Chapter 14

"She tripped me for fun when I walked by her on my way to Alekai's library," I exclaim, answering Ali's question about what happened a few moments ago as she hands me a bag of ice for my throbbing ankle. A week has passed since the ball, and my life has become one of avoiding the King whenever I spy him in the hallways or having a battle of wits with Lady Linnate—one that I always managed to win—or avoiding her and her flying monkeys completely when she is in a group. Today, the crazy woman caught me off guard as I made my way to the library, her foot coming out of nowhere and causing me to fall down a few steps. Luckily Ali and Max had just finished serving Queen Arabess, and my fall was stopped by Max, who luckily caught me. Taking the bag of ice from my friend, I gingerly place it onto my ankle, gasping and whimpering from the pain as I fight back the tears. When I see Linnate next, her face will have to undergo plastic surgery to fix what I plan to do to her.

“I think your ankle might be broken, Lyra,” Ali sighs, turning around to write onto a notepad before motioning to one of the new kitchen maids.

“Take this to Prince Alekai in his study or Maid Elisa if you see her first. If anyone tries to stop you, say this concerns Lyra.” My friend orders, the kitchen maid nodding in understanding before taking off as fast as she can through the hidden stairways.

“One of these days, I will be able to navigate those hallways without getting lost.” I sigh enviously, only to cry out in pain as I accidentally move my foot, pain shooting through every nerve ending like a jagged knife.

"For now, let’s focus on helping you to the hospital wing of the Palace. When you are better, I will have Neena help you learn the hidden stairways," my friend says with concern, checking on my swollen ankle. She carefully removes the bag of ice, my vision growing black from the pain as she puts slight pressure on the injury, most likely trying to figure out how bad it is. All I want to do at that moment is throw something at her, the pain becoming so unbearable that it takes everything in me not to pass out.

“Didn’t she try to pour wine on your dress yesterday when you and Elisa went to the Prince’s study?” A small voice asks from my left, and I see Neena, Ali’s fifteen-year-old daughter, enter with a bouquet of flowers in her arms.

"Yes, Linnate has it out for Lyra because she stands in her way of the Crown's money," This has been the main topic of our discussions for the past few days since Ali heard the gossip of Linnate becoming the next Queen. Unfortunately for her, the servants all hate her, and many have come to me, revealing they secretly hope that I beat all odds and take the throne with Alekai. I just roll my eyes at Ali’s explanation, letting out a gasp of pain when someone touches my ankle, and it takes everything in me not to kick poor Neena. As much as the girl has become like a sister to me since she started working in the kitchen five days ago, there are times like this when I want to tie her to a chair and leave her there.

“Neena, don’t make Lyra’s injury worse!” Ali scolds, pulling her daughter away from me and directing the fifteen-year-old to the decorator’s side, where Neena is forced to help decorate cookies for the Palace residents to consume.

“Thank you, she was one more poke away from being hit. Hard, might I add.” I sigh, happy to only have Ali beside me.

“Where is she?!” A frantic voice calls out as the doors to the kitchen slam open, causing me to jump in fright before the stabbing pain blurs my vision, causing tears to fall. Couldn’t people be a lot more careful with an injured person in the room?

“Lyra, I am so sorry, baby. Are you okay?” To my relief and frustration, the person who barged into the room was Alekai. The Prince quickly makes his way to my side and wipes away my tears.

“We think she might have broken her ankle. Linnate tripped her down the stairs when she was on her way to the library. Luckily, Max and I had arrived just in time as Max caught her and prevented further injuries.”

“This is the third incident where Lyra has gotten hurt because of Linnate,” Alekai seethes in frustration, taking the ice pack off of my ankle and handing it to Ali. I cry out in pain the moment he lifts my foot to carefully examine it.

“Al-Alekai, please s-stop! It hurts,” I beg, clutching his arm as I start to sob from the pain. Slowly, he puts my foot back onto the chair it’s been resting on, moving beside me to wipe more tears from my face and kiss my forehead.

“I’m sorry, Lyra. I never meant to hurt you,” he coos, wrapping me in his arms and allowing me to sob the pain out as Ali replaces the bag of ice. I bury my face into his chest, taking in his now-familiar scent of roses and mint while focusing on my breathing. The pain slowly settles down to a tolerable level before I pull away and look at Alekai, whose face holds worry and concern for me.

“Are you ready to be moved to the hospital wing?” He asks. I nod, not trusting myself to speak right now as I focus on keeping my foot still so as not to further aggravate the injury to my ankle. Alekai presses a kiss to my forehead before untangling me from his arms and standing, slowly taking his time to lift the ice bag from my ankle and putting it on the table beside me and gingerly lifting me into his arms.

"Bite down on my shirt if you have to." He whispers as my face scrunches up with pain when my foot moves ever so slightly. Once again, I bury my face into his chest, my hands clenching his shirt as silent streams of tears begin to flow. I can tell that he is being careful with me as he begins to walk in what I assume is the direction of the hospital wing, mindful not to move my foot too much. His steps are rushed but measured, and the pain is bearable to a point, only surging when he has to turn a corner into a new hallway.

"Almost there,” I hear him say after what feels like an eternity. A wave of dizziness washes over me as I feel his body shift, and a maid apologizes for nearly knocking into us. I bite down on his shirt, pushing closer to his sturdy chest and praying this walk will be over soon. I don't know how long I can fight the pain before I faint. Finally, the smell of rubbing alcohol reaches my nose, and Alekai slows his pace.

"Doctor Ridley, that snake came after my Little Songbird again!” Alekai exclaims, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the quiet room as I feel him gingerly place me onto a bed, making sure to cradle my very swollen ankle as a nurse comes with a pillow to rest my foot on.

“What did Linnate do to you this time?" Doctor Ridley, an elderly man with a full head of grey hair and a clean-shaven face, asks as he enters the main room from his office. I sigh in relief, knowing that my pain will be gone soon with his expert healing.

"She tripped me on the stairs when I was on my way to the library. I think I broke my ankle because of her," I answer quietly, clinging onto Alekai, who moves to sit beside me on the bed. I watch as the Doctor sighs, a look of exasperation on his face, the same one he had when I first met him six days ago. At that time, Linnate had managed to convince a maid to put a potent itching powder on my jacket when I wasn’t looking. The feeling of my skin becoming so unbearably itchy to the point my scratching caused some bleeding is one I will never forget. Alekai found me in a sobbing mess when I never showed up for lunch. He quickly wrapped a blanket around me and carried me to the hospital wing, where Doctor Ridley prepared a bath in minutes and made me soak inside, clothes and all, for an hour before having a maid remove the fabric from me, and Alekai placing me into another bath.

I watch as the Doctor shoos the nurse away. He gingerly runs his fingers around my injured ankle, causing me to cry and cling closer to Alekai, who does his best to calm me during the examination.

“It’s not broken, but badly sprained. I am guessing you don’t have much pain tolerance?” Doctor Ridley says after removing my shoes. I feel so relieved knowing I won’t have to undergo surgery to fix a broken ankle.

“No, I don’t. My father abused me as a child, and ever since then, I can’t handle pain.” I answer honestly, feeling Alekai stiffen beside me.

"I expected as much. Kai, carry her into the next room, and I will be right there."

“Yes, Doc.” I feel strong arms once again lift me bridal style, Alekai taking his time to carry me to a side door leading to what I refer to as the spa treatment room. The walls are painted a calming blue, and natural light coming in through the tinted windows gives the area a soft glow. On the west side sat comfortable chairs with foot baths placed in front, ready to be used for treatment, while on the east sat three tubs for soaking in medicinal baths. Alekai turns towards the chairs, sitting down and helping me sit facing the foot bath, his arms wrapped around my waist and holding me close. Doctor Ridley soon walks in, a large jar full of blue liquid in his arms.

"Place your foot in the tub, please." He motions to the foot bath, water slowly bubbling. With Alekai's help, I slowly place my foot into the soothing water. I breathe a sigh of relief as the warm water helps with the throbbing pain. I watch as he pours the contents of the jar into the water, the tingling sense of medicine working quickly as the pain dulls.

"Keep your foot in there for an hour. I will come back to check on it. Feel free to put your other foot in, as the medicine will also help strengthen it,” Doctor Ridley orders. Before I could agree, he is already out the door, most likely going back to his office to make a formal complaint about Linnate injuring those in the Palace again.

"An hour alone sounds like a fun time,” Alekai whispers, his hands moving my hair off to the side as his lips press against my neck, kissing me softly.

"But I can't move. " I whisper, clutching the arms of the chair as his hands slip around to fondle my breasts.

"That’s okay. I can just play with you while you sit like a good girl." He nips my neck, and I moan, leaning into him, my body slowly becoming aroused as his hands and lips work their magic on my body, and his fingers slip under my skirt. Since we will be alone for an hour, we might as well enjoy a distraction from the pain.