The guard eventually made me let him take me to the infirmary. That is where I am now, surrounded by doctors checking my vitals and heartbeat. They need to make sure the heir to the throne isn't dead. She can't die yet!
Nicoletta came in right as I entered. She started yelling at me for being so foolish and did I want her to tie me to my bed. I did not and apologized immensely before she relaxed. Okay, maybe she didn't relax, the doctors had to take her out because she was stressing me out.
"I don't understand, Cassandra," Mother says, sighing heavily. "You climb out of the comfort of your room? Do you know what could've happened if someone saw you?"
Our reputation would be ruined, I think to myself. The reporters wouldn't bother to see if I was okay, they'd just find a way to twist the problem.
I can see the headline now: Rebel Princess Jumps out Window to Make Broad Statement. Or maybe: Is There Something Wrong with Our Heiress?
"Sorry," is all I can utter.
"Sorry?" she gapes. "That's all you have to say for yourself?"
Yes, that and can I have food? I don't dare say that because I don't need Mother to get more mad. Though, I am really hungry. All I've had in the last 2 hours is water. Breakfast would be nice but I don't think I'm leaving the infirmary any time soon. To add to the mess, Father comes in.
"Cassandra!" he shouts. "I just heard the news."
"Join the club," I say dryly.
"Now is not the time for your snark," he growls. He looks so done with me right now. Actually, everyone looks so done with me. "What would happen if you got seriously injured? What if you had died? Our country is dependant on you."
"I know," I say, picking a spot on the wall to stare at. "I already apologized. It won't happen again."
"It better not," Father says.
"Give her a break," Nicoletta squeaks. Of course, my sister picks now to back me up. This makes everything worse and Father, Mother, and Nicoletta are roaring at each other.
"Enough!" I shout with authority. They stare at me. "You're freaking the doctors out."
That brings on another fight about how Mother fires her employees too easily. This is what I meant about my parents being partners instead of plain husband and wife.
"Your Highness, Your Majesty, we are going to have to ask you to leave," the head doctor declares. I want to jump up and hug her.
"But-" starts Nicoletta.
"The patient needs to relax," explains the doctor. "The sooner she rests, the sooner she gets better."
I wonder if that's really true or if the doctor just wants to deal with one Astor right now. I'm assuming it's the latter. They finally exit and Alexander walks in. I brace myself for another fight.
"What were you-" he starts but I hold up a hand.
"What was I thinking," I finish for him. "I wasn't thinking. And yes, I know what would happen if someone saw me."
He blinks, trying to think of what to say next. But, I've answered everything that could have come to mind. Hunter bursts through the doors, walking to my bedside. He looks at me in disbelief.
"What s wrong with you?" he exclaims. "Who climbs out their window at 5 o'clock in the morning? You could have died, Cass. Gosh, when I was scared out of my wits."
"Does the whole country know?" I chuckle. I know I shouldn't be laughing but the whole situation is hilarious. I have a tendency to laugh in serious situations.
"Let her be," Alexander scowls at him.
"Oh, can it," Hunter snarls.
"I will not!" Alex stands his ground. "You have no right to be scared for her."
"Says who?" laughs Hunter.
"I do," Alex sniffs. I find it comedic watching them fight. Their faces are so animated with fury I almost forget that I should interject.
"Are you alright?" Hunter touches my hand, getting bored of his argument with Alex. My heart quickens like it does whenever he touches me. I nod.
"I'll live," I reply. He lets out a sigh of relief.
"That's I'll I can ask," he says, leaning in.
"Visiting is for friends and family only," Alex protests. "You're neither."
"Oh, and what, you're both?" Hunter shoots back. He looks like he wants to punch Alex. I squeeze his arm hard. He groans. "Fine, I'm leaving, I'm leaving."
"I am also," Alex follows him out.
The doctor turns to me, rubbing her temples. She looks exhausted. She tells me I'm fine and I can go. Well, at least one of my problems is somewhat solved.
End of chapter
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139,347 Literary Works • 672,539 Reviews
Hi pineapple321,
Mailice here with a short review!
I'm here to bump your chapter out of the Green Room!
That was a very interesting chapter. You used an unusual writing style for the plot, which in a way had a certain lightness to it combined with the seriousness of the situation. I liked this odd presentation as it gave me something I haven't read directly in this way before.
I like Cassandra and how you portray her. I especially like this point where you get to see inside her head a few times, and thus learn more as a reader. I haven't read the previous chapters, so I can't judge directly the importance of each character and how they correlate with each other, but I do think Cassandra has a certain heaviness about her that she doesn't show so directly. She also seems a little rebellious and fights against it.
From the point of view of the chapter (if this has already happened in any of the previous ones, it can be ignored here), I find that a lot of it feels like a vacuum. I don't know so directly where the characters are. In a hospital, for example? I would try to describe a little more to give the whole plot a certain density. This doesn't have to be 100% a blind spectacle of descriptions that don't carry the plot forward, but can also be related to, for example, the dialogue. Maybe Cassandra is talking and then looks out the window, etc... That's the only criticism I have here and think that otherwise you present an interesting story (especially the name of the story I find striking).
Other points that caught my eye:
I think it's a strange comment to make in the second sentence, because in a way it's already in the first sentence. I would either leave it out or rewrite it so it doesn't sound so similar.
This is a strange statement on the part of the doctor. I would replace the "relax" with "rest". That way it sounds more like the doctor isn't a doctor, but a sports coach or something after a workout.
I would put a question mark here instead of a comma.
Have fun writing!
Mailice
Thank you so much for this review
Hey! Ignorance is here for a review
definitely not because I need the points haha…/lhI really enjoyed this chapter. I’ve never read this story, but I was quickly able to piece together what had happened: the heir to the throne (the protagonist) jumps out the window and nearly dies, and is now in the hospital because of it. I also love how you managed to make it so intense. With all the fighting, and then the doctor stepping in eventually.
Now, I do have a few critiques. For one, there are a few points in this story where I think you should’ve replaced the comma with a period, or added more punctuation, and stuff like that. Now, I’m not gonna name every spot where I felt like this
mostly because I’m lazy haha-, but I just thought to let you know. Also, I found myself confused during the scene with Hunter and Alex. For one, Hunter seemed to come out of no where. Where did he come from? Was he there the entire time? I also found it weird how the protagonist found their fight comedic, but was getting stressed out when her family was fighting. I believe adding a bit of internal struggle would’ve helped a bit.Annnnd I think that’s about it! I sincerely apologize if anything I said during this review came across as rude. I loved this chapter, and I hope you keep up the great work!
-✨