Chapter 146: NOT THE BRIDE
[MUSIC RECOMNDATION:STEAL THE SHOW ~ LAUV]
The morning arrived quicker than Axilla had expected; she wanted to stall ti, but the sun crept into the room through the curtain holes, announcing to Axilla that it was really out. The young girl rubbed her eyes, removing sleep and thinking of a new excuse to give the crown prince should incase he cos in. Axilla looked at Lady Larel; the woman was still fast asleep, and she pressed her lips tightly.
"Lady Larel, please wake up; it’s not ti to sleep," Axilla pleaded, also begging the heavenly king to slow down ti. She prayed for the morning to never arrive, but here it was, smiling at her like it was mocking her situation. To make matters worse, soone knocked at the door, causing Axilla’s heart to skip more than a beat.
"W-who?" She asked in a small squeaky voice. When she received no response, she started walking towards the door. What was the worst that could happen, she asked herself before touching the doorknob.
Opening the door, an older woman who looked like she was tired of life and wanted to be anywhere but in the palace appeared. The bags below her eyes were sagging, revealing how old she was or how hard she had been working. The woman’s eyes lazily looked at the young maid before she started speaking her words slower than a sloth.
"I am to get the princess ready for breakfast," the older woman said, talking like words were being forced out of her lips.
Axilla rubbed her palms together, "Y-you.. oh um.. the crown prince did not ntion that; I would do it myself. The princess likes her privacy." She prayed the woman would buy her little lie so she can have ti to think of what to do next.
"Move," that was the only word the woman said before making her way inside the room. Despite her tired-looking face, her steps were still agile.
Axilla knew it was the end for her when the woman stepped inside the room before she could do anything to stop her. The woman opened the curtain to where Lady Larel was resting. The young maid held her breath, gripping the sides of her skirt. It was the end; this maid would go and report to the crown prince, and they would punish them for lying. All Axilla could think of was what type of punishnt they would receive; her body turned cold with fear. Maybe she would just hit the woman with sothing and lock her up inside. That was the idea that flashed in her mind, but hold on... the woman just stood there; she hadn’t said anything yet. Axilla raised her brows questioningly.
"Where is the princess?" The old woman walked out of the room to stand in front of Axilla.
Axilla stared at her perplexed; was this woman blind? If so, that would be a bonus. She grinned in her mind. "The princess is on the bed," she pointed, as the woman followed the trail of her hands. She knew the woman was not blind, obviously, so that plan failed.
"She is not there," the woman sneered, feeling annoyed that the girl felt she would ask of the princess if she had seen her on the bed.
Axilla scratched her head; what did the woman an by not there? Please, Lady Larel, don’t tell
you now practice the act of disappearance. Picking the wrong person was enough trouble for Axilla; how was she supposed to explain that the person they all thought to be the princess was there but not anymore? The young maid rushed to the room, looking under the bed just in case... But there was no sign of anyone.
The older woman who followed Axilla into the room narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the girl. "What did you do to the princess?" The woman asked, her eyes still holding the lazy look.
Axilla, who was down on her knees, pressed her palms together. "I swear nothing; she was just here a mont ago," the young girl said, feeling tears form in her eyes.
"Then where is she?" The woman asked this ti walking closer to grab the girl’s neck. But before her hands could touch Axilla, soone spoke from the bathroom.
"Axilla is that you? Are you back with the scented candles?" Soone who Axilla identified to be Lady Larel spoke from the bathroom.
The woman stopped in her steps and walked towards the bathroom; Axilla got up imdiately and joined the woman.
Inside the bathroom, the lady’s back faced the two persons in the room. One person was tensed up that her heartbeat was running wild, while the other person looked at the lady suspiciously.
"Princess, I have been assigned to get you ready for breakfast." The older woman finally spoke, trying to catch a glimpse of the princess’s face.
"I would have my maid dress
up; I don’t like being touched by strangers." Lady Larel, who was pretending to be the princess, said, grabbing the soap close to the bathtub and applying it on her face generously.
"If you don’t mind, I will continue with bathing the princess. I will bring her to the dining after we are done." It was a polite way of Axilla asking the old woman to get out of the room.
The older woman passed a glare at the young girl, she nodded her head before leaving the room. Axilla followed her behind and locked the door as soon as she stepped out; then she rushed back to the bathroom, grabbing a towel on her way.
"Lady Larel!!" She shouted excitedly.
"Tell , what are we doing here? And why am I the princess?" Lady Larel asked as she rinsed off the soap from her face.
Axilla sniffled the tears that were attempting to escape her eyes. It was tears of relief; she was glad the woman was now awake. She didn’t feel alone anymore. "It’s a long story," the young girl said.
"Tell
after you cover
with the towel; I feel my whole intestine is about to freeze up." Larel shivered; the water was so cold.
Axilla rushed imdiately to cover the Lady with the towel she held. The water was indeed cold, and she didn’t draw a warm bath because the lady was still sleeping when she had gone to open the door.
The two won stepped inside the room, with Axilla now drying up Lady Larel’s hair with another clean towel. Axilla went ahead to tell the woman everything that has happened until now; she told her how she saw soone carrying her out of the palace and when she tried to stop them, they abducted her too.
"So which Kingdom is this?" Larel asked after listening to the whole story.
Axilla shook her head, "I don’t know," she whispered.
Larel bit her lips; which maniac crown prince abducts the woman he wishes to marry.
"Do you rember how you were abducted and mistaken for the princess?" Axilla asked trying to understand where the error happened.
Larel gave it a thought for a mont, "I finished speaking with Bareea, and then I left to cool off my head when I saw the princess. She said she just ca back from the shrine, so we decided to have tea together but a maid ca to call the princess to check out the new dresses that arrived. We decided to go together; I tried out so of the dresses, and she decided to give them to . Then the princess slept off, I went to get Lord Nix to carry her to her room, that is all I rember...." Larel held her head, feeling slight headache. She rembered that both she and the princess kept complaining about how dizzy they felt while fitting in the dresses.
After listening to the story, Axilla realized that the mix-up was in the dressing room. Since Lady Larel was wearing sothing similar to what the princess wears, the n had mistaken her to be the princess.
"So what next? The crown prince hasn’t seen you yet, and I’m sure he knows the princess’s face; we need a plan before then." Axilla said.
Larel nodded, "We should get ready for breakfast then."
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