"My face! It’s burnt!" Those were the first words that came from Roselyn when she gained consciousness. Her father, who had been watching her closely while she lay, quickly got to her side worried.

"Who did this to me?" She demanded placing her fingers softly on her now rough skin before she winced in pain.

"No one did anything to you my daughter. It’s the dragon that attacked the palace while you were asleep."

Roselyn paused in her actions as if trying to remember what had happened. She had been taking a nap in her room when flames suddenly engulfed the whole place. The smoke followed instantly choking the air out of her lungs as she tried to reach for the door. So it was the dragon?

"Oh no!" Her once vibrant skin now looked nowhere close to what she knew and she was afraid it’d never heal. An ugly scar would be the only hope, and a testament to her ordeal.

Tears flowed down her cheeks stinging the fresh wound but she was too occupied to even feel the pain. Alexander and everyone would hate her forever. Even her father, she could see the way he was looking at her with pity, but his pity to her seemed like laughter. He never made even the slightest of efforts to comfort her, assure her that it would be alright. But he was Henry, her cruel father.

When Felista found the father-daughtet pair standing outside the palace walls, she was more than happy to see her family reunited. But her happiness was masked with a cloud of doom that grew with every step she took closer. Her daughter was the first to spot and contrary to her expectations, Roselyn was sobbing uncontrollably while Henry the statue just stood there staring at her in pitty. Roselyn had buried her face in her hands all the time. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"What happened?" Felista asked upon reaching at where they stood. Henry shifted his pitiful gaze to a confused Felista but that only acted to confuse the woman. Why would they appear smitten when they were both alive?

"Roselyn? What’s wrong?"

Her mother’s voice seemed like a magnet soothing her already shattered heart and before she knew it, she had thrown herself at her mother’s embrace who was reluctant to hug her back at first. Felista patted the back of her daughter until she mellowed down but she remained glued to her like a flea.

"It’s okay now," Felista said petting her hair. She tried to move slightly but Roselyn hugged her more tighter. What the hell was wrong with Roselyn?

Henry watched the whole scenario with a mixture of emotions. In Arcadia, for a lady to have a burnt or ugly face, she’d be considered like trash. No sane man would dream of marrying her let alone talk to her. He could already predict the trauma his daughter was looking forward to. And what of Alexander? The rule did not apply to Valoria but her face was way too damaged to be admired by even a bigger! It was such a disgrace for a princess.

"That’s enough now darling," Felista said pulling her off the embrace forcefully now. She held her in position but Roselyn looked down masking her face with her long hair. Seeing her mother worried was the last thing she wanted but there was no avoiding it now. She wouldn’t hide forever anyway. The world she once knew to be a safe haven had dealt her a great blow that was worse than death! Even a prince of the poorest of the kingdoms wouldn’t spare her a glance. Of course he’d accept to marry her for power to only dump her as a mistress.

"Look at me," Felista urged wanting to assure her daughter everything would be alright. She didn’t know what had made her scared, as she thought, but she was always there for her. Henry the statue watched silently as an inevitable revelation was set on stage.

Roselyn lifted her face slightly, fear instantly engulfing her that she was quick to look down again. "No! I can’t!" She said, tears threatening to fall again.

Felista’s brows furrowed. She took a quick glance at Henry who looked like one anticipating for a k drama’s kiss scene yet in a sad mood.

"Why?"

Roselyn couldn’t bring herself to state the reason so she began sobbing again confusing Felista even more. Why wouldn’t her daughter show her face. Curious, she extended her hand and lifted her chin to only gasp in surprise. Roselyn made no effort to hide it but the reaction from her mother shattered her fragile heart to a thousand pieces.

Surprise was an understatement of what Felista had exepreinced. If this was the case, her daughter had every right cry. This, in Arcadia, was more painful than torture. It simply meant a woman’s reason for existence was no longer important, which was to sire children. The prideful men of Arcadia would not imagine marrying a zombie for a wife! And Roselyn’s case was way different as she was a princess, a disowned one at that. Her chances for a second life was nearly zero.

With no words to utter, Felista just embraced her daughter tightly but she better than anyone else knew this was far from making her feel better. If not for her husband, all of this would not have happened. Had he let his daughter do as she pleased, they would probably be in Arcadia right now!

"I’m sorry," she said letting Roselyn cry out loud. Her gaze shifted to the silent statue who made no effort to join her in comforting their devastated daughter. What had happened to the Henry she knew? Behind that once warm heart now resided a monster she’d never ever think of having closer to her.

"I hate you!"

Dumbstruck, Henry’s jaw ticked but he had already placed the blame on himself. He, of all the people, was hurting the most yet he tried to stay strong. He deserved not an ounce of love or forgiveness from both of them. No amount of explanation was enough as to why he was not the cause of all this. Roselyn deserved all happiness there was in the world, and he was the only person standing on her way! He deserved to die!