Floriane's heart went down to a turtle's pace. Without the bandage, she was losing blood, but she didn't care.

I can finally rest in peace knowing that my mother didn't have to die.

Floriane was surrounded in blackness. Before she was staring out of the thin window. Her eyelids finally closed without any hesitation. She didn't know how long she was in the dark, but she was expecting a light to send her to the other side.

"I wonder how long I'll be here," She spoke.

"You'll always be with me!" A menacing voice broke through.

Floriane felt a chill go down her back. It was the voice of that huge cat that attacked her. "I thought you were dead!" She looked around, not seeing the cat.

"It's not easy to take me down. I'll make sure that you come down with me!" Deep growls pierced through the dark.

Floriane became really scared. She still couldn't see the cat, but she couldn't see anything in the surrounding darkness. Suddenly, she was pushed forward. "No! Let go of me!" She felt her shoulder being grabbed, causing her to flip on her back.

She was face-to-face to the cat again. His red eyes were furrowed, smiling and showing his sharp teeth. "Now why would I let go of such precious prey?" He opened his mouth so fast that Floriane felt its hot breath. Floriane raised her arms to her face and closed her eyes. A loud roar pierced her ears, but she didn't feel the cat's paws on her shoulders. She opened her eyes, with her hands still in front of her face.

Some light tried to get through her thin fingers. She moved her hands, seeing a huge pink curtain. It surrounded all around her and above her. Floriane became very confused. She put her hands to her side. It was very soft to the touch. Her eyes bounced back and forth. She pushed down to sit up. A sharp pain slapped her back.

"Ow!" She yelled, touching her back. "What the..?" Floriane didn't feel her bare back. She looked down at her body, seeing a light blue nightgown on her body. It wasn't only the nightgown that surprised her.

Floriane saw that she was in a bed. Everything on the bed was pink, including the pillows. Realizing she was in a bed, Floriane came to the conclusion that the pink curtain was the canopy. She flung the rose-pink blankets off her body and swung her legs over. Yanking the curtain open, a bright light shone in her face. It caused her temporary blindness, but a few blinks helped her adjust. What she saw almost stunned her. Floriane couldn't believe it!

She was in a beautiful room. The walls were a deep purple and the carpet was a lovely shade of royal blue. There was a window with a built-in seat, as if she wanted to sit and look out the window. She immediately stood up, but yelled out in pain. The sharp pain returned and brought her down to the carpet.

I forgot about this damn injury. Floriane reached and held her back. Suddenly, a realization came to her. Wait a minute, I removed that bandage. So why does my back feel dry? She looked at her hand. It was dry; no sign of blood.

Floriane grabbed the nightgown and tore it off. She looked down and saw another bandage on her stomach. All right, now this one is wrapped differently, but it won't matter! She grabbed the bandage and tore it.

Piece by piece, she pulled off, but to her surprise, she couldn't remove the whole bandage. "What kind of bandage is this?" She growled and tossed the bandage piece in her hand. She turned and, using the bed for support, stood back up. It was slower this time. She walked to the end of the bed and saw the rest of the room.

There were shelves of books, a desk for reading or writing, rolls of paper wrapped in a wooden box, a huge fireplace with a dark mantle and two doors. One door was a meadow green and the other was forest green.

"Maybe one of those doors lead out of here." Floriane opened the meadow green door.

The floor seemed to made of dark blue stone, but it seemed so smooth. A copper bathtub stood in the middle, filled to the brim with steaming water. Towels lined up on one wall, like guards at their post. A wide vanity stood on the opposite side of the towel wall. On the last wall, opposite of Floriane, was a small window with golden curtains. Floriane walked past the tub and went over to the vanity. There were different kinds of combs and brushes. Little tin containers were filled with different cosmetics that Floriane knew her half-sisters would enjoy.

"All right, maybe the other door leads out." She left the room and walked to the forest green door. She opened it and saw it wasn't the way out either.

It was a closet, filled with gorgeous dresses and shoes in different colors. Hats with different designs rested on shelves. One had feathers on the top. Another had flowers sewn in. A third had leaves on the rim.

Floriane became worried and very angry. Slamming the forest green door, she turned to look around the room. There was no other door, which meant one thing.

"I'm trapped in a room I have no intentions of using!" She yelled, not expecting anyone to answer her. "Who did this?"

She ran over to the desk and pushed the box of paper over! Floriane was too angry to feel any pain. She was even ready to tip the desk over. She grabbed the legs and pushed the desk. It crashed, causing the drawers to fling open. Something fell out of the drawer and rolled off. Floriane grabbed the item to see what it was. It was a rolled up paper with a snowy-white rope.

"That blasted monster! What does he want now?"

Floriane turned to the fireplace and threw it in the fire. The flames popped and changed from orange to blue. Floriane's anger turned to fear. She jumped backwards and the flames whooshed out at her. The paper and the rope laid in front of her on the carpet. It was if the fire spat the paper out at her.

Floriane stared at the paper. She was still feeling angry, but after seeing the fire spit the paper back out, it was enough to convince her that she had to read it. She took the paper, removed the rope and unraveled it.

'I can only guess your reaction when you found yourself in this room. Eleanor told me on how you were planning to die to save your mother, Saffi. Even though I would rather have my father do this himself, I deeply apologize for everything. In all honesty, I'm just as angry as you are with my father. He shouldn't have threatened your mother. I also knew that it will take a lot to earn your forgiveness, but I'll do what I have to do. Had I known who you really were, I wouldn't have been so awful towards you. I never wanted a bride. I just wanted a friend.

Since I had an idea about how you would treated me if I tried to meet you face-to-face, I magically put you in this room. If there's anything missing or if you want anything, leave a note on the desk. If you like, you can also write a letter and I can send it to your family. I plan to send a gift to your family to try to make amends.

I also believe you saw that you can't leave the room. With you being as stubborn as you are, or unselfish, I couldn't let you go back to that dungeon. So, you're going to remain in this room until you are completely well. The bandage will never come off until your body is healed. When it does, the door out of the room will magically appear. Your meals will also appear, and disappear when you're done eating.

I'll do everything I can to earn your forgiveness. I would also like to earn your friendship, but I think forgiveness will be enough.

Roden'

Floriane blinked her eyes and dropped the letter. "So, he only wanted a friend? Well, I suppose I can understand why his father would bribe someone for that, but he shouldn't have lied." She then sighed, "I want to be angry and yet, I'm feeling sad. Well, there's only one way to see if he's telling the truth, despite this damn bandage." She looked back at the tipped desk. A blank container rested on the carpet next to the desk.

The carpet must've protected it from breaking.

Floriane picked it up, recognizing it as a ink container. Looking in the other drawers, she found a feather quill. With the desk on its side, Floriane took a small sheet of paper and sat down at the mantel. Floriane groaned, now feeling the pain in her back, as she wrote her family's letter.

He better be telling the truth. If not, I don't care how friendly he is.

When she finished, she placed the letter on the desk's side. Floriane became tired from being angry and her body was weakening. She went back to the bed and closed the canopy. Staring at the curtain's hanging knot, Floriane just waited for rest to take over.

He better be true.