3

Now in her 'room', Jasmine sat on the bed slowly. As much as she tried hard, she couldn't stop her body from quaking the moment Penelope shut the door behind her and started making her way to her elegantly.

"Y-You… aren't going to swallow me, right?" she asked with trembling lips.

"Mistress, you really are weird today. Could it be you have amnesia? Even though you can't transform into any snake specie at all, you still aren't afraid to battle against a snake warrior. Although you were sentenced to room confinement for seven days, the King and Queen still treasure you. Why are you like this?" Penelope asked after kneeling, wearing a concerned look.

"I… don't recall ever seeing someone transform into a large snake in my entire life," Jasmine replied while trying to avoid eye contact between them.

"Mistress, you're a good athlete, you even outrun most of the fastest snake men in the kingdom. But I caught you so easily…"

"I don't know anything!" Jasmine barked but then her expression turned meek after recalling the fact that she was shouting at a predator, "I'm not Princess Belinda. I…"

"Say no more, my lady. Maybe you should rest for a while. Maybe when you wake up, your head will be clearer," with that, Penelope rose and ushered her mistress to lie on the bed after taking off the rabbit fur shoes. Then she covered her with the blanket and sang a relaxing song for her. Soon, Jasmine fell asleep.

***

Hours later, Jasmine woke up and looked around before clutching her chest as she exhaled.

"Thankfully, it's just a nightmare," she sighed in relief.

"My lady, you're awake," Penelope who just entered the room carrying a tray of food said.

Seeing her again, Jasmine sat up, tensed and retreated subconsciously till her back kissed the bedpost.

"You still are scared?" Penelope sighed, concluding that indeed her mistress must have amnesia. She would inform the king about this when she leaves here.

Placing the food on the table, she walked over to Jasmine who was shaking like a leaf, "My lady, stop being scared. I won't hurt you. You're a princess and I'm your personal maid. I know for sure now that you don't recall anything as you say. And I'm sorry for scaring you earlier. Please, come eat, my lady," she implored.

"Is everyone in the palace, like you?" Jasmine asked.

"Everyone, including your parents, the King and Queen," Penelope replied.

Hearing this answer from the maid, Jasmine's face fell as she became more distressed. So she who was terrified of snakes was now the princess of the snake kingdom? It would be nice to just pass out right now, right?

"My lady, don't be scared. I'll answer any questions you have. Just be reassured that no one will hurt you, not even me," Penelope endeavoured to reassure her frightened mistress, "Please, come eat something and pacify your stomach," she beseeched.

Reluctantly, Jasmine got off the bed and headed to the table. Then she sat on the chair that Penelope guided her to. The maid removed the lid that obscured the food tightly and a fragrant smell wafted out. Her stomach grumbled aggressively and she could swear that she almost drooled. She looked at Penelope who told her that the food is eaten with hands, hence the reason the bowl of water is beside the plate. Jasmine washed her hands and commenced wolfing down the food.

An hour later, Jasmine was seated on the bed reading a large ancient book. There were two more on the bed that she planned on reading too. The one she was reading was the history of the serpentine people who lived in the kingdom called Ziluda. She read up to a point where it mentioned a sacrifice made by the royalty to Sancludia. She asked her maid whom she'd instructed to sit on the couch what befuddled her.

"Penelope, what is this sacrifice that it's mentioning?"

"It's a living sacrifice," her maid replied.

Hearing the word 'living sacrifice', her face paled.

Seeing this, Penelope smiled before proceeding to clarify, "No, it's not what you think. It originally isn't something we did from the start. Those who did that in the past weren't glad to do so but there's no choice in this matter. You see, in the past, there was constant strife between our clan and the werewolf clan, spanning two millenniums. And then five centuries ago, a great war broke out between the two clans which lasted about a year. Our clan got the greater number of casualties. The king back then admitted defeat to put a stop to the war and he begged the werewolf king for a peace treaty. The latter agreed but on one condition. If that condition is not met, the massacre of our clan in the one-sided war would go on. Having no choice, the king agreed. He had to part with his beautiful daughter a year later and this tradition has continued till now. So whenever a new Alpha King is enthroned in the werewolf kingdom, Sancludia, the most beautiful female of the serpentine clan must be sent to that kingdom and she is to remain in the cold palace until a new Alpha King is enthroned. That is if she's even still kicking. And she can never return to her people. Her burial place is in that land, far away from her people. She cannot also attempt escaping all the days of a ruling Alpha King or a massacre will be carried out on us," Penelope sighed after this explanation and Jasmine nodded sagely. It was indeed a tragic thing.

"So, who's the most beautiful in the kingdom and there's no new Alpha King enthroned, right?" she couldn't help voicing out her curiosity.

"Um… for the second question… yes. A new king has been enthroned,"

"What?" Jasmine blurted out. Which means some unfortunate woman is going to suffer the unfortunate fate again. She felt so sorry for the lady whoever she was.

"My lady, regarding the first question…" Penelope bit her lip before summoning the strength to reply, "You are the most beautiful one among all the females in the kingdom,"

Hearing this truth just divulged by her maid, the book fell from the stunned Jasmine's hands, "Wha…What did you just say?"