Scars

Ambai pulled down her hands and gazed around at the empty bathroom. "Oh god, I saw that. Shit!" she mumbled and patted her slightly hot face.

She dashed towards the nearby mirror and gazed at herself. Her face was completely red, even her neck was bloody red. "Thank god, I covered my face. Otherwise he would have seen such an embarrassing sight," she whispered and ruffled her shoulder length curls.

The bathtub nearby was still giving off a pleasant smell. There were even flower petals floating in it. 'I think I disturbed his bath time.'

She cupped a handful for the bath water and splashed it on her face. But even this did not bring her original complexion. "Great, he is going to think I'm a royal tomato," she said.

Touching her burning face, she couldn't help but remember Deric's naked form.

This was a pure virgin's first time seeing a naked man in the flesh. "It's not like I haven't watched P*rn, but in real life it looks different ah," she mumbled.

She shook the thoughts out of her head and ran over to the toilet.

Quickly she finished her business and pulled her pants up. "Phew, that felt good," she let out a deep breath.

Ambai washed her hands after finishing her business. All though out the process she was blushing like a tomato.

The fact that she had uttered such an embarrassing thing irked her to no extend. 'He is going to think I'm a freak,' she thought with a sigh.

She wiped her wet hands dry with a reusable towel nearby. She threw it in the hamper. But then she noticed something else red in there.

She squatted down and pulled the clothes from inside. It was a white in shirt a lot of blood stains on its back.

"Deric.... he's hurt?" she said with a gasp.

She dashed out the room with the bloody shirt in hand.

The hostage prince was peacefully sitting on the bed with an open book on his lap.

"Are you hurt?" she shouted.

He gazed up at her with a small smile. "No your highness," he said in a husky voice.

"Then what is this," she said, lifting up the evidence.

He sighed and closed the book in his hands. "That... I meant to throw it away," he said and walked over to her.

Ambai pulled back and held the shirt behind her. "Why are you lying?" she whispered with her eyes narrowed.

He smirked and stood still.

She strode over to him and sniffed him. "See, you smell bloody. Where are you hurt? Show me," she said and turned him side to side.

All the while the hostage prince gazed at her with his eyes wide open. "It's nothing... it's just a small wound," he whispered.

"Then show me ah. We'll see if it's small or big," she said with her hands on her hips.

She glared at him.

He smirked at her and started removing his shirt.

"What... what are you doing? Why are you stripping?" she stuttered.

"My wound is on my back. Don't you want to see?" he whispered in a soft tone.

"I..I... yes," she whispered.

He threw his shirt down and turned back. "It's nothing.... it's a healing wound. It will be better in a day or so," he whispered.

Ambai gasped. His back was completely scared. Long scars ran from the top of his shoulder to his spine and even lower. Some scars were very old, and some were still fresh. One of the healing wound was oozing blood and dripping down his back.

She slowly walked closer and caressed the scars. "Who did this?" she whispered.

His body shuddered under her fingers. He turned back and whispered, "Some were done by concubines. Some by my trainers and got some..... On way to this kingdom,"

Ambai caressed a long scar softly. "But aren't you a prince?"

She really did not understand. There was a huge difference in how both of them were being treated. She was a prince too, but people here love her and accept her for who she is. And him... he looked like he went through too much in such a young age.

"From what age did it start?" she whispered.

"When I was five, my mother was poisoned by a concubine. It started from then," he said without gazing back.

Ambai pulled him to his bed and made him sit near the corner. "I will find a healer for you," she whispered and patted his shoulders.

"No!" he shouted and held her hands. "No," he said.

"Why? Our kingdom's healers are the best at what they do. These scars will disappear in no time," she said confidently.

He gazed back at her with a small smile. "But I don't want them to disappear."

She kneeled next to him and gazed up at him. "Why? Don't you want to erase such a painful memory?"

"I want to remember it all. So that I can become stronger." He took a deep breath and continued, "Strong enough to protect my loved ones."

She sighed and patted his knees. "You are strong. So strong that you can face your demons and win against them," she said.

He gazed at her with his trademark smile. "You think so?"

"I know so. Now we have to dress your wound do you have any salve? We can't just let you bleed through your clothes. Wounds like this should be bandaged," she whispered.

He pointed the nearby bedside table.

She strode over and found a small bottle of salve inside the drawer. "Does this work? What about the expiry date?" she whispered and glanced around it.

Deric laughed out loud. "You are so weird sometimes. Those salves do not expire," he said.

"Oh, how stupid of me?" she chuckled awkwardly and walked over to him.

Her modern mentality was still engraved in her brain. And the habit of checking the expiry date was just one of them. 'I really have to curb these habits otherwise i would appear suspicious,' she thought.

"First let me clean the surface with clean water," she rushed over to the bathroom and brought over a clean wet towel. She wiped the bleeding scar softly.

"Hiss..."

"Oh, sorry, did I hurt you? I will do it more softly," she whispered and dabbed his wounds.

"No it's okay.. It doesn't hurt that badly," he said.

Ambai opened the salve bottle and poured a little in her hands. She softly applied it to his open wound. "You know... it's okay to say that it hurts when you are wounded or hurt. You don't have to hide it," she whispered.

"I...I am so used being an unwanted prince. So I learned not to be a nuisance to anyone," he whispered with his head down.

She covered the wound with soft cotton cloth and started bandaging it. "Who said you are unwanted? My kingdom will gladly accept you as who you are," she said with a small smirk on her face.

Deric pulled her in front of him.

His thumb softly caressed her fingers. Their eyes met.

"But what's important is.... am I wanted by you?" he whispered in a soft baritone voice.