The Hunchback's Reluctant Bride ✔

11 | The Wash

The consequences of the foot injury were misunderstood by all, resented by Wyrn, but brought a smile to Vadde's face. For one, Wyrn was a much gentler guide than Shaza. All things considered, that was a low bar.

He was also hard-working. Vadde guessed it was due to his limitations physically why he'd been relegated to care for the animals. Before breakfast each day, he fed them. The pens were an open structure with a roof. Other than the pigs' area, which Wyrn insisted was too filthy to risk putting her foot there, Vadde followed him everywhere.

And he was very clever, too. Once he sat her down in the fields, he'd go about his work. For that, Bluebell—a name Vadde found sweet—was his trusty steed. However, whenever Vadde needed something, Wyrn had already prepared it.

"All right, a speck of cheese, and one and a half bun."

Vadde looked up at him from the grass where she sat. "One and a half?"

Still going through the little sack, Wyrn said, "Yes. You always eat more than one but never two. So half should suffice."

He looked satisfied but Vadde teased, "Shame there's nothing sweeter."

With a scoff, he held out his fist then turned it up to reveal his palm, and the berries there.

A smug smile greeted her beyond the gift.

Vadde held out her hands, stunned. Instead of eating, she simply stared down at it. He was still crouched as he watched her. his usual hushed voice held concern.

"I'm sure they're sweet."

But that wasn't Vadde's focus. She was a princess. There had been a time when people made a fuss and cared how she'd felt; there must have been because both her father and mother had received such life-long treatment. And yet, Vadde couldn't remember when her own stopped.

Deep down, she had no doubt her parents cared for her. Everyone else, however....

If the cold food and cold water for bathing meant anything, Vadde often wondered if the servants hadn't wished her gone—dead even. Cheer hadn't returned to the castle until her brother's birth.

More than once, Vadde had conveyed her worry to her parents. Both denied it. But the solitude of people sharing space with her yet acting distant had driven Vadde to hysterics more than once. Each time Vadde could see it, everybody wanted her even less—even the king. In time, Vadde stopped being a source of pride for them, and instead, one of shame. People rarely confronted things that embarrassed them, instead, they put it out of mind.

Now here she was...with this hunchback and this was the first time she didn't feel 'wrongly-made' or scorned.

Vadde forced herself to tell Wyrn, "Thank you." She couldn't meet his gaze but as of now, he'd given her something she'd long for these five years—a kind friend.

More than once, he'd come to her before she even voiced what she wanted. And when they were alone, he gave her space, but if even one person was near, he was by her side. He'd hesitated about taking her hand at first, but after one day, she didn't need to remind him again.

He was careful to clean her wound also.

Per usual, Wyrn checked that no one was about before kneeling before her. Once he slipped the shoe off and removed the bandage, he took her foot into his lap and examined it.

The tender massage from his coarse hands was her favorite part of the day.

A sharp gasp proceeded a cry. "It'd be more polite if you two did this in a room! And since when have you two become so friendly?"