Daniel and his father reached their mother with the news of Aileen's injuries.
They sent out a delegation to send word to Aileen's family which would take a few days.
They didn't know the extent of her injuries, whether it would be fatal or not. But Daniel sat in the Council Chamber, bouncing his leg impatiently. His mother and father sat in worry beside him.
Nearly three hours had passed since then, it was late into the night now.
Footsteps sounded down the hallway and then Doctor Lee appeared in the doorway.
Daniel and his parents stood.
"I've come to give you an update on her highness."
He came further into the room and sat down. Daniel and his parents also sat back down.
"I have just completed what was a three hour long surgery on her majesty. She had been stabbed in her leg, and in the abdomen, She had multiple broken ribs and a concussion, likely due to hitting her head off of the ground..."
The still sat silently.
"Her majesty is doing fine for now, we have nurses and multiple staff down in the medical wing to monitor her through the night, and I shall evaluate her tomorrow morning post-op."
Daniel nodded and was ready to shake his hand but Dr. Lee hesitated.
"What?" Daniel asked.
"I think you should sit back down your highness."
Daniel sat back down cautiously.
"I don't know exactly what may have occurred between the time the princess was missing, to when she was found... But it is obvious that these injuries were not self-inflicted... Her lip was cut and swollen, and the tears of her dress and the missing cloak... It indicates..."
"Indicates what?" Daniel asked.
"It indicates that she was attacked... Possibly in a way that she had to fight someone off. Upon using our healers, they found that she was under traumatic stress... They found a bodily fluid on her face."
Daniel felt sick. He hadn't heard about the group of guards he'd sent to look for a possible suspect since they'd left. He got up to go to the captain and find out if there had been any updates.
Having sent a bird to find the group, and they sent one back with a message.
~We have found a man a few miles away from where her highness was found, he has been chained and we are in the process of brining him back now~
He knew his first priority should have been to go and see her. But with the circumstance it felt wrong. Not too long ago they were arguing, and now here in his kingdom she was injured, nearly killed.
And honestly the night had exhausted him. He returned upstairs to their floor. Tonight he slept in his own room instead.
...
Morning had come and Dr. Lee had gone down to evaluate Aileen. He checked her stitches to make sure the hadn't opened, he checked her pupils to make sure they were reacting though she was still unconscious. It would be a few more hours before he could know whether her brain or ability to walk had been damaged. However the wound on her leg was not as deep as the wound on her abdomen.
A while later in the morning, after it kept eating away at Daniel, he decided to go and visit her.
He had barely slept at all and was sure he looked horrible. He made his way to the medical wing, where everything became white and starch, and stiff.
It was cold down here, but it was cold everywhere. He just knew that Aileen didn't like to be cold, so once he had walked in he ordered for more blankets to be brought to her.
He walked nearly to the back and into a private room, and there she was, laying asleep on the bed. She looked extremely fragile.
She was paler than usual as well. It seemed like the life has nearly been drained out of her.
Daniel settled in a chair near the bed, and he didn't know if it was the complete silence, but he soon drifted off to sleep.