Author's POV
Zyla and Roxy swiftly moved across the hallway to avoid any one from noticing their presence. They got to Zyla's room, pushed the door open and walked in.
" We need to treat the wound" Zyla said as she closed the door.
" What wound?" A deep voice asked startling Zyla. She froze and stiffly turned to the front to see her brother frowning at her with his hands crossed over his chest . One of his eyebrows was raised up as he stared questioningly at the duo.
" So, what wound?" he repeated.
" Ummm.... " She stiffly started.
" Well, Roxy got injured when we were running from wolves" Zyla said , her eyes darting to the injury on her ankles
" Hurt? Where?" He asked his eyes scanning Roxy as he walked towards her, gently held her arm and led her to Zyla's bed.
" Sit" he ordered with a slightly stiff and loud voice as she got to the edge of the bed. His hands left her arm and trailed downwards till they got to her ankles. He held her calf gently like she was a porcelain doll.
" Zyla, do get me the first aid box" he said turning his head to look at Zyla who has disgust boldly showing in her gaze.
" Yea, whatever" she said turning her heels to get the first aid box located in her bathroom. She walked into the bathroom, moved to the mirror and pulled it gently away from the wall. There was a shelf hidden at the back of the mirror. Her eyes scanned the contents on the shelf till she located the first aid box. She grabbed the box and pushed the mirror back to its original position. Zyla silently stared at her reflection and held her right hand up. She pulled down the long sleeve of the top she wore to see that a huge portion of her forearm had turned deep pink with a small amount of blood leaking from different parts of the darken part.
" Aww" she let out a deep sigh as she stared at the reflection. She moved her hand and touched the darken parts. Several bolts of pain passed through her as she touched the injured part but it cannot be compared to the dull ache she felt in her chest as she recalled the scene she witnessed before entering the bathroom. She loved them both but these days they had begin to notice her less once they were together. She knew the look in their eyes once she mentions the other names and she's happy for them but she stars to feel like they don't love her as they previously did before their affection for each other began to grow. The thought of them not loving her begins to haunt her as they were the only ones in this deranged palace that whole- heartedly loved her.
She dispelled the stupid thoughts she was having and walked out of the bathroom with the box in her hands. Zyla walked to the duo and handed the box to her brother.
" Leo, here it is" she said
" Ohh, thank you so much ,Red" Leo said which caused Zyla's eyes to moisten.
" What , you don't think I forgot about that name ,did you?" He said seeing his younger sister's shocked face.
" I thought you forgot since you hardly called me that since you were crowned crown prince" She said .
" I'm not that horrible to forget the cute name I gave my younger and favorite sister " saw said
" I was just too swamped with work that I hardly had time to breathe so it didn't cross my mind any time I had the chance to talk to you" he continued.
" Ohh. That makes me really happy " Zyla said. When they were young he started calling her the color of her hair to tease her till it became the name she got to cherish so much as he stopped calling her that .
She took a slightly larger swab of cotton and dipped it in the solution made for cleaning wounds from the box , moved further away from where they both were, sat on the bed and applied it to the bruised part. Luckily for her, Leo had already finished with dressing to Roxy's wound and looked up just in time to see Zyla cleaning her wound.
" You were injured. Why didn't you tell me" Leo said as he moved from Roxy to Zyla.
" Well, someone did not seem to listen to anything once he found out that someone was injured. I said we were both chased by wolves, you didn't even say any word of concern , you just ran straight to Roxy . And even after that you didn't seem to remember that and I just let you be" Zyla said as her gaze moved between Roxy and Leo then to the floor.
" I'm sorry, Zyla . I'm really sorry " Leo said
" It's okay. It just sometimes scares me that the both of you would not love me again since you have each other " She said. Their eyes both widened at her words and Leo looked like he was about to say something when she continued.
" Don't " she said looking at Leo.
" Don't try to say anything against what I just said because I'm not a fool. I might not have experienced it but I am not blind nor dumb not to notice it. I know how the two of you look at each other. I'm just really happy for the two of you. At least you both have a chance of getting married unlike me , who's going to get sold out like livestock on my birthday " Zyla said as she continued to clean her wound.
Silence enveloped the room as no one said anything after her words . Leo took a cream and bandages from the box and moved to Zyla . He took her hand , applied the cream and carefully wrapped the bandages around her hand.
" The cream is made of special material. The wounds will disappear in two or three days without any trace" Leo said breaking the silence.
" Thank you very much" Zyla said flashing a bright smile at him.
" You're not angry at me?" He asked with caution
" No. I'm not angry just a little bit sad." She said standing up and taking the first aid box and walking into the bathroom.
" I didn't know she felt that way" Leo said as soon as she entered the bathroom.
" I feel so stupid for not knowing how she felt even though I'm close to her" Roxy replied.
" Stay with her. I'll think of a way to change the person she'll be engaged to" Leo said. One of the perks of being a crown prince is knowing his father's decision. The thing about allowing suitors to visit her is just to throw them off balance. The person their father has in mind to engage her to is one of the people who bullied her when they where young.
" Sir , what of the peace treaty" his attendant suggested.
" Continue" Leo said with obvious interest on his face.
" You could write a letter to one of the princes. I advise you to write to the eight prince. He's rumored to having no interest in politics, no consort , mistress and planning to only marry one wife. That implies that she would not face any political struggle, no struggle to give birth to a male heir" he said giving a slightl bow.
" That sounds okay. I just want her to live peacefully" Leo said letting out a deep sigh as they both got to his room.
" Please bring me paper and ink" he asked his attendant. He left then came back with the needed materials and Leo started to write.
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So sorry for the late update. Promise to do better.
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