Ten maids neatly dressed gushed into the room of the princess in order to render their services to her. They were terrified earlier by the scream of the princess so they came to check on her to see if she was alright.
"Your Highness" The chorused, squatting down on the furry pink carpet. They dared not climb on top of her bed.
Blair closed her eyes as she tried to steady her uneven breathing. She was frightened by the nightmare she had because she had never dreamt of something like this before. All the dreams she had were good so where did this one come from? She asked herself.
"Helen" she mused while opening her eyes slowly.
"Yes, your highness" Helen bowed her head.
"Rise" Blair ordered.
Helen nodded and stood up from the carpet, her head still bowed and her hands intertwined in front of her. She was nervous.
"Did I mistakenly go out last night?" Blair tilted her head to the side as she scanned her maid.
"No" Helen answered abruptly, "You were with lord Sebastian last night and you didn't go out" She answered with all honesty.
"Truth?"
"Yes, the truth" Helen, the chief of the maids responded.
"Then how come?" Blair questioned herself as she recalled the dream she had, her delicate fingers slowly went up to her neck to caress it but she soon winced at the pain she felt. Her neck, looked like something had cut her there.
"Helen, bring me the mirror"
"Yes, Your Highness" The maid bowed, turned around, and went to the cupboard. Pulling the drawer, she brought out a small mirror and took it to her princess.
She collected the mirror from her maid, bringing it closer to her neck where she could take a proper view. She gasped when she saw three large marks that went all the way from her neck to her collarbone.
"How did this happen Your Highness? Prince Sebastian wouldn't hurt you like this" Helen reasoned as she viewed the neck of the princess. She was aware that if words got out that the princess was injured this much, the king would surely behead all of them.
"It isn't Sebastian," Blair told her as she slammed the mirror on the bed, "It's that stupid wolf" She hissed.
Blair bit her bottom lip softly, she hadn't thought of that. How could the mark still appear on her neck when it was a nightmare?
"Your Highness, how about I ask Lady Agnes, she should have an idea about what is going on" The chief maid proposed.
"Alright Helen, do just that. The other maids will help me take my bath and get dressed"
"Yes, Your Highness" Helen bowed and curtsied, she then turned around to exit the princess' room.
"Your Highness, please" The other maid, next in line, stood up and took the princess to the other chamber where the princess was going to take her bath.
***
The dining hall was large and exquisitely designed to the preference of the royal family. A large vintage table was covered with a golden tablecloth, chairs were surrounding it, neatly arranged. Booming flowers with fresh scents were arranged in a single row, while some other unique relics accompanied it.
The King was settled by the head of the table, his queen was by his right, and on his left was his first son with his wife and the rest of the family. They had just finished their breakfast when the king cleared his throat. "Blair, it's quite hot today to be putting on a turtle neck gown" The king commented.
"Ah" Blair chuckled softly, "I just felt like wearing it today"
"You and your weird tastes" Ethan, the crown prince interjected with a slight chuckle. There was a long silence in the room before the Queen opened her mouth to speak up.
"Your daughter lied" The queen blurted out. The King turned to her side with a raised brow, even the other members of the family had their ears perked up to listen to the gossip of the woman.
"How so, Margaret?" The king queried.
"I ran into one of her maids and she told me that the princess had an awful nightmare, that Blair got slashed by a wolf"
Silence reigned in the dining hall for a minute as all eyes turned to look at Blair, expecting her to say something contradicting her stepmother. The two were always known for always arguing and the queen was the one responsible. Always running her mouth where it wasn't needed.
"Sister, you didn't go out last night, did you? If so, you could have asked some bodyguards to follow you. You are too weak to protect yourself from any danger" Cora, the second princess asked.
Blair shook her head in the negative.
The queen scoffed and continued with her narration, "She woke up this morning to find a mark on her neck, you people don't listen to me when I say that she's a witch. Just like her filthy mother" The queen glared at Blair.
"Enough!" The king cried out in rage. "No one's talking about this matter" The king addressed them firmly.
"Your majesty isn't it high time Blair got a bodyguard for herself, you see there are a lot of dangers pointing at her. Even a nightmare could be this worse" The crown prince suggested as he was very worried for his half-sister.
" Hmmm, I thought about that. The servants are bringing in a group of able-bodied men from the human kingdom that we just conquered. She should be able to get herself one" He smiled at Blair.
" Yes, your majesty" Blair answered back with a smile. Meanwhile, Margaret was disappointed in the king for his behavior, she was surely going to question him later.