NO BLOOD ANYMORE

"The princess where is the princess?!" Priscilla made it through the corridor.

Getting to the grand floor, she met one of the kitchen maids.

Priscilla held her panicking hands on her chest and she tugged on the maid's hands.

"Princess Gabriella... I need to get the Princess now!"

"Is anything the problem?" The maid asked.

Priscilla wanted to answer but the presence of someone made her shut her mouth.

It was Princess Vanessa's maid, the one who was a secret agent of Vanessa known by few.

Priscilla could remember the days Gabriella had warned her against keeping company with this maid. She had only understood this warning clearly when she had crossed paths with her. The day she got her first punishment in the castle. Clearly, the woman was just like her master, Princess Vanessa.

Priscilla left the maids and hurried out immediately, proceeding with her search.

When she came to the grand floor, she came to a halt when she heard two servants talking about Gabriella.

Priscilla couldn't hear clearly what they said. Moving closer, she stood behind the walls, listening to their hushed tones.

"I can't believe Princess Gabriella would demand such. How could she accept defeat so easily?" That was the voice of Gerald, speaking to Kart his fellow King's servant.

"I would do no such thing if I were in her position. Even if I did not become the crown princess, I wouldn't think of leaving the comfort of the great castle to live where I will suffer." Kart said.

"Me too, I cannot think of living as a lone wolf. I will definitely die of loneliness." Gerald concurred.

"A lone wolf? Does the Princess want to live as a lone wolf?" Priscilla almost shouted in shock at what she heard, attracting the servant's attention to where she was. Immediately, they departed as they saw her.

Priscilla's panic now turned to heartache. What she heard made her forget why she was running mad some minutes ago as she continued to search again.

Living as a lone wolf guiding the Horndragon altar far away from the castle? This made her heart ache terribly.

She finally met Gabriella sitting on a carved pavement situated a distance away from the castle. The vast land of Horndragon castle was enough to fit a village if the king was for it.

"My—Princess you're leaving me—here?" Priscilla's eyes clouded with tears.

Gabriella's gaze fell on the tears that trickled down Priscilla's eyes. She stood, wiping Priscilla's tears, she buried her beloved handmaid in a hug.

"My princess don't leave us, we still need you in this castle. We need her with us. Even if you're not made the crown princess, we still love you. And we will always stand beside you to conquer all. Even the wicked Princess and her mother won't be able to stand our wrath when we descend on them."

Priscilla's words only left a chuckle off Gabriella's lips. "Shush, Priscilla, did I just hear you call my half-sister wicked? What did I warn you about calling her bad names, I might not be there when your tongue will slip and you will call her that in her presence."

"I... I won't let her do anything to me."

"When did you become that strong in the castle?"

"Well, my mother taught me a little witchcraft. Before she died I was able to master some spells. I can cast a spell on someone and make their hands decay or paralyze them."

"Really? Show me."

Priscilla breathed out and raised her hands in the air to begin her incantation. However, she dropped her hands again in frustration.

"What happened? Why did you stop?"

"My princess, I forgot that our powers were taken away from us haha hehe. But with you beside us, we will treat her with your sword."

"There, that's where my point is. There shall be no blood anymore, Priscilla. I don't want blood to run down this sword again, be it in war or a petty fight. Your Princess doesn't want it anymore."

"Oh, that's one of the reasons the king denied you the crown." To Priscilla, Gabriella giving up the crown easily was still not clear to her. Because she knew Gabriella was not the type to easily accept defeat. If she was, she wouldn't have won so many battles with her father.

"My princess, don't you have any plan of getting the crown? You can still get the crown if you want it. It's not too late to fight for it."

Gabriella shook her head disapprovingly and said, "I will leave everything to the people's decision which has always been the law of the land and can never be changed."

She's leaving everything to the people's hands, yet she accepts the king's decision. "My princess, you're confusing a lay mind here. You accepted the king's decision but you said you also—"

"Guess what Priscilla? I will take you with me. I can't just be lonely there with no one helping me so you will go with me." Gabriella purposely distracted her question.

Priscilla's eyes shone in happiness. "Thank you, my princess. Thank you for considering me as trustworthy." Her hands flew wide as she hugged Gabriella again.

Just then Priscilla remembered she needed to keep the princess safe before any other thing. "The purple rose! My princess, that purple rose is dangerous. The man who gave that to you doesn't love you, he only wants your life. I believe it's the other princess that sent that man to you. Believe me, that man is deceiving you!"

"What do you mean? That's just a gift from a child."

"Hmm, from a child and not a man? My princess, purple roses are scarce and very expensive. How come a child could afford such a gift?"

"The girl is from Huston town. It was her way of thanking me for healing her."

If it was so and the girl was from Huston, that means the girl's parents must be filthy rich, but of course not richer than the king. Huston town was the most respected town because most of the rich men in the kingdom came from there.

"Oh, I had thought you had finally given your heart a chance."

"Didn't I tell you I am not interested in that for now?"

"But..."

"I'm not ready for that argument now, Priscilla."Gabriella cut her off.

Priscilla wanted to probe but raised a hand indicating she shouldn't dare. She held her speech, heaved a sigh, and decided to say instead.

"My... my princess, we need to get that rose out of the castle. When I was about to go and prepare your bath water, it fell off and changed into something strange."

"What strange thing?" Gabriella's brows furrowed.

"The colour... It changed and... I don't know why. We... We must get it away from the castle right now."

"I hope you're not lying to me?"

"Believe me, my princess, you know I've never lied to you."

Returning to her room, Gabriella went straight to the purple rose on the floor, bent to pick and expected a strange thing to come from it. But the rose remained as gentle as it was without generating any mysterious change.

Gabriella brought the rose to Priscilla's face. "What did you say happened to the rose?"