UNANSWERED

My father was angry.

I expected him to be when he found out about what happened, but it was the angriest I've ever seen him.

We arrived at the palace just before nightfall. I immediately called for a physician to attend to the wounded soldiers. I planned to sneak up to my room and deal with my father tomorrow; but, unfortunately, news of our arrival and the injured state of my guards had quickly reached my father's ears.

He summoned me and Luca to see him in the throne room immediately.

Before we left the carriage, I made sure to wear a scarf around my neck to hide my worst injury. My long-sleeved dress covered the bandages around my arms and knees, but there was no way of hiding the cuts on my face.

They weren't deep cuts; just thin red lines, tiny scratches on my face from carelessly crashing into prickly bushes headfirst.

But my father noticed them right away.