REVEAL

4

Lian POV

"Princess."

My eyes flattered open and I saw the worried faces of my parents before me. I was laying on the floor and a doctor was doing some check ups on me on the side.
"Mother, father? What happened?" I asked them and hoped that everything was just an illusion and I was just having a nightmare. But no... The king and the queen were still dressed in pure gold, ready to celebrate a ball. That was reality.

"Sweetheart, you fainted." my mother said and caressed my cheek gently. "What happened? Didn't you take your vitamins today? I told the maid to check up on you but-"
-"It's fine, mother. I took them. But you said I fainted?"

The doctor nodded and stood up. "She will be gaining energy as soon as possible again, Your Highness. The princess was just under some kind of shock und the fainting was probably just an instant reaction. Maybe she had to faint because of this handsome prince."

Prince?

"My Princess." some voice said from the end of the room. A nurse was also standing next to his side and took care of his injuries. There was a deep cut on his arm, through his dark grey shirt. He looked at me and smiled. "That's not how I exactly imagined our first meeting."

His teeth were incredibly white and he had a captivating aura which only made me want to stare at him.
The dark eyes pierced directly into mine and through his black mask. Right... There was supposed to be a masked ball.

"Did I... hurt you?" I asked and pointed at his arm. My arrow and bow were still laying on the floor next to him.

"It wasn't your fault, Princess. I was the one who didn't pay attention. I shouldn't have scared you like that." the unknown prince replied politely when the nurse put a bandage around his arm.
The king then turned around to face the prince and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Young prince, what were you looking upstairs anyways? Is that your own palace for you to move around as you wish?"

-"Honey... He is hurt." my mother interrupted her husband and held him back. "Maybe we should head back downstairs to the guests. Lian, freshen up a little bit and come down afterwards, alright?" she said and kissed me on my forehead.

I nodded and thanked her when my parents left my chamber in a hurry, the doctor following their footsteps.

I sighed out loud when the door closed behind them when I suddenly remember the snake and looked for it angrily. This snake has to be somewhere!

"Princess?"

And here we go. I got scared again. This prince was still sitting there and I completely forgot. He wasn't saying anything and you couldn't even hear him breath.
"Oh my, I thought I would be alone..." I whispered and put my hand on my heart when he stood up and shook his head. "No, I am still here. I have to wait for the nurse to come back. She is supposed to disinfect my wound on my hand."

Now I raised an eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously. "You can't even do that yourself?"

He shook his head and came closer to my chair while one hand was holding his injured arm. He bowed down and picked up my bow and my arrows. "These are high quality, Princess. And very sharp, as I may say."

I nodded. "Thank you, I know. And I am sorry I hurt you. It wasn't my intention... It was just... I thought I saw a snake."

"Princess. A snake?" he asked me in disbelief and handed me my weapon.
„I don't know how a snake is supposed to come into your chamber... or in general: the palace. Did you already have a snake problem here? If yes, I know a great-"