White Roses Bloom

Chapter Ten

     The princess was laying upon a white sheet. Her blonde hair fell in curls around her unconscious body. There was a bite in her left arm, her right leg, and her stomach. She was pale, paler than usual. The black rings were starting to spread up her body.
     Anna stared at her and flinched. The memory of the night her mother died came flooding back. Her mother didn't have the rings, but she looked just like the princess before her. Carvar stood at Anna's side. On the other side of the princess’ sleeping figure was the prince. His hair was jet black, and appeared even darker than Anna’s. As Anna studied the prince, she saw why he hid his face under a hood, and had to have a retainer knight at his side. The prince had bright red eyes that almost seemed to glow. His eyes held a look of distrust, of suspicion, of strength, of determination, of distance. With the way he dressed, and the look in his eyes, the prince looked like he could be an assassin. His watchful eyes studying Anna’s every move made her uneasy.
     Unable to properly focus, Anna accidentally cut her hand as she was cutting some herbs. She flinched, feeling her blood starting to pool in her hand. Carvar handed the peasant the bandages from her bag without her even asking. Anna smiled and nodded gratefully, taking the bandages from Carvar. She quickly wrapped the bandages around her hands, then went back to the herbs.
     As soon as Anna was done mixing the herbs, she turned to the knight and prince. “Can you hold her down? She's going to thrash about, a lot,” Anna murmured. The two boys gripped tightly to the princess’ arms and legs. Anna wrapped a cloth around until it was thick, then pushed it into the princess’ mouth to bite down on. Anna bit her lip and reached for the bowl. “Your highness, I'm sorry,” Anna whispered under her breath before pouring the herbal mixture into the princess’ wounds.
     The princess’ eyes flew open and let out an agonizing scream into the cloth that filled her mouth. The prince and Carvar flinched, holding tighter onto the princess. The princess’ body thrashed and convulsed as pain wracked her body. Black puss and blood seeped out of the princess’ wounds. Anna flinched, knowing there was nothing she could do until the herbs had finished. The group sat there, watching as the princess drifted in and out of consciousness, her screams of agony filling the silence.