It had now been a few weeks of Aileen's recovery.
She was told Daniel came by every so often while she slept. She was surprised she hadn't seen him once. She also wondered why he only came as she slept... Did her want to watch her sleep? That seemed a little strange to her.
A few days ago she had just started to practice walking again. She had a slight limp, but the doctor said with proper therapy it should go away since the wound wasn't deep.
However, it had been a busy week for the other staff as the queen had a birthday coming up, and so staff all over the palace were needed for many different things. There wasn't anyone around designated to help Aileen go outside, or take a walk to the library.
And as of today Aileen was sick of it. She waited until the afternoon when it seemed the doctor and the nurses all left to go get lunch down from the kitchen. She unhooked her IV bag and then grabbed her wheelchair. She rolled herself out of the medical wing and towards a main hallway.
Stopping at the corner she checked to see if there was anyone in the hallway. When she saw there wasn't she took off as fast as she could. She was determined to reach the steps so that she could slowly but surely get to her room. She was tired of being in this dank little hospital gown.
Her stab wounds were bandaged and wrapped. Her ribcage being wrapped anyway since it had been broken. She just wanted to be able to slip on a robe, something just a bit more comfortable.
As she finally reached the staircase, she chose the back way, where it was less likely for someone to be.
She grabbed onto the railing for support and slowly but surely made her way up the steps. One step at a time. When she reached the top she had a look of triumph. To her she had completed a difficult task successfully.
She reached her bedroom, the one she was first assigned and went through the drawers of a nightstand and found the nightgown she had left behind. She brought it from home. And had sprayed some of her mother's perfume on it to be comforted whenever she missed home.
Meanwhile what she didn't know is that by now the lunch break had ended and a nurse walked in to find Aileen's IV needle on the ground and the bag still attached to the hook. Which means she had ripped it out her arm... But more importantly she wasn't in her room, or in any part of the medical wing.
She immediately took off to tell Dr. Lee.
The prince was in an important meeting with his advisors when he got a hurried knock at the door. He ignored it once, twice, by the third time he was thoroughly frustrated and got up opening the great hall's doors.
When he saw it was Dr. Lee he was surprised for a second.
"To what do I owe this visit Dr. Lee. I'm sure you could understand I was in the middle of an important meeting."
The doctor looked slick with sweat and he seemed to have worry creasing his face.
"What is it Dr. Lee?"
Dr. Lee sighed. "Her highness is gone."
"Gone, what do you mean gone?" Daniel said his face twisting into a frown.
"She is not in her room, nor is she in the medical wing, a nurse found her IV needle on the ground and her bag still attached to the hook. However the wheelchair she has been using is gone and-"
"Well where were you?! She should have been supervised." Daniel said in a harsh tone.
Dr. Lee seemed taken back, and with a slight sign of annoyance on his face he said. "Well forgive me your highness, but I thought I'd be able to take a lunch break without having to worry but it seems she had disappeared again so I-"
"Well has she left the palace!?"
"No there was already a stable hand who reported back to a guard that all the horses are accounted for and he hasn't seen the princess in weeks."
Daniel ran a hand over his hair and took a deep breath.
"Just a second please I must go and inform my advisors of the meetings postponement."
About a minute later Daniel returned and Dr. Lee told him he'd be returning to the medical wing to check if she had returned. Daniel said he would go to look places as well.
He first checked the library, it seemed to be one of her favorite places in his eyes, the garden as well, but she wasn't there either.
He felt frantic, how could they lose a royal member again. He needed to keep the peace, and to constantly endanger their princess was not the key to peace. However, there was another reason for his uneasiness and he couldn't quite place his finger on it.
He ran upstairs to check if she could be there. Up a tall and long staircase, and down multiple halls, he reached their wing. And low and behold her bedroom door was open.
Daniel, with adrenaline coursing through his veins, couldn't help but feel upset that this was where she chose to sneak off to unharmed.
Upon hearing someone step into the doorway, Aileen turned her head.
Once she made eye contact with him, she felt a sense of trouble rush up over her.
She sat on the floor looking at all the things she had chosen to leave behind in this room. Jewelry, photographs, which she did not have many since they were so new.
"Where have you been?!" He began to scold her like she was a child.
"Do you have any idea the chaos you have caused, and the unnecessary stress you have caused our staff... If you were going to come to your room you couldn't have left a letter or waited for them to return!? Bloody hell!?"
Aileen frowned and looked at him as he yelled and his face turned a little red.
She also noticed how his hair had fallen out of place and his tie was loosened. His sleeves pushed back, and he seemed so out of place, so different.
But she could still see the fury in his eyes as he looked at her.
Aileen defended herself. "Well I don't think I should be surveiled 24/7. I'm not a child, and don't you for one second try to make me out to be one. I was in a traumatic incident and I'm doing my best to cope.. but sitting in that room all day isn't doing anything good for me. And I haven't been able to do anything for myself in weeks, this makes me feel better."
Daniel considered her words... Especially because she hadn't told anyone what really happened to her. And the man they had brought back turned out to not be whoever had assaulted Aileen.
He walked over to her.
"Stand up" he ordered.
"Excuse me?" Aileen answered.
"I said stand up."
She was irritated but she slowly got up, and once she steadied herself, she was suddenly lifted up off of the floor.
"Ah! What are you doing?!"
Daniel didn't speak as he carried her out the room. He started for the stairs and as he began to go down Aileen got even angrier.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Put me down!"
But again, Daniel acted as if he didn't hear her. And it continued that way until he carried her all the way back down into her room.
Once settling her on her bed, He stood with a sigh and said. "If you hate it down here so much, I'll talk to Dr. Lee about getting you switched to your room, and having a nurse nearby to check up on you."
Aileen looked at him in wonder. Where was the man she knew a month ago.. and why was he so different now?