The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 388. What if

Chapter 388: 388. What if

Mauve woke up to a stiff back; there was barely any blood flow in her legs, and she was still clutching the letter. She unfolded herself and sat up.

Her windows were still open from last night, and she could see the sun had risen. Usually, she never woke up this early.

Maria would be here soon to help her with her bath. She sat upright and tried to stretch, but all her muscles felt very sore. Her head was hurting, and her eyes felt swollen.

It was no surprise since she had literally bawled her eyes out last night. She hadn’t been able to stop crying until she fell asleep.

Mauve forced herself out of bed and went to look at herself in the mirror. She gasped. It was just as she feared.

Her eyes were puffy, and she needed the effort to keep them open. She had a headache, and she looked like she had not gotten enough sleep.

Mauve looked horrified; she wasn’t excited about the idea of having to explain what was wrong. She hoped she would look better after she took her bath.

As if her thoughts had summoned Maria, a loud knock drew her attention to the door, and Mauve jerked.

She stood to her full height and walked to the door. She pulled it open, and Maria looked surprised to see her.

"You’re awake?" She asked.

Mauve immediately started walking further into the room, leaving the maid by the door. "Yeah, I couldn’t really sleep."

This was partially true; she hadn’t slept until way past midnight, but after that, she didn’t wake up at any point until this morning.

It must have been all her crying; no wonder her face was in such poor shape. She didn’t think the maid had seen it because Maria would have reacted. She hoped the fact that she said she hadn’t been able to get much sleep was a good enough reason for her puffy eyes.

"I brought your bath water,"

Mauve nodded and sat on her bed as Maria walked in behind her. She stared at nothing in particular as she looked outside her window.

"Breakfast will be ready soon. There should be enough time for you to take your bath and make it for breakfast."

"Yeah, thanks," Mauve said absentmindedly. She didn’t care whether she was late for breakfast or not.

"I am ready whenever you are," Maria said.

She got close enough to where Mauve sat and stood before her. That was when Mauve heard the gasp.

"Princess, what happened to your face?"

"That bad?" She asked. "I figured it was just because I haven’t slept enough."

"I don’t think lack of sleep would be enough to make your eyes this swollen."

"Oh," Mauve said, feigning innocence.

"I hope it’s not infected," Maria said, coming closer. It was hard to tell if she was concerned for Mauve or herself.

"I don’t think so," Mauve responded immediately.

"Doesn’t it hurt?" She asked, peering at Mauve’s eyes.

"No, they just feel heavy and a little hard to open. Also, my head hurts a little."

"I think you should get more rest. I think you should tell the King you’ve come down with something. It might be allergies. It would be best if you remained in bed."

Mauve hadn’t thought of that. She knew her face was terrible, but she didn’t think it was that bad. However, she wasn’t about to correct Maria.

An excuse not to attend breakfast, she would gladly take it without any questions asked.

"I shall inform the cook and bring your breakfast for you," Maria said.

"I’d appreciate that," Mauve replied and returned to lying on her back

"I will be back to help you with your bath," Maria said with a bow and quickly exited Mauve’s room.

"I heard you were a little ill, and look at this. It appears to be true."

Mauve opened her eyes to see Malcolm standing in the middle of her room. She didn’t even know when he walked in. She must have dozed off. It was always so easy for her to fall asleep during the day.

"Good morning, Malcolm," Mauve responded with a stiff smile.

"Good morning to you, too. I guess I can’t ask how your night was. You look terrible."

"Nobody wants to know they look terrible first thing in the morning."

"My bad, but would you prefer I lied to you? I ran into your maid outside, and she told me the situation. How do you feel?" He walked closer and placed his palm on her forehead.

"Like I was chewed and spat out," she replied.

"Well, your temperature is decent, but you do look like you could use some rest. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll get you something for the headache."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You’re welcome," he said and turned to leave.

"Malcolm," she called.

"Yes," he turned only his head to look at her.

"What if I wanted to go back to the Vampire Regions?" She asked.

He immediately looked taken aback. She could tell he had not expected her to ask that sort of question. "Where is this coming from? Is there something here you don’t like?"

"What? No! I was just wondering."

"You don’t ask that kind of question out of the blue."

Mauve looked away. She knew if she tried to answer, he would be able to tell something was up.

"I see," he said. "It is your decision to make. If that’s what you want, then by all means leave."

"You wouldn’t be against it?" She asked.

"Why would I be? It’s a different case if you had to but this is a decision you’re making yourself. I definitely won’t stop you."

"I was just asking."

"Hmm, if you say so. I will let you get some rest. If you get bored stuck up inside, you can call for me."

"Yeah," she said, sounding distracted. She waved him away and closed her eyes.