previous chapters and make minor changes in the upcoming chapters as well. Hence chapter updates might be a little slow.
Don't forget to comment and vote with powerstones and golden tickets! Have a fabulous day ahead!
- Kizy