A beautiful woman came into the room. She carried a tray with a bowl of porridge and a mug of water. She smiled at me and sat on a stool beside my bed. She pressed the back of her hand against my forehead.

"You're getting better at last, your highness," she said in a motherly tone. "I almost lost hope that you'd ever recover. You were unconscious for five days." 
 

I stared at her for a moment. Then I recognized who she was.
 

"Lady Victoria," I managed to whisper and smile at her.

 

She smiled back, "I'm glad you still recognize me, sweet child."

 

She helped me sit up so she could feed me. As she helped me eat, she told me how I had been brought to safety.

"Even after your stepmother exiled me and my husband, Nickhun,  away from the capital (because we knew her secret: she was responsible for the death of her own brother), we kept in touch with Henry.
 

" He told us about his plan of bringing you to safety. That night when you fled, Nickhun was actually waiting for you outside the capital. He saw your stepmother's men chasing after you. He took a shortcut through the rebels' cove so he could catch up with you and Henry.
 

" Yet, he only found you alone, running barefoot. He tried to tell you to stop running because the men chasing after you had followed your horse and had gone the opposite direction.
 

"You lost consciousness, and Nickhun brought you here. He went back to the forest for Henry, yet Henry could no longer be found,"
 

I froze upon hearing those words. My heart just broke, and tears started running down my cheeks. It seemed like all hope that Henry would still be alive had vanished.
 

Lady Victoria placed the bowl of porridge on the bedside table and gave me a hug. Her embrace just felt so warm and loving - just like how it feels when your own mother hugs you when you're not feeling right. For the first time, ever since my own parents had died, I felt like I was somebody's daughter again. Only then did I realize that I missed my parents so much, and that I regretted not spending as much time as I could with them. I sobbed even harder upon remembering that my sister might be gone too. Victoria continued to embrace and whisper soothing words into my ear. 
 

Just then, the little boy who came into the room earlier poked his head through the doorway. 
 

Lady Victoria let go of me and turned to face the little boy.
 

"Oh there you are!" Victoria said with a smile. "Why don't you introduce yourself to our guest?"
 

The little boy came closer and bowed. "Good morning, Madame. I'm Taemin, son of the Lady Victoria and Lord Nickhun of Hearthfordshire. It's a pleasure to meet you" He smiled making his adorable dimples show.
 

"I'm Krystal, daughter of the late King Joohyun and the late Queen Minji, princess of Hearthfordshire."
 

Taemin's chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise. "You're the princess?"
 

Teary-eyed, I nodded my head. He came closer and - to my surprise - gave me a hug. "Don't cry anymore. My mama and my papa and me will help you," he told me innocently.
 

Perhaps in my hiding, I had found a family.
 

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I fell into another deep slumber. When I woke up, sunlight no longer poured into the window. It was already nighttime. All was silent except the sound of nightingales singing and the wind rustling through leaves. Where is this place, anyway? I wondered.
 

Whispers from outside the room broke the silence. I strained my ears to hear who was talking and what they were talking about, yet I could only catch a few words.
 

"Attack the palace.......guns have arrived......hunt down...Princess Jessica...."
 

Or maybe, in my hiding, I have ended up sleeping in the enemy's lair. And I must escape before it's too late.