The Startled Princess

♕ Chapter 23

"Princess Rose... she is..." Alexa sobbed and wimbled with her fingers. Seth motioned closer to them and his heart was pounding. Did something bad happened to her? "Rose? What happened? Where's she?" he asked, raising his voice.

"In her bedroom, Crown Prince. She's having a bad fever because of the rain and she didn't want to eat anything," Daphne answered his questions in a sad tone. Seth's eyes widened and he stormed towards her bedroom. He pushed the door open and he saw Madam Hartford, sitting on the bed next to Rose. She stood up and bowed down. "Prince Seth," she said.

Seth ignored her and rushed towards Rose. He sat next to her and touched her forehead. "What happened? Is she's okay?" Seth asked as he stroked her face. She was pale and she'd never looked this weak. "She's having a very serious fever. The doctor gave her the best medicine but it didn't work as she refused to eat anything," Madam Hartford informed.

Seth stared on the sick Rose and he felt terribly guilty to her. He should have listened to her and he shouldn't have left the castle. He stroked her face slowly. "I'm sorry," he drawled and closed his eyes, regretting everything. He took her hand and squeezed it and kept saying sorry to her. Madam Hartford left the room as she thought they needed some time to be alone. 

Rose finally opened her eyes slowly. "Seth..." she said weakly, almost inaudible. "Is that you?" she squeezed his hand. Seth moved closer to her and stroked her hair. "Yes, I'm here," he whispered. Rose tried to get up and Seth helped her. "I'm sorry," she said apologitecally. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't know that Alex would do that," she hugged him tightly, crying. 

"I forgive you," Seth wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "And I should have known that you wouldn't do that. I just couldn't think properly that night,"

"I didn't know Alex would do that to me. I never thought that he...." Rose trailed off. "Liked me. He told me that he wanted to show something so I followed him.... Then, it happened and you showed up," she explained everything. "I swear, Seth. I didn't mean it,"

Seth silent himself and nodded. "I trust you. And I'm sorry too. I shouldn't left you that night. Now, you're sick and it was because of me," he said, fully regret.

"Yeah. That's very mean," she joked and smiled weakly. Seth smiled and pulled her tightly to his chest. "They told me that you didn't want to eat? Why?" he asked, full of concern. "You shouldn't torture yourself like this,"

"I'm okay. I'm Rose Larston. The girl who never get sick," she lied and immersed her face onto his chest. Nothing could get better than this. Seth chuckled. "At last, you mentioned the right name. Rose Larston," he grinned proudly and shivered inside. "You want something to eat?" 

Rose shook her head. "I'm not hungry," she said. "I just want to sleep," 

"Okay. You need that too. You look like a zombie now," Seth said sarcastically before he tried to leave her to let her rest. "Stay," Rose stopped him and held his arm. Seth grinned. "Why? You still want to hug me? Told you that you were too attracted to me," he smirked.

Rose sulked. "I'm cold and you're guilty for leaving me. You need to pay back," she said. Seth laughed. "Yes, Princess, how can this monkey of yours pay back?" he winked. She gave him a melodic laugh that Seth was longing to hear. Rose lay back on the bed and winced a little to let him in. "Stay here but don't do something stupid," she warned.

"I can't promise," Seth said, smiling playfully. He lay on the bed and Rose winced closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her. "Night," he wished and he kissed the top of her head. Things couldn't get better than this.

~~

Seth squinted his eyes slowly and beamed on the girl who was sleeping on top of him. Rose was still sleeping peacefully and it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever witnessed. He pulled his arm from her waist and touched her forehead. Her temperature decreased and he couldn't be more thankful. Seth brushed a hair out from her face and enjoyed the breathtaking sight of Rose sleeping.