Elena

When the carriage started Caroline burst into excitement. Her hands clawed on my arms, and her eyes sparkling with tears.

"Oh Elena! What a day?! I still cannot believe that the king himself wished for you to accompany him. Oh gracious, what was it like? Did he reward you in anyway?"

I shook my head. "No it wasn't like that. To be quite honest it was dreadfully quiet and awkward. You have no idea how relieved I was when I said my farewells to the king."

She nudged me in the shoulder. "Then you kissed him, remember?"

"Caroline promise me that will be a secret between us. I don't want the girls to know."

Caroline's face fell. "I promise. But you don't seem very happy as me. Did something go wrong?"

Of course there is something wrong! The king tried to kiss me!..Wait no, he wanted me! All this time I thought the king kept his reputation stable by avoiding regretful scandals. Getting involved with someone like me is the easiest way to stain his status. Oh Caroline what a horrible day it was for me. I wish you took my place. I'm sure you'll be speechless for the entire evening when the king holds your hand and touches you in a forward manner. For me, all I wanted was to kill the man other than think about anything that compares of what he was thinking of me.

"...There's nothing wrong. I'm just tired."

"What did you do? I hadn't heard thing out from any of you inside that tent."

I took off my head piece hat and brushed my hair with my fingers to the side. "Well, I sat next to the king. The two gentlemen there hardly said anything, they just looked uncomfortable by my presence. It was a little easier for me though when you came along."

Caroline smiled. "Thank you for picking me. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't just leave. My client just disgusted me; his breath was bad and he spoke so loudly in my ear as if I was deaf…However, my evening turned out quite charming when I met Lord Lockwood."

"Ah, you mean Tyler Lockwood. The way I saw it you two seem very much in love."

Caroline shook her head, but her cheeks are all flushed in a rosy pink. "Th-the two of us are not in love…Why? Do you think he thinks the same?"

I chuckled. "It all depends on what you think of him."

"Alright I guess-I mean I like him very much. He is unlike any of the other men I ever been with. He makes me feel comfortable and as if...Well this is silly for me to say. But he makes me feel as if I am the only woman in this entire world. Huh. You think I'm too straight forward on him. Don't you?"

I instantly shook my head. "Not at all. I agree that there is something between you two."

Caroline took both my hands. "Oh Elena, he is just wonderful. He is kind, gentle and intends to behave so optimistically. When we were talking he was careful not to talk about my life in the harem or about my family I once had. He just humored me with stories about his stay in England and how rude and loud some of the guests were during the hunt. The best part was when he held my hand with those soft, warm hands of his. No man has ever been such a gentleman. At first I thought he was going to instantly wrap an arm around my waist or give a sudden slap on the bottom. I just smiled like a fool when he took my hand instead…It was like a dream, Elena. A good dream that I always hoped for it to come true."

"And he is handsome. When the king escorted me to the carriage I caught you two unable to depart. If the king and I never arrived I don't think he would have let you go."

It is so good to see Caroline brighten with such happiness. I don't remember the last time I ever saw her react this way. But the more I hear of her feelings toward Lockwood, the more I pity of the truth she has forgotten. The journey between those two can only end to here. Caroline attending Lockwood. Caroline courting him from the time being. Caroline saying her farewells to him and return back to her harem. Lockwood disappointed but also return with the king. That is the only possible pattern that could happen between them.

I squeezed her hands. "Caroline, let's just not talk about this anymore. Besides, the girls will be impatiently curious about our long stay at the feast, I don't think the two of us could repeat the stories again after such a long day."

Caroline nodded. But that smile just couldn't disappear. "Alright...Oh Elena I don't know what is wrong with me. I never have been so happy like this before."

"More happy than before you were chosen to the feast?"

"Well that was a different kind of happiness. I was more in a mode of excitement, and imaging a different paradise shared with the wealthy. Hahaha...I actually hoped to steal a few rings off their fingers. But goodness their fingers are too fat to slip one ring without them noticing."

~ The carriage finally arrived to the harem. When Caroline and I stepped out, the girls immediately ran out the door and surrounded us. Their eager lips just babbled with endless questions.

"Was it different when we left?"

"Did they reward you with anything?"

"I hear you were with the king. Did he steal you a kiss?"

"How come Caroline was chosen instead of me?"

Bonnie finally saved me while I struggled to break through the crowd. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and took me in. I sighed, feeling relieved when the girls just surrounded around Caroline to get their questions answered. When the two of us went inside our room, Bonnie locked the door and waited for a moment.

"Okay...The close is clear. Alright so tell me, how was it?"

I pulled my dress up and placed it on the side of the bed. I turned around. "Can you untie the corset? I just want to quickly dress and sleep."

Bonnie walked up to me and untied the laces. While she pulled out the laces from its inserted holes, loud knocks and poundings started at the door. Then as I feared, voices.

"Open up! Open up you two!"

"Come on we are dying to know!"

"Please open the door! You didn't say a single word, Elena!"

Bonnie shouted behind her shoulder. "Go to bed girls! It's past midnight!" She pulled the last lace out. I pulled down the corset along with the second layer skirt. Bonnie tossed me my night gown. Loud poundings on the doorway continued.

I slipped the night gown on quickly. "Don't open the door. I want to rest."

"Elena those girls are never going to leave. Let's just open the door and get this over with."

I shook my head. "They'll leave. I'm sure Caroline will settle their curiosity."

Bonnie placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't think that their curious minds will end after tonight. They will return their attention to you and beg for answers tomorrow."

I turned away and went under the covers of the bed. "Then let them. Tonight I sleep. Tomorrow I'll speak to them."

Bonnie crawled on the bed, lying down beside me. "Hey, was it that terrible?"

I spoke with my eyes closed. "They could hear you, Bonnie."

Bonnie nodded. "I know. But I also know that Caroline is coming this way to shoo those girls away. Just you wait..."

After a long moment, sound of footsteps aroused. The girls' voices silenced when Caroline's voice started.

"Girls stop bothering Elena. She is tired. Now go to bed."

The girls "awww" in disappointment. Caroline continued. "I mean it girls. Or we could forget about going to the market tomorrow after lunch."

After hearing those words the girls instantly ran back to their chambers. Caroline's footsteps joined them. She shouted after them from behind. "Everybody better be in their own room! If I ever catch anyone near that room, the day at the market will be postponed! Remember I was the one who made that event possible!"

Bonnie smiled. "I told you she'll come."

"Well, you're always right."

"So tell me what the problem was?"

I slowly opened my eyes. "There was an accident, Bonnie."

"An accident? Were you involved in it?"

I pointed to the dress still lying on the side of the bed. "Take a look at my dress."

Bonnie sat up and reached for my dress. She examined each area of the dress carefully until she found a small stain on the collar of the dress. "...Its blood..."

"The prince was shot with an arrow. Thanks to your herbs they turn out to have some good use. It was hard to look at his face when I told the surgeon that the herbs must be burned once it spreads on the wound to stop the bleeding."

Bonnie frowned. "What? Those herbs are not flammable." She still looked down at the blood stain on the skirt of the dress.

"I know. What we really need was gun powder, but everything was happening so fast, I couldn't think straight. So I took my chance and just used the herbs. It was fortunate everything was settled as I hoped it would."

I pulled myself up to sit straight. I was disappointed that Bonnie was just sitting there, not listening to a word I'm saying. She just stared at the stain with unnatural wide eyes. I grabbed one of her shoulders and gave it a little shake. "Well thank you for listening, my friend. It's so comforting." I sarcastically said with a disappointed tone.

"I'm sorry, Elena...Bu-but you say this blood is from the p-prince."

I nodded. "Yes."

Bonnie grabbed my arms and looked deep into my eyes. "Elena. This is it. We finally found the one."

"Bonnie what are you talking about?"

"I feel it. I sense it. This blood is the one that the two of us had been looking for."

No. No that can't be. I spent eleven years searching for such a man. But what a disappointment that the man has been right under my nose all this time..I killed lords, farmers, surgeons, soldiers, including priests. Not to mention it shocked me no priests turned out to have the purest heart...At last I can be cured. I can be free from this curse. This horrid, unfair disease. But the only question remains, how the hell can I kill one of the powerful man in this country without getting caught?

Tears fell down my eyes. "Can it be true? Are you absolutely certain, Bonnie?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yes. I am positive. We found him at last, Elena. You can be free."

"I cannot believe this...After all this time it was him. How is this possible?"

My head is spinning, I could hardly think straight. Words can barely escape my mouth from its dryness. Bonnie embraced me in her arms with a shaky smile.

"Oh Elena, this all could end at last. You can be cured, and after that the two of us can leave. Can you imagine that? All the plans we made those years ago can now be possible."

It took a while for the two of us to recover from the news. But once we pulled ourselves together from tears and smiles, it is time for business. We secretly snuck out to the woods to discuss our plans in a more private place.

I leaned on a tree trunk, nibbling on one of my fingers as Bonnie paced back and forth.

"Everything can be easily done, except the last part."

I dropped my hand. "Easy? How can all this be easy?"

Bonnie stopped and faced me. "It is easy than you think. Just hear me out... The king will order Saltzman to come here to escort you to court anytime tomorrow. This time just agree to his initiation. But when you attend the court try to avoid getting close with the king, your target is the prince. Try to flirt with him, talk to him, be near him, or anything that can cause a close relationship between you two. After that, arrange a secret meeting with the prince. Make sure the king or anyone is never involved. If you are caught, everything will be over and done for. Now like I said, after you kill him it is not going to be easy for the king to stop investigating the death of his own brother."

"Bonnie I cannot possibly go close to the prince. He is bedridden and his wound will be healed after a month or two. I cannot just barge in and befriend him while he is recovering in bed. After all, I am nothing but a court woman. Nobody would like the idea that such a powerful man be taken care of by a low birth."

Bonnie smirked. "Who said you were going to barge in? You would have to be in disguise. I can capture a nurse. All you need is a change of clothes and a wrap to cover your hair, by then you will enter the prince's room with no trouble."

"I can't just befriend him like that. Besides he has seen me before. I doubt he would forget me after I saved his life."

"Elena, you just have to figure everything out on your own once you enter his room. All you need to do is take close precautions. And unfortunately, the king and Saltzman is clearly one of them."