I Love You, My Cursed Prince

Muriel believed that if the prince was using hidden corridors and such to navigate and secretly look at people, then he would likely use some kind of entrance behind the empty bookcase to get to this room.

She looked back for a short moment. There was a sliding lock ready to keep the door tight when needed.

Doctor Bergson guided her to the chair even though Muriel didn't need to be guided. She smoothed out her skirts and sat down. She was wearing a casual outfit with a smaller skirt. She only had a pillow-like bum roll to make her skirts a little round.

"I'm going to your ankles first," the doctor softly warned. Muriel sighed.

He knelt down and gingerly took one of her ankles with his fingers. Her shoes were low. He arranged her ankle right against a chair's leg. "Right there," he said. She kept her ankle at that spot while he went to the basket.

He pulled out some ropes.

Her ankle was tied to the chair's leg. The other ankle was tied to the other leg. "Are you uncomfortable?"

"No, Doctor."

"Is it too tight?"

"No, Doctor."

He lightly pulled on the ropes. "If they're too tight, tell me this minute. You're not to be injured in any manner."

"I'm fine, Sir."

"Fine, then I'm going to your wrists."

It was predictable. Her wrists were bound to the chair's armrests, her hands were turned down. She was wearing small gloves. She felt the rope on her skin. It wasn't a frayed or rough material, surprisingly.

Near her left hand, there was the hanging cord. "See if you can grip it with your fingers," the doctor coolly instructed. Muriel stretched her fingers up, pinched and twirled the cord around, and tugged. She heard a bell faintly ring somewhere. "That's good," said the doctor. "If there's an emergency, ring the bell, and I'll come right away."

"What sort of emergency are you imagining?" Muriel asked with a weak voice.

The doctor shrugged and made a smacking noise in his mouth as he got to a firm standing position. "I don't know. Say His Highness has a heart attack or some other ridiculous thing. He's never had heart problems, by the by. Or, what if a fire starts and His Highness can't free you for some reason? You should never be unable to run away from danger."

So ... he didn't think the prince might do something violent?

Muriel gulped down a lot of saliva and worry.

The doctor reached back into the basket. When his hand rose, he was holding a black blindfold.

"Are you ready, Miss?"

"Yes, Sir."

She closed her eyes. He put the cloth over her eyelids and snugly tied it around her head. Thankfully, her hair was in a high topknot. She could put the back of her head against the chair's back without any obstruction.