Don't Punish Them

Rosie had changed into looser clothes. The white tunic was her evening gown. Sarah helped her change, and after that, a doctor examined the wound on her knee.

Rosie didn't expect the wound to be so deep. She thought it was just a scratch, but when the doctor gave her medicine, her knee felt sore and it stung.

Sarah was still crying on the side of her bed while biting a handkerchief when the doctor gave medicine to the princess's wound. The woman had been crying all day. As she helped Rosie clean up and put on the clothes, Sarah was still crying.

"Look, Sarah. I'm fine. A wound like this won't kill me."

"Sobs… but you are the princess of the kingdom. How could I be so reckless and get you injured like this?" Sarah asked, still crying.

Rosie rolled her eyes in exasperation. The woman's cries made her dizzy.

"It's not your fault, Sarah. I fell outside the castle."

"It's still my fault! I let you out of the castle unattended!" the woman cried with tears that did not seem to dry out at any moment.

"This is not your fault! This is Duke Aslan's fault!" Rosie said without thinking.

Sarah stopped crying for a while, then stared at Rosie in disbelief. A second later, the woman burst into tears again.

Rosie glanced at the doctor, who had finished wrapping her knee in bandages. The old man just smiled awkwardly, then stood up and put his medical equipment into the briefcase.

"Your condition is quite stable, and I have given medicine to the wound. I will come back for a visit to change the bandage tomorrow morning ."

"Thank you, doctor. I'm sorry for bothering you at night like this."

"It's all right, Your Highness. Then, I'll excuse myself."

"Let me escort you, doctor," said Sarah, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes with the white handkerchief that was already soaked with her tears.

Before escorting the doctor out of Rosie's room, Sarah turned to the princess once again. "Your Highness, I am going back to my room. I beg you to rest well. I will visit you again tomorrow morning."

"Oh, you're done crying?" Rosie asked, reaching for the book she had borrowed last night from the nightstand beside her bed. Sarah took a deep breath. Her lips trembled with tears.

"Duke Aslan is gathering everyone right now. It is likely that some of us will be punished." Sarah suddenly started crying again. "I deserve this punishment. I have neglected my duty to take care of you…"

Before Rosie asked Sarah to wait for her, the woman dashed with the doctor out of Rosie's room.

Rosie was left alone. She had just opened the first page of the book on the blue cover. She tried to read the first paragraph, but Sarah's words kept ringing in her head.

"Aslan gathered everyone and will punish them? Duh, what should I do… ?"

It all started with Rosie wanting to take a short walk. Enjoying a new world that she had only dreamed of. She forgot everything had consequences.

"It's not their fault ..."

Rosie remembered the puffy eyes of Sarah and some other maids who were crying when she came back. Of course, Duke Aslan wouldn't scold her because she was a royal princess.

"No-no, I'm not a person who runs away from responsibilities." Rosie was not a coward who let others suffer the consequences of her deeds.

Rosie closed the book she was reading. She came out of her room, running with her legs stumbling from the pain in her knees. The evening gown was thin enough that Rosie could feel the chill of the night air against her skin.

She did not know where the people were gathered. Rosie stepped wherever her feet took her. Still, she found no one in the castle.

"Is it on the training ground?" she asked frantically.

The girl ran barefoot down through the chilly night air to the training ground.

Sure enough, Aslan was there standing majestically, looking at the people who stood in front of him with their heads bent down.

"Two knights and Princess Roseanne's personal maid come forward."

"Wait a minute!" Rosie shouted, making everyone raise their heads in surprise to hear the princess' scream.

The man's annoyance rose sharply. Aslan didn't have to turn around. From the voice, he could guess who the girl was. Rosie walked closer and stood in front of him.

"This is my fault. Please don't punish them."

"Sorry, Princess. But they have neglected their duties to look after you."

They are not negligent! I'm the one at fault! I should have listened to them to not leave the castle without your permission."

Aslan studied Rosie from head to toe. The girl was wearing such thin clothes at night. He looked at the knights and his guards, who looked at the princess.

"Lower your gaze," the man ordered sharply.

"Duke Aslan, listen to me-"

Without asking permission, Aslan carried Rosie away from the training ground.

"I'll talk to you guys after this."

***

Aslan brought Rosie inside the castle. He didn't know if his orders were clear enough or not. This girl was wandering out of the castle barefoot while wearing these thin clothes? Rosie wrapped her arms around the man's neck.

"Duke Aslan, let's talk for a bit," Rosie said.

"It's late. You should rest."

"But it's about those innocent people. This is all my fault. I'm the one running away. You should just punish me! Didn't Duke Aslan see how sad they were just now?"

"They have to bear the consequences of their own negligence."

Rosie looked at the man with a sharp gaze. No wonder this person became the antagonist. He didn't even care about the puffy eyes of his subordinates. He has no mercy!

The two of them arrived at Rosie's room. Aslan was about to lower the girl like earlier, but Rosie was still hugging his neck tightly.

"Your Highness, we've arrived at your room," said Aslan, hoping that Rosie would quickly take her hands away.