Sylvia covered her mouth with her hand. She would have shouted and screamed if not for the fact that she was too shocked to do either of those things right now.

She was flying! She was actually floating in the air!

Her long silver hair fluttered in the cold wind along with her gorgeous evening gown that was in tatters.

But Sylvia was far too elated to care about that right now. She was literally floating on cloud nine.

Her bright golden eyes twinkled as she curiously looked around at the expanse of the forest surrounding the palace.

The royal palace was like a block of gold chiseled into an exquisite masterpiece. 

She hadn’t observed everything thoroughly the first time she arrived here sitting on the back of the griffon.

But now that she was less preoccupied or rather was too shocked to think about anything else, her brain automatically admired the beauty that sprawled underneath her.

The view was absolutely breathtaking.

Acres and acres of forests spread around the palace and she could clearly see the decorative lamps that lit the main garden where the gala was perhaps still going on.

But Sylvia doubted it as it was already well past midnight.

Before she could take another look, suddenly a chill swept her body and she couldn’t help but feel as if someone was looking at her.

She could feel their gaze drag over her body as if they were locked on to her, fixated on her, observing each and every inch of her in detail.

“Ah…” Sylvia yelped and stumbled a little.

This sudden unexpected development caught her off guard, and she lost the grasp and control she had on her movement, slightly falling down.

But before she could plummet all the way to the ground and fall splat, probably cracking her head, she somehow managed to regain some sort of stability.

This small mishap had inadvertently snapped her out of her trance and she could now feel the stress of her body’s transformation, the aches in her new muscles.

Though the light from the stars and the moon was still nourishing her, tiredness slowly sneaked across her.

She could intuitively feel that she wouldn’t be able to maintain the shift for much longer.

So she hurriedly tried to move her wings again, this time the single flap abruptly sending her down to the ground.

Sylvia landed with a loud thud, her body then rolling over and crashing into a nearby tree from the impact.

She laid still next to the tree, her dress now fully ripped, her body smeared in mud and leaves.

Her entire body ached and within a few seconds, her horns and her wings completely disappeared, leaving behind only the searing pain and the chill of the night that peeked in through her ripped dress.

Ahh… She loudly groaned, unable to withstand the pain and swallow it silently. 

There were probably a million bones broken in her body right this second or perhaps even more! She was sure of it.

But instead of ache or misery, all that shone on her face was a small smile.

A couple of tears even leaked out of her eyes but they were not the sad kind.

Every inch of her body was wailing in agony but Sylvia found that her heart was strangely at peace.

She laughed like a lunatic, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

After everything that happened, this was the first time she actually felt something and was not numb.

The pain that coursed through her body was rather strangely comforting.

She winced as she slightly adjusted her position to a more comfortable one.

The gentle moonlight shone through the canopy of trees, sneaking in between the dense leaves and creaking branches and it caressed her slender body.

It licked her wounds and healed her scraped skin and her broken bones.

More astral energy flooded into her and she could feel her body already healing.

Lost in the warmth and comfort that the pure intoxicating energy showered on her, she continued slowly breathing in and breathing out, absorbing everything that she could feel.

Slowly her pain eased a little and she fell asleep right then and there, completely exhausted.

As the silent night slowly faded and the first rays of the sunlight hit the ground, a maid loudly shrieked and ran over to Sylvia.

Evie had no idea what was happening. She couldn’t understand the heads or tails of the sight in front of her.

“Coral! Lola! Quick come here! Her highness is injured!!!” She shouted in a panic and hurriedly ran over to Sylvia. 

“Someone inform the King! Guards! Guards! Call the royal physician!!”

She gripped her dress and dashed towards Sylvia as fast as she could. 

But when she neared the princess, she saw that she was not actually hurt and was just covered in mud and soundly sleeping.

Evie let out a sigh of relief and quickly carried Sylvia inside, taking the help of Coral and Lola as well.

Even though she was bodily not harmed and her pulse seemed to be steady and normal, the three maids were still nervous and exchanged awkward looks.

The way her clothes were torn and tattered and how her hair and everything was roughed up, they felt as if something was not right.

Moreover, she also seemed to be in a deep slumber as if she had been fed some sort of a powerful drug. 

Not to mention, Sylvia was a woman and a very beautiful one at that, with a particularly blessed and treasured bloodline.

So they couldn’t help but jump to the obvious conclusion.

“Do you think that something terrible could have happened?” Lola worriedly asked as they placed Sylvia gently on the bed, tucking her under the sheets.

“Shhh! Are you stupid! Don’t talk about things like that!!!” Coral shook her head hurriedly.

“Yes, do not talk about this matter again. Don’t you know how serious this is??” Evie as well scolded her.

“It’s not our place to talk about these things. Don’t be an idiot and blabber this anywhere, lest we might lose our heads!”