“Your Highness, she said she’s busy.”
It only took five minutes for Poppy to return. She was breathless with her cheeks flushed and her chest rising and falling like she had run the entire time. She avoided my eyes, but I could see that she wanted to cry. Head Maid Smite hadn’t just said that to her. She must have said something very cruel, and Poppy was trying to protect me from hearing it.
My hands clenched into fists beneath the duvet. My throat still burned with dryness, even though I’d been sipping water since I woke up. My body felt like I’d fallen from a tall cliff with every muscle in my body aching. And I was also freezing. All I wanted was to turn on my side and bury my face in the sheets, and go back to sleep.
But I was just so angry. All I could think about was Head Maid Smi
