Rose woke to familiar voices bickering in the room. The drapes of the bed hid their faces and everything else from view, but there was no way Rose would mistake those voices for anyone else.
The sun had risen, and she could clearly see the light seeping through the drapes. She didn’t have to look around to know she was alone in bed. She had overslept. The girls were still arguing. Rose couldn’t figure out why.
"No, you can’t place it there. Did you forget what Welma said? Have you never arranged personal belongings before? Do I have to tell you everything?"
"What are you talking about? I am doing everything as she said."
"No, you are not. You don’t fold the dresses like that."
Rose heard a loud swish of fabric, as though it had been pulled from soone’s grasp.
"Isla, you unpack them and I will place them in their proper places—Ah!" she yelled in fright as she noticed Rose peeking out through the drapes.
"Good morning, Chelsy," Rose replied, and she slipped out of bed.
"Rose, I am sorry." Chelsy bowed her head. "I didn’t an to wake you."
"Don’t worry, I was awake anyway," she lied as she approached the bags.
"Welco back," Isla said with a huge smile when Rose got close enough.
She smiled at the young maid and squatted down. She wanted to check that her personal items were there. She didn’t care about the clothes or anything else; all that mattered was her flute and the drug from Lady Delphine.
"Welco back," Chelsy repeated after her sister.
Rose didn’t answer at first as she searched through the bag, worried that soone else had gotten to it before her. She expelled a breath of relief when she found what she was looking for. They were wrapped in a cloth and placed between her dresses, just as she had left them.
"Are you looking for sothing?" Isla asked.
"Yes, but I have found it." She stood to her full height and, finally giving the girls her attention, added, "It is so good to see you both again."
Isla shuffled her feet, and if she didn’t fear being scolded by her sister, she would have hugged Rose. "How was it?" she asked instead. "I heard you were in Haiyes, but before that, I heard a lot of worriso things."
"Shut up, Isla. Don’t bother her with gossip when she just woke up."
Rose had a smile on her face; she hadn’t realized how much she had missed the sisters. "Who asked you to do this?" Rose asked the question that had been on her mind since she woke but had been more preoccupied with retrieving her items.
"His Highness. We heard you ca back with him, but there was no sign of you yesterday," Isla started to explain but imdiately got distracted by her curiosity.
"Shut up, Isla. Welma ca to fetch us this morning. We found your bags already here when we arrived, and she told us His Highness said we should put your belongings in his chambers."
"I see. Where is Welma?"
Chelsy shook her head. "She said she has other chores to attend to."
Rose narrowed her eyes. She would not be surprised if those other chores involved reporting to the Queen. Rose looked around the room as the maids continued working; this was certainly not a good idea.
She couldn’t figure out what the Crown Prince was thinking. Was he trying to anger his mother? This would most definitely work. She didn’t want to imagine the fit the Queen would have when she found out the Crown Prince had taken the whore into his chambers re days before his wedding.
Rose sighed. Why was she still caught in the middle of this? Wasn’t this the part where he would let her go? Clearly, that was not the case, but putting her in his chambers was ridiculous.
The rumors and gossip that would spin from this would be enough to send her into shock. However, as she had learned, the Crown Prince didn’t care much about his reputation and seed to enjoy ruining it as much as he could.
She was glad he wasn’t sending her to a different floor or, worse, the servants’ quarters, but Rose was very unsure how this was a good solution. She clutched the flute tightly and started to walk back toward the bed.
"Would you like your breakfast now?" Chelsy asked.
"No, I think I will sleep so more," she replied without looking back as she slipped into bed, closing the drapes behind her. Rose knew she wasn’t going to fall asleep. There were too many things on her mind for that.
One of her major concerns was the Crown Prince’s attitude. She could tell he had been extrely stressed the day before, a side he didn’t easily show. He was clearly going along with the wedding, but not willingly. Rose didn’t care too much about this detail, as long as she could go ho.
Her second concern wasn’t the Queen; after all, once she got away, the Queen would be a thing of the past. What worried her was the chance that the Crown Prince had no intention of letting her go, even though he was getting married.
Rose had suspected it from the way he had spoken to her the night before, and now, with her belongings moved into his room. Even if he was not ready to let her go just yet, there was no denying that this was extre.
It was easy for people to digest that the Crown Prince was ssing around with a lowborn and parading her even before the council, but at that ti, he was unmarried. Rose was certain it would not be favorable for her to stay as the known whore of the Crown Prince once he had a wife.
She had never even thought about it because she was certain the Crown Prince would let her go once there was another woman in his life. Not once had she considered that she would still be stuck here even when the situation had changed.
What are you doing, Caius?
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