Emergency Princess (Under Editing)

Chapter 9| Snowmen In Solitude

9|Snowmen In Solitude

"No news is good news," I muttered to myself, as I stared at my wall. "Whoever came up with that had to have been an idiot."

It had been three days. Three days since I landed in Maldonia. Three days since I found out Rose was missing. Three days since I'd scolded the King. I winced every time I thought about it. Replaying it in my mind, it was actually a lot worse than I'd initially thought, and it got even worse every time I thought about it.

In those three days, I hadn't stepped out of my room. Not once. No one had tried to force me to, so I assumed it was okay for me to turn into even more of a social recluse than I already was. Luckily for me, I had a fully stocked mini fridge and a television in my room, so I was not starved, for food or entertainment.

Nobody had spoken to me about my behaviour. I assumed that was because it was so atrocious they were deliberating on what punishment would be fitting. I'd bitten my nails down to the quick in anxiety, a habit that I thought I had broken a while ago.

"Argh!" I yelled, punching my pillow in frustration. I needed closure. I needed knowledge. Was I going to die or not? I got up and paced. Back and forth, back and forth. It went on for so long I was sure I'd worn a hole in the carpet by the time I was done.

A knock on the door distracted me.

"Who is it?" I growled.

"It's Adwoa, Your Highness. Your mother said I should bring you something to eat, she's afraid you might be getting hungry."

I looked at my mini fridge. It was true I was running low on food, but I had assumed I would sneak out in the middle of the night to get some. Granted, this was a self-inflicted imprisonment, but I would rather stay in the safety of my room than go out and be arrested.

I refused to dwell upon the fact that they could just as easily arrest me in my room too. It wasn't very important.

"Your Highness?" called out Adwoa. I realised I hadn't given here permission to enter.

"Come in!" I yelled.

She entered, and froze when she set eyes on me.

"What's the matter with you?" I snapped, a bit more harshly than intended, but it seemed to snap her out of her daze.

"Nothing, Princess," she mumbled, not meeting my eyes as she set down the tray laden with food on my desk. She bobbed a curtsey, and scurried out of the room, all without meeting my eyes.

"What's her problem...?" I trailed off as I caught a glimpse of my refection in the vanity, and I stopped and stared. My hair was so wild and frizzy it could be caged with a warning: Do not feed this animal. My face was marked with creases from my sheets, and there were purple bags under my eyes. All in all, I looked terrible.

No wonder she ran away, I thought. I would have too! Ah well, at least she left the food.

After I'd eaten my fill, and left the remains in my mini fridge for consumption later, I looked around my room for something to busy myself with. There was always the television, but I had had enough of that.

My eyes landed on my door, which was slightly ajar after Adwoa's hasty exit. The cogs in my brain started whirring, and I grinned widely.

*****

The next day, I smiled proudly at my door. It had taken hard work, sweat and getting drenched twice, but I had finally done it. Balanced on top of the door was a large bucket of ice cold water with a rope attached to its handle. The rope, which was made from torn bed sheets, was held tightly in place by a heavy stack of paper.