[4 Hours Later]
The sun slowly began to rise from the east and just as the sunlight reached Dunha's bed, she woke up. Her mother was nowhere to be seen.
"Mmm..." Dunha groaned as she raised her arms to stretch.
She then began to yawn as she scratched the back of her head.
Dunha's sleepy puffy eyes then instantly opened as wide as they could after noticing the sunlight coming through the windows.
She then instantly got off the bed and ran toward the window.
"Sunlight... When was the last time I saw sunlight?" Dunha wondered as she began to walk toward the window to open it.
When she opened the windows, she accidentally startled a bird and caused it to fly away. However, she didn't care about the bird and was more interested in the view.
"Wow..." she murmured.
Her jaw nearly dropped as she gazed in awe at the sight of a large garden with the sunrise making the scene even more beautiful. There were also currently some gardeners taking care of the gardens.
"I remember... That's the garden that I used to play in with Mellia and Sei..." Dunha thought. "The whole garden was burned down by some of the Eastern Union sympathizers," she added.
She then became sad as she remembered the deaths of some of her companions.
"They should still be alive in this life, right?" Dunha wondered. "I hope I can see them soon...
Before she could remind herself of more depressing events that occurred during her past life, she heard a knock on the door.
"!" (Dunha)
The knock startled Dunha and caused her to run back to her bed. Just as she got on the bed and hid under the blankets, the door opened. It turned out to be her mother who came back from somewhere.
"Dunha, did you already wake up?" Dunha's mother asked.
"Uh... Um... Yes..." said Dunha.
Dunha's mother then approached Dunha and gave her a head-pat as she looked at her with a worried expression.
"Dunha, did something happened yesterday?" Dunha's mother asked.
"N-No..." Dunha answered weakly.
Technically, she was not lying because she went back to the past in the middle of the night so she would not know the events that happened during the day. For this reason, she slightly hesitated when she answered her mother's question.
"..." (Dunha's mother)
However, her mother misunderstood her daughter's hesitation for something else.
🔸🔸🔸
[Dunha's mother's P.O.V]
After Dunha fell asleep, her mother continued to stay by her side. She smiled when she saw her daughter peacefully sleeping.
"Sleep well, my precious child..." said Dunha's mother.
She then stayed by Dunha's side for 4 hours before she got up and left the room.
"Do not follow me, I will return here soon," said Dunha's mother.
The guards silently bowed their heads as she walked away.
She then approached a door and knocked on it. After a minute, the sounds of books falling could be heard behind the door.
"I already told you that you will not get food poisoning from eati--" said a man in a nightshirt before abruptly shutting his mouth after realizing who he was talking to.
His eyes opened wide in shock.
"Y-Your Highness! Please f-forgive this humble servant for saying such inappropriate words in front of the queen! I have truly committed a grave crime! Please, spare my life!" the man shouted as he bowed so low that his head reached the floor.
"Ha..." Dunha's mother sighed. "Although he's more trustworthy than the head-doctor, it would be nice if he stop overreacting like this every time he sees me... What did I do to him that he fears me this much?" she wondered.
She tapped the man's shoulder.
"Rise and listen to my question and then I'll consider forgiving you," said Dunha's mother.
The shaking man quickly got back up and picked up his glasses that he dropped. He was the vice head-doctor of the royal family for many years and was considered an expert at his job in the medical field.
"W-What is your question, your highness?" the doctor asked.
"Do you know what causes children to have nightmares?" Dunha's mother asked.
"Nightmares? Well, stressful or traumatic events that happened during the day can be a reason. It can also be a sign of post-traumatic stress disorder as well," the doctor answered.
"..." (Dunha's mother)
Dunha's mother looked concerned at the doctor's answer.
"Stressful or traumatic events? From what? Who would want to harm such an adorable child?!" Dunha's mother asked.
"Ah." (Doctor)
The vice head-doctor was able to quickly deduce the reason why the queen asked him the question about nightmares.
"I-Is the princess suffering from one, your highness?" the doctor asked.
"Yes, the guards informed me that she woke up in the middle of the night and was talking about the undead. When she saw me, she started to cry as she hugged me," said Dunha's mother.
"Hmm... Perhaps somebody either told her a scary story or frightened her. A child's imagination is vast, sometimes the monsters in their dreams could be a certain somebody that she met that day and frightened her. This means she could be afraid of someone," said the doctor.
"I-I see... Then is there a way to cure her nightmare?" Dunha's mother asked.
"If that certain someone is the problem, then preventing him or her from approaching the princess should prevent further trauma. Also giving her lots of love and attention helps too. Ultimately, it's up to her to either stop it or not," said the doctor.
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for listening to my concerns," said Dunha's mother.
"Anytime, your highness." said the doctor as he lowered his head.
As soon as Dunha's mother walked away, the doctor sighed in relief before shutting the door with his arms still being shaky.
"I thought my heart was going to stop..." the doctor thought as he sighed.
🔸🔸🔸
While Dunha's mother began to head back to Dunha's room, she was lost in thought.
"Who would dare to harm my precious child? If I find this person, I'll make the bastard suffer..." Dunha's mother thought as she gritted her teeth.
As she was too busy thinking about the possible suspects, she did not realize that she already reached her daughter's room until she almost bumped into the guards.
"Y-Your Highness!" said one of the surprised guards.
"O-Oh, sorry about that. I wasn't looking," said Dunha's mother.
"N-No, it's my fault for not anticipating your arrival! Please forgive this foolish guard!" said the panicking guard.
These guards were not the same guards that Dunha saw last night. They were the morning shift guards while the ones Dunha met were the night shift guards.
"Tch, every time," Dunha's mother murmured as she clicked her tongue. "Forget about it. Is my daughter awake?"
"Y-Yes. We heard her walking around shortly after you left the room, your Highness," the guard answered.
"Great to hear it," said Dunha's mother.
She then proceeded to knock on the door before entering the room.
As soon as the queen entered the room, the guards began to quietly talk to each other.
"Did her highness just click her tongue?" the first guard asked.
"You're probably just hallucinating, Mark. Let's just say that nothing happened right now," said the second guard.
"Agreed," the first guard answered back.
Just like that, the event where the queen clicked her tongue was forgotten.
🔸🔸🔸
After seeing her daughter's hesitation when she answered her question, Dunha's mother was upset.
"So, somebody is bothering her... Oh, my poor child..." Dunha's mother thought.
She then remembered the doctor's words about making sure her daughter is given lots of love.
🔸🔸🔸
[Dunha's P.O.V]
"Why is mother's looking at me with sad eyes? Is it because I cried?" Dunha wondered.
"Ah! Dunha! Would you like to take a walk in the garden with me?" Dunha's mother asked.
Surprised at her mother's offer, she smiled and nodded her head.
"I hope this makes her happy," Dunha thought.
Dunha raised her arm and grabbed her mother's hand.
"I used to be shy whenever my mother tried to hold my hand. I remember regretting it every time I think of her... I'm not making that regret again!" she thought.
Dunha's mother looked surprised and looked down to look at her daughter's face.
"Hehe," Dunha giggled.
Dunha then looked up and smiled which exposed two missing front teeth. This caused her mother to chuckle a little as they happily left the room together.
(To Be Continued)
2020/02/20