The Prince's Wedding

7. The Good, The Bad and the Care-less

MELISSA

"Oh, Halley..." I say, my voice heavy with sobs as I run my fingers through Halley's red hair.
"I'm so so sorry... I should have been with you... it should have been me...." I weep, blinking with every blur of my vision as the endless tears roll down my cheeks on onto the sleeve of her dress.

How could I have been so stupid?
Spending time with the staff and all this while...one of them wanted me dead...

Her lips are still blue, but the corners of her eyes seem to be returning to their normal skin shade. Yet, I can't help wishing it was me here instead of her. I had been so careless and so trusting and now she's the one dealing with the consequences.
And all I can do is hope...

'How long will it take?' I had asked the physician after he had given her the antidote which for some reason, I had expected to work instantly.

He had shrugged and stared at me with pity,
"Days, weeks, maybe months-"

"Months?"

"I can't say for certain...it depends on how much she consumed. All we can do is hope and wait."

And then I'd asked him to give me some time alone with her, because I didn't want him to see me cry.
...and boy, have I been crying.

"I'm never leaving your side again." I say to her as I hold her hands and smoothen her hair with my other hand.

"Never, okay?"

But her fingers feel cold and her breathing is shallow, so I shut my eyes another wave of crying consumes me.

"Your Highness..."
It's Felipe's voice, and I feel his hand tenderly touch my shoulder immediately after.

"I know it's hard right now, but you have to pull it together. I assure you, your sister is going to be fine."

"And what if she's not?" I look up at him with tears rolling down my cheeks.

"The physician said all we can do is hope! Basically there's a half chance she's never going to wake up and it's all because of me...." My voice cracks at the end and sobs escape my lips but I force out the rest of my words,

"I never even asked to be here! I don't want to marry the Prince either!" I blurt out and Felipe sighs, then hands me a folded napkin.

"It may be hard to see but you play a great role in the future of this kingdom." He says as I wipe my tears. "And yes, marrying the prince is the last way I ever thought King Russel would go about this."

"So why me? What great role is it that I had to be the one marrying someone who'd rather have me disappear and whose staff is after my life?" I sniffle, getting up in frustration as I look Felipe in the eye and his calm gaze stays on mine.

"I can't say I know what it is, but I know you'll do it exceptionally well. King Russel saw something remarkable and rare in you, and that's what he told me. I know this is tough but I promise, it'll only get better from here." He says reassuringly and I look back at Halley.
Still breathing.

He's right. There's still hope so long as she's alive.

"Can we go home when she's better? I don't think I can stay here anymore..." I say to him and he sighs.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, you can't. This is your home now, and you are going to be safe from now on, okay?" He asks and I just shrug.

Safe?
I don't think I will ever be able to fall asleep again...

"Now come, you should eat something. Dinner is ready." He says as he leads me out.

"Dinner? I've been here the whole day?" I ask, turning to him in shock and he smiles a bit as he nods.