Chapter 2 Saved by the Princess

ANGELA'S POV

Great, just perfect. I just had an accident and I'm about to die…again!

I closed my eyes expecting the pain but it never came.The giant axe didn't hit my neck.

Instead, a deep, booming voice thundered

through the air.

"STOP!"

The executioner froze. The heavy metal blade hovered just inches away from my skin. I gasped, my chest heaving as the giant man stepped back.

The angry, shouting crowd suddenly went dead silent. Everyone in the square dropped to their knees, burying their faces in the mud.

From the edges of the crowd, loud whispers started breaking the silence.

"Isn't that the King?" a man mumbled nearby. “He never comes for executions, it can't be him right?”

"Of course it is, idiot! And look at that wicked maid. She tried to kill the little Princess!" a woman whispered back, her voice full of spit and anger. "She knew the Princess can't touch strawberries! She put them right in her morning cream to choke her to death! A total snake!"

Strawberries? I thought, my mind racing. Are you people serious? Someone is trying to chop my head off over a fruit allergy?!

I forced my head up, my chin still covered in the old blood from the wooden block.

A tall man stepped onto the wooden

platform. My jaw almost dropped. He was wearing a long, heavy velvet cloak with gold borders, and he was breathtakingly handsome.

He had a sharp jawline, pitch-black hair, and a body like a Calvin Klein model. But his eyes were terrifying. They looked like two sharp pieces of ice that looks like they are incapable of melting.

He didn't look at the crowd. He looked straight down at me.

"Seraphina," the man said. His voice was cold enough to freeze water. "You dared to put poison in the cup of the royal heir. For that, your life is forfeit to the Empire of Aurelia."

Seraphina? Who the hell is Seraphina?

I tried to glare at him. I opened my mouth to scream, "Listen here, handsome, I don't know what kind of prank show this is, but my name is Angela Vale! I don't poison kids!"

But nothing came out. Just a pathetic, dry wheeze. I clutched my throat with my mind, panicking. My voice was completely broken.

"Still playing dumb?" the King sneered, stepping closer. His heavy leather boots made a loud thud against the wood. "Your silence will not save you from justice."

He raised his hand to signal the executioner to finish the job.

"Father! Wait!"

A tiny, high-pitched voice echoed from the back of the platform.

The King froze. His icy expression instantly melted into pure worry. "Lily? Why are you out here? Guards, take the Princess back inside the palace!"

A little five-year-old girl broke free from the royal guards. She wore a beautiful, soft pink dress, but her skin was incredibly pale, and she looked very weak.

She didn't look at her father. She ran straight toward me and dropped to her knees right in the freezing mud next to me.

I looked at her and internally rolled my eyes. Great. Just great. Why is this little pest coming closer to me? Go away, kid, you're getting your ugly pink dress all dirty.

The little Princess didn't look disgusted by my muddy clothes or the blood on my face. She reached out and tightly held my muddy, tied hand.

The entire crowd gasped out loud. The whispers exploded again.

"Look! The Princess is touching her!"

"Why is she protecting that murderer?"

The King looked like he had just seen a ghost. He rushed over and instantly scooped the little girl into his arms, pulling her away from me.

"Lily, what are you doing?" the King demanded, his hands shaking with anger and fear. "She tried to hurt you! She gave you the forbidden fruit!"

"No, she didn't," Lily whispered, pouty-faced, leaning her head against his shoulder. She pointed her tiny finger right at me. "She didn't do it, Father. Don't kill her. I want her to stay with me."

The King stared at his daughter, completely shocked. He looked back at me, his thick eyebrows crashing together. He studied my face for a long, quiet moment, trying to find a lie.

"Please, Father," Lily begged, coughing a little. "Please."

The King let out a long, frustrated sigh. He

stood up straight, still holding the little girl tightly against his chest. He glared down at me like I was a piece of trash.

"Fine," the King barked. He stepped right into my face, his shadow completely covering my body. He reached down, grabbed my chin roughly, and forced me to look up at him. "My daughter wants you alive. So you will live. For now."

I glared back at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. Let go of my face, you giant freak, I thought angrily.

"From today, you are Lily's personal maid," the King whispered, his voice dangerously low. He squeezed my chin tighter. "But hear me well, Seraphina. If you breathe wrong near my daughter, or if she gets sick because of you again, I will personally cut your throat. Do you understand?"

Me? A whole CEO? A fucking servant? Just fucking kill me already. I thought.

He shoved my face away, making me fall back into the mud.

"Guards!" the King ordered, turning his back to me. "Untie her and drag her to the palace servants' quarters.”