Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 62

“I am just fine,” she told the little fox, “Especially since I managed to save you and your grandmother.”

Lara smiled and nodded. The fox prince sat across them and crossed his arms, watching their cute interaction as the carriage began to head to the palace. Throughout the whole ride, none of the women spoke to him. They were heavily engrossed in conversations he did not understand, so he said nothing the entire time and just continued to silently watch them.

Once they arrived at the palace, they stepped out of the carriage and headed to their bedroom. Prince Yashiro had noticed that his family was not back yet, although it was now heading to 5pm. He was not surprised, though, as he was always the first one to come back from the festival. His family usually stayed out till 8pm whenever it was festival time.

“How about you let her take a bath? She also needs a change of clothes,” he told Astoria.

She nodded and ushered Lara to step inside the bathroom.

“I will be right back,” she told the little fox in the bathroom, “So just wait for me in here. In the meantime, take off your clothes and get in the bathtub, okay?”

The little fox nodded, and Astoria smiled. She opened the tap and ensured that the water was at the right temperature for Lara, not too hot or cold. She then stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. There was a knock on the door, and a maid came in with bathing supplies for Lara as well as a change of clothes. Astoria gladly took it, thanking the maid and closing the door.

Prince Yashiro stepped out, so only Lara and Astoria were in the room. She walked back to the bathroom and found that Lara was in the bathtub, waiting for her patiently. She walked to Lara and grabbed a bottle that read ‘Lavender Splash!’. She opened the bottle and poured some of the liquid into the bathtub. The water became purple and foamy, letting out a sweet lavender scent.

She began to wash the little fox. Of course, she would have had a maid wash Lara, but right now, the little fox did not seem to trust anyone other than the fox prince and her. Letting a stranger bathe her and see her scars and bruises would not sit well with Lara, so the best option was for Astoria to bathe and dress her.

Astoria washed Lara’s white hair, returning it to its soft and silky state. After twenty minutes of thoroughly bathing Lara, Astoria gently dried her with one of her clean, crisp towels. When Lara was dry, she noticed how healthy and vibrant her body looked again. She also noticed the little fox’s bruises were now as clear as mud on her clean body.

She dressed Lara in casual clothes, which the maid had brought for her earlier. She did not want the little fox to wear anything fancy. She wanted to take her to see Doctor Xion for a full body examination before heading to the royal garden. Lara was dressed in a long-sleeved pink t-shirt and long black silk pants. She wore slippers for easy movement.

Astoria ushered her to sit in front of the mirror so that she could dry her white, silky hair. She turned on the hairdryer and dried her hair. Their eyes met as they stared at each other’s reflections through the mirror, and they both smiled. After drying her hair, she began to brush it.

“Your hair is so silky and soft,” she told Lara, “I like it.”

Lara blushed and uttered a soft, “Thank you,” in return.

Once Astoria was done with everything, she smiled at the little fox, who now looked clean, healthy, and happier. She wondered where the fox prince had gone. Seeing as she had noticed that Lara seemed to love gardening, she thought taking her to see the royal garden would do her a lot of good. She has not visited the garden yet, so it would be nice to see it together. She crouched down to Lara’s level.

“Little fox,” she said, “I am going to go take a shower as well, so wait here for me. Do not leave this room. After I am done, we will go see Doctor Xion and then head to the palace garden and see the beautiful plants and flowers together.”

“But, will it not be too dark to see the plants and flowers?” Lara asked, creasing her brow.

“Not at all,” Astoria said, smiling with her eyes and mouth, “I believe the garden lights are turned on at night so we can still see them.”

Lara nodded, a glint of excitement in her eyes. When she had arrived in the palace with Astoria and prince Yashiro, she had seen the entrance to the royal garden and wondered how big the garden was and what kind of flowers and plants were there. After all, because of her uncle, she ended up learning about gardening and grew fond of plants and flowers.

The little fox watched as Astoria grabbed her bathing supplies and walked into the bathroom. Once the door to the bathroom was shut, Lara turned her attention to the mirror in front of her. She stared at her reflection. Her once-dead light brown eyes now looked alive. Her once disheveled and unkempt hair was now smooth and silky. Her beige, dirty skin was now as clean and clear as mud. Finally, her once dead soul felt alive and vibrant.

Lara wrapped her tiny arms around herself. Her petite body drooped, and her lips began to quiver. She bowed her head and pressed her lips together, trying her best to hold back the tears that were in her eyes and the sobs that wanted to escape her lips. She could not believe that she and her grandmother were finally set free. She could not believe that someone stood up for them.

Meanwhile, Astoria was staring at the goldenrod-colored dress in her hands in the bathroom. She bit her lip and slumped her shoulders. The once elegant and beautiful dress was now dirty and torn. Her shoes were no different, but at least there was a way to restore them. The dress, however, was completely done for.

“Oh damn,” she mumbled, letting out an exasperated sigh, “The queen might bite my head off for this. Oh, I am so f*cking screwed.”

She placed the dress down and stepped into the shower. Once the hot water touched her body, her knees almost gave out. The hot water felt like it was rejuvenating her body, washing away all the dirt she had accumulated. Washing away the scent of Lara’s foul uncle.

She let out a satisfied sigh and closed her eyes, enjoying the water droplets which felt like little fairies dancing on her body. Once she was done showering, she changed into casual clothes,  grey sweat pants, and a long black sleeved t-shirt and slippers. She tied her hair in a high pony and walked out of the bathroom.  She placed her bathing supplies inside her suitcase and walked to the door.

“Lara,” she said, her hand around the doorknob, “Let’s go see to the infirmary. You need a full body examination. I am not sure if Doctor Xion is still at the hospital with your grandmother or if he came back, so let’s go. If he is not there, then we can ask a nurse to examine you.”

Lara nodded, and Astoria stepped out of the bedroom, the little fox following close behind her. Astoria stretched out her hand, and Lara placed her tiny hand in hers. They walked to the royal infirmary, hand in hand. One of the royal nurses greeted them as she walked past them.

Her eyebrow was raised as she noticed the foreign little, beige fox and wondered who she was. Astoria and Lara stepped inside the infirmary and greeted one of the nurses who was looking for medical supplies in a big cabinet. The nurse stopped what she was doing upon seeing the princess and bowed to her.

“Excuse me,” Astoria began, “Is Doctor Xion here?”

The nurse shook her head ‘no.’

“We were told that he was accompanying a sick grandmother to the hospital. He is currently still there,” the nurse replied, “He should be back in about two hours.”

“I see,” Astoria pressed her lips together, “In that case, I need someone to run a full body examination on this child.”

The nurse gave the little fox a quick glance and nodded.

“Let me just get these medical supplies to one of the nurses, and I will be right back to assist you,” the nurse bowed, grabbed the medical supplies from the cabinet, and walked away.

Astoria smiled and crouched in front of Lara to meet her gaze. The little fox stared at her, her hands clasped together.

“You do not have to be afraid, okay?” she told Lara, who smiled and nodded, “I will be right next to you when the nurse examines you.”