The banging in my head is unbearable as consciousness returns. My arms and legs are lead weights. My eyelids are cemented shut, too heavy to lift. Slowly, the feeling returns to my hands with a terrible tingling sensation. I start recalling what happened. Dante and I were in the empty room next to the ballroom. Dante stepped out and I was supposed to follow, but then Adam, AnnaBelle’s boyfriend came in, surprising me. I went to turn around, but he grabbed me then knocked me out with something.
My leg twitches as I try moving it, drawing unwanted attention my way.
“Good. You’re awake.” Adam remarks from behind me.
My mouth is dry as a desert making speech difficult. I try moving my hands wanting to push the hair away from my face but I can’t. I open my eyes fully taking in the surroundings. The dark, dank cell smells of death. There is a single chained light hanging directly overhead. It was added many years after the cell was first built. The walls are still decorated with the tools used to torture the souls who had the misfortune of visiting this space.
The oozing walls do nothing to hide the manacles and flurry of activity in the corner. I want to scream at the thought of what might be there. The moonlight shines brightly through the slits and offers little additional light in the room. Two rats scurry past my feet and I do in fact scream. My rapidly beating heart is loud enough that Adam could probably hear it. I take slow, calming breaths trying to calm myself, but it doesn’t help. I can hear the waves crashing against the shore outside.
My arms and legs are tied to an old, wooden chair making escape impossible.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask, fear lacing my tone.
“You came back at the wrong time. You never should have come back. They’ll teach your father.” He replies.
“Who? Who will teach my father what?” I question him, panicking. “Where is AnnaBelle? Does she know what you’ve done?”
“Are you kidding? She is so desperate looking for love that she never saw how I cringed every time I had to touch her.”
“I never thought you were good enough for her.”
“I never wanted her. I dated her because it was part of the plan.”
The plan?
“How did you get past Daniel’s men?”
Then it dawns on me. The Purists knew about me all along. They knew where I was, but I wasn’t a threat to them until I learned who I was and returned to Farquadt. All they had to do was bide their time until my father planned a “grand event.” Only then could they put their plan into effect. We never had a chance.
Poor AnnaBelle. She never had a chance with Adam. But how did they know to use her. I didn’t even know I would need someone. This planning had to have gone way back. But how did they know? Who’s the leak?
“Why are you doing this?” I ask again.
A door scratching the floor opens as more light floods the room. My dress is torn and dirty at the hem. A medium sized shadow appears behind me blocking the light from the hallway.
“Sorry Princess. You’ll have to forgive Adam. He was a bit overzealous in attaining you. I think we may have to get you a new dress.” A familiar voice says, walking in front of me lifting my torn dress with disgust. “But then again it’s better than anything you’ve ever had.”
Baron Farfall.
“I don’t understand. What do you want?” I plead for answers.
“What does everyone want? Power.” He replies. “You really should not have come back.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your mother was smart to run away with you. I knew she married the King and that you would be the next queen. We needed to stop her. She held too much sway over the King. It’s a good thing I lost her after she landed in America. She was a whore before she met your father. You should never have been born.” He sneers. “You’re a disgrace to the royal lineage.”
Every word he utters feels like a slap to the face.
“If you knew my mother, then you knew she came to my father pure as the snow. She was a virgin until her wedding night. He still has the proof.” I spit protecting my mother’s memory. “It was people like you who tried to discredit her. You made him choose country over love. You’re nothing but a wannabe aristocrat. All these-.”
The backhand across the face snaps my head to the side. I see stars for a moment and taste blood in my mouth after a tooth cuts the inside of my lower lip. My cheek starts to swell immediately.
“We will regain what is rightfully ours. You family is nothing but a scourge on this country.”
“Scourge? We brought this country into this century. It’s you and your kind who want it to remain in the past. What did you think was going to happen? Elizabeth marries Daniel and they would rule.” I laugh derisively. “How were you going to prove her virginity?”
I anticipate the next backhand bracing myself as much as I could. I just wasn’t expecting it from Adam, nor was I expecting to be a punch to the head. The room starts fading around the edges, like a black tunnel. I know if I pass out that would be it. I would never wake up again. I blink away the daze, forcing myself to stay awake. My ears ring after the last blow.
“How dare you talk about her like that? She will be the next queen.” Adam yells at me, spiting unknowingly in my face.
The Baron walks over to Adam placing as hand on his shoulder. Adam stills in an eerie way- like a pet being soothed by its owner.
“No more son. You have served your country well.” The Baron says to Adam.
“Will she truly be mine now?” Adam asks, ignoring me.
“I will never be yours.” I scream at him.
Adam looks at me and laughs a deranged sort of laugh.
“As if I would ever want the daughter of a whore.” He intentionally spits at my feet.
“Adam, I told you Elizabeth can only be yours once she becomes Queen and we have proven her innocence. She-.”
“Her innocence? Are you kidding me? Are you blind man? Even Daniel knows she has long passed the stage of being a virgin.” I remark mockingly. “I mean I’m only here a short time and I’ve heard the rumors. She will never be Queen.”
I know I’m hitting a hornets’ net with a bat by the comment. He knocks the wind out of me with a punch to the stomach. I gasp trying to catch my breath. The more I push, the longer it will take to tell me why I’m here, giving Daniel time to find me. I’m not sure my absence has been noticed yet or not. Dante will know, he’ll find and tell Daniel.
I still haven’t caught my breath when Adam knocks the chair over with me in it after I ignore the question, leaving me wheezing. If my father can put up with the attempted assignations, I can put up with this beating. Adam walks next to me, lifting his leg in my direction, but the Baron’s phone starts ringing, disrupting his movement. I move my hands, cringing in pain and notice the ties on my hand and feet are loose. Adam’s attention is solely on the Baron. I quickly move my hands back a forth trying to loosen the ties further.
“Yes.” The Baron answers.
Adam looks back at me. I abruptly stop. The Baron places a restraining hand on Adam as if anticipating Adam’s next move. Adam looks back at the Baron. I slowly pull on my restraints, testing them again. They loosen even more.
Adam leans down, righting the chair with me in it, almost tipping me forward this time. I grab the back legs of the chair instinctually bracing for the impact. The baron catches me before I fall. He positions the chair facing the door now. Adam grips a handful of my hair painfully yanking my head back, forcing my head back to look in his beady eyes. The door opens halting anything he was about to say or do.
“Adam, sweetheart, leave her be. We can’t go about abusing her before Daniel and I are back together. If she is harmed, he will feel guilty for bringing her back and that would not bode well for me.” Elizabeth states from the doorway.
She is delusional.
“His guilt overrules his sensibility sometimes. I mean look how long he was gone after we killed his parents.” Elizabeth continues talking, walking close to me.
She leans down, looking me in the eye then snorts with revulsion. Fortunately, I’ve always been good about reading people. She’s jealous of me. The hatred in her gaze is unsettling. I wisely decide not to mention anything. She is unstable. How did Daniel not see this?
“I don’t know what he ever saw in you. But the heart is fickle. He will soon forget about you. Your father may be a different story.” She chimes without a care in the world.
“Why are you doing this? I never did anything to you.”
“You were born. That was your mistake.” She replies coldly.
Elizabeth notices the beautiful necklace Daniel gave me for Christmas. She lifts it, inspecting it closely then yanks it off my neck breaking the clasp. I gasp, my anger rising. Then she looks at my engagement ring. She tries pulling it off but thankfully my fingers are swollen from being tied up. She grunts in frustration looking around the room for something. Her gaze settles on the tools hanging on the wall. My fear and anxiety heighten, but I don’t show it.
“No matter. I’ll get it soon enough.” She states fixing her coiffed hair. “I’ll have him buy me a bigger one.”
“Over my dead body.” I sneer.
“That’s the idea.”
“He will never be yours. Haven’t you ever asked yourself why he never married you?” I taunt, tired of the abuse. “He knows your loose morals and loose pussy. He doesn’t want anything to do with your tainted goods. I know about all the times you called him while he was bringing me back. He never called you back. He can’t even look at you without cringing. He stopped caring about your reputation the day he found out who I was. Now when he looks at you, he feels sorry for the guy you end up with.”
“You bitch.”
I was expecting the open-handed slap.
“You’ll never have him.”
“Oh, and you’re better?” She retorts snidely. “You lived in New York with another guy. Like he thinks you aren’t loose.”
“Dante has nothing to do with this.” My voice is laced with hatred.
“Oh, but you see, he will be your downfall. How many times have the two of slept together? You are nothing but a whore just like your mother.”
“You know nothing about Dante and me, but Daniel does. At least he knows when he finally takes me as wife in our wedding bed, it will only be him and me in our bed. He could never say the same about you.”
Think real hard on that Elizabeth. I have something to give him. Something you can never get back or even fake. How did she think she was going to pull it off? I mean the rest of the aristocrats are going to ask for proof. I was horrified by the prospect, but thankfully I have nothing to worry about. Daniel assured me that it is not as barbaric as it used to be.
“How do you plan on getting past the virginity clause?” I mock her.
Elizabeth walks over to Adam, whispering in his ear. She turns back to me laughing in my direction. Adam looks at me licking his lips like I’m some piece of meat he is ready to devour, terrifying me. Then he turns back to Elizabeth kissing her.
“Well, soon you won’t have to worry about that either.” She says after pulling away.
“Stop playing cat and mouse with her.” The Baron remarks. “You’ll have to excuse Elizabeth. For years, she has been told she will be the next queen. Then things changed in a heartbeat. It can be rather upsetting.”
“Father, we don’t have to explain ourselves to her.”
“You’re right we don’t. It’s just common courtesy. You need to return to your friends before someone starts questioning where you are. I should get back to also. Adam go back to doing whatever you were doing before.” The Barons instructs. “We all need air tight alibis.”
“But I want to ruin her for Daniel.” Adam states coldly.
“No.” The Baron states firmly. “She isn’t to be touched no matter what. If anything, her father and fiancée will watch when you do. They will learn the hard way they have no power.”
“Wait, you can’t just leave me here.” I yell as they exit.
I hear their laughter fade as the room goes dark. The oozing walls and rats frighten me after a fee moments of sitting the dark. Tears well and my anxiety overwhelms me. The moonlight shifted allowing a small sliver of light through. I remember I’m stronger than this. I take a few deep breaths and tug on the restraints, grunting in pain as the ropes tear into my skin. When no one comes back after the noise, I tip myself over. There is crack and the back leg of the chair breaks as I fall. The impact jars my shoulder painfully. The ropes loosen more. After I catch my breath and wriggle my hands free, I untie my legs. I quickly and quietly run to the door listening, hoping no one is out there. Slowly, I opened the door for confirmation.
The hallway appears empty in both directions. I try the left corridor, the right too dark and dirtier. The left corridor seems brighter and the dust on the floor has been disturbed. At the end of the corridor, I turn right using the same deductions I just employed.
I skid to a halt when I hear noises coming from the direction I’m heading. I hide in a small alcove, hoping my pounding heart and rapid breathing does not give me away. As the voices near, one becomes distinct, familiar.
Donald?
I step into the corridor revealing my position. I see three men appear out of the darkness into a beam of moonlight creeping in from the window above. I stand frozen in place afraid my eyes betray me. The tears fall. Daniel and Dante stand at the bottom of a set of stairs. They come charging down the hallway. Daniel reaches me first, engulfing me in a hug then pulls back to look me over.
“Are you okay?” He asks but before I can answer Dante hugs me fiercely to him.
“Daph, are you hurt?” Dante asks.
“Daniel, we need to go. Someone’s coming.” Donald looks at the direction they came from.
“It was Baron Farfall, Elizabeth and Adam.” I say breathlessly as Daniel pulls me down the hallway I previously came from. He stops abruptly. I crash into him.
“Adam?” He questions, perplexed. “Annabelle’s Adam?”
I nod vigorously.
“What does he have to do with this?” Daniel asks.
“I’ll tell you when we get out of here.”
Daniel tugs me around another corner and we stop abruptly again. Adam is standing at the foot of a wide staircase. He quickly reaches behind him withdrawing a gun. Everything in this moment is a blur. A gun is aimed in our direction. Daniel moves me behind him but not before a shot goes off. A series of deafening shots are fired in the narrow space. I fall into Daniel, knocking him off kilter. He falls as a bullet whizzes by his head. I look to Adam and notice he’s also on the floor not moving.
Dante rushes to us as Donald rushes to Adam, his gun trained on Adam. Donald kicks the gun away then nudges the inert form with his toe. Once he ascertains Adam is no longer a threat, Donald checks for a pulse, not finding one he walks to us.
“Daniel, are you hurt?” Donald asks, looking him over with a fine eye.
Daniel lifts me off him. I cry out as a burning pain sears through me.
“Daphne?” Dante’s voice is laced with fear.
“Where are you hurt, baby?” Daniel asks, kneeling over me.
I look down at my abdomen and see blood starting to pool. I try to place my hands over it, but Daniel moves them away. He rips what little is left of the hem of my dress and pushes it into the gunshot wound. I scream in pain. Donald removes his belt and wraps it around the makeshift bandage, cinching it tightly.
“She needs medical help now.” Dante says loudly.
“She will get it, but not here.” Daniel replies. “We have to move now. Anyone could come back.”
Daniel lifts me up and I cry out in pain again.
“Shh.” Daniel coos.
Daniel walks briskly up the stairs. With each bounce, the pain intensifies. I passed out somewhere along the way because when I awaken we’re in a car. Donald is driving and Dante is next to him looking back at me. Daniel has me tightly to his chest in the backseat, rocking me gently. His rapidly beating heart explains how serious this is. His warmth seeps into my cold body. I lift my cold hand up to his cheek, startling him.
“I’m so sorry.” He says softly.
“You-.” I gasp then try again in a whisper because it hurts too much to move or breath. “You did nothing wrong.”
My hand falls back down, too tired to lift it back up and I pass out again. When I next wake up, we are in my room at Balwart Manor. A man is bending over me, pushing at my side eliciting excruciating pain. I cry out and someone squeezes my hand. I don’t remember Daniel being there.
This room has never been this cold before.
“Daphne, this is Dr. Joe. He removed the bullet but is trying to see how much damage was done. You lost a lot of blood, baby.” Daniel says.
I try to move my arm, but it gets caught on something. When I look, there is an intravenous attached to my hand.
“It’s so cold in here.” I say, shivering.
“She needs more medication, Joe.” Daniel says, letting go of my hand.
I hear him adding more wood to the fire.
“I can’t give her too much. She’s lost too much blood.” Dr. Joe replies.
“Well the give her what you can. She needs something.”
Dr. Joe glances at me then behind me. He looks at a woman standing next to him. Suddenly, there is a warming sensation swimming up my arm and the heat spreads over my body. The last thing I hear is Daniel.
“When you next wake up, everything will be fine. I promise, baby.”
There is a dull burning ache in my side when I rouse from a fitful dream. My hand brushes over the dip I feel in the mattress. Daniel’s head pops into view as my groggy eyes open. He looks tired and worn out.
“What happened?” I ask.
He hesitates then says, “You were shot.”
“Shot?”
He nods.
“How?”
“You were kidnapped by Adam. He brought you to an old abandoned part of the castle. You told us Baron Farfall and Elizabeth were there as well. Do you remember any of that?” He questions.
I try recalling, but draw a blank. My body flops down hard from pain as I try to push myself into a sitting position. I hiss in pain.
“Don’t try moving yet. It will be a little while before we can get you up without ripping the stitches. What do you remember?” He murmurs.
Again, I try to think back. The pain evaporated most of the fuzziness that was clouding my memory. I was in a dungeon of some sort.
“A chair? I was tied to a chair. No wait.” I stop when I remember being with him and then going with Dante to fix my make-up. “Dante and I were sitting in a room next to the ballroom giving you enough time so we wouldn’t cause suspicion if we arrived back together unaccompanied.”
“That’s what Dante said. Go ahead.” He supplies as his shoulders sag in relief.
“After Dante stepped outside, Adam walked in. At first I was surprised at him being there. Then he came up behind me and put something over my mouth and nose. When I woke up, I was tied to a chair in a dungeon.”
The tension returns to his shoulders. His grips the blanket. There will be hell to pay when I’m done with this story if his tense shoulders and pinched face are indication.
“He started talking about crazy stuff before Baron Farfall came in. At first, I didn’t think the Baron knew I was there. But that changed quickly when he said I should have died with my mother. He had me kidnapped so you and Elizabeth could proceed with your wedding.”
Daniel stands up abruptly knocking the chair to the floor.
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph.” He yelled. “When will they learn? I’m done with her.”
“You may want to try a different angle.” I reply sarcastically, wincing at the sharp pain in my side. “She also showed up. Did you know her and Adam are a thing?”
Daniel whips his head in my direction.
“Come again?”
“Adam and Elizabeth were getting cozy. The Baron even knew about it. He was the one who reminded Adam that he could do nothing sexual with Elizabeth until there was no question about her virginity. It seemed to me though, like she was playing Adam to get him to do things for her. I could be wrong.”
“No, that sounds like her.” He says pacing the room. “Shit. I knew she was devious, but to stoop this low?”
Daniel is lost in thought when my father comes rushing in, startling Daniel into action. Daniel’s quick response withdrawing a gun from his waistband surprises me, but not my father. My father ignores him as Daniel settles slightly, the gun hanging at his side. I didn’t even know he had one on him.
“What happened?” My father asks. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“I’m fine, just a simple gunshot wound.” I reply nonchalantly like burning in my side is nothing.
“Baron Fall and Elizabeth. That’s what happened.” Daniel states in a derogative tone. “It stops tonight. Call the priest, we’re getting married now.”