Heir of Kyree {under editing}

9 | the countdown

Wife-to-be. Wife-to-be. Wife-to-be. Wife-

Sitting alone in her piping hot bath, Adora let out an exasperated groan.

Back pressed against the edge of the bathtub, Adora hugged her knees to her chest, letting the water lap at her chin. Except for the bubbling of the running water and occasional whispers in the hallways, Adora was enveloped in a thick silence. Her encounter with the Prince had left her frazzled but it was the vial of poison sitting on her dresser that made her sick in the stomach. The silence, the creaking of the wooden floors, and the whisper of the wind only added to Adora's paranoia.

All it would take was one wrong move, one fatal mistake that would send Adora's plan down the drain. If she was too loud, too clumsy, too obvious and her chances of freedom would once crumble to dust. Her chances of seeing Tyrus, feeling his warm touch against hers, smelling his musky scent, would all turn to ash. As much as Adora wanted to deny it, her fate rested entirely upon the vial of clear liquid sitting on her dresser.

To an innocent bystander, it resembled water or a healing salve.

But to Adora, it represented the Prince's demise.

Shaking her head, Adora brushed off the feeling of being watched. Glancing over her shoulder one last time, she reached over to the basket filled with toiletries that the servants had set up for her. Although it had taken a few moments for Adora to convince them to allow her to bathe on her own, she was still grateful for their kindness. With such a dangerous task ahead of her, Adora didn't have time to deal with fleeting looks and worried stares when she unveiled the monstrosity of a scar on her stomach.

Reaching into the bath, Adora pushed away some of the soap suds that lined the surface. Staring down at her own body, Adora cocked her head to the side. With her lip caught between her teeth, Adora hesitantly touched the scarred skin. Submerged in water, the slender s-shape of the scar reminded the Princess of a snake. The damaged skin was paler than the rest of her body and the ripples in the water seemed to bring it to life. The Princess could almost hear it slither and hiss, just as the servants did every time they saw it.

When she was a kid, Adora had scratched at herself, tearing at it with her nails until the skin broke. But even when blood dribbled down her stomach and onto her thighs, the pale blemish remained. It was a brand, a reminder Adora would have to endure for eternity. With a force Adora didn't think she had in her, Adora began scrubbing at her stomach. The soap was rough against her skin, similar to the floor Adora had been pressed against during her imprisonment. It bit at her skin, suds floating to the surface but even when pain nipped at her flesh, she didn't stop.

Her trance was only broken by the sudden knocking on her door.

"My lady? May we come in?" Dropping the soap back into the basket, Adora quickly scampered out of the tub. Yanking a towel off the dresser she quickly wrapped it around her body. It was hard to ignore the itching on her stomach, but Adora refused to look at what she'd done in the bathtub. From experience, she knew that the pale blemish would turn into an ugly red upon contact with her nails.

Before opening the door, Adora swiped the vial off of the dresser and stuffed it into one of the drawers.

The Princess cleared her throat. "Yes, please do come in."

Slowly the door creaked open and a gaggle of servants filed in. Carrying layers of cloth, ribbons, and jewelry they giddily surrounded her. Unease swept through Adora's body as they led her into the bedroom, hellbent on dressing her before a large mirror. Through the reflection in the mirror, Adora watched as the servants unearthed a vivid red dress from their pile of materials. It was low cut with cream-colored straps meant to hang off one's shoulders. They motioned for her to slip into it, their pearly white smiles flashing in the moonlight. Apprehensively and with trembling hands, Adora let the silky touch of the fabric meet her body.