Chapter 17: Applying the ointment

Apprehension took over Dera as she walked into the princess's chamber. She assumed that the princess would scold her due to her tardiness, but surprisingly, the princess remained tranquil.

Her arms crossed across her chest as she watched Dera come closer to her.

"What took you so long?" Blair asked, her voice soft.

The maid hung her head low and lied through her teeth shamelessly, "I was delayed by the kitchen workers"

"Alright. Hand me the basin" The princess inferred, going to sit on the bed.

Zephyr who had been standing was ordered by the princess to lay on his tummy, on the bed.

Although Zephyr didn't like what was happening around him, he didn't refute her assistance, after all, she was all about his welfare and didn't mean harm to him.

Dera was feeling uneasy as she moved closer to the princess, she gently outstretched the basin to Blair. Their hands touched and Dera panicked, nearly throwing away the water if the princess hadn't caught the basin swiftly.

"Are you going to throw it on me? What's wrong with you?" Blair asked with a slight crease of her forehead.

"I'm sorry, your highness, I didn't mean to" Dera sniffled.

"It's alright, you may leave," She said dismissively.

"Yes, your highness" Dera took a long stride backward. Unfortunately for her, the golden bar which she thought she kept safely fell to the floor, creating a loud noise and causing people to turn in her direction.

'Can this day be worse?' Dera cursed in her mind, feeling the gaze of everyone on her. She had no option but to look down and bite her lower lip in nervousness.

Blair didn't say anything about the golden bar, although she was curious about where Dera got that kind of money from.

Because in Neblon, the richest of the people were the royals who carried golden bars with them. Next were the dukes, lords, ministers, and so on. An average businessman could only have access to a silver bar while the poor people made use of bronze bars.

Recalling, Dera wasn't royalty, and neither was she a daughter of a wealthy businessman. So where did she get that kind of money?

Even the other maids were astounded, they couldn't wait to be dismissed, to question Dera how she got hold of that huge sum of money.

The greedy one amongst them was thinking of joining Dera in whatever business she had involved herself.

"Handle your properties well, lest you lose them carelessly" Blair advised, taking her eyes off the gold bar to the smooth back of the man.

"Yes, your highness"

"You are all dismissed"

Finally, the opportunity that the maids have been waiting for had arrived. They almost squealed in excitement if Helen hadn't glared at them. Keeping them in check.

As they marched out, Blair could hear the loud questions her maids were bombarding Dera.

Zephyr hissed in pain, causing the princess to gasp and look into his eyes. She didn't even realize she was dealing with an injury.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" She questioned, wide-eyed. Her hands stopped their movement on his back.

"No" His deep voice reverberated in the room, and once again Blair wished that he could say another word.

Whenever she heard his smooth voice like honey- her heart never ceased to melt.

"Done" Her soft voice rolled into zephyr's ears and he abruptly stood up from her bed, that action of his almost made Blair laugh. He had moved like an ant simply stung him on the bed.

"Avoid wearing tight clothes, we need air to ventilate it for the proper healing process" she explained.

Now that she was done dealing with his burn, she pondered on what else she should do or say. She didn't want to stop talking to him, every minute with him was a moment of bliss to her.

Finally! She found something to say.

"That's your bed over there, I'm sure it's comfortable and wouldn't give you body ache. Henceforth, we shall share this chamber" She breathed out, drinking in his expression.

What was she insinuating? The man in front of her was like a statue, always expressionless.

"And the bath?" Came his sudden question, it took Blair by surprise, she didn't even know how to respond to it.

She contemplated for a while before replying, "We shall share it"

Zephyr's right brow arched, no, he practically shook his head. What was wrong with this princess? Couldn't she tell that he was a man and she was a woman?

Even though, Zephyr didn't remember who he was. He definitely knew that a man and woman weren't supposed to share a room unless they were related or married. And the bath? They would share the tub?

"Are you sick in the head?" Not able to resist his internal assertion, he spouted.

Blair was stunned, her jaw dropped as she faced him. She wasn't expecting that question from him, Blair knew she wasn't the problem as she could tolerate anything that comes from him but what about the others?

Someone like Zero would seize this prospect to throw Zephyr behind bars.

"Ensure not to say that outside" She responded calmly, she then started explaining herself. "I don't want to do this either but I have no choice, I want you to be by my side every second and hour of the day-"

"I don't have a life to live than to protect you, no?" He interjected rudely.

She smiled at him, "You can do whatever you like, I won't question it but all I ask is for you to be by my side, I wouldn't have requested this if I didn't have that nightmare"

Turning her back to face the window, she narrated her ordeal with that wolf. If she wasn't so incapable of protecting herself, she would have escaped from him. She then turned to face Zephyr, her hand dragging down the zip of her dress a little.

Zephyr frowned at her, he wondered what she was up to.

"I had this because of that nightmare" she showed him the scar that was yet to disappear, thereby leaving three ugly lines on her chest.

She saw his eyes narrowed as he looked at her chest, he then took a step forward, his eyebrows creased and eyes squinted at the injury on her neck.

He halted before her and started deeply at her milky skin, the three lines which ran from the side of her neck to her collarbone.

A sharp headache plunged into his head, he held his head in distress as he retracted his steps.