The Mad Princess and the Dying Prince novel Chapter 7

Lucia jolted awake. As soon as her eyes fluttered open, someone gripped her chin with a bruising force, yanking her face upward.

Aurelia stared down at her. Despite the bleeding wound on her forehead and the dripping wet hair plastered to her face, Lucia's ethereal beauty was undeniable. The sight of it filled Aurelia with a bitter, consuming jealousy.

"You really have quite the nerve, Lucia!"

Lucia swatted her hand away and took in her surroundings. It was a cramped room with dilapidated furniture, a peeling bed frame, and faded gauze curtain. A small, round table sat in the center, surrounded by four worn wooden stools.

This couldn't possibly be the Prince's Estate. No royal residence would be this shabby.

Hearing the young woman call her by name confirmed her suspicions. She had been brought to Beaumont Manor.

"Did Prince Jareth send me back?" she asked, wiping the icy water from her radiant complexion.

"And did you throw this on me?"

Aurelia was taken aback by Lucia's eerie calm. "So what if I did?" she snapped defensively.

"I see."

Lucia raised her hand and delivered a vicious slap straight across Aurelia's cheek.

Crack!

The strike landed solid and true, the sharp sound echoing through the small room.

Aurelia stood stunned for a second before flying into a blind rage. "Lucia!" she shrieked in disbelief. "How dare you strike me? I am your older sister—"

Her maidservant, Autumn, was equally paralyzed by shock.

Letters from the countryside had claimed that Lucia grew up painfully awkward and submissive. They said she was a silent, spineless workhorse who never smiled, toiling away from dawn till dusk just to earn a meager slice of bread.

The reports assured them she would be terrified upon entering the Royal Capital, acting like a cowardly peasant too afraid to look anyone in the eye.

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