After that whole ordeal, I wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl beneath my sheets and die. Unfortunately, my life was decided for me as Ian didn't even give me an option. Of course he took me to the hospital. The whole check-in process was hilarious. I've never been to a hospital before, except for my own and my brothers' birth, but I'm pretty sure when this big hulky man comes in carrying someone that looked like me, there was a bit of a panic.
All of my battle wounds from the palace bush were disinfected and treated like normal wounds, wanting to make sure no bug got into the tiny open slits from the midnight air. The slits weren't big, but I think there might be the possibility that the fence got a good licking at me when I escaped as well. I was bewildered at what that fertilized army branches can do.
But those were maybe a one-point-five on the 'the hell happened here' scale, according to the night nurse. The five on this scale were my feet. My feet was covered in glass which I proceeded to push further into my flesh by walking on the totally clean tar roads barefoot. Because of this, these wounds got infected because of the bacteria I walked around on. Topping that, one of the glass pieces ran deep into my foot and made a cut that seemed to go forever. Instead of stitching it together, because it was located in my bridge, they treated it with surgical glue and rounded it off with tape around the feet which I'm pretty sure won't be able to come off without some power tool.
The seven-point-seven on the scale, was my hand. They had to remove the little glass shards from my palms but most of them I threw off in my walking but someone of them were really tiny and really sly. When I punched Caleb, which I think is my proudest moment, I did not actually break my hand. Instead I got a fracture in my metacarpal bone in my middle finger. Now I had to wear someone thing called a Boxer's Fracture Brace, as that is what my injury was called. You can guess why.
I spend the night, clearly, for observations to me made that most of the swelling went down. Which it did. Which made me glad.
But of course, now raised the true problems. I was stuck a night in the hospital. Of course my parents would find out about this entire fiasco, after all the palace called a man search on me and my mother had heard me scream. Maybe I could get her to pretend as if nothing happened?
But no. My father was out of the country at the moment which was a blessing in disguise, but if only he could drag my mother along. Unfortunately, I think they were having a bit of a fight with each other ever since the press conference.
So at seven the next morning, I heard a bit of a riot from outside of my room (Ian had made it very clear for me not to be placed into the ward) and I immediately knew that it probably had something to do with me. Sure enough, my mother stormed into the hospital with her crown on her head and demanded to be taken to her daughter. Real subtle.
Once the doctors and nurses figured out that I was the daughter, there was a bit of a silent atmosphere throughout the hospital quickly followed by gossip. Luckily Ian got rid of all the bystanders and assisted my mother to my room before standing watch outside. She looked absolutely furious.
"What happened?" were her first words, not 'are you okay?' or 'don't worry, Mommy's here' just immediately straight to business.
"I, uhm," I couldn't possibly tell her, she'd disown me.
"Melanie Annabelle Darlington! You will tell me what happened right this instance!" she commanded of me. I gulped and looked down, gripping the sheet in my free hand which had healed up the most of all my limbs.
"Mother, I... I," I couldn't help it, by just thinking of it my tears began to run freely again. That man, how dare he do this to me? He broke me, from the inside out and came back by emotionally manipulating me to commit self-harm. All of these injuries, they are because of me. Because of him. How long would they take to heal? How long will it be before I can dance again?
Still, now I had an excuse for not continuing the duet with him and that itself was a blessing in disguise. I also wouldn't have to see Anna, but now would I even be able to walk? For how long? Two weeks they said. I should be thankful that I didn't do anything else to worsen them, but two weeks was a long time to not be walking.
Her humanity returned to her, my mother looking at me with sad eyes as I cried. She sighed and came to sit beside me, taking me into her arms and I immediately began crying into her soft, comforting figure. She soothed my back.
"What happened, Mel?" she brought out my childish nickname, lowering her voice. I pressed myself closer to her.
"I got hurt," I answered hesitantly.
"What happened?"
"Someone hurt me. A boy," I sniffed.
"A boy? Did you know him?" I could hear her curiosity. I nodded, and it took me a while before answering.
"He was my boyfriend," I answered reluctantly.
"Boyfriend? Certainly not, you -" she stopped when she spotted my hard eyes and swallowed her fear. "So boyfriend you say? And he hurt you?" I nodded sadly. "How long have you two been seeing each other?" she instead asked. I sat back from her and wiped my tears onto the sheet.
"I've known him for five years, but we have gone out for three," at this the Queen's eyes went wide and her jaw fell.
"Five years! That is a long time to not have heard of somebody, Melanie," I sighed at her words and shook my head.
"I know you would never approve of a commoner," I admitted softly.
"So what happened?" she pressed, trying to keep her anger under control. I scoffed a little at the thought.
"We... he joined ballet with me and we were practicing for a duet but he became friends with the other dancers and he... he..." it was stifling, my heart clenching unwantedly. Why did I feel this way? After all that he did to me, after everything I said to him, why did I still care for him? He hurt me, so much...
"He cheated on you, didn't he?" hearing it come from another's mouth made it even worse. I didn't answer, only nodding. "Oh honey," she said softly, hugging me tightly as she offered support. "And how did that cause this entire hospital fiasco?"
"Because I got mad and hurt myself," I admitted, and she accepted the fact just as it was.
"And your hand?"
"I punched him in the face," never before had I heard my mother laugh as loudly and it caught me off guard.
"That's my girl!" she had a bright smile and it took a while for her to calm down. "That doesn't mean that you're not in trouble," she added as an afterthought.
"I figured," a heavy sigh escaped from my throat.
♕♥ ♕♥ ♕
The Tuesday after I was released there was quite the ruckus in the palace halls, but I did not necessarily care. I was tired and on medication, besides, my life could not get any worse than it already was. I was hiding from the world from under my sheets, only my handmaiden and my mother entering. The twins were stopped by my door guards as I didn't want to see them. Sure, I knew that they did not mean to hurt me, but that still didn't mean I was not upset with them.
I was left alone mostly, occasionally growing emotional when I thought of what happened the previous day. My mother had come in a few times to see how I was feeling or to comfort me, assuring that everything would go good. But each time I saw her, I felt as if she was hiding something from me. But I was tired so I didn't necessarily investigate it further.
That was until two days after returning from the hospital, that my father came to visit me. He had surprised me, gently entering my room as if approaching a baby deer. For a moment he said nothing, just sitting next to me as he took my better hand and gently rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. He didn't say anything for a long while, my eyes droopy but I willed myself to stay awake.
"Hey, my little princess... how are you feeling?" I groaned in response. "Your mother told me what happened. I'm so sorry about what happened. What that guy did to you is unthinkable. I'd have him locked up in the Tower if it was up to me. I'm sorry I didn't come see you sooner, but your mother had to calm me down," I smiled at his honesty.
"Thank you," he took a deep breathe.
"I'm sorry that you felt like you couldn't tell us these things. I know that I'm not... the best father, and let's be honest your mother can be a little... harsh sometimes," he gulped casting his eyes away for a moment before looking back at my body. "Melanie, I think maybe this entire ordeal can tell us something. I think that... I think that this has to stop. It's almost time for your coronation and then you'll have royal duties and it's going to be a lot harder and everyone is going to judge your every action and -,"
"Okay," I cut him off, causing his eyes to widen.
"What?"
"I said okay," I was tired and did not want a fight. But after everything, after my only friend betrayed me like that, I couldn't even think of going outside again. It hurt too much.
My mind wandered to Sarina, and immediately I felt bad. I had not thought about her yet, I didn't want to, but now so many emotions swirled around in me that I immediately felt all the guilt. She had warned me and I didn't believe her. She was trying to look out for me but I pushed her away like that. But after that strange exchange... I wasn't sure what to think.
"Look, we can talk about all that later," my father said, gripping my hand. "But there's something you need to know right now," he said seriously, looking at me with a hard face.
"Yes?" I felt worried, seeing his expression.
"We are going to have to bring that boy here," my eyes widened in surprise.
"What?!" I shouted, just the idea already making me nauseous. "Why?!" he sighed sadly.
"There was a press release in the media all about you. There was a photo taken of you in the hospital, and it has spread. Everyone knows who you are now," my eyes widened at this and it all came crashing down. Everyone who has even known me, now know who I really am. How I faked being Alice Coleman and how I was really their Princess. Madame knew, Anna knew, Sarina knew, and worst of all, Caleb knew. He now knows that he was dating a princess, but now that I think about it, that's probably why my father wanted to bring him here.
Because he was being targeted.
"They found out that you went by Alice Coleman and did ballet. The ballerinas revealed that it was Caleb who was your boyfriend, and his mother admitted that you confronted him. The media is in a storm, but they're taking your side. Unfortunately, they're turning Caleb into a monster and we have to prevent him from being totally isolated from society," I scoffed loudly, pulling my hand from his and turned over onto my side, away from him.
"I don't care what happens to that cheating bastard. If he is hated by the entire world, then why would I stop it?" my father sighed at me.
"I know how much you don't like him at the moment, but he honestly didn't know. Yes, his cheating deserves punishment, but not like this. But it's not just this: apparently a few weeks ago you two had a fight at a café, and it was recorded by a customer. After seeing your photo in the paper, they recognized you and uploaded it. It went viral and it came out how you love to visit that café, and now everyone is bombarding the place. There is nowhere safe anymore, the media is everywhere," he said softly, reaching over to pet my hair. I swallowed my fears, only for them to be replaced with even worse feelings. "Also, Caleb told the media he would like to make an apology to you," I scoffed loudly at this.
"No he doesn't. He's only doing it because he knows who I am now,"
"I agree, but we can't turn the boy away if he wants to make amends. Therefore, we invited him and his family for dinner,"
"What?!" I immediately grew angry, not having expected those words. He nodded.
"We have to sort everything out,"
"I can barely hold a knife and fork, or walk, but you want me to attend a dinner," I exclaimed, trying to get rather on the 'dinner' side than the 'Caleb is coming' side of the argument.
"That can be sorted out. Don't worry," he leaned over and left a peck on my forehead. "We will sort it out. Together," he said to me before making his exit, leaving me to ponder over his words. He wanted me to confront Caleb, the man who had just taken everything from me?
I fell onto my back, my eyes threatening to release tears. I wasn't strong enough to do this, I never was. I wished I'd never met Caleb.
♕♥ ♕♥ ♕
"Ian, right?" Ian was stopped in the palace halls by none other than the twin princes. He bowed before them.
"Yes, Your Highnesses," he affirmed, not having personally met them before. The twins felt bad and responsible for their sister's pain, even though they did not directly cause it.
"Tell me, did our sister ever make any other friends?" Melanie was in no state to go and approach anyone, nor to clear up why she never told anyone her secret. The twins knew this, and decided it would be best if they went and did it themselves. That way they might salvage at least one relationship of her.
"Actually, Highnesses, the Princess did make a friend," Ian recalled, thinking back to all the times Melanie spend extra time in the café than just to get a drink. That girl... she had even stolen the princess away, dragging her all the way to the park just to dance and feel secure. He also had to get her number for the princess, so they had to be friends, right?
"Where can we find her?"
"How does she look?" both princes spoke at once, but Ian answered both questions.
"She works at the café, and you could typically describe her as a goth," he answered with a bow of his head.
"What is her name?" Cornelius asked, swallowing nervously.
"Her name is Sarina Miller,"