𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 -★彡[ᴅᴀɴ ʜᴇɴɢ]★彡

- 𝟎𝟗 -

 [Y/N] blinked open her eyes. Pain shot through her limbs instantly, but it was nowhere near as bad as the searing agony that had torn through her after her lashings. She let out a sigh and forced herself to sit up as the events of the previous day flooded into her mind.

How foolish.

She hated him for being so kind to her but hated herself more for craving the soft and gentle sensation from his hands. Torn between these two polarizing feelings, she slipped out from under her covers and placed her feet on the cold floor. To her surprise, the burning pain she usually experienced had been reduced to a dull ache.

I need to find clothing that will hide the lashings. If she ever were to reveal signs of her mistreatment to anyone in the palace, her mother told her that she would be brutally tortured. But now he knows. He was nothing but a complete stranger, and certainly not someone to be trusted. He had no reason to keep her secret and likely had told his comrades by now.

The door cracked open slightly, revealing a maid (named Rose) standing there with a frightful expression on her face. [Y/N] tried her best to summon up her usual persona.

"Yasmine," she smiled sweetly, "I was pondering on my lonesome as of late. Why do you think that flowers bloom?"

"I don't know," the maid responded in a trembling voice.

"Why are you cowering at the door? You remind me of my little bird friends. Shall I groom your feathers?"

"I-I just came to check up on you, madam," she averted her gaze, "after the palace was informed that you did such a thing to yourself."

"I did?" [Y/N] stepped towards the window so that Rose would be able to see her lashings properly. I should go with this. They already think I'm insane anyways. "How did anyone figure out my secret?"

Rose's gaze was fixed on [Y/N]'s legs, clearly horrified at the sheer number of marks shown on her skin. "I was t-told to come here and ask why you did it, madam. If you would please just tell me, I'll leave you to rest."

Turning away from the maid, [Y/N] stared up at the bright blue sky without a cloud in sight. "Because at that moment, there was nothing else I could do."

It was a truth entangled in a lie. Faced with the merciless gaze in her father's eyes, she became a rag doll that was unable to fight back as her body screamed out in agony. There was no escape from those eyes. Even now she was still frigid when she recalled her father; her wounds ached as if they shared the same fear as her.

"Yasmine," she turned back to the maid and saw that she was still standing with a terrified look on her face. "See yourself out."

The maid shut the door as soon as she spoke, her hurried footsteps echoing down the hallway. What could I even do that would warrant her to be so afraid of me? Someone else would bring her a meal soon enough now that there was news she had risen, meaning that she would have to hurriedly dress herself to cover her wounds. In truth, it doesn't matter if they see them because they think that I did it to myself.