MEHJABEEN
Chapter Twenty Two

Quen who dwelled in his thoughts fails to see the girl who stood by his side as he makes his way around the woods.

When he found something moving in the woods through his peripheral vision, he halts on stop and saunters to the spot he found the movement.

But nothing suspicious is found. So he turns back and walks a step or two and gets hit on his head by something he has never seen before.

Looking down he searched for the piece which fell on him. Likely, nothing seemed out of ordinary, but then he saw a mini circle of twigs and leaves. It's odd and unforeseen.

Intrigued, Quen picked it up, and saw the bends and spiraled twigs were formed as a ring. It's simple, slightly dried, yet looks so beautiful.

In between his description, he got hit by another piece with different leaves and flowers in it. All were done with twigs and other vegetation presented in this arena.

And his mind clicked an image with a conclusion of someone trying to signal his attention towards them. He thought that it must be the girl who was in the woods.

Just like that, he turned around in the direction the pieces hit him and strolls into the bushes and trees which hide the hidden girl from the outsiders' eye.

But Quen isn't the one to back off, so he used his breeze force and moved the branches off his way and revealed a sight he never thought about erasing from his memory.

A girl in her childhood seems to be merely reaching five, seated over what seems to be a flower bed with the ground around her covered with doodles and a series of hand-made crowns and rings which he has in his palms.

In her palms, he can see a couple of well-kneaded crowns hanging loosely in her fragile limbs. Seems like she's up to hit him with the crown to get his attention which seems too spiky and dried out of juice to scratch him. Thanks to his senses. He's safe. Clearing the line of his thoughts.

He overlooked the girl with a small smile. For her sake to assure her that he isn't a predator.

She looked so pale with her silverine eyes and Ash's blonde hair reaching her ribs in a tangled mess. Her heart-shaped facial feature slowly brought a small pout to her lips as she observed Quen's shining glory.

But her eyes darted to the basket he was carrying and momentarily sniffed the air.

On seeing this, Quen tries to reach her, but she crawls back whimpering in fear. Till now him being feared by the servants never bothered him. But seeing her tear-stained face with absolute pain, brought him to his knees.

He tried to talk but no words came to his mind. What will he say? Does she understand him? She seems too young to recognize his words. Her little quivering lips got him tongue-tied. And later did what he was left to do.

Quen slowly placed the basket before him and using his swish breeze, he raised the basket in the air, and moved the content to her sides, while the girl who was in the receiving end gawks at the magic happening before her.

When the basket slowly sashayed as it reached her sides and landed in the air with a soft thud, she looked at the man before her with questioning eyes.

Seeing her cute little face scrunch up her brows and nose quizzically at his action, Quen wants nothing but to squeeze the little girl in his arms for all he cares at the moment. She's too cute and looks lovely. And will look beautiful once she's cleansed to perfection.

Back to the girl he nods his head towards the food and encourages her to dig in. But she hesitates for a while and later with her fragile fingers she removes the cloth and takes a look at the goodies he kept inside. It's a combination of mixed fruits and treats and other sweets.

Upon seeing this, a series of giggles erupts from her mouth as she starts to taste every single thing and pockets some in her other hand if she likes that specific taste of food among the others.

He thought about why she was keeping a handful of chocolates, while he offered the entire basket to her. And his doubt gets cleared when she pushes the basket towards him and packs the handful of chocolates in a leaf bag, which seems to be made by herself.

She didn't finish the whole basket of foods but picked all the chocolates he had added in case she didn't want to eat the other treats.

Looks like someone got a sweet tooth for chocolates. Wiping her mouth with her dress she beams at him happily for the first time. She looks over his head and searches for something he can't get to know, but later crawls into her bed and lays on it.

He found her eyes dropping with all the food she ate, but he knows that the girl is trying so hard to stay awake.

Thinking this moment will be the best, he tries to reach her one step at a time but she throws the rings she made at him, with every step he steps towards her.

At one point he drops the point near her and sits near a giant tree beside her and watches her as she after more struggles, the end, falls asleep on a rock with a satisfied smile. To be said, she took longer than he thought her to be sleeping soundly in no time.

As Quen sees the girl finally falls into a deep slumber with her one hand clutching the leaf bag full of chocolates.

Quen’s plan to meet the little girl is accomplished, smiling he walked near her for the first time and crouched on his knees, and saw her thoroughly. Her dress was so thin and slightly transparent with some holes and tears adorning the already worn cloth. Taking the cover cloth from the basket he tries to cover her Little frame, but halts while tucking her in when his gaze falls on her knees cap. All he thought this morning was to provide some help to that little girl.

Few bruises and scratches were marked on her skin. Some wounds seem to be bleeding.

But right now, his uncalled plan does include her coming home with him from his discovery.

How come he did not notice this before? He tries to wipe the dirt out, and she winces in her sleep when his finger accidentally grazes the wounded zone.

Poor soul, suffering more and more without anyone's care. Why can't they see it, as he saw it? Curing some acidic words, he plans to take her home and treat her.

Picking her he sighed sadly at her featherweight body which snuggled on his chest as he picked the other things she had besides the leaf bag which was clutched in her hand in a death grip.

Packing the crowns and rings in the basket he marches back to the mansion and sneaks in through his window using the breeze. And later lays the girl in his silk rolls-covered bed. Not worrying his sheets might be dirtied by her clothes.

He calls for the family herbalist and asks her to treat the girl back to normal, by daring not to reveal his little secret to his parents. But to his surprise, the old lady herself found the Little girl’s condition so fragile and promised to keep the secret till the prince asks her.

“..and now I can get to work if you allow me, Prince Quen,” the Healer said, drawing the side table closer to Littleton and beginning to unwrap the clothes.

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Quen was shaken seeing her bruised back and bleeding feet.

“ And what could this beautiful child’s name be? If you know?” Quizzes the Healer sensing the Prince's speechless state. Quen shook his head in denial and asks for his hand on helping whenever she walks over to get some aids required. Sighing sadly the Healer says,

“We need to clean these wounds thoroughly before I can apply the ointments and herbs she'll need. I hope you can aid me with some help. ” Quen who heard it nods his head profusely and joins in. She dips a towel into the lukewarm water in the basin and wrung it before handing it across the table to Quen who takes it without hesitation.

This girl had bewitched their Prince. If the prince's protectiveness wasn't indication enough, the way he was carefully, lovingly washing her out told her.

He adored her, as his beloved soul.

Placing the cloth on the side table, the Healer positioned her mixing bowl before emptying herbs and ointment into it.

“What's that?” Quen asked as she made a paste.

“This is what will heal her.” She said, scooping out some of the paste on three fingers before applying it thickly to one of the wounds.

“This for the next few days and she’ll heal right up.”

“You use a lot of herbs here,” Quen said as he watched the Healer applying the thick paste to her scratched body and some of her angry red bruises.

Yeah, only bigger wounds are treated with heat Healing, for now, she's under-aged to go through that, this will do all the work." The Healer finished up with the paste, using everything she had on even the smaller scratches. “ There,” whispering, she went to wash her hands in the sink and grabbed a smaller towel, dipping it in water.

"Now that that's done, I shall leave the premises. Please report me if she wakes in a few hours. She might run a fever in-between the treatment.” saying the Healer went on.

It had been some tiring hours, Quen has been up checking on his Littleton every minute of the hour, cleaning and replenishing the ointment on her wounds, and wiping her down with a towel when she started to sweat.

A little later her temperature stabilized as her wounds began to heal. He yawns and stretches, feeling his bone crack pleasurably as he tries to shake the sleep off his eyes. Precisely it's quarter past Twelve.

He played on the corner of the bed with his hand linking his Littleton. He tries to stay awake but he seems pretty exhausted and falls asleep with a mere thought,

‘Now all he has to do is wait for his love to wake up. The Littleton, who made him do things he never dreamt of accomplishing.’

Author’s Note:

The story is about to end soon. I'm gonna make this novel into a series book. Kindly Follow, Like, and Comment.

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