The Princess's Visit

Rae turned around when she noticed that someone was at her door. She tidied her hair and tried to get up from her bed. "Your Highness." Her voice was laced with anxiety at the sudden appearance of the Princess in her room. "What are you doing here?"

Amelia rushed over beside her maidservant and placed her hand on Rae's shoulder to restrain her from getting up. "Don't get up. You should take it easy. You're injured, remember?"

Rae reluctantly obeyed the princess and shuffled a little bit into a seating position. Seeing that it was hard for her to sit, Sara, who came in with the Princess walked over to help her adjust the pillow behind her.

A weak smile curled on Rae's lips when she saw her colleague. "Thank you, Sara."

The bespectacled girl smiled before her gaze dropped to the injured area around Rae's chest. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Rae answered.

"I'm glad," Sara spoke. She glanced towards the Princess and smiled. "The Princess is concern about your well being. She insisted to come over here and visit you."

Rae looked around uneasily. Although she was happy that the Princess had come over to her house, she did not want the Princess to be uncomfortable. After all, her house was small. It was clean, but not well maintained.

"You didn't have to visit me, Your Highness," Rae spoke. "You have been kind enough to send the doctor and nurses from the Royal Hospital to treat me. They have done enough to nurse me back to health."

"Those people from the Royal Hospital would often update me with your condition, but I couldn't rest without seeing you for myself," Amelia reasoned. Then, a guilty smile grazed her lips. "It was my fault that you got hurt in the first place."

"Please don't blame yourself, Princess Amelia. It was not your fault," Rae said quickly. As she leaned forward, Rae began to notice that something was not quite right. Her gaze fell on the outfit on the Princess's body and frowned. "Your Highness. Why are you wearing a maidservant uniform?"

Amelia giggled at her question. "I'm avoiding the others from monitoring my movement. So I came here in disguise."

Rae's eyes turned wide at her words. "What? But Princess, that is dangerous."

"Don't worry," Amelia smiled. "I've learned my lesson since the last time. This time, Adviser Damian knows I'm here to visit you and Commander Irvine has arranged for his best soldiers to escort me."

"I've heard about what happened that night after I passed out," Rae lowered her gaze. "We were lucky that someone was there to help us."

Amelia nodded. "You are right. I have to be more careful with everything I decide next."

Rae tried to adjust her sitting position and winced when the pain suddenly stung.

"What's wrong?" Amelia leaned forward to look at her injured chest. Seeing that the trace of blood seeping through her maidservant's clothes, Amelia started to panic.

As Sara turned to call over the doctor, Amelia placed her hand around the injured area hesitantly, but stop just as she was about to touch the injury for fear that she was going to make the injury worst.

Suddenly, Rae could feel a cooling sensation around her injury and the pain gradually disappeared.

This sensation lasted briefly and ended just as the Princess pulled her hand away. Before she could figure out what happened, a doctor walked in to check on the wound.

Amelia stood aside and watched as the doctor did her job. Hearing that the injury was recovering faster than expected, Amelia let out a sigh. She asked the doctor to prepare the best medicine and soon left with Sara and Commander Irvine's men.

"Are you going to head back to the palace, Your Highness?" Sara asked.

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "But we're going to make a quick stop in the city. There is a place that I wanted to visit."

...

Upon arriving at the location, Princess Amelia was mortified to see the condition of the part of the city.

It was not the scenery that she had expected to see during her secret visit—her people were living on the street. Their skeletal body showed that they haven't had a decent meal in days, weeks, or perhaps months. They were undernourished.

This was exactly the opposite of what the nobles had reported to her.

They had informed her that the poverty rate had lowered in some villages.

Amelia was sure that this village—Gami village was on top of the list given by the ministers. The others had convinced her that the people were given enough food and medicine.

Amelia saw two siblings before her fighting over a bowl of gruel and felt her heart sank. "Was it always like that in this village?"

Sara paused, hesitating. Then, slowly, she nodded. "Yes."

Amelia turned to Sara with confusion written all over her face. "Why? I was sure the others had told me my people are living well. I had never received any reports that my people are suffering like this."

"Your Highness," Sara spoke. Her voice softened as if she was trying to soothe the Princess.

"They haven't received the aid I sent to them, have they?" Amelia asked. "The nobles claimed a big sum of money from the government. They told me it was for helping my people. But it was all a lie, wasn't it?"

Sara stood still as she heard the Princess's questions.

She wasn't sure how she should respond to it. It didn't look like the princess was waiting for her response anyway.

Sara watched Amelia observing the village for a few more minutes and accompanied her back to the palace. The way back was quiet as the princess was seen deep in her thought.

Amelia stopped shortly and let out a long breath just as they have arrived safely back at her palace. "Sara?"

Sara bowed. "Yes, Your Highness?"

"Tell the others to retreat."

Sara looked up, surprised by the princess's order. "But your highness. I don't think that's a good idea. What if—"

"I will be fine. The palace guards will watch over me if anything should happen," Amelia assured. "We are already inside the palace. I will be safe. I just need an hour to think. I need some privacy. Just give me an hour, that's all I'm asking for."