“Prince Darius. I did not expect you to join us at this afternoon tea gathering,” Lady Regina said with clear surprise before she curtsied politely to the prince. The other maids had bowed deeply to show their respect and I quickly did the same before I drew even more trouble and unwanted attention to myself. However, it seemed like it was already too late for that. My body froze and I didn’t dare look up when I felt the prince’s cold gaze land on me. Why is he staring at me like that? “You’re bleeding…” the prince stated matter-of-factly. “Oh…” I murmured as my eyes glanced up into his face. My eyes met his cold grey eyes, and I was overwhelmed by his presence immediately. What am I supposed to say? He was in fact right, because of the thorns of the roses, my hands and my arms were bleeding. However, the cuts were not deep, and it wasn’t a big deal. Quickly, I hid my arms behind my back as I smiled a little in my shame. This was all my fault, if I had been more careful, none of this would have happened. “I am sorry for what happened…” I apologized again as my hands fidgeted nervously behind my back. “Show me your arms…” the prince commanded. His tone was so resolute that I found myself doing exactly what he wanted me to without hesitation. He’s so scary… The moment that I showed my arms to him, his long fingers gently circled one of my wrists. I watched in shock as he brought my wrist up close to his face. He bent his face down towards my wrist and I felt his warm breath brushing the delicate skin of my wrist as he seemed to inhale deeply. Was he smelling me and my blood? I wanted to pull my arm away from his loose grip but that would have been completely impolite, and he might kill me for it. It took everything in me to resist the urge to yank my arm away from him. “Come with me for a moment,” the prince commanded sternly. I nodded in reply while feeling thankful that at least he had let got of my wrist and my arm was free again. The prince turned to walk away as if believing and trusting for me to follow him obediently. “Wait, Prince Darius…” Regina said before trailing off. “Lady Regina, if you are fine then please enjoy the party…” Darius said coldly before he turned away from her. Lady Regina stood with widened eyes as she watched the prince’s back as he walked away. As instructed, I followed after him as he led me out of the garden where the party was about to officially start. By that time, many women dressed in fancy floor-length dresses had already entered the garden. I could feel their eyes on the prince before falling on me as I tried to keep up with his long strides. The woman all looked beautiful and alluring in their color dresses and I knew without being told that they were the honorable maidens. Despite the polite greetings that were offered to him, Prince Darius didn’t respond with anything more than a slight nod of his head. I could feel the eyes of those women on my back as we headed out of the garden. I couldn’t help but wonder where he was leading me, but I had no choice but to follow him. It was a short walk before the prince entered a building that I had never been to before. “Follow me,” the prince instructed emotionlessly. I started feeling a little nervous, but I decided to obediently follow him in the building. My heart began beating faster in my chest as I continued to follow him along a long hallway. The smell of disinfectant filled my nostrils. Finally, the prince came to a stop in front of a white wooden door. I wanted to ask him why he brought me here, but I didn’t dare speak up. His presence was just too intimidating and the way his beautiful grey eyes stared down at me made me feel nervous. “Don’t look so scared. I’m just going to ask a royal doctor to see to your injuries,” the prince said without emotion. Before I could say anything to him, the prince opened the door and gestured for me to enter before him. I nodded at him in thanks before slowly walking into the room. The room was small and there wasn’t anyone there except for a man who appeared to be in his fifties judging from his greying hair and the deep lines on his face. He was dressed in a doctor’s uniform, and he presented me with a warm smile when he laid eyes on me. “Welcome. How may I help you?” he greeted me warmly. His smile froze and he stood up immediately from his seat when his eyes spotted Prince Darius with me. The door closed firmly behind the prince before he came to stand at my side. “This little maid got injured and her arms and hands are bleeding. I would appreciate it if you could help with her injuries,” the prince stated. “Yes, Your Highness. I will tend to her immediately,” the doctor said. He gestured for me a to take a seat before he busied himself with preparing all the necessary tools and medicine required to treat my injuries. There was a slight stinging pain on my cuts where the doctor applied medicine to my wounds. However, I was too distracted by the prince’s presence close to me and his eyes as he stared intently at my injuries for me to feel much of the pain. My cuts were nothing major and that was precisely why I couldn’t understand serious frown on Prince Darius’s handsome face. “Thank you so much for your help, Doctor,” I thanked the doctor politely after he had done applying medicine and putting on bandages on my cuts. “You’re welcomed,” the doctor said. --To be continued…