Magnus sat alone in his room on the edge of the bed, listening to the clock tick as he waited for Mina to arrive. He remained in his formal attire, but he had taken his crown off, unable to bear the weight any longer. Closing his eyes, he rested his head in his hands as he took deep breaths to try to calm himself down. He knew his father would give him grief for leaving the banquet early, but he didn't have much of a choice. If someone else handled the situation with Mina before he did...he didn't even want to think about it. Dealing with Lord Victon was a nightmare in itself, and just hearing all the unsavory things he had to say about her made Magnus want to strangle him just to shut him up for good. Victon deserved all the punishments that were coming Mina's way, but of course, that would never happen. He was a lord and she was a maid, and no matter how heinous his crime was, she'd be the one who lost in the end.

Hearing a knock on the door, he rose to his feet and called out his approval for entry. Seeing someone other than who he was expecting enter the room, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Jia."

"Your Highness," she greeted, dipping into a curtsy.

"I was looking to speak to the new maid, Mina."

Jia clasped her hands behind her back and stood up straighter. "I heard about what happened, and I'll take responsibility for her actions."

"No, that won't be necessary. I just wanted to talk with her, but now that you're here, I'd like to ask a question."

"Yes?"

"What prior work did Mina do before coming here?"

"Carpentry. After that, one of the brothels disguised as a tea house."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "I see. And her reason for coming here?"

"To get a fresh start at life. She said she didn't want to work there anymore, and this was a job that didn't draw too much attention but was also relatively safe."

He nodded. That seemed like a plausible explanation, but there could be more to Mina's story than she had chosen to reveal. He wondered if she'd answer honestly if he confronted her directly, but now was not the time for that. She had already gone through a lot that night, and the last thing he needed to do was ask her about matters that probably weren't even important. He did his best to put his own curiosity aside despite the way it nipped and clawed at him incessantly, insisting there was something he was still missing.

"Makes sense. Thank you, Jia. Now, if you would bring Mina here please, I'd like to speak with her."

Jia hesitated. "You'll just speak to her? Nothing else?"

Magnus sighed. "You know what has to happen, Jia. I'm sorry."

Jia's frown deepened. "Please, Your Highness, let me take the punishment in her place. She's under my charge and I failed to exert proper control."

Magnus shook his head. "That would be unfair to you. I'd take her place too if I could, but you know that will never pass." His voice softened. "Not for something like this."

Jia hung her head, knowing it was true. "Then please be merciful, Your Highness. Please, please, I beg of you, don't let that monster lay a hand on her."

"I'll do what I can for her, I promise." Seeing her distress, he touched her shoulder gently. "I know you're trying your best, Jia. All the maids are lucky to have you looking after them."

A few tears slipped out of Jia's eyes, but she brushed them away. "It's never enough. I can't do anything to stop men like him..."

"But you've prevented many more from even getting close. Things would be much worse if you weren't here."

She shook her head. "These poor girls don't deserve this. They don't deserve to live like this."

He frowned. "I know. And I should warn you that Lord Victon will be staying around for a few more days while he recovers, so I suggest you and the others take extra caution. I'll ask Sylvan and Rook to keep an eye on him just in case to make sure he doesn't try anything."

"I will. Thank you, Your Highness."

Magnus nodded. "Stay safe, please. I don't want this to happen again."

"Me neither." She bowed her head to him. "I'll go fetch Mina."

"Thank you," Magnus murmured, watching as she turned and left the room. Wringing his hands, he tried to prepare himself for what he had to do.

~~~

Mina lay on her side on her cot, fiddling with some strands of her hair. She had pulled out a lot already that night, but she couldn't help it. Her entire life was on the line and completely out of her hands. His touch still lingered on her skin, making her want to tear those parts of herself off in an attempt to stop the pain. She had cried for so long already, but nothing she did could quell the ache in her chest. Shutting her eyes, she covered her face with her arms, wanting to just hide from the world.

"Some men really have the gall, huh."

Sophie's tone was unusually bitter, a stark contrast to her normal chipper attitude. Looking up, Mina's eyes fixed her sitting cross-legged and wrapped in a blanket on the cot next to her. She still looked exhausted and weak but overall appeared much better since Mina had last seen her.

"Sophie."

"I came as soon as I heard about what happened," Her voice softened. "How are you doing, Mina?"

Mina shugged, adjusting her arm under her head and looking down at the floor. "I feel like shit."

"I'm sorry."

Though she didn't say it out loud, the whole situation reminded Sophie of something that had happened to herself many years ago. It wasn't the same thing, but she was familiar with that powerless and broken feeling. She remembered being pinned down, fighting like hell to escape the clutches of a man who was determined to get his way. And he did. And even after all this time, the scar left on her face wasn't the only thing that remained unhealed.

"I'd kill him if I could," Sophie muttered. "People like that don't deserve to live."

Mina bit her lip. "Yeah. I should've when I had the chance since I'm dead either way."

"Maybe you shouldn't have been looking for attention then," Ivy, another maid, interrupted.

Mina turned to glare at her. "Oh yeah, I totally wanted that old piece of shit to do that to me."

"Maybe not, but you sure like the attention Prince Magnus gives you."

Mina gaped, sitting up from where she was laying. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Don't act dumb. You disobeyed Jia's orders to stay hidden just so you could ogle him a little more."

"You—" Mina couldn't even finish her thought before Sophie, despite still being weak from her illness, stood up and promptly slapped Ivy right across the face.

"Say anything like that to my friend again, and I'll beat your ass," Sophie threatened.

"Stay out of this," Ivy sneered, holding her burning cheek. "Little miss scarface."

"Oh, that's real original," Sophie retorted, rolling her eyes. "Say, weren't you acting all flirty with the prince the other day? Trying to touch him all over? Sounds like you're the one who's starved for some attention."

Ivy tossed her head. "You're just jealous because you know you don't have a shot. No one would ever want someone who looks as hideous as you."

"Oh, please," Sophie replied, smiling to cover up the stings from Ivy's comments. "I'd give you a scar to match, but I don't have to. You can keep chasing the prince like the thirsty dog you are, but you'll always be just that. Nothing but a lonely, horny bitch."

Ivy scowled, and Mina wondered if she should intervene. Luckily, before the conflict could escalate any further, Jia entered the room, causing everyone to pretend they were getting ready for bed as normal.

"Pay her no mind," Sophie huffed. "She's a nothing but a halfwit who thinks she can get away with anything just because she's pretty."

Mina nodded slowly, still surprised that Sophie was acting so defensive over her. A pang of guilt shot through her already heavy chest. Sophie had no reason to help her, especially after the way she treated her, and yet she still did. Maybe, despite her childish pranks and unpredictability, Sophie really meant well. Maybe there was more to her than Mina initially assumed.

Seeing Jia approaching, Mina turned to face her, studying her expression to try to figure out what to expect. Jia's mouth was set in a firm line, but she seemed just as calm and collected as usual.

"The prince wants you to come see him." Mina gulped, so Jia reached over,

taking Mina's hand in her own. "It'll be alright, I promise."

"What is he going to do?"

"I don't know," Jia admitted. "But he promised to do what he could for you."

Mina shook her head, pulling her trembling hand away. "No, I can't...I won't go."

"Mina, if you refuse, it'll only be worse."

"You know the prince is kind," Sophie added gently. "He's probably just trying to help."

Mina twisted a lock of hair between her fingers. She knew she didn't have much of a choice in the end, so she'd just have to get it over with. With shaky legs, she rose to her feet and followed Jia out of the room. Jia did her best to try to comfort her, but Mina's head was spinning with too many thoughts to pay much attention. He wouldn't hurt her, would he? But there was no way she would be getting out of this mess unscathed. Would he take the side of the lord? It seemed like an obvious choice between him and a lowly maid like herself. It didn't matter how she felt.

Stopping at the massive white doors of the prince's room, Mina tried taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down as her fingers continued to pull at her hair. Jia touched her shoulder in assurance and knocked firmly on the door with her free hand. Moments later, it opened to reveal a familiar green eyed guard. Sylvan gestured for Mina to enter while Jia remained outside. Mina complied but kept her head down, barely taking in her surroundings. After passing through the entrance hall, Sylvan led her through another set of doors and into the prince's room. Bowing his head, he stepped out to give them some semblance of privacy while he waited just outside the door as always.

Magnus stood as soon as Mina entered, immediately noticing the faint traces of bruises starting to form on her face and arms. He stayed where he was and didn't approach her, knowing how on edge she would be.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

She shifted in place, hesitantly looking up to meet his gaze. "As good as I can be after that."

"I'm so sorry. Something like that should have never happened."

"But it did. And I reacted."

Magnus nodded slowly. "You want to tell me what happened back there? I've heard Lord Victon's side, but I'd like to hear yours too."

She bit her lip, trying to keep herself from boiling over. "What's there to say? He was trying to force himself on me."

"I know, and I'm sorry. But though I don't mean to justify his actions, he did say that he knew you from a, um, 'tea' house. Jia said you used to work at one."

She frowned, turning her eyes to the ground in embarrassment. "It's only partially true in the first place. My job was mainly to clean the back rooms and attend to the girls."

"So you never—"

Her cheeks flushed red. "No, no, I did, but only if everyone else was busy and they needed another person. I wasn't pretty enough to be one of them anyway."

She couldn't look at him anymore, as if she felt disgusted with herself after admitting that. "I'm sorry, Mina."

She straightened up, but still didn't look at him. "Well, now you know."

His head was spinning with questions. She truly seemed desperate to get out of that life and leave it all behind, and who could blame her? How did she even end up there in the first place? Was she coerced? Did she have nowhere else to go? He couldn't even imagine all the horrible things that could've happened to her there and he knew better than to ask. He wished to give her some sort of comfort, but he knew she would not find any solace with him, especially not now.

Mina could feel his gaze on her, feeling more vulnerable than ever. She assumed the kind of thoughts would have gone through his head after hearing that, all of the shameful things he'd picture her doing. Now that she was at his mercy, what was stopping him from doing whatever he pleased with her?

"Just get it over with," she hissed through her gritted teeth.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Believe me, I don't blame you at all for what happened, and you don't deserve any of this. But you know they're expecting you to be punished for what you did."

She twisted strands of her hair between her fingers, grabbing more as the ones in her hand came loose. "What are they going to do?"

"Whip you, most likely," he replied softly. "At least a couple dozen lashes or maybe more. Or worse."

She bit her lip. "Alright."

He sighed, shaking his head. "You shouldn't have to though. All you did was defend yourself."

"Is there anything you can do then?"

Magnus paused, fiddling with the edge of his sleeve. "Well...we have a few options here. The easiest—if it could even be called that—would be for you to leave the castle."

She froze. "What?"

"I know it won't be easy to lose your job and start all over again, but—"

"No," she interrupted, shaking her head frantically. "Please, don't send me away."

He tilted his head, wondering why she was so opposed to the idea. "But you wouldn't have to deal with any of us anymore."

"No," she repeated. "I can't live out there again. I'd just end up back at that tea house or something similar and then people like that disgusting lord will get to do whatever they want with me and I won't do that again. As bad as it seems here, it was a hundred times worse when I was on my own."

Though that wasn't the full truth, she wasn't lying. If she returned to the rebels after being kicked out only a month or so into her palace job, she'd be deemed useless and seen as a failure. They'd probably kick her out and leave her for dead on the streets. She couldn't let herself lose this opportunity either. This was the closest she had ever been to the prince and king since that fateful day, and she wasn't going to waste her chance now over some bullshit like this.

Magnus nodded. "Alright, option two then."

"What's that?" she questioned, her stomach churning.

"I have the option to take punishing you into my own hands..."

She blinked. "Could you just not do anything at all?"

"Believe me, I've tried before, but it's never worked out. They'd want to see damage, my father especially, so I can't do that."

She sucked in a breath. "But I assume whatever you do wouldn't be as bad as what I would normally get?"

"That's the idea."

She eyed him. "So what are you gonna do? Make me strip off my dress in front of you so you can personally whip me?"

"No," he cleared his throat, looking away. "I would never do something like that."

"Then what?" She knew she was being harsh when he was only trying to help, but she was too stressed to think straight.

He bit his lip. He had an idea, but he had never been this vulnerable with anyone before. Without a word, he removed his white gloves and set them aside, presenting his bare hands to her. On the back of each one, there was a long scar stretching across, something she had never noticed before. She looked up to meet his gaze, struck by the heaviness in his eyes. For a brief moment, she caught the slightest glimpse of the pain he had managed to hide so well behind his usual bright smile and cheery demeanor. For the first time, he wasn't just the prince and her target; he was merely a boy who was just as scared as herself.

"What happened?" she dared to ask.

"A guard did this to me when I was young. He couldn't bear to hurt me in the way my father ordered after I had slighted him, so he opted to do this. It looks a lot worse than it is, but it wasn't even that deep."

Her breath hitched in her throat, looking down at her own hands. "Would that be enough?"

"I do hope so."

Why was he going to such great lengths for her? First it was Jia, then Sophie, and now him. Why did any of them give a damn about someone like her when she had done nothing for them? She knew she didn't deserve it, so that made her want to reject it even more. She didn't want them to care about her, because she wasn't ready to care about them.

"May I have your hand, please?" Magnus asked gently.

Even in a situation like this, he still remained courteous. She hesitantly complied, stretching out her hand and letting him grasp it in his. His touch on her was soft and gentle, and he rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand in a comforting way. As soon as he reached for his dagger however, she instinctively tried to recoil, prompting him to tighten his grip on her. Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt him touch the underside of her chin, making her look up at him.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he murmured, not taking his eyes off of her. "Do you trust me?"

She opened her mouth but she couldn't form any words, feeling her hand violently trembling in his. To her surprise, he leaned down and kissed the top of her hand gently, causing butterflies to fill her stomach and making her cheeks flush bright red. She was so stunned that she didn't even notice him unsheath his dagger.

"I'm going to do it on the count of three," he warned. "One..."

She shut her eyes. "Two..."

She held her breath. "Three."

She felt a sharp stinging pain and then nothing. Then she felt it again on her other hand and then nothing again. Cracking open her eyes, she looked down to see cuts that mirrored his own on her pale skin, crimson blood starting to bloom from the incisions.

"It's done. It's over now," he assured. Pulling out a couple handkerchiefs from a nearby dresser, he wrapped up her injuries to stop the blood from getting everywhere. "I'm sorry, I hope you're okay."

She felt breathless, still registering what had happened. "That wasn't too bad. I've been through worse."

He hesitated. "Are you sure? I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have done that."

She shook her head. "I'll be alright. This is nothing."

"Alright...if you say so. Is there anything else I can help you with? I know it's been a long and hard night for you, and I'm sorry I just made it worse."

His remorse seemed so genuine, she wondered if this man was even capable of hurting a fly. The same couldn't be said about his father, but it was still startling to truly witness how the two could be so different.

She shook her head. "No, I'd just like to rest now. I'm exhausted."

He nodded. "I'll ask Jia to give you some time off while you heal. Take it easy, alright? And please, I'm always here for you if you ever need anything so don't be afraid to come and find me."

Her gaze softened as she looked at him, knowing in her heart that he meant it. "I will. Thank you."

"Sleep well, Mina. And I'm sorry again for everything."

Mina bowed her head to him, and he watched as she exited the room, seeming to be in some sort of a daze. Once he had heard the door close behind her, he slumped to his knees on the floor. This had felt like one of the longest nights of his life and he was both physically and emotionally worn out. He had done his best to help and comfort everyone, but by the end, he still felt like he hadn't done enough. Nothing he did felt like it was ever enough though he tried so hard.

"Are you alright?" Sylvan asked, poking his head into the room.

Magnus looked up, trying not to break down in front of him. "Yeah. I'm just tired." Rising to his feet, he padded over to his wardrobe to get ready for bed.

"Alright. I'll be just outside if you need me."

Magnus nodded but then stilled, the questions he had had earlier finally resurfacing in a rapid tidal wave. "Wait."

"Yes?"

"Did...something happen to me a long time ago?" He hesitated, trying to find the right words. "I have the feeling there's things I should have remembered but I don't."

"What do you mean exactly?"

"That maid, Mina. I feel like I know her, but I don't know how that's possible."

Sylvan titled his head. "Do you think she's a threat?"

"No, no, it's just..." he shook his head. "Never mind. I'm just tired and talking nonsense."

Sylvan eyed him curiously. "Maybe it's just best to leave the past in the past. You can't change it, so just focus on now and what's to come."

"Yeah," Magnus murmured, looking over at his crown sitting on his desk. "That's all any of us can really do."