Marked Princess

NEXT DAY

|Princess Zoey's Point Of View|

The silence in my room remains as it is. No one dares to speak a word, but their gazes linger on me. I clench and unclench my hands in order to not to freak out, but it seems in vain.

The doors open, and my mother arrives in a hurry. She sees that I am awake and smiles softly. She walks to my bed as I look at her through my tired eyes, silently asking how on earth she's smiling when I am like this.

"I am happy you are okay. You were unconscious for one day, but it turns out you were only sleeping in exhaustion." she soothingly says, trying to caress my hair, but I slap her hand away, much to everyone's surprise.

"Don't act all sweet like everything's in order. Nothing is right." I say.

"I-I know, sweetheart. But be grateful for your good health. We can slowly talk about this." she assures.

"What did Prince Patrick say? Does he know that I got marked by a stray?" I ask. Mother sadly nods, and I look away. The worse has happened. What migh