Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 29: Sleep Well, Your Highness

That little relief Rhaegar's snack brought to Lorelai's condition was completely wiped out by the stressful encounter with her stepbrother.

The princess could not sleep the whole night and greeted the morning in a very pitiful state. Her skin was pale and dry, her eyes were droopy and unfocused, and her stomach was clinging to her spine, greedily rumbling with every little move she made.

But that was not all that had afflicted her state today. In addition to the suffering caused by hunger, Lorelai's head was pounding with ache and the throbbing sensation in her right hip was now almost unbearable.

'It must be all the stress,' she sighed as she tried to sit up in her bed, looking at the long rope she needed to pull to invite the maids inside.

With great care, Lorelai tugged on the rope and a lively young man rushed inside as if she had been waiting for this moment all along. She was carrying a large pitcher of warm water and a bowl for washing on a round tray, a small, fluffy towel hanging down her right arm as she approached the bed.

The maid helped the princess wash her face and then quickly left the room, instantly replaced by another one who was holding a tray with a small platter of a chopped apple with a handful of barriers and a hot cup of fragrant herbal tea.

Lorelai felt happy that she could finally eat at least something, but the moment she finished the fruit, her stomach rebelled once again, spasming painfully.

'I don't think I can work in this state today.'

With a sigh, she called for Marianna, and once the latter arrived, the princess informed her of her plans.

"I would like you to move everything from today's schedule for tomorrow. I am feeling sick and I simply cannot do anything today."

Marianna responded with the usual worried look on her face. "Oh no! Is it your headache again? Would you like me to call for the royal physician?"

Her reply made Lorelai shiver in fear. Whenever she was forced to see the royal doctor, no matter what was bothering her, his only remedy for every one of her afflictions was always bloodletting.

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"No, that won't be necessary," she assured her aide. "It must be the diet; I am just too dizzy and need more rest."

Marianna looked around her and noticed one of the cleaning maids waiting at the exit of the princess' bedroom. With one elegant gesture, she urged the maid to leave the room and once she did, the woman turned back to Lorelai and whispered.

"Would you like me to try and sneak in some food for you, Your Highness? Perhaps a bowl of broth or at least some honey for your tea? Just to help with the dizziness."

The princess' mouth began to water the moment she heard her aide mentioning food. But she could not afford to falter.

The dry bread she had the evening before was not much, but she could not risk adding more to it, especially since Althea would definitely start measuring her body before ordering her wedding dress.

In addition, the queen's spies were everywhere, especially among the maids, therefore, Lorelai did not want to put Marianna in danger simply because she cared about the princess so much.

She dismissed that offer with nagging regret. "I don't need anything, really."

Marianna's face darkened as painful emotions overcame her. She hated to see the princess suffer so much, but alas, she was powerless too.

Still, there was something she could do for Lorelai, even if it was not much. "I will do as much work as possible by myself, Your Highness, so please rest well and do not concern yourself with anything."

Lorelai offered the woman a warm smile and a brief nod of gratitude. "Thank you, Marianna."

The woman helped the princess get back under the blanket and tucked her in like she used to do when Lorelai was still a child. Then, she threw a quick glance at the gilded wooden cane next to the bed and sighed.

'She did not mention it, but I am no fool myself. It is painfully obvious that the hip is bothering her today as well. Combined with the rest of the pain, I am afraid she might collapse at this rate... Goodness... I guess I will have to do this again.'

With one last pitiful glance in Lorelai's direction, Marianna quietly left the room and marched down the hall in the direction of her own bedroom.

There, she retrieved a small flask of the herbal blend mixed with alcohol that she had been hiding in one of her hat boxes and placed it on top of her nightstand. Then, just as discretely, she dived her hand behind the headboard of her bed and pulled a small glass bottle filled with reddish liquid.

Marianna's gray eyes lingered on the small paper label glued to the glass bottle for quite a while; she was hesitant to use it. Nevertheless, remembering the princess' sufferings, she let out another heavy sigh and opened the bottle.

She mixed the alcohol together with several drops of the reddish liquid in a porcelain teacup, then added plain warm water to make it look like it was simply a cup of herbal tea. And once those preparations were completed, she once again snuck into Lorelai's bedroom where it seemed like the princess was struggling to fall asleep again.

"Here," she helped Lorelai raise her body a little and brought the cup closer to her face. "Drink it, Your Highness. This is just another cup of herbal tea. It will calm you down."

Lorelai was skeptical about the tea's effect, but since it was Marianna who brought it, she knew that it was safe to take it anyway. She finished the cup unexpectedly quickly, grimacing at its strangely bitter taste, then sunk back into her pillows, closing her heavy eyelids.

"Sleep well, Your Highness. I hope you will feel better tomorrow."