Doris POV
Beth returned once she saw Daniel leaving the maid’s unit. Her face was red as she entered the room, and she was trying to keep herself from laughing.
I rolled my eyes at her as she came back to my bedside.
“He’s quite handsome,” she chuckled.
“Oh Beth,” I laughed, shaking my head at her.
Before she could say anything else, there was another knock on the door. Beth and I looked at one another confused until Beth stood and answered the door. I heard her gasping in shock as she quickly brought herself to a curtsy.
“Your majesty,” she said, keeping her voice formal.
I rose my eyebrows and tried to peer around the door to see who it was. Beth stepped aside and Prince Martin entered the room. His eyes landed on me and sighed out in relief as he noticed me awake.
“Your majesty?” I said, staring at him; confused as to what would bring him to my bedroom.
It wasn’t often that a prince would bother going to the maid’s unit. Beth was nearly flabbergasted because it wasn’t often, she got to be so close to a prince. Especially a powerful one like Prince Martin.
“I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were okay,” Martin said as he approached me.
“Thank you, your majesty,” I said, a smile tugging at my lips.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, worry flashing through his eyes as he stared around at my injuries.
“Like I’ve been beaten,” I said weakly.
Martin’s shoulders slumped and sadness crossed his face.
“I hope you know we didn’t condone this. Jack went rogue and…” his voice trailed off.
“I know,” I told him gently. “I know you would never want this or ask for this. I don’t blame you. I don’t blame any of you.”
He was silent for a moment; I looked over at the door and realized Beth was still standing there. Her eyes were wide and staring directly at Martin, her mouth gaping.
She finally pulled her eyes away from him and looked in my direction, a sly smile spreading across her lips.
“He adores you,” she mouthed with a silent chuckle.
I wanted to throw something at her but the most I could do was roll my eyes and take my attention away from her.
“Thank you for standing up for me earlier,” I said, meeting his eyes. “It’s nice to know I have someone on my side.”
He smiled and nodded his head.
“You are worth far more than you know, Doris. I’m not going to let them hurt you,” Martin promised. “Anymore…” he added, looking at my bruises.
It was comforting to hear him say that, but if they found me guilty, I don’t think there was going to be much he was going to be able to do. They haven’t even found me guilty yet and I was already beaten to the brink of death; twice.
“I can’t stay long,” Martin said, clearing his throat. “But I wanted to give you this,” he said as he pulled a book out of his jacket.
I smiled and took the book; I had never read it before.
“It’s one of my favorites,” he explained. “I figured you were going to be bored in here and wanted to bring you something to read.”
“Thank you, your majesty. I can’t wait to start reading this. What a sweet gesture,” I said, smiling up at him.
He smiled back.
“I think you’ll like it,” he said, as he turned away and toward the door. “It’s very innovative,” he added with a small laugh.
Beth curtsied as Martin passed her; he nodded respectfully to her before leaving. Beth shut the door behind him and went running toward my bed.
“You can’t honestly say he doesn’t adore you,” Beth giggled. “He even brought you a gift!”
I rolled my eyes at her again.
“He was just being nice, Beth. He’s married to Lady Grace. We worked their wedding ceremony,” I reminded her.
“Everybody knows it’s a loveless marriage,” Beth said, rolling her eyes as well. “It was arranged by Luna Queen Cara. Martin doesn’t love Grace and Grace doesn’t love Martin.”
That thought saddened me because Martin was such a great guy, and he was going to be an even better ruler. He deserved somebody who actually loved him.
“It doesn’t even matter, Beth,” I told her. “I’m just a maid.”
“You aren’t just a maid, Doris,” Beth said, sitting down beside me. “You are the coolest person I know. You are extremely gorgeous. You already had two princes coming to visit you this morning because they were worried about you. Obviously, you left an impression on them.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her words.
“They are kind indeed,” I murmured.
She laughed.
“I don’t think it’s because they are kind. Even though they are both extremely kind; I think it’s more so that they adore you and the thought of you in pain or in trouble, torments them,” Beth teased in a dreaming tone.
I laughed but then instantly winced as pain surged through my body; for a moment, I had forgotten of my injuries.
She shot to her feet and went around to my bedside table. She grabbed some medicine off the table and poured it into a T-spoon. She brought the medicine to my lips, and I winced at the foul taste. I hated medicine but I knew this pain wouldn’t go away without it.
It didn’t take long for the medicine to begin working; I felt the numbing and cooling sensation of the pain subsiding.
Beth has always been a hopeless romantic; the books she reads was always romance novels. She had a fantasy of marrying a prince and she always teased that one day we were both going to marry princes in a different kingdom far from here and live happily ever after.
I always thought that would be a pointless life to live; we’d spent so long trying to get our freedom and get out of this palace, only to reside in a different palace and marry a prince. But it was only a fantasy and we both always laughed over the idea.
She never fell short of recognizing a cute guy though; all the maids were women, so we hardly ever encountered men that weren’t part of the royal family.
“Once we get that amnesty and get out of here, all this will just be a distant and terrible memory,” Beth assured me as she sat back down on the bed.
I frowned, trying not to reveal how bothered I was feeling.
“If I get out of here,” I heard myself saying, my voice sounding distant and strained. “They haven’t found me innocent yet.”
Beth met my eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips.
“They will!” She assured me. “They are working hard on proving your innocence. I hear Daniel and Martin were practically begging Luna Queen Cara and Alpha King Charles to release you, but they refused…” she paused for a moment as she hesitated with her next sentence. “However, nobody has been trying nearly as hard as Prince William.”