The dragon and the rose

Chapter XVI

A few days later, on the morning of the day the impostor and princess Leonora were supposed to leave for England, the latter woke up in a pool of her own sweat. When she opened her eyes, she groaned, heat suddenly rushing to her cheeks and then to every other part of her body but as suddenly as this warmth came, it vanished, and she felt colder than in the dawn of the hardest of winters. She tried to sit up, do something, anything to stop this awful, freezing sensation which made every little part of her body ache too; she felt like she was covered with pins made of nothing but ice but even though we all know that ice melts, her pain never seemed to stop. And then came the shaking, a violent, horrible trembling that pushed her back and forced her back into the bed as she found herself unable to control her own body. She jolted, tossed, stirred and shuddered, all at the same time and what was even more dreadful was the fact that she was basically imprisoned in her own body for she could not do anything, she could not shout, she could not jerk her limbs into stillness, she just waited for someone, anyone, to come and rescue her.

This is not what many mothers wish for their daughters and still, sometimes a mother has to hurt her child in order to ensure their survival. That was what Queen Anne-Marie told herself when she was announced of the princess's illness and rushed to her room with pretended concern. She was not worried though for she knew what would happen, she knew that her daughter would not be seriously hurt and that she would only be in pain for maximum two days, after that, all of this madness would have ended. But she still did not like to see her dear child in such a state, even knowing what the many physician rushing around her did not. She had another thing to worry about though; she had to think about what she or rather they - she and Constanza- would do to uncover the web of lies weaved carefully and discreetly around their family.

After a few minutes of suffering, a maid came into princess Leonora's bedchamber to wake her up as she always did but instead she found her with bloodshot eyes and a body that was very much vigorous and awaken. She let out a shocked squeal as she looked at her, froze for a minute then rushed out of the room and told the first man she bumped into what she had seen. The queen was informed then the king and the entire royal family, the best physicians were summoned and five minutes later the whole castle knew about the princess's distressing state.

Princess Constanza knew nothing of her mother's plan, only that she had promised her that she would do something and she decided to give her a bit of time to act. She was curious but she did not ask, she said she would inquire or rather demand only before the impostor's journey back to England. And that day was this day but on this day the princess did not have to question for the answers found her without asking for them.

She woke up quite late and even though she knew that she had to hurry for her lessons with her father started mere minutes later, she stretched in her bed lazily and smiled for a bit of time with closed eyes, thinking about all the sore places Henry had touched her the previous day. She longed for his touch more and more with every passing day and it seemed the more she got of him, the more she desired, the more she felt the aching need to get some. Just when she decided to open her eyes, get back to reality and out of bed, the door of her bedchamber flung open and a man dashed in. He blushed immediately when she saw her, glorious and her body out-stretched, looking like a star; a naked star wrapped in a very sheer, very thin piece of white cloth. He averted his gaze from the princess to the floor and in his embarrassment, fell to his knees, still afraid to look up. The moment Constanza saw the boy walk into her room, she felt giddy then the next second, she snatched the duvet that was just next to her, still leaving room in the enormous bed, and covered herself. She flushed and only peeped out from the covers; it was not her fault though, how could she have known it?

"Forgive me, your highness... I am very-very... utterly sorry... I did not know... They sent me... yes, they s-sent me to inform you that your sister, the Princess Leonora, is seriously i-ill." He could not even deliver such a devastating message without blushing again and without feeling his pants tighten.