Princess of the Damned (9 page)

“
It’s fine. Even a child can see that. He still needs me to secure his borders for him, so he won’t get rid of me just yet.”

She removed the last piece of armor and the tunic underneath. Blood from his shoulder wound ran down his chest and onto his abdomen. It was warm at first, but then it became cold almost instantly when exposed to the air.

The physician and the servant girl rushed into the room. They quickly bowed as required by protocol and then attended to his wound immediately.

“
Hot water and clean towels,” the physician instructed the servant girl. She hurried.

The physician examined the arrow wound with his shaking hands. He paid more attention to Sayan’s facial expression than he did to the injury.

“
He’s not going to kill you if the treatment hurts.” Nala smiled to lighten the mood. “Just treat him as a normal patient.”

“
Y-yes” The physician pressed on the area next to the wound to examine the tissues. The servant girl returned very quickly with the hot water and clean towels. “The original cut was clean, so the wound will have no problem healing again, as soon as we can stop the bleeding.”

Nala attentively watched
to the physician’s treatment.

It didn’t look hard at all. If she had the tools he used, she could repeat it exactly. Nala flinched when a small fragment of memory entered her mind. She was treating an open wound of a man’s belly. Her hands were entirely covered in blood. There was hot water and towels just like the ones on the table. The memory zoomed into the surface of the water. The reflection wasn’t her own. No, the memory wasn’t her own. It belongs to another.

But whose did it belong to?

Her eyes trailed from the wound to other parts of his body. His shoulders were broad. His chest was built, rising and falling with each breath. The muscles lined up tightly at his abdomen. She brought her hands to her cheeks when she felt a slightly burning sensation on her face.

She quickly turned away when he looked her way. She didn’t understand why she had the impulse to hide her face from him. It was as if looking at the coloring on her face would reveal some sort of deep, dark secret.

“
Your Highness! Prince Sayan!” A female voice came from the outside. Her footsteps came closer until they stopped at the door. A woman with wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes flung herself at Sayan. “I came as soon as I heard that you’ve returned! I ask that you take care of yourself before you leave, but you always come back with wounds on your body. Is it serious? Does it hurt?”

“
It’s only a minor wound.”

The woman let out a sob. “My heart aches to see you like this.”

Nala observed the situation and when she got a hint, a little giggle came from her.

“
What is so funny?” Sayan asked.

The woman turned to face Nala. “You must be the new favorite the servants have been talking about. I-I am Nora.”

“
New favorite?” Nala slightly raised her left brow. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Could you be referring to Sayan and me?”

“
I-I have been very curious since I heard about you. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask me. I know this place like the back of my hand.”

“
Thank you, but I do not plan to stay here for long.”

Sayan came to her side and pulled her up by the wrist. “Where do you intend to go? You will stay here indefinitely.”

Nala made a ‘tsk’ sound with her tongue. “You’re going to open your wound again.”

“
You try and run away again. If I catch you, and there is no doubt that I will, I won’t give you the freedom to walk around anymore. I’ll chain you to the bed if I have to.”

“
When did I ever try to run away?” She pulled her wrist back. “I am not used to this new side of you.”

“
Then you better get used to it. Like I said before, I will never be as gullible as I was before. I will never allow anyone to walk away from me, especially you. If I no longer want you around anymore, then I will end it by my own terms. Then, and only then can you be free of me.”

“
How long have you known me? I have had many threats in my life, but I’ve never succumbed to even one. The more you challenge me, the more I want to leave. Get out of my way, I’m leaving right now!”

He pulled her by the shoulder and shoved her onto the bed. “Are you too used to me doing everything your way? Let me tell you, Nala, I can be twice as stubborn as you.”

“
Your highness! Your wound is bleeding again!” Nora screamed out.

“
You know better than to threaten me,” she said in a much softer voice when she saw that he was in pain. She got off the bed and snatched a clean towel from the servant. “Sit down!” She gestured toward the bed.

He had an unwilling expression on his face, but he did what he was asked. She dipped the clean towel into the warm water and cleansed the dripping blood. The physician was standing by her side with instruction on how to bandage it up.

It was by
complete coincidence that the royalties of the Western and Eastern Kingdom arrived on the same day. Sayan and his General waited to greet them at the palace’s entrance. Even though their countries were at war with one another at one point or another, protocol demanded that they treat each other civilly during visitation.

The first group to arrive was the Prince and Princess of the Western Kingdom. Sayan greeted them as though it was their first meeting. He obviously noticed the Prince’s hostility toward him and no doubt he had come for his bride-to-be. His sister, the princess, could not hide the excitement of seeing him again. She wore a red velvet gown that dove low at her breasts and filled in the gap with a finely crafted ruby necklace.

Second to arrive, very shortly after, was the Princess of the Eastern Kingdom. She arrived on a silver carriage embellished with precious stones. She wore a white silk gown, held together by a diamond encrusted belt below her full breasts. The cut of her gown showed glimpses of her diamond encrusted sandals. Even her hair was dusted with diamond specks to take advantage of daylight. They say that a woman’s clothes reflect her pride, and if this is indeed true, this woman was unmistakably a princess.

“
Are you the new King?” The Eastern Princess asked.

“
I am Sayan. Our king awaits his guests inside.”

“
So you are the man who has been the talk of everyone in the recent years. Now that I’ve met you in person, you do not look as scary as I’ve previously thought.”

“
Rumors exaggerate, Princess.”

“
I find it strange that of all the things I’ve heard about you, they forgot to mention that you are a very handsome man.” She flashed a smile to reveal two rows of flawless white teeth. “I suppose a better quality is what you are known for. They say the battlefield is your playground.”

He took the hand she offered and escorted her into the palace. His general took the liberty to escort the Western Princess.

“
War is not child’s play, Princess. Every soldier risks his life on the battlefield. I am no different.”

“
Then you are truly blessed by the gods to have survived so many.” She leaned in a little closer. “Secret between us, I’ve always been an admirer of your feats, although it is not seemly for a Princess to have an idol.”

“
I’m flattered.” Sayan let go of her hand when they had arrived in front of the throne room.

“
I must have a conversation with you, Prince Sayan.” The Western Prince requested.

“
My King awaits his guests. I cannot detain you any longer.”

“
It cannot wait.”

“
Then I am all ears.”

“
I must clear things up with you.” The Western Prince placed both hands on Sayan’s shoulders. It disturbed his wound, but the pain wasn’t severe enough for him to change his facial expression. “I sincerely ask that you return my bride-to-be. For the sake of our kingdoms, for the sake of our alliances, for the sake of… whatever is important to you, please return her to me.”

Sayan leaned in closer so that his whisper could be heard. “Why would I return to you what was originally mine?” Sayan brushed the Western Prince’s hands off of his shoulders.

“
I thought I could reason with you.”

Sayan clapped his hand together to signal for the servants to open the doors to the throne room. “My king is waiting for your audiences.”

“
The king has
taken a liking to the Eastern Princess, as expected. Although she is young, her tongue is awfully sharp. I would hate to see what she is like a few years from now.”

The music stopped. The beautiful woman moved away from the harp and came to sit next to the General. He took her hand and kissed her.

“
It is rare to hear you talk about anything other than war tactics. Is this princess truly as beautiful as they say she is?”

General Malin laughed at the question. “Are you jealous?”

“
Jealousy is taboo for a courtesan.” She replied dryly.

The General nodded. “She’s very beautiful, but a woman like her is more trouble than what she is worth.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
Although she is a princess, her kingdom is in a desperate state. Her citizens are dying on the streets from starvation, yet she parades herself with enough diamonds to feed half a kingdom. That woman gives me the chills. I pray Prince Sayan doesn’t fall for her theatrics.”

“
What does Prince Sayan have to do with this?” A confused expression chased away the smile her face. “She is after the King, is she not?”

“
I think she is throwing her net and seeing what she can pull in. Prince Sayan has a good head on his shoulders, so I am not that worried.”

“
I don’t know about that. Men are such fools when it comes to beautiful women.”

“
We are, aren’t we?”

The image of the girl he met in the garden came to mind. He let out a long sigh. Men are truly fools when it comes to beautiful women. He didn’t know how long he stood there blank, but when he snapped out of it, there was already half an inch of snow on his armor. There was a strange beauty about those pale green eyes that captivated him.

“
We haven’t seen
each other in a while, have we?” The North King placed a hand on the Western Prince’s shoulder. “We didn’t get a chance to talk at the court.”

“
I’m honored that you still remember me, your majesty. We were only children then.”

“
I have very few friends in my life, Ce.”

“
You have a brother now.”

The King rolled his eyes. “Don’t speak of him. A killer like him, my brother? That’s hardly acceptable.”

“
By your speech, I take it that you two do not get along very well. When I heard news that your father adopted a son into the royal family, I was thrilled for you. By the way, have you received the gift I’ve sent?”

“
Gift?” The King curiously raised his left brow.

“
You mean you haven’t received it? I specifically requested Prince Sayan to deliver it to you. At the time, I thought I would not able to make this trip.”

“
As expected, that bastard probably kept it for himself. What was it that you sent?”

“
I’ve acquired a beautiful dancer. I’d thought of keeping her for myself, but my bride-to-be is a jealous type. Since I couldn’t keep her, I’d thought of you.”

“
Just a dancer?”

“
Not just any dancer, my King. You can search the world and wouldn’t be able to find anyone comparable to her. Ah, just let Prince Sayan have her. I saw that you were quite taken with the Eastern Princess.”

“
Even the Eastern Princess is not comparable to her?”

“
You must be the judge of that, but I doubt Prince Sayan would even let you see her. He would deny everything, of course. He wants to keep her all to himself.”

“
That bastard!” The King shouted. “If he does not want me to see her, then I must!”

The Western Prince smirked.

Nora exhaled
a long sigh and then switched her sitting position again. Her eyes stared blankly out of the window where the snow fell gently on the rooftop. She had come over to share tea from the Far East, but she was so absent minded that the tea in her hand had gone cold.

“
Is there something troubling you, Nora?” Nala asked.

Nora let out another sigh. “Prince Sayan hasn’t visited me since he returned. I’ve asked the servants and they informed me he had been spending his nights at your place.”

Nala frowned. “In my defense, we sleep in separate rooms.”

“
I cannot hope to compete with you, and now there are two more princesses aiming to win his heart. The rumor has it that they are both beautiful and they are explicitly offering themselves. Any man would yield to such temptation from two beautiful princesses.”

“
If it troubles you that much, then I may be able to help.” Nala turned her attention toward the door. “He’s coming here soon.”