Princess in the Rough
Chapter 20

Echo

Once we thanked Duter, Zavana led me to the South Gate, the very same one Amber and I had arrived in.

Along the way, I fastened the leather belt on my waist, above the rope belt that came with my dress.

“I thought I told you stay in the workshop?” The prince said once he saw us leave the gate.

“You should know by now, I’m not keen to following orders.” Zavana kissed him on the cheek and his angry face melted.

“Have you found her yet?” I asked, worried all over again. What if she was hurt, or worse, dead? What if the Night Walker clan had found her? So many possibilities ran through my mind, none of which were good. I was going to go crazy with worry!

“No, we haven’t.” Prince Chance said solemnly. I sighed and rubbed my forehead, wishing the aching headache I’ve had since I realized Amber was missing would go away.

“If I know Amber, she would have probably headed south, back towards her home. But I don’t think she would have left me.” Then I remembered something from when we had eaten berries in the forest. One of the bushes was filled with blackberries. Amber had stopped everything she had been doing and began eaten the berries five at a time. She later told me her favorite berry was the blackberry, she couldn’t resist them. “Are there any blackberry bushes nearby?”

“That is an odd request, but the men have said they’ve spotted a few.” Prince Chance looked puzzled at my request.

“Have them search them. Amber might have eaten them, then fell asleep; or something.” I explained, then I realized I had just given an order to a prince. My face turned red, but Prince Chance didn’t seem offended.

“Of course, right away.” The prince called his units back to him and began to shout orders, then they left to search for her again.

Zavana and I also searched the area, looking into any blackberry bush we found. Finally, one of the guards shouted for us. I came running towards him at top speed, tripping over my skirt once, teaching me to hold up my skirt when I run.

There she was. Asleep in the midst of thousands of pointy thorns. The guard who had called us over removed her from the dangerous area and laid her on the grass.

“Amber! I’ve been so worried about you!” I shook her shoulders to try and wake her up, but she didn’t even flinch. “Amber?”

I tried again, but she wouldn’t move. I tried again and again, but she just wouldn’t wake up! Tears clouded my vision. Then I saw it, a spinning wheel covered in the blackberry thorns. It looked pretty rickety but the point was shiny silver, as if someone had recently polished it, and slightly dipped in blood.

“Oh, no.” I said, my voice a hoarse whisper.

“What is it?” Zavana asked eagerly and looked from me to Amber.

“I know exactly who Amber is.” I couldn’t see anything now. My vision was completely clouded over. It felt as if someone had ripped out my heart and put a black hole in its place; consuming all happiness and leaving me feeling empty and devoid of all emotion. All except extreme sorrow. “She’s Sleeping Beauty.”

“She can’t be Sleeping Beauty, she was the founder of this kingdom, and died long ago. Her blood runs through the royal family’s veins; not village girls; especially foreign ones.” Zavana lamented. “The only ones alive who would carry the curse is the lost princess and her aunt, but she’s, well, lost. And that is not her aunt.”

“Unless, no, it couldn’t be.” The prince muttered, examining Amber’s sleeping face. “You don’t seriously think…” Zavana face clouded over, which I have come to know as her thinking face.

“Oh. She’s her.” Zavana’s face drained of color when realisation hit her. “But how?”

“But how could Amber, a girl who grew up with wolves and barely knowing anything about humans, be Sleeping Beauty?” I asked, unable to think anymore. Sadness, confusion, and lack of understanding finally got to me, and I slowly slipped into sleep. The last things I heard before I slipped into the blackness of my mind were:

“Take them to my room.” Zavana commanded in a fearful voice.

“She’s returned.” Prince Chance gasped. And then, I was out like a light. Again.