Eleanor's hands were shaking. Her mouth was suddenly very dry. Her mother stepped into the room and dismissed Jasper. Jasper gave her a kiss, tucking her hair behind her ear before he pulled away and went out to the hallway. With everyone else out of the room, the Queen immediately began reprimanding Eleanor for her "little stunt." "Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was. Honestly, if you can't keep it together, then I will have no choice but to send you away while you lose the rest of this weight. Look at you, you're a disgrace. The Monarchy does not need headlines about you and your drug-induced, anorexic problems. So get it together. I suggest you learn to excuse yourself before you cause anymore scenes. We do not 'air our dirty laundry' in this family. Now then, what did the scale show this morning?" Eleanor swallowed the lump in her throat. Her mother was standing at the foot of her bed, a cold glare on her face. Eleanor managed to squeak "40 Kilograms," dropping her eyes to look at her hands. The Queen rolled her eyes, "You can do better than that. I'll have the Head Chef prepare some special things for you. And don't think I didn't see you eat this morning. From now on, you will eat in your room, away from temptation. As for getting married, we both know you are too fat for a wedding dress." The door swung open seconds later and Liam stood there, a huge smile on his face.
Jasper couldn't hear what the Queen was saying, and she had effectively positioned herself between Eleanor and the door, making it impossible for him to see Eleanor's face. He was terrified for her, knowing the abuse the woman had bestowed upon Eleanor. He distracted himself by thinking about the huge smile she gave him when he handed her the ring. Jasper didn't think he could possibly be any happier, and he owed that entirely to Eleanor. The Prince and Marcus came around the corner, pulling Jasper from his thoughts. "How is she?" "She's resting, or she was until..." Jasper responded. "Did you ask her, yet?" Liam asked. "I did, but Her Majesty came in before I got an answer." Liam frowned, "well, I'm sure Leni is quite ready to be done with whatever conversation our Mother is conducting. Let's get an answer for you." Liam clapped Jasper on the back before he turned and pushed open the door.
"Are you getting married?" Liam asked, ignoring the tension in the room. Jasper piped up from behind him, "well she hasn't said yes, yet." "And she isn't going to either," snarled the Queen. "The Princess of England does not marry a commoner, let alone the help. So we can just brush that aside." She had been unable to speak, unable to fight her mother any longer. She saw Jasper's face fall. She loved him more than words could express, but she wasn't strong enough to fight her mother. Liam looked at her, he had always been her protector, though he was never quite able to protect her from their mother. "Mother, if Leni loves Jasper, and he loves her, then why shouldn't they marry? I think she deserves to be happy, don't you think?" The Queen snorted, "she is not marrying a bodyguard. I am not dealing with the image that would send to the public. And as for what she deserves, the only thing Eleanor deserves right now is to be locked in her room so she can't cause any more scenes." She watched as her mother and brother argued over whether or not she was allowed to marry the man she loved. The room grew darker, a headache pulsed at the base of her skull. She looked up, meeting Jasper's eyes as the room began to spin. Everything went dark.
His joy was crushed, stomped on and flattened, by the Queen. Liam argued for Eleanor, trying to convince their mother, but it was no use. She had no intention of allowing the marriage to take place. He could see the pain in Eleanor's eyes. And when she looked up at him, he noticed her face was ghostly pale, once more. Her fingers were gripping the blanket at her sides. Something was wrong. He tore his eyes from hers long enough to look at the monitor beside her bed. Her blood pressure was dropping. "Eleanor?" He had been quiet until then, all eyes turned to him when he spoke. Alarms began going off, and the medical team arrived moments later, clearing the room. His heart was breaking as her lifeless body was positioned on the bed to allow the team to work. She had stopped breathing, making it necessary for them to manually pump oxygen into her lungs. The lead doctor came out into the hallway to speak to them about her condition. He introduced himself, before suggesting they go into a private room. Liam grabbed Jasper's shoulder and indicated for him to follow, to which the Queen protested, loudly. "Doctor, this is Jasper Frost, Leni's bodyguard and fiancee. I think he needs to hear whatever you have to say." "That may be best, I'm guessing you spend the most time with her, and you should be aware of her habits. Now, after running some tests and looking at her vitals, I need to ask a serious question, one that Mr. Frost may know the answer to. Is it possible that Princess Eleanor could have an eating disorder?" The doctor looked from face to face, only Liam seemed surprised by this question. "Nothing the family doctor has diagnosed," answered Jasper. "But there are signs?" asked the doctor. "There is nothing wrong with the Princess that can't be cured by losing a little weight," replied the Queen, obviously frustrated. "Mother!" "With all do respect, Your Majesty, Princess Eleanor is severely underweight and malnourished. If she loses any more weight, she could slip into a coma." The Queen rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her. "No one wants a fat princess, and besides, she was getting chubby." Liam looked from the doctor to his mother and back. "Excuse me but I'm still stuck on the notion that my sister could have an eating disorder. Can we go back to that please." Jasper cleared his throat, "not 'could,' she does." The doctor made eye contact with Jasper, "I thought so. When she is up to it, we will need to discuss the options with her." Jasper kept his eyes focused on the doctor, "she doesn't want to get better." "And that's something we will need to discuss," replied the doctor. Liam was pacing, attempting to digest the news.
The room was dark and empty when she woke up. Her head was pounding. 'Why are you doing this to yourself, Eleanor?' her mind asked. But before she had a chance to reason with herself, the darker voice chimed in, 'you are doing this because you are worthless, fat, and stupid. No one wants a fat princess. In fact, you are such a screw up that no one wants a princess at all.' The daily thoughts running through her mind terrified her sometimes. Tears welled up in her eyes; she was grateful to be alone. She hated when anyone saw her cry, even Jasper. Tearing down the walls enough to allow someone to see that side of her, the very thought of it made her stomach churn. She hastily wiped her cheeks as the door to her room opened and the doctor, followed by Jasper, entered the room. Nothing good would come of this.
